The Sheriff of Puppet Town wasn’t about to let the settlement fall on his watch.

  If Earl had to battle an army of jailbirds single-handed to keep his people safe, then that was exactly what he would do.

  Still running at top speed, he gathered his strength and Leapt, clearing the wall in a single bound. His back was bent as he sailed through the air—oversized obsidian hammer poised to strike as he descended toward a group of Claws like a meteor plummeting from the heavens.

  Earl swung his colossal weapon on the way down, obliterating an unfortunate convict as the head of his hammer slammed into the soil with a boom like a peal of thunder. His Shockwave tore into the nearby warriors, shattering bones and pulverizing organs to leave a line of broken bodies behind.

  One stage-two killer was more Durable than the rest and managed to survive the sheriff’s first blow.

  He didn’t survive the second.

  Sakura never would have believed that mammoth hammer—which must have weighed a quarter of a ton—could move so fast, even with a peak stage-two fighter wielding it. But Earl’s weapon lashed out fast as thought, reaching the resilient convict before the man could hope to dodge. All that mass went crashing into the Claw’s skull, which exploded like a watermelon dropped off a skyscraper.

  “Oh shit!” someone yelled as every eye on the battlefield turned toward the cacophonous clamor. “It’s Earl the motherfucking Earthhammer!”

  The closest jailbirds ran for their lives while their strike leaders tried to restore order. Well, Blaze did at any rate. Tiburón kept eating every defender he came across, although most of them had retreated through the gate, where he couldn’t reach them without returning to the surface.

  At Blaze’s command, ranged attacks rained down upon the sheriff in every shape and size, but Earl strode straight through the barrage as if it were no more dangerous than a light spring rain, occasionally raising his hammer to deflect a more powerful projectile.

  While his appearance had thrown their army into chaos, not all the Claws were too afraid to engage Puppet Town’s champion. An axe-wielding warrior waited until the next volley hit the sheriff and then attacked from his blind side.

  For a second, Sakura thought the woman’s weapon would find a new home between his shoulder blades, but a man like Earl wasn’t fated to be brought down by such a simple strategy. At the last possible moment, he pivoted on one foot and hit her with everything he had.

  The crackle of a hundred bones shattering rang out across the plains as Earl’s Pounding ruptured every organ in the woman’s body and sent her flying like a leaf in a hurricane.

  Her body sailed a good fifty feet before landing in a crumpled heap in the middle of the jailbirds’ army. They looked down at her twisted remains with eyes wide with astonishment, absorbing that one of their strongest fighters had been obliterated in a single attack by the Sheriff of Puppet Town.

  “Earl!” The cry reverberated from the ramparts as the defenders rallied at the sight of the heavy hitter taking the field.

  By this point, Tiburón had noticed the repeated impacts and realized something was wrong. The landshark rose from the earth while roaring in frustration and went charging to join the fray. However, it was going to take him a minute to reach that position, and Earl was already making his next move.

  Thick bands of earthy mana flowed out of his reactor and into his hammer, suffusing the weapon with elemental might. When the sheriff brought his weapon crashing down a heartbeat later, it knocked Sakura to her knees.

  The ground shattered in the wake of the incredible blow, forming a Fissure that raced for the jailbirds’ army with blinding speed. Most of them got out of the way in time, but two misjudged the skill’s approach and fell into what was, by this point, a considerable crevice. Before they could climb out, Earl clenched his fist, and the sundered ground sealed shut, burying the unfortunate convicts alive.

  With the sheriff blocking the approach to gate, and Tiburón heading out to meet him, the deputies and militia who were arriving from every corner of the settlement were able to focus their fire on the Claws scaling the wall. They unleashed a deluge of missiles and spells, forcing the jailbirds to abandon the elevated position and rejoin the strike force outside.

  After letting loose a fierce cone of flame that cost an unlucky deputy her life, Blaze jumped from the wall too, leaving Sakura panting in exhaustion. She was covered in burns, and her reservoir was running on fumes, but her efforts had kept the firebug busy long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Now, all she could do was watch and pray that Earl the Earthhammer lived up to his reputation.

