Varek grinned. "And miss the chance to crush a rebellion? Not likely."
He raised his sword—and the riders charged.
The ground thundered as horses barreled toward the wall. Arrows flew from behind Adrian, striking shields and armor. A few soldiers fell, but the rest pushed forward.
At the last moment, Adrian gave the signal.
"Now!"
Torren yanked the torch from the oil barrel and hurled it into the front trench.
The explosion came like a beast's roar—flames racing along the ditch, consuming everything in their path. Horses screamed and stumbled as riders tried to pull back, only to crash into one another in chaos.
"Close the second gate!" Adrian shouted.
Two men slammed heavy wooden panels down across the narrow opening, trapping the first wave of soldiers between the burning trench and the unfinished wall.
Arrows rained down from above. The air filled with smoke, screams, and the crackle of fire.
Varek's men fought desperately to break through, but the terrain worked against them—the stakes hidden beneath the ash, the slippery clay beneath their boots, the collapsing outer section that Adrian had deliberately weakened the night before.
When the wall gave way with a thunderous crack, it didn't fall outward—it fell inward, crushing half the soldiers beneath it and forming a barricade of rubble and flame.
Elara stared in awe. "You… you planned that?"
Adrian's eyes were cold. "Every beam, every gap. They thought they were attacking a weakness. I built their grave instead."