"What's that man planning?

"Maybe the man has a death wish."

"Maybe he's a lord?

"Then he's one dumbass lord."

Two sentries close to each other discussed the upcoming man, relaxed.

"What a hair... have you seen anyone like him?" The man with rough and long hair tied leaned forward and said.

His companions, grabbing arrows from their quivers, asked, "No...Should we fire a warning shot?"

"Hold on," He replied, "let's wait for Boss Jorah."

"But what if he gets too close?"

"Doesn't matter," He scoff "He's not breaching the gates or scaling the wall."

Suddenly, the strange man halted about ten meters from the gate. A look of confusion crossed the sentries' faces before the man boomed, "Surrender! Lay down your weapons and surrender!"

His voice echoed through the fort, followed by a moment of stunned silence. Then, the sentries above the wall erupted in laughter.

Jorah looked down, a smirk playing on his lips. "Did I hear that right? He wants us to surrender? To him, alone? Or wait..." He paused, leaning forward shouting at the strange man "Where's your other companion? The village boy?!"

He expected a reaction, perhaps a flinch or a stammer, but the man only raised an eyebrow in response, dashing Jorah's hopes for amusement reaction.

"Tsk," Jorah muttered, "Have someone check the forest. He has a companion hiding out there..."

His request went unquestioned. One of the men nearby quickly followed Jorah's orders.

Jorah turned his attention back to the foreigner. In a flash though, the foreigner took a short run and leaped, reaching the top of the four-meter-tall wall with surprising ease. The next thing he knew, the foreigner was among them.

"Huh?"

A gasp of surprise erupted from the sentries closest to the foreigner. Panic surged through them as the foreigner moved. Before they could react, a sword flashed through the air. It pierced the first sentry with brutal force, the momentum pushing it through his body and skewering the unfortunate sentry behind him. The sword stabbed into the ground, crimson blood gushed, as they died.

Silence descended on the wall, a suffocating blanket that extended even to those within the fort who had witnessed the gruesome scene below. Keagan then heard the distinct swish of an arrow. His body reacted instinctively, dodging the projectile with ease.

"I'll....you like a pig!" The slender man that that shouted at him and somehow knew that Keagan had a companion with him charged towards him duel wield two swords.

He lunged at Keagan with incredible speed, a feat beyond any ordinary man. ‘Awakened...’ Keagan thought, narrowly dodging an attack that would have sliced the skin off his left arm. His opponent's arms moved with a blur-like speed, almost impossible to follow with the naked eye.

The two dueled atop the wall. Keagan's opponent was a whirlwind of motion, relentlessly attacking, while Keagan maintained a defensive position, a frown etched on his face.

Jorah, mistaking Keagan's retreat for weakness, cackled. "Is that all you've got?" he taunted. "When I'm done with you, I'm going to pluck your eyes out and feed them to the dogs!"

Keagan dodged another attack, taking another step back. 'Guess I need more practice,' he thought. His perception split as his birds scanned the fort interior for any sign of captives. Unable to locate them quickly, he severed the connection.

Keagan reacted with lightning speed. His opponent was undeniably fast, a blur no ordinary man could keep up with. Yet, Keagan was no ordinary man. In a maneuver faster than the attacker could react, Keagan seized his hand and used it to deflect the incoming stab aimed at his chest by the man’s other arm. Then in one fluid motion, he squeezed with crushing force. A sickening crunch resonated as the man shrieked in agony. The man’s grip on the weapons loosened, Keagan ripped the weapon free from his hand and plunged it into his opponent's exposed neck, the blade piercing through.

Blood erupted from the wound, the man's face contorting in a mix of disbelief and regret. He stumbled sideways, a horrifying gasp escaping his lips before he plummeted over the wall, landing with a sickening thud within the fort.

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An arrow whizzed past Keagan's ear, its aim far too off to warrant a dodge. He turned towards the source, spotting a stunned archer on the right section of the wall. The man had likely loosed the arrow out of shock after witnessing what just happened. Fear was about to paint the archer's face when an arrow found its mark, burying itself deep in his chest. He crumpled with a yelp of pain.

Keagan shifted his gaze outward. Below, his companions had inched closer, their expressions varied. He gave them a curt nod before turning his attention back to the interior of the fort.

He jumped down and landed with a thud. The surrounding people, three that he counted who were close enough to see what happened above the wall, all took a step back, their faces colored with fear.

"I typically ask my enemies twice to surrender." Keagan said in his own language, not caring if they didn't understand him. His eyes were fixed on the naked woman on some stage, battered, tied, and hanging lifeless. "But not to scum like you, though."

Suddenly, people emerged from a nearby building, weapons in hand. Upon seeing him, they charged, prompting the three nearby to find courage and charge as well.

