An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

“Damn it! This punk’s tougher than I thought. We’re in real trouble if this keeps up,” Connor said, swinging his twin blades relentlessly. Every strike was aimed at Axel’s vital points.

But Axel was quick. He weaved in and out of reach and avoided direct confrontation. It was obvious he was just stalling for time.

“Sir Prescott should be far enough by now. There’s no point dragging this out. Let’s fall back.”

Sensing the futility of their efforts, Dave considered retreating. He didn’t fear death, but he wasn’t about to waste his life for nothing.

Since Warrick had escaped, their interception mission was also completed.

“You guys hold him off. The rest of you, fall back with me.”

Connor was decisive. Realizing they weren’t making any progress, he quickly ordered a retreat and left a few decoys behind to buy time.

They had barely run a hundred yards when a wave of soldiers suddenly appeared at the alley’s entrance. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, filled the narrow space and completely blocked any chance of escape.

“Fall back!”

Connor and Dave exchanged a glance.

Without hesitation, they turned and bolted in the opposite direction. With fewer than a hundred men, charging into an enemy several times their size would be suicide.

The sound of perfectly synchronized footsteps echoed from ahead, and the ground beneath them started to shake.

Connor and Dave skidded to a halt. Their eyes widened in shock as they stared at the distance.

end of the road, a wave of black steel surged

dark armor, and their faces were hidden behind menacing masks. They were tall, their eyes sharp, and radiated a deadly authority. Their presence was even more

“Draken Guardians?”

paled when they saw the emblem

Army of West Lucozia was already the most elite

something else entirely. They were the cream of the crop, handpicked from thousands of Black Dragon Army soldiers. They were the

only a hundred or so, but each one was a master in their own right. Any single member could

the situation was dire. Neither had

appeared, Connor and Dave

they were facing thousands of soldiers, they were confident they could fight their way through. But against a hundred Draken Guardians,

now, Axel had regrouped with the reinforcements

soldiers were trapped. They were

or hide and were

Guardians came to a stop. A broad-shouldered, imposing middle -aged general

sharp eyes swept over Connor and Dave before he spoke in a cold,

but they carried a powerful

was Jaxon Steele, who achieved great

two small fry-but Warrick, who was halfway to becoming an ultimate

someone of that caliber was enough to warrant the

“What should we do?”

Connor, and his grip tightened around

brothers, bound by a vow. They didn’t need to live on the same day, month,

can we do?