The csh was immediate and brutal.

  The meraries and outpost militia surged forward, their bined force driving into the remaining bandits like a spear. Kara led the charge, her psma rifle spitting trolled bursts of energy into the disanized ranks of the enemy. The militia fighters followed closely behind, their makeshift ons rattling as they advanced, determio protect their home.

  Ethan moved swiftly, dodgiween pieces of rubble, his eyes locked o figure of the Bandit Leader standing at the back of the battlefield. The massive, cyberically enhanced alien had yet to engage, watg the chaos unfold with uling calm. Its warhammer rested at its side, crag faintly with energy.

  "We o cut off the head," Ethan muttered into his , his voice tight with urgency. "This leader goes down, the rest will scatter."

  "I see him," Rourke rumbled back, his energy shotgun bsting apart a bandit trying to fnk them. "But getting to him won't be easy."

  The Bandit Leader barked orders in a guttural nguage, and the remaining bandits regrouped, f a desperate defensive lihey opened fire with a wild mix of ons, from energy bsters to old projectile rifles, but their resistance was crumbling.

  Leena, ever the tacti, spotted an opening. "Push the ter!" she shouted. "They're spread too thin there, we break through!"

  With a nod, Ethan motioned for the team to follow. They moved as one, cutting a direct path toward the Bandit Leader. Psma rounds whizzed past them, some too close for fort, but they pressed on, using the wreckage of the battlefield for cover.

  As they he enemy's and, the Bandit Leader finally stepped forward, t above the battlefield. Its armor was thick, reinforced with glowing cyberihas, and its eyes gleamed with a terrifying intellige raised its warhammer high, and with a single, devastating swing, it smashed the ground in front of it, sending a shockwave of energy rippling outward.

  The ground trembled, and several militia fighters were thrown off their feet. Ethan mao dive behind cover just in time, but Dax wasn't as lucky. The force of the impact sent him sprawling to the ground, his side smming into a jagged rock.

  "Dax!" Kara shouted, but her attention was forced back to the fight as more bandits charged her position.

  Dax groaned, his vision swimming as he tried to push himself up. Pain shot through his ribs, but he knew he had no time to waste. His fingers scraped against the dirt, finding the hilt of his psma bde just as a shadow loomed over him.

  The Bandit Leader towered above, its warhammer crag ominously. With a guttural growl, it raised the massive on for the killing blow.

  But before the hammer could fall, a psma sh out, hitting the Bandit Leader square in the chest. The shot staggered the alien, ahan, having found his footing, rushed forward, sshing at the Leader's exposed joints with his psma khe bde ected, drawing a spray of sparks and oil, but the damage barely slowed the massive alien.

  The Bandit Leader roared in fury, swinging its warhammer in a wide arc. Ethan barely mao duder the strike, the on missing him by ihe sheer force of the swi dust and debris flying, leaving craters in the ground.

  "Don't lose focus", Ethan muttered, breathing heavily.

  Meanwhile, Rourke was holding his own against the remaining bandits, his cyberic arm abs the recoil of his shotgun as he bsted through wave after wave of attackers. "We've got to take that thing down!" he called over the , his voice strained as he dealt with the st few enemies closing in.

  Leena joined in the assault on the Bandit Leader, firiwin pistols in rapid succession, aiming for the ots in its armor. "Aim for the joints!" she shouted. "It's where the cyberics are exposed!"

  The Bandit Leader, realizing it was now the primary target, shifted its focus eo the meraries. With a roar, it charged forward, its warhammer raised high. Kara, who had fhe alien, took aim with her psma rifle, nding shot after shot on its back. The energy bsts sizzled against the armor but didn't slow the giant.

  "Damn it, this thing's a tank!" Kara cursed, dug behind a piece of wreckage to reload.

  The militia fighters, emboldened by the meraries' resolve, tiheir advance, adding their firepower to the mix. But despite the overwhelming odds, the Bandit Leader kept ing, shrugging off hits that would have downed any normal soldier.

  Ethan saw their ce. "We o hit it from all sides!" he shouted. "Don't let up!"

  Rourke, Kara, and Leena moved into position, surrounding the Bandit Leader. Psma rounds and shotgun bsts tore into its armor, sparks flying with each impact. The alien snarled, its movements slowing as the bined firepan to take its toll.

  But it wasn't enough.

  With a final, desperate surge of strength, the Bandit Leader raised its warhammer, swinging it in a devastating arc toward Ethan. He braced for the impact, knowing he couldn't dodge in time.

  At the st moment, a streak of light shot across the battlefield, which turned out being a high-energy bolt from Kara's rifle. It hit the Bandit Leader square in the head, the force of the shot snapping its neck back. The alien froze, its warhammer dropping from its grasp as its massive body crumpled to the ground with a heavy thud.

  The battlefield fell silent, the sound of the Bandit Leader's defeat eg in the air.

  Dax finally caught his breath, his hand gripping his side where the healing gel Leena had ied was doing its work. Etha over the fallen Bandit Leader, pulling a piece of scorched armor aside. His eyes narrowed as he spotted something, a bsignia, barely visible beh the yers of charred metal.

  The emblem of the Bck Sun Syndicate, notorious across Kynara for its grip on illegal activities.

  "This wasn't just a raid," Ethan muttered, showing the insignia to the others. "The Bck Sun is involved."

  Rourke, catg his breath, scowled at the revetion. "Makes sehey've beeing bold, but this is bigger than I thought."

  Kara wiped the sweat from her brow, holstering her rifle as she surveyed the battlefield. "We're not equipped for this. The militia did well, but if the Bck Sun is really pulling the strings, there's going to be more trouble ing."

  Leena nodded grimly. "We'll o reassess a back to the guild."

  Ethan rose, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield as the st of the bandits were either captured or fled into the wilderness. "First, we o che the outpost and see what's left."

  The adrenaline of the fight began to fade, and the gravity of the situatioled in. The meraries exged silent gnces, knowing that while the battle was won, the rger war with the Bck Sun had only just begun.