The officials never saw them coming.
Perhaps it was the silent approach, or maybe the cover of the trees. Maybe they were too focused on the task at hand: burning the forest to the ground.
Either way, the first wave of attacks went undefended by the officials.
At least ten were knocked down at once, the miners chopping away at them with their pickaxes.
Kael surged forward, driving his pickaxe into the nearest official's shoulder. The man screamed, collapsing beneath the weight of the blow.
Another official turned, raising a rifle—only for Ryker to slam a rock into the side of his head, sending him crumpling into the dirt.
The officials shouted out in alarm and scrambled backward as they tried to ready their weapons.
"Stay on them!" Kael bellowed, dodging a wild swing from a torch-wielding official. "Don't let them regroup!"
But it was already happening.