Keagan snatched the shaft of the spear that had nearly stabbed him and kicked the man holding it in the chest, sending him flying. He spun the spear, bringing the tip forward, and swiped at the oncoming group. One attacker failed to dodge in time, a chest wound spraying blood. The other two barely managed to jump back.

Without pausing, Keagan spun around and launched the spear like a javelin. It pierced one of the men, and at such an angle that it managed to skewer the person behind him as well.

He sidestepped to avoid the remaining attacker, whose face contorted in panic. The man swung his mace wildly towards Keagan. Reacting quickly, Keagan snatched the handle of the mace, forcefully pried it from his grasp, and smashed it into the attacker's face.

Four more were already charging towards him. For a second, his eyes seemed to glow, but it might have just been the sunlight reflecting off them. He shook his head and met the charge head-on. He heard a swoosh of an arrow and felt a dull pain in his side, but he ignored it. There was a little awkwardness because he has only his left hand but it was more than enough to deal with these thugs.

Still gripping the mace, he swung it down with a powerful blow, connecting with one of the charging men's legs. The man screamed in pain and crumpling and rolling to the ground.

Another arrow whizzed towards him, this time from one of the buildings. He deflected it with the mace and parried an axe swinging at him. Sidestepping, he booted the attacker, sending him flying and colliding with another person on the way. With a throw, Keagan launched the mace at the window of a building where an archer was visible, nocking an arrow. The archer couldn't dodge in time as the mace slammed into his chest, sending him crashing down.

From all directions, more charged at him, but he met them all with composure.

----------------------------------------

"Fucking hell, what's going on out there?"

A shirtless bandit, just finished with some activity, when he heard a commotion outside, trying to listen behind a wall, then he swore when he heard chains rattling. He turned towards the source of the noise inside the room.

"Silence! Or I swear I'll have you chopped up!" he bellowed at the group of women chained and behind bars. The captives exchanged a look of fear, desperation, longing, and hope.

Suddenly, the man noticed a bird fly in from the small hole in the roof and perched on a table. It tilted its head, looking at him. Before he could think further...

A guttural "Urgh!" escaped his lips as blood erupted from his mouth. He glanced down, his eyes widening in shock as he saw a sword protruding from his chest. He attempted to move, but his strength failed him, and darkness soon consumed his vision.

Witnessing the scene, the woman felt a surge of both hope and terror. The door then creaked open, revealing Keagan.

His arrival silenced the trembling women. Despite having witnessed it through his split perception, a frown creased Keagan's face upon seeing the unclothed women chained and imprisoned behind bars. Nearby, a mattress lay with another woman sprawled upon it, naked and bruised.

He approached her, checking for a pulse and relieved to find she was alive. He spotted a blanket nearby and draped it over her.

Then, he walked towards the bars. The woman behind them scurried away in fear. Without bothering to look for keys, he grabbed the door and ripped it from its hinges.

Thud!

"You're free," he declared, keeping his distance. He gestured to his own wrist, then pointed towards their chains.

"....Do you have keys?" one of the braver, older women with black hair asked.

"No, and I don't need them," Keagan replied, finding it too much trouble to search.

A moment passed before the woman who spoke stepped forward, her chains rattling. Keagan simply grabbed her cuffs and squeezed and they broke apart. Witnessing this, the other women visibly relaxed, a flicker of hope now gracing their expressions.

Soon, everyone was free.

With a sudden movement however, Keagan turned his head towards the wall, as if he could pierce through it with his gaze.

"There are still bandits outside," he warned. "Stay here. Find weapons and clothes to defend yourselves..."

The women, still traumatized and afraid, began to protest, to not leave them. But a furious voice erupted nearby, silencing them all. Fear etched itself even deeper on their faces.

"Stay here, it'll be over soon," Keagan reassured the group of women. He scanned their faces, noting the flicker of hope in their eyes as they watched him. He wouldn't fail them. Not even if the opponents had dragons, and they don't.

Stepping outside, he became the immediate center of attention. In the most complete building emerged a large man, perhaps slightly taller than Keagan, with a gruff demeanor and a war hammer in his grip. Around him, seven other armed men stood poised for battle.

The large man cut himself short, his gaze locking onto Keagan with hatred glinting in his eyes.

Keagan swept his gaze across the fort. Bodies littered the ground, blood staining the earth.

"Is that what upsets you?" he asked dryly.

The man snorted, and the men around him fanned out in a threatening formation.

Catching sight of one of his men attempting to enter the room where the women were held, Keagan exhaled, breath hot.

"That makes two of us, then," he declared, his calm expression morphing into a steely glare. Back in his homeland, anyone receiving such a look would have known they were marked for death.