  Outside the walls, the remaining defenders were in serious trouble. While they had been saved from Tiburón’s wrath by the sheriff’s dramatic arrival, they were trapped between the main body of the strike force and the crews who had abandoned the wall.

  With the path to the gate cut off, they were racing to reach Earl instead, but the defenders were wounded and exhausted. Before they could close half the distance, Blaze made his move—eager to work out some of his frustration from being driven away from the settlement without setting it alight.

  The flame-wielder came to a skidding stop and ignited his core, releasing such a tremendous volume of mana that it had to be powering a skill combo. A ball of flame coalesced in the air above his head, growing bigger and hotter with every beat of Sakura’s heart.

  The nearby Claws began to scream—forced to pull back as they were burned by Blaze’s rising conflagration. The warriors on the wall sent a flight of missiles headed his way, but they were reduced to ash by the intense heat.

  Before anyone could try again, the spell hit critical mass and shot forth, streaking toward the battered deputies who were sprinting for Earl’s position for everything they were worth. It was an impressive effort, but it was clear they weren’t going to make it in time. Puppet Town was about to lose a dozen cored warriors—a tragic loss of life and a devastating blow under the circumstances.

  A cracking wave of golden flame razed the grasslands to scorched earth as it crossed the last stretch of soil—hot enough to sear Sakura’s cheeks from a hundred feet away.

  Five seconds before the raging torrent of molten blaze broke over them, Earl brandished his war hammer and slammed it into the ground. Earth-aspected mana conducted through his weapon and into the dirt, with an impact so powerful it sent the army swaying like waves on the sea.

  It wasn’t just Fissure this time around. The sheriff had added another skill to create a combo of his own by adding Manifest Mineral. By the narrowest of margins, his spell reached the endangered deputies first. Spreading cracks passed under their feet, but since the peacekeepers were familiar with Earl’s magic, no one fell in. The instant the skill streaked past their position, Fissure cut out and Manifest kicked in.

  Through the shattered soil, a massive slab of stone arose, forming a wall around Puppet Town’s defenders. The raging sea of flames met the thick band of rock and parted, flowing around both sides but leaving them untouched.

  Meanwhile, the crews manning the wall used a collection of skills to shield their allies from the heat until the surge died down a few seconds later. Twin trails of devastation stretched on for a hundred yards past their position, reducing the groundcover to fine ash as Blaze’s spell scarred the Ivory Plains.

  Earl had come running to back the warriors up after unleashing his magic, with Tiburón following a hundred feet behind. Fortunately, the elite Claw moved slowly while swimming through the ground.

  Blaze screamed in frustration and got ready to try again, assuming the deputies would be easy prey now that they were trapped between two strike leaders and the army of convicts surging in from one side. He began casting another combo—even bigger than the last. But before his spell could coalesce, Earl made his move.

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  As the deputies fell into formation beside him, he came to a stop beside the rocky barrier he’d created and called upon the magic within. A torrent of mana went streaming out to coalesce along the surface of his hammer, forming a shimmering mantle of might. “Hit the dirt!” he yelled, and the peacekeepers dropped onto their bellies.

  The sheriff gathered every scrap of strength contained within his superhuman body, took a stance like a batter straddling home plate, and then hit the smoldering expanse of stone with apocalyptic force. The rock wall shattered, spraying a cone of jagged shards like the spread of the shotgun on a titan’s scale.

  Most of the prisoners near Blaze saw the attack coming and flung themselves to the ground, but the ones who were too slow were hit hard. A half dozen jailbirds died in that single strike—torn to shreds by the lethal fragments. The Claws who weren’t killed outright were battered and bludgeoned, taken out of the fight even if they would recover eventually.

  However, Earl’s true target was Blaze himself. The fire-wielder had been too distracted by his own spell to react in time. The elite’s flames flickered and died as the man took a direct hit from the deadly debris.

