Azalea watched from the top of a nearby hill as the remaining players trode off back in the direction of Dawnbreak City, their shoulders hunched in dejection. Even now, she couldn’t believe they’d fended off two armies in the span of a month. She’d definitely thought that Matin would have been the easy fight by comparison. She’d been mostly right, but with the Felarian Captain taken down at last, they’d managed to prepare for the player attack well enough, and despite being outnumbered, had won the fight within a day.
Even now, several points of the defensive wall around Silver Village were still crumbled, showing the few points where the invading players had nearly broken through their defenses. But they had been in the minority, and those that managed to get past the wall were swiftly dealt with by the defenders. A numbers advantage of two to one hadn’t helped them.
She knew what had caused them to win. As much as she wanted to tell herself that it was Caius’ ingenious defense, she knew the real reason. She just didn’t want to admit it. Even thinking about it now, she hated that their salvation had come from a rival, almost an enemy.
----------------------------------------
Malivex’s fatal scream still seemed to linger in the air, even weeks after the great beast had died. It had been a supremely satisfying moment, second only to the triumph that Caius must have felt at being the one that had dealt Matlin the killing blow. After his second companion had been slain, the enemy commander had attempted to flee once again. After stunning Caius and the other warriors nearby, it had certainly seemed as if he’d manage to escape. But Azalea had ruined that plan for him, knocking him back with a blast of air and preventing him from running. Then Caius had grabbed him from behind, and rammed his longsword through the armor, piercing his heart.
Even now, she could see the large blade that Caius wore slung over one shoulder in a black sheath. The blade had been tinted blue after the warrior acquired it, and it had been thoroughly inspected by several craftsmen in the village. It was of Legendary quality, by far the finest weapon they’d acquired so far. There had been some talk about dismantling the blade and using its materials for other weapons, but the rest of the guild had refused point blank. He’d won the sword, and he could put it to good use.
All four of them, save for Patsy, were standing at the top of the walls that had been constructed around Silver Village. Today was likely to be the day that the players from Dawnbreak City arrived. Scouts had been running back and forth constantly, keeping them up to date on the force’s movements. Just over one hundred and fifty players, coming to take on just under sixty.
“We’ve prepared the best we can,” Caius told them, surveying the defenses. As today was the day, all the important points were actually manned, with one or two players on each small, squat tower that spread along the wall’s length. He frowned down at the plains that surrounded the village. “We’ll have to get someone up on that hill when they get close. If we can pick off a few of them before they get here, that’ll be best.”
Azalea offered no contradicting opinions. Caius had a much better grasp of tactics and fighting than she did, and she was more than happy to follow his lead on these things. Even the Sisters of the Night, Market Street, and the half-dozen lesser guilds in the area had unanimously agreed to appoint him as the overall commander of the defense. They all knew that if the invaders from Dawnbreak City wiped out Silver Village, there was no coming back for any of them.
“Crazy to think we’ve already been here several months,” Riley offered. Like Azalea, he seemed content with Caius’ comments on the matter. “Can you believe it’s been that long?”
“I’m having trouble believing that it’s only been a few months,” Oscar said. “I’ve almost forgotten what other games were like. This feels too much like real life.”
He and Riley shared a smirk, and then the monk added, “If real life was a constant battle with swords, magic, and arrows, you mean.”
“I’m sure it could be,” Oscar shot back. “Not that I’d want it to.”
“I bet Azalea wouldn’t mind,” Riley continued, grinning at her. “She spends so much time on her farm nowadays that I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out she started doing it in real life too.”
“No thanks,” she retorted. “I know how hard it is to actually do farmwork. I’ll stick to the game, where it’s easier.”
The others had snickered at that, even Caius, to her dismay. Despite the news of an approaching army that had the single goal of killing him, he seemed to be rather enjoying himself. “Who knows what she would be doing if she hadn’t come to work for me?”
“I still vote farmer,” Riley said. “Or at least some kind of cook. I bet she was just as good a chef in the real world.”
“Better,” Caius assured them, turning to regard her with an amused light in his eyes. “I can’t stand that bland paste they sell in the stores. She knows how to cook from scratch.”
Both Riley and Oscar turned wide eyes toward her. With a grin to show that he was joking, Riley said, “Any chance I could get you to marry me?”
“You wish,” Azalea snorted, her cheeks heating up slightly. That only made the others laugh harder. “I’m sorry, but are we here to prepare for a fight, or to see who can make me incinerate them the fastest?”
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“You’re right,” Riley said, offering her a roguish wink. Man, he’d really turned up his charm lately, she thought. She could almost believe he was trying to woo her. “We’ll talk about incineration later.”
