"J. Robert King - Invasion Cycle 02 - Planeshift" - читать интересную книгу автора (King Robert J)



21
Planeshift

"Where Urza is heading," Gerrard said.
"Aye, Commander."
Weatherlight slid into the wake of destruction behind
Urza.
Below, Metathran troops ran. Their battle axes glinted.
Their war cry rose above even the thunder of
Weatherlight's engines.
She soared out directly above Urza.
Falcon engines launched from his shoulders. They
gleamed beside Weatherlight's bow. The silvery birds
shrieked as they stooped on their preyтАФPhyrexians.
Just ahead, a fresh wave of the beasts charged into
battle. Some had once been human, their figures stretched
on metallic frameworks, their muscles augmented with
machines. Others were not remotely human. They had
been grown in vats of glistening-oil, sculpted by priests of
Phyrexia. Massive legs, crested heads, dagger fangs, scimitar
clawsтАФthey were creatures created to kill.
Whatever their origins, the beasts of Phyrexia met
Urza's deadly machines. Silver falcons shrieked down upon
them. Razor-sharp beaks rammed Phyrexian bellies.
Shredding mechanisms tore them apart. The front lines
crumbled and bled even as Weatherlight hurtled by
overhead.
"Stay the course," called Gerrard.
He and Tahngarth unleashed a fresh volley of fire. The
bolts disintegrated lichens, stripped trees to their
heartwood, and boiled marshes. Fire flooded mana
bombards. It melted armor and burned fiend flesh from
bone. Fore, aft, and amidships, Weatherlight's cannons
blazed.
Urza and his three planeswalker comrades meanwhile
marched their titan engines inward. They cut converging
lines through Phyrexian troops. Wave upon wave of


22
J. Robert King

Metathran mopped up behind. The blue-skinned warriors
had taken Koilos. Now they would take Urborg.
But why? Gerrard wondered. Why is this fight so
important?
On a low hill ahead lay the core of Phyrexian
commandтАФ Crovax's noble estate. It was in ruins. Smoke