Page 11 of Broken Oath

Hammer jerked backward as the round slammed into his armor with enough force to throw him off balance.

“CONTACT!”

Rook’s roar shattered the silence.

Gunfire erupted from every direction.

Muzzle flashes appeared across the ridgelines like lightning breaking open in the darkness.

Red tracers sliced through the valley.

Machine guns opened from concealed positions.

The air filled with lead.

Hammer hit the ground behind a boulder.

“Still breathing!”

Another burst hammered into the rock above him.

Ghost dropped beside him and returned fire.

His rifle barked three times.

Three enemy fighters tumbled from the ridgeline.

“Left side!”

Bishop’s machine gun roared.

Enemy fighters disappeared behind cover.

For a heartbeat.

Then dozens more appeared.

Too many.

Far too many.

Rook’s stomach sank.

This wasn’t a militia guarding a bomb maker.

This was an army.

Someone had gathered hundreds of fighters and placed them exactly where they needed to be.

A rocket launcher flashed from the ridge above.

“DOWN!”

The missile screamed into the valley.

The explosion lifted dirt, rock, and fire fifty feet into the air. The shock wave punched through Rook’s chest, and smoke rolled across the battlefield.

Tex grabbed Ridge and dragged him behind cover before another burst shredded the ground where they had been standing.