Sometimes, if you know where to hit or how to hit, things just crumble out of proportion to the damage done. This is presumably why the King's guards were only defending. Even if they could seriously thin out Lapine and company, the risk of what remained taking out Pain was apparently too much. Lapine's knocking the mage out of position shows how much of a danger it was as the King and his forces are suddenly reduced to the King as a floating skull and arm, holding a green blade.<br/><br/>The strange sky and astral impressioning start to waver, too suggesting that Pain is nearing her limits. And while it does mean that the King won't likely get to what he's looking for, solving things that way does mean that Pain's going to get uncomfortably close to death's door. Whereas taking the King out is going to be tricky because for a head and arm, he's booking it.