Best served cold

Inside the Iron Shield bandit's base stood a tent that was much larger then the others. Julio, their new leader, was having a bad day. Early morning reports came in, stating that the outer guards never returned after their shifts. He had written it off at first, assuming they may have simply deserted.

However, when he sent more guards to investigate, they also went missing. He began to panic at this point. Promptly issuing a lock down order, the camp went into alert. Just as everyone started to settle back down, the camp was attacked again.

This time his men had cornered the attackers, chasing them into one of the tents. The reports indicated they were able to retreat through an escape tunnel. They even sealed it off behind them. Julio wondered who could be attacking them.

It had only been a few days since they had taken over the iron mine. They killed all the workers and witnesses. It would take a few weeks for the mining company to send out an investigation team. They would be long gone by the time anyone arrived. Only a few people knew about what happened here.

He immediately thought of Terry, the former leader, and the small group that left with him. They had refused to kill the innocent workers and the guard's families. Julio quickly took up the mantle of leader. Those old men had grown too soft. Casting them out, he spared their lives, since they had worked together for many years.

Several screams brought Julio out of his thoughts, shifting his focus back to reality. Just as he was about to get up, a loud crashing sound rang out. An impact shook the ground, the sounds of cloth tearing and wood splintering filled the air.

Steadying himself, he quickly ran outside. Pushing the tent flap aside, he was just in time to witness another massive boulder smash into the campsite. The devastation was severe, dirt and debris flew everywhere. Injured bandits wailed out for help. It was a nightmare!

The worst part was that the attack kept coming. Julio saw another huge boulder being launched out of the forest. He knew that he had to act quickly, otherwise he would lose total control of the camp. Barking out orders to his commanders, they rallied the men together.

Back at the clearing, Zanir and his men had finished launching the last stone. He needed to store the trebuchet before the enemy arrived. It was vulnerable and would be easily destroyed in close combat. Keeping an eye on the battlefront, he returned it to his storage. The trebuchet slowly turned translucent before disappearing fully.

It didn't take long for the entire camp to rush their location. They could hear the disorganized footsteps of the bandits. Trampling through the camp and into the nearby clearing, the enemy had disregarded any notion of stealth. Soon they saw the first few bandits approaching.

Seeing so few opponents, the bandits became emboldened. Rushing through the forest, they quickly became entangled. None of the threads from earlier had been removed. There were a lot more people approaching this time, so naturally it created several 'traffic jams'.

The men behind them quickly became stuck and couldn't advance. It was truly unfortunate for them. The Iron Devil Corp had made a bet just before the battle. Whoever was able to pierce the most enemies with a single bolt would win. They'd etched their initials into the bolts to keep track.

Several loud snapping sounds went off simultaneously. Large bolts penetrated the oncoming crowds of enemies. Everyone was stunned by the gruesome result. It was beyond what anyone there had expected.

Several sounds filled the air all at once. The sounds of metal being pierced. Pained screams and high pitched death cries. Bones could be heard cracking and shattering. The squishy sound of flesh being crushed and pulverized.

Finally a loud thud as some of the bolts slammed into trees.

The second wave of bandits approaching had no idea why everyone was just standing there. Before they had time to ask another round of bolts shot out. Another round of screams and devastation rang out. The oncoming bandits saw it this time.

Seeing the large bolts pierce several bandits was terrible for morale. Their instincts were telling them to run, which caused them to hesitate. This hesitation cost them their lives as several more bolts were loosed.

Julio and the commanding officers had finally arrived. They were pissed when they noticed several bandits stabbed into the trees. Leading the charge, they rallied the men forward to cut down the vines. If they could just break through, it would all be over.

The appearance of their leader had reignited the enemy. Learning from their earlier mistakes, they threw a few rocks out, before charging forward. Confident there were no spike traps, they surged forth hoping to break through quickly.

Reaching the vines, the bandits slashed and hacked at them. Nobody expected the vines to be sentient. They wrapped around oncoming weapons, clamping down on them with sharp thorns. Taking the attacking bandits by surprise, they yanked the weapons away, quickly tossing them over the vines to the other side.

They were still able to slash through some of the vines, but it was not enough to get through yet. As more and more bandits gathered before the vines, a deep cracking sound was heard. They had a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomachs.

Julio could only watch as a massive hole opened up, taking the entire group of soldiers with it. He rushed the few remaining men. By some miracle they had opened up these damned vines. Taking the chance, they rushed for it.

There were only twenty or thirty men who had survived. As they approached the clearing, they noticed that the ground seemed to be sinking. It didn't take long for them get stuck, even bandits who barely stepped in, couldn't lift a foot out.

Zanir and his men stepped forward, approaching the bandits as they struggled. He had agreed to let Terry take care of the traitor, who had cast him out of the bandit group. Terry removed his helmet as he approached, calling out to Julio.

"I treated you like a brother Julio. You betrayed me for what? Money? Power? I bet you thought you'd never see me again."

Shock was evident on Julio's face. It settled after a brief moment.

"What are you going to do?"

"Your men will become slaves to my master. He'll get the iron mine as well. He has graciously allowed us to have our revenge."

As he replied, Terry signaled the other men nearby. They wheeled a single ballista cart over, bringing a single bolt along with it.