The force of the strike had traveled through the saber and into Süke's arm. The ache that followed told him the bone underneath had taken damage, though not enough to stop him.
He kept the blade in his right hand and tested the left rein with a careful pull. Pain answered immediately, but the arm still worked. That was enough for now.
His horse remained under him, fighting for footing amid the crush of bodies on both sides. Hooves slipped and scrambled across ground already torn apart and slick from the first impact of the collision.
The rider who had struck him was gone, carried three horse-lengths away by the momentum of the wedge and the men behind it. Chasing him was impossible. The only problem that mattered was the one directly ahead.
The battle had not paused for a single blow.
Another rider forced his way out of the press on Süke's right. He was lighter than the first man, but his sword was already moving in a broad horizontal cut.
