Loccy brought the hammer down before the barrier cart cleared the final block, crushing its front axle into the road channel. The men pushing behind it stumbled into the frame as one pale-gold Wing opened from her back, covering the cart gap without touching either escape route.
Her second strike folded the first shield against its owner, sending him backward through the men crowding behind his horse.
The captain shouted from beyond the wreck, forcing four crossbowmen toward the ridge while the remaining riders pushed into the other side of the channel.
"Left gap stays open," Hajin said, pointing toward the clinic route, "anyone standing there moves behind Cassie's wall."
Cassie drove her staff into the road, raising a waist-high earth barrier where the recruits could lower their spears without blocking the retreat.
