A thrill passed through the ranks of the Moon Country troops when the massive gate of the Grand Pass suddenly began to open with a shuddering, grinding sound. They thought that the enemy commander had finally given up and was preparing to make a sign of surrender. But nothing could be further from the truth. When the gate was finally open and the aggressors prepared to march in, a terrible figure rushed out upon them. It was a young, black-garbed warrior on horseback, his sword falling on his foes with the strength and speed of a vengeful spirit.

And he was not alone. "Go!" No sooner had Howard bellowed this over his shoulder than a thousand men streamed from the gate after him, their faces marked with crazed smiles as the battle was renewed. Stricken with dismay, the Moon Country soldiers fell back as their first ranks were trampled and dismembered by this brave, desperate counter-attack, and their blood watered the earth.

Meanwhile, Huey was not as easily confounded as his men, an

e you!" Huey exclaimed, quaking with fury and disbelief. The number of his men remaining, captured and defenseless, was close to twenty thousand in total!

"There is nothing I dare not do!" Hoffman retorted, then went about his army, giving orders and managing the whole macabre affair. He made sure that Huey was kept under guard at the sidelines, making him watch as his soldiers were buried alive. By doing this, he hoped to make sure the people of the Moon Country knew he was not one to be trifled with. Now that they dared use a beautiful woman to ensnare him, forcing him to live like a beast in the desert, he would make them pay for the shame he had experienced. In fact, though, he doubted he would feel satisfied even if he slaughtered the Moon Country's populace down to the last man, woman, and child.

For his part, Howard was not fazed at all by what Hoffman did. After all, he was also known as a ferocious and merciless man of war. He never gave captives any chance of survival.