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Worwal informed them that their opponents were Bloodeye and the Man of Crows and that Bloodeye had some kind of strange transforming power, but there wasn't enough time to swap more intel than that.

'I sense them,' said Garovel.

'As do I,' said Iziol.

Hector had wanted Garovel to retreat underground, but the reaper insisted on tagging along for observational support. Hector hadn't been too pleased about that. Sure, Garovel had turned out to be correct in helping him take down the missile, but that didn't change how risky the whole thing was.

And now that they knew precisely who they were up against, Hector was even more uncomfortable.

'Garovel, you need to fall back,' thought Hector in the intervening seconds.

'Too late for that, buddy.'

Was it really, though? 'Go underground. Now.'

'No.'

Hector grit his teeth and wanted to argue. He didn't get the chance, because an ear-piercing gunshot rang out from a short distance away.

One of the Rainlords was there, nestled behind a large rock with one of the largest rifles Hector had ever seen.

"That's a hit on Crowe!" the man called out.

Hector looked toward the horizon and saw the black swirl of birds there. At this distance, he couldn't tell if the shot had done much.

The gunman was Dimas' cousin, Rolando Sebolt. As Hector understood it, he was actually older than Dimas by about fifteen years, so the soul power that he must've been pushing into that giant weapon was probably quite potent.

Lord Abbas still went over to him, though, and a laid a hand on the massive scope. "Do it again," he said in his Valgan accent.

Rolando gave him an acknowledging nod, and then Abbas blasted away from the ground, rocketing back up into the sky again.