"Formation! Guard the wagons!" he barked, voice sharp and clear.
The twins moved first, dismounting in unison with heavy thuds, their large frames immediately shielding the rear wagon.
Mira slid from her saddle and dashed to the high ground on the side slope, bow already drawn.
Eren dismounted slower than the rest, eyes narrowed. He didn't draw yet. He was listening.
And then it came.
The scream of steel—twang!
Arrows. Fast. Silent.
One buried into the wooden side of the second wagon. Another grazed Mira's shoulder as she rolled behind a rock.
"Contact on both sides!" she yelled. "They're flanking!"
Halven stepped in front of the lead horse and spotted movement up the ridge—figures in dark gray cloaks, blending into the snowy rock, descending fast.
"Mira, cover left! Fen, Rusk, back-to-back!"
His voice was like a war drum, steady in the storm.
And then chaos struck.
A large man barreled from the treeline—axe swinging—and crashed into Fen, knocking him off his feet.
