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The Blue Rats see the thing coming, gathering speed as it goes, and shout in alarm - surprised - and lock shields and stand firm. And die.
The Sharp Sharps, up on the hill, with the banner, hear the noise of a man being ripped in two and turn and the trumpeteer brings the instrument to his lips and blows alarm alarm alarm. The Sharp Sharps charge in, heroic, banner ready. And die.
The Windswept Blades forming up near the banner are catching their breath, canteens half to their mouth and their first reckoning of horror is when one of them is disintegrated by a kick from a thing with the strength of many. They yelp and scream and scrabble and fight back. And die.
The Sunstained Spears, on guard duty, are sluggish to respond but charge in to by people time to make it clear. And die.
Wounded, tired Ironwroughts, in heavy armor and breaching equipment turn to the sound of commotion and rally and lock their heavy shields and counter-charge, trusting to weight and armor and sheer impetus to bowl this thing over because it is but one singular man and so it cannot be so dangerous. And they are wrong. And they die for it.
The Haunted Sharpshooters fire off a single volley and the arrows bounce off of the crystalline skin, harder than bonded steel, more unbreakable than the towers of a high fortress and this means they do not have time to run away and three of them are cut down in a single sweeping blow of a blade that is so sharp it can truth and part lies. And so they die.
The Resolute Crows and the Stern Ravens, mustering in from either direction, lock pikes and push together and their pikes break and bend and the thing grabs the end of one and pulls the poor unfortunate unto itself with bone-shattering force and he is as dead as the rest and that is how they die.
Musketeers, finally responding to screaming horror and the shouts form up and fire and bullets and smoke and lead powder and blood stains fill the air. And the sharp, jarring impacts crack the crystal surface of this abomination but it is not enough and they are too close and too few and too slow and so enough of them too start dying.
People run of their lives. Some of them die too.
People are very brave. Some of them die too.
People are very competent, trained, focused?
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
