The first masked attacker hit the camp's perimeter fence at a dead run, and Garrow met him head-on before he cleared it, blade crashing against blade hard enough to send sparks into the dark.
"Twelve confirmed," Liu Che shouted, already moving to flank. "Coordinated, disciplined. Not amateurs."
Wei Liang pushed Feng Yao behind him instinctively, feeling the young man's breath hitch dangerously fast. "Stay close. Breathe the way we practiced."
"I can't," Feng Yao gasped, panic already building. "Too fast, too much—"
"You can," Wei Liang said firmly, meeting the first attacker's strike and redirecting it into a nearby tree trunk. "Focus on my voice, not the fight."
Shen Yue dragged Bao Chen's restrained form toward better cover, working fast despite her own fear. "If they're here for hi
