The Atrai soldiers charged forward with a deafening war cry. They rushed blindly toward the broken gates, their heavy boots sinking into the thick mud. The vanguard of the army leaped directly into the deep trenches.
Instantly, the war cries turned into screams of absolute, unimaginable agony.
"Snakes!" an Atrai soldier shrieked, thrashing violently in the mud. "The pit is filled with serpents!"
Hundreds of venomous vipers and swamp cobras struck out in the dark, biting the soldiers exactly where their armor was weakest. The Atrai vanguard completely collapsed in a chaotic, writhing mass of poisoned men.
"Do not stop!" Vane commanded brutally from his horse. "March over their bodies! Secure the breach!"
The Atrai soldiers hesitated, but the mages unleashed another volley of magical lightning. Jagged bolts of blue electricity struck the village defenders, instantly vaporizing Throm's iron spikes and throwing the blacksmith violently into the mud.
