Holy War III

The Wolf charges first, teeth-bared and snarling. He attempts to pounce on the Paladin, but the Paladin squats under his shield, dodging the front paws and using the Wolf’s momentum to toss him aside.

The Paladin rights himself just as the Hero and Captain Crimson arrive, swords drawn. The Hero quickly slashes at the Paladin, but struggles to find a way around the Paladin’s shield. Crimson is equally aggressive with his heavier pirate blade, but the Paladin’s amazing agility and might allow him to keep one hero at a distance while engaging the other on his own terms.

The Wizard slings several magic flares at the Paladin, moving and shifting to avoid hitting the other heroes. The Wizard is perplexed as he knows some of his spells have to be hitting, but the spells seem to be absorbed by the Paladin’s armor, having no effect. The Inventor moves towards the Paladin, also seeking a window to join the fray.

The Wolf stalks behind the Paladin, moving behind him as he focuses on combating Captain Crimson and the Hero. The Inventor drives his mech forward, finding an opportunity to strike. The pneumatic hammer slams into the side of the Paladin, throwing him backward. The Wolf quickly snaps the Paladin up in his jaws and shakes him viciously. The rest of the heroes stand back, their victory seemingly assured.

The Paladin, however, is still unharmed. As The Wolf shakes the Paladin, the Paladin leans back and slams Van Hamma into the Wolf’s shoulder. The Wolf howls, dropping the Paladin. The Paladin springs forward, catching the heroes by surprise. The Paladin charges Captain Crimson, taking him down quickly with a wrestler’s suplex.

The Hero steps forward but quickly is on the retreat with the Paladin’s heavy hammer swings. The Hero sidesteps a swing and tries to strike at the Paladin, but the Paladin catches the sword swing with the edge of his shield. The Paladin then swings his hammer, smashing one of the Hero’s sabers. The Hero stumbles away off balance, shaken as he stares at the jagged edge of his shattered sword.

The Inventor steps up, his torch spewing tongues of relentless fire. The Paladin presses forward, running behind his shield and allowing the flames to roll off to his sides. He moves with incredible speed, running under the legs of the Inventor’s mech, striking a leg with his hammer. The metal hull crumples as hydraulic oil squirts from gaps in the machine’s armor. The Paladin continues his savage assault, hitting the back of the Inventor’s mech with an upswinging strike. The pair of canisters on the back of the Inventor’s machine begin to spray a compressed liquid into the air. 

The Paladin moves back around the front of the Inventor’s mech. The mech is stumbling with the disabled leg, and the Inventor’s troubled expression can be seen as it is illuminated by flashing red alarms. The Inventor tries to fire the pneumatic hammer at the Paladin but the Paladin jumps onto the pneumatic hammer attachment and launches himself into the air. He falls, swinging his hammer in a downward arc on the mech’s welding arm. The arms erupts in a shower of sparks upon impact. The welding fuel in the air ignites. The town of Franklin shakes with the explosion of the Inventor’s machine.