  Sakura thought he was dead for sure, but the strike leader was one tough bastard. Although one arm was broken and a wrist-thick spike was impaling his shoulder, Blaze rose to his feet and staggered away—blood staining the charred earth below. Earl moved to finish him off, but Tiburón cut him off before the sheriff could follow up.

  The sheriff ordered his deputies to retreat to the wall while the defenders atop it provided covering fire and support magic. The Claws’ army came to a skidding stop as the stage-two elites met on the field of battle, unwilling to enter Earl’s kill zone or risk falling prey to Tiburón’s Blood Frenzy.

  For thirty adrenaline-soaked seconds, the rest of the battle ground to a halt—every eye focused on the hammer-wielding warrior and the patch of disturbed soil that marked the landshark’s position.

  Dialla appeared beside Sakura, helping her remain upright while they waited to see what would happen next. “Tiburón is immune to most forms of attack while he’s underground,” Sakura said. “But Earl’s earth magic is another story. On the other hand, he’s already burned through a ton of mana, and while his reservoir is deep, it isn’t endless.”

  “Believe in him,” Dialla replied. “I’ve never understood why such a gifted warrior was content to keep the peace of Puppet Town. But I thank my lucky stars every day he’s standing by my side.”

  The women watched in silence as the veteran warriors met on the field of battle—their confrontation as inevitable as two freight trains on a collision course.

  The monstrous man who could swim through soil surged for the sheriff’s position, intending to rise from below and tear his enemy to shreds between his slavering jaws. By now, Sakura was certain the strike leader was using a skill that made him more powerful with every kill, in exchange for dulling his wits. All he could think of was devouring his enemy, preventing him from considering what would happen when their magic met head-to-head.

  A heartbeat before he surfaced, Earl ignited his core and struck the ground with his hammer. Accompanied by an incredible Shockwave, Fissure shot forth, cracking the earth as it engulfed Tiburón’s position. Even from belowground, Sakura could hear the man scream as the impact ravaged his Durable body.

  But the potent combo wasn’t enough to do more than enrage the elite Claw. He dove before the sheriff could follow up—too deep for Fissure to reach. Sakura couldn’t spot his wake anymore, but she could sense the intense magic emanating from his core. Tiburón had activated another skill and was rising at an incredible rate, planning to hit Earl from below so quickly that he couldn’t unleash another Fissure.

  But the sheriff had anticipated the move and was in the final stages of preparing a different type of counter.

  Two seconds before the landshark surfaced, Earl cast Manifest Mineral. A torrent of mana flowed out from his core, shining as it assumed physical form. A broad band of rock arose beneath his boots, carrying him ten feet into the air. Tiburón couldn’t stop in time and hit the mound of rock head-on, causing the ground to buckle and heave.

  Before he could dive again, Earl created a second layer of stone below his enemy’s position, then used it to scoop Tiburón out of the ground. His grotesque form was bathed in sunlight as he looked at the barrier preventing him from diving back into the dirt.

  The elite cocked his head in surprise, then let out a furious roar. Even in the midst of Blood Frenzy, it was clear that attacking from belowground wasn’t going to work, so the transformed warrior shook himself off, then turned to face the sheriff with murder gleaming in his glassy black eyes. “I’m going to enjoy devouring you inch by inch.”

  To Sakura’s surprise, Earl laughed when he realized what he’d heard. “While that sounds fun, I’m not putting out unless you buy me dinner first.”

  Incensed by the taunt, the elite Claw charged, razored claws poised to rend the sheriff asunder. But the man known as the Earthhammer didn’t even bat an eye. While Tiburón would be a lethal opponent in hand-to-hand combat, he was slow, and Earl had no intention of letting the landshark get close.

  Puppet Town’s champion let loose a battle cry of his own while gathering the immense strength contained within his muscular body. Tiburón was under the impression that Earl couldn’t transmit his magic through the stone now covering the ground. While his deduction was correct, that wasn’t what the sheriff was planning. He planted his feet, raised his hammer, and then hurled it at the charging convict, transforming the weapon into a spinning blur that would have done Thor proud.

