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Morath did not care if its own forces were
washed away. They would lose today anyway.
They would not allow the khagan’s army to
walk off the plain, either.
Both of Sartaq’s arrows found their marks,
but the two soldiers who went down did not
cause the others to drop the battering ram.
Again, they heaved the ram back—and swung
it forward.
The boom of wood on wood echoed up to
them.
They soared near enough that the iron
enforcements at the tip of the battering ram
became clear. Thick iron casing, capped with
spikes meant to shred and pierce. If Salkhi
and Kadara could reach it, they could rip the
ram from their hands—
Metal groaned and clanked, and Sartaq’s
warning cry shattered across the air.
Salkhi banked on instinct, spying the