The first Stoneback Ape let out a short grunt as the arrow punched cleanly into its shoulder. It spun toward the sound and walked directly into Ryan's shield as he drove forward and slammed it across the creature's jaw with the full weight of his body behind it.
The fight broke open immediately after that.
The other seven turned and charged.
Ryan planted his feet and held the center, absorbing two of them at once, his mace swinging in short, brutal arcs that kept them from getting past him. Each hit landed with the kind of impact that came from someone who had trained specifically to be immovable.
Ophelia was already moving.
She crossed the distance to the nearest ape in less than a second, her footwork almost too quick to follow, and drove her katana through its side in a clean precise strike.