  The move caught Tiburón by surprise, and he threw himself out of the way at the last possible second. But Earl had angled his throw, and his hammer slammed into the ground with the force of an artillery barrage. The impact flung the strike leader aside like a ragdoll in a hurricane, rolling across the grass as he turned head over heels.

  Earl reached out and cracked a fierce grin. His weapon wobbled before flying into his hand—ready to serve as his instrument of mayhem once more. The incredible blow had shaken Tiburón’s confidence. While he was savage, enraged, and fearless, the man wasn’t stupid or suicidal. Faced with an elite enemy whose powers could counter his own, the Claw let out a final scream and then ordered the retreat.

  Blaze wasn’t in any condition to argue. He was swaying back and forth, and one arm hung limp at his side. For a second, Sakura thought the firebug was going to bleed out, but he conjured a flame and turned his power on himself—fire bathing his skin until the gash sealed shut. He just cauterized his own wounds. That explains the scars.

  The Claws’ elites were pulling back along with the bulk of their army. Thanks to Earl’s efforts, only a handful of defenders had perished thus far. However, the battle wasn’t over yet. While the deputies fired at the retreating convicts, it was up to the militia to deal with the prisoners who had made it inside the settlement.

  Only a handful of the militia were cored and none of them were a match for the battle-hardened killers. Sakura leapt off the wall and raced to help them from the shadows, but she wasn’t the only one who was ready to lend a hand.

  As it happened, the town’s guardian beasts were already on the prowl. It hadn’t been safe for them to attack the elites in the middle of an army, but hunting down jailbirds inside the settlement’s walls was a perfect situation for their skills to shine.

  In addition to ten stage-one guardians, Puppet Town was home to two stage-two beasts—Zen and Zero. Zero was a ram the size of an Earth elephant, with sweeping horns that were tough enough to turn aside all but the most powerful of attacks. Zen was an albino rhinoceros. She wasn’t as big as Zero, but her lightning magic could dish out serious damage at considerable range.

  Sakura watched as Zen and Zero led the charge—followed by the rest of the pack and the militia bringing up the rear. She had regained enough magicytes to launch a few attacks, but the beasts didn’t require her assistance. Panicked screams filled the air as Zero lowered his horns and charged, pinning a prisoner against the wall and breaking every bone in her body.

  Meanwhile, Zen’s horn began shining as the rhino ignited her core. A pair of Claws saw her coming and started climbing the walls in desperation, but it was already too late. Twin bolts of lightning struck from out of the clear blue sky, reducing the jailbirds to sizzling piles of ash between the drawing of one breath and the next.

  With their extreme Speed and potent Perception, Puppet Town’s guardian beasts hunted down the remaining convicts within a matter of minutes, working with the militia to box their prey in before hitting them from multiple sides at once.

  Unfortunately, a handful of uncored residents had already been slaughtered by the Claws, and a stage-one wolf took a crippling blow that sheared off one of its limbs. But despite these tragic losses, the beasts had saved countless lives, and the settlement was lucky to have them.

  The defenders of Puppet Town began to cheer as their enemy retreated. Only a slim fraction of both forces had perished, and the settlement had lost a vital component of its defenses. But they had endured the assault and were still alive. And where there is life, hope springs eternal.

  While they were lucky to have made it this far, Sakura knew matters were coming to a head. When she noticed the magic interfering with her skills had finally dispersed, she used the last of her mana to scan the approach to the settlement with Remote Viewing.

  What she saw filled her with a grim foreboding. In addition to their fleeing strike force, two groups of Claws had almost reached the center of the plains and would converge sometime within the next few hours. Worst of all, their leader had finally taken to the field.

  She sent a message to Dialla, Earl, and Edge, informing them that this skirmish was only a prelude for the true battle that would begin before the sun set.

  When Yussuf the Red arrived at the walls, the Claws would launch an all-or-nothing attack on Puppet Town. While the sheriff’s ferocity had caught them by surprise, the settlement’s defenders couldn’t hope to defeat a force nearly three times the size of the one that was retreating into the distance.

  In short, if the expedition didn’t make it back soon, the town was doomed, along with everyone standing behind the walls.