“Have the latest scout reports come back?” Oscar asked. He’d been miffed about not having the chance to scout himself that day. Whenever there was information to be gathered, he preferred to be the one getting it, not hearing it shared by another person.
Caius nodded. “Only a few hours away now. There’s a smaller force that’s going ahead at double place. We think they’re going to scout themselves.”
“Idiots,” the rogue growled. “If they were competent, they would have sent out scouts when they were only a week away. I would have done it with two weeks to spare.”
“I think we’ve already covered the fact that they’re not competent,” Azalea said, and Oscar nodded in agreement. “But you’re right. They probably have no idea that we’ve put defenses up.”
“They’re bound to have a spy in the area still,” Oscar said. “Nobody’s left the village since we beat Matlin, and our force is still at the same number as before our fight there.”
It was known that, before they’d fought Matlin, there was a player - or possibly multiple players - in the area that was feeding information to the city via the Contact spell. There was no other explanation for the fact that Dawnbreak City knew of their arrival long enough in advance to have scouts prepared to watch them.
Azalea was certain that at least one of the spies was Anasuya, that player who had copied her appearance and abilities so well. But there was no sign of the copycat anymore, no matter how hard she looked. It was almost guaranteed that they were hiding amongst the population of Silver Village, disguised as another player. But Azalea, despite searching for several hours and trying to find them, had found nothing.
“Oh, here we go,” Oscar said, breaking her out of her thoughts. The rogue was staring out away from the walls. Following his eyes, Azalea saw tiny speck-like figures in the distance, just coming into view around one of the final bends of the road between this village and Dawnbreak City.
“The scouting expedition?” She asked, “Or do you think the main force got here that quickly?”
“It’s probably just the scouts,” Oscar replied. Then his eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward slightly. “Hello. What’s this?”
It took several seconds for Azalea to realize what he was talking about, because his eyes were so much better at picking out small details than hers were. But soon enough, she noticed that the group had come to a halt, and there was some frantic movement as if they were fighting. But how could they be fighting each other? Then two figures, still no bigger than ants due to the distance, broke off from the group and raced toward the city. The others gave chase, but it was clear that they had no hope of keeping up.
The two strangers raced toward the walls around Silver Village at remarkable speed. Azalea wasn’t even sure Oscar or Riley could move that fast. She certainly couldn’t. Other figures on the wall were noticing the approaching players now and were muttering in confusion, then concern as the speed at which they ran became more and more apparent. Azalea wasn’t sure they should be worrying, but she did make sure to keep an eye on the situation. But then, when they were a few thousand feet away from the wall, she couldn’t help the shiver of unease that rippled down her spine. Because finally, she recognized them.
“God damnit,” Oscar said. His face, unlike his tone, seemed eager. “Finally, I get my revenge.”
For the approaching figures were none other than the assassin siblings, Asami and Tsubasa. Azalea had first recognized them by the fluffy tails that grew out of Asami. She seemed even more at home with using them in her movement than before, judging by their speed.
“They’ve got to be at least C-Rank in Agility now,” Oscar said. “Possibly B-Rank.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” Caius said. “And it doesn’t bode well that they’re attacking alone.”
She knew what Caius meant. If it were literally any two other players, Azalea would think very little of their chances against these defenses. But those two? She was almost concerned for their chances, not the two currently rushing toward them.
“What do you think the odds are that they have very specific targets in mind?” She asked the others.
Oscar let out a snort. “It’s not even worth thinking about. We know they’re here to settle the debt.”
He drew an arrow out of the quiver at his waist and drew it back on the string in one slow, smooth motion. He almost seemed as if he were trying to avoid letting the movement get noticed. If that were the case, he seemed doomed to disappointment. As soon as he began drawing the arrow back, the two switched directions, heading directly for the section of the wall where they all stood.
Unfazed, Oscar released the arrow, and it zipped away with a deep-throated hum. At about two hundred feet, the arrow and its target met. Tsubasa darted suddenly to the side, avoiding the speeding projectile with ease. Oscar fired three more times but to no avail. Finally, when there wasn’t enough space, he slung the bow over one shoulder and drew his knives.
The two siblings reached the bottom of the wall with virtually no check to their speed. Rather than trying to fire a spell or somehow break through the defense, they simply gave one mighty jump, clearing six or seven feet in a single leap. It was enough to let their momentum carry them the rest of the way. Both Caius and Riley swiped with their weapons, forcing Tsubasa to jump back, foiling his climb to the top. Azalea blasted a gust of wind down, knowing that Asami could