Joseph raced up and killed the one who had lashed Jens with one thrust of his spear. He timed his charge perfectly, stopping at just the right time and place to avoid the lash of the weapon.
Ludmilla killed another, using the same tactics. Race in; stop suddenly when the enemy whips the weapon around; lunge. If anything, the girl’s strike was done even more gracefully than Joseph’s. Julius was not surprised. The girl was not only big, she was possessed of uncanny speed and reflexes—as good as Joseph’s, if not better.
As he watched, Julius was struck again by the discrepancy between Ludmilla’s Russian name and her appearance.
She’s the spitting image of a Manchu princess—no, warrior.
Jens Knudsen roared with rage and jerked his spear from his enemy’s cowl. Still on one knee, the boy threw himself forward and drove the spear almost completely into the creature’s body. He missed the brain—but three feet of spear driven through the eye, the head, and deep into the body beyond was more than enough.
God, that kid’s strong! Got to work on his tactics, though.
A lifetime spent observing nature had left Julius with ineradicable habits. He wasn’t much use in the actual fracas, but he never stopped observing and taking mental notes.
Julius himself squared off with another invader, but the “combat” which followed was almost comical. He skittered back and forth, well beyond range of the monster’s weapons. Well beyond range of spear-thrust as well. For its part, the invader did likewise.
What a pair of wallflowers! Julius clenched his teeth, and prepared to lunge. It was not necessary—Joseph charged past him and killed his opponent.
Julius gasped for breath. Looking around wildly, he saw that the village was a scene of utter confusion. Incoherent human shouts and owoc hoots filled the air. Except for Joseph, Ludmilla and Jens—who was still in the fray, covered with blood—all the other humans were racing about in total panic.
No, not all. He saw Indira shepherding four little children toward one of the long houses. Her face was pale and strained, but she seemed otherwise calm and collected.
There were three invaders left alive. They spun around and began moving (quite rapidly, thought Julius—much faster than owoc) out of the village, back toward the south.
“Don’t let them get away!” he shouted. Joseph and Ludmilla raced off in pursuit. Jens collapsed. From a distance, Julius saw Takashi Mizoguchi racing up from the upunu fields where he had been working. The boy was brandishing his only weapon—a useless hoe.
But the sight of him running toward them terrified the fleeing invaders. (The gukuy had not yet learned to distinguish between human tools and weapons.) Two of them veered farther to the right, still heading south. Julius watched with amazement as Joseph and Ludmilla slaughtered them like hardened veterans.
Joseph never even paused at the first one he caught. He simply drove his spear through the creature’s left ped, pinning it to the ground. The invader squawled and spun around in a half-circle, whipping its flail. Joseph avoided the blow by leaping high into the air. When he landed on the other side, he snatched the spear that Ludmilla tossed him (she was carrying two) and continued in pursuit of the last enemy while Ludmilla efficiently butchered the pinned one.
No—not the last one! Julius watched in horror as one of the invaders turned back and raced into the village. It was heading directly toward Indira and the children.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Julius desperately tried to interpose himself, but he was too far away. He was a slow runner at the best of times, and the invader was moving much faster than he would have believed possible. He saw Indira spin around. Her jaw dropped open. She pushed the children behind her and faced the onrushing monster. The creature squawled and drew back its weapons.
Suddenly, from nowhere, Francis Adams appeared. The physicist was shrieking like a maniac, holding a spear in both hands. His strike was pitifully clumsy. The spear glanced off the leatherish-looking armor which covered the creature’s mantle. Adams’ opponent whipped its flail around; the weapon practically ripped the physicist’s legs off at the knees. Still shrieking, Adams collapsed onto the monster, grappling it like a wrestler.