The rush of battle reached a crazed tempo, and the knight of Columbia was forced to the wall. With all his might, Daniel dragged both shield and dragon through the dirt, leaving a rut in the gravel as the monolith next to them screamed in time to this decisive moment. However, the blood red assassin had been well prepared for the counterattack, and its strength proved too much for Daniel to cut off the deadly strike of its tail in time. As Daniel pivoted to face the rumbling tower of iron, the dragon's third talon struck forth to meet him, and the veteran of the apocalypse was forced to grit his teeth and bleed. He realized that the dragon had been too strong, too heavy to be moved-- if it came down to it, he'd have to stay open to the incoming blow, in order to avoid the possibility of getting skewered in a weak spot. The tip and edge of the razor sharp sword scraped across his breastplate and against his side, dealing a nasty gash into the armor across the ribs on his left side. He was silent in his pain, so the monolith shouted for him, its tremendous vibrations all but shaking the ground beneath the two warriors. As things stood, the dragon had sunk its claws into the knight's shield, and one of its blades had tasted his flesh, with yet further dangers ready and waiting. In this moment, it would be the best Daniel could do to fight this losing battle to the bitter end, and punish what he could. 

The knight had already committed to a strike at Talon's exposed armpit, which would likely be summarily blocked by the bone blade the dragon kept in its left. This was acceptable, as the well trained warrior could easily shift his weight back and maintain control over his movements in the neutral space between the two swords. However, Daniel had a further gamble to make. As the blade impacted his chest, he pivoted his shoulders further towards his left, turning towards the monolith even further to stand almost in profile to the dragon. This small maneuver allowed him to take the stab from the tail as carefully as possible, reducing the chances that it would puncture vitals. Furthermore, Daniel had more or less completed his most immediate objective, to force the dragon within a human arm's length of the monolith. It had the cunning of communist to be sure, but its speed when moving such a large body would logically be slightly less than Daniel's own. As Daniel stepped forward to deal a stab, he followed through with the momentum by ducking down behind his shield, which had been pivoted outward to face the monolith as well as the bomb attached to it. He held his breath as he crouched on the balls of his feet, leading with his right knee up and his left knee trailing on the ground, his right arm bent to the ready as it pulled back from the extension of his strike and and his left arm strapped behind his shield. While the dragon's tail and the bone blade it held was behind him, another blow wouldn't be faster than an explosion at point blank range. Furthermore, Daniel could use his own sword for defense as well, should the mythical monster attempt to catch him with a stab or a kick for daring to protect himself. Worst came to worst, Daniel also had the option of ripping the straps that secured his shield to his arm, which could be necessary if the assassin attempted to close in with a vicious stab to the back or anywhere near his neck. It wouldn't have been the first time that the Shield of Columbia had to ditch his namesake for the moment to better protect his homeland. Daniel gripped his shield tighter as if it were a bit to chew, ready to release it at an instant's notice. This was gonna hurt, but it had to be done. 

[i]Click.[/i]

[h2]BOOM.[/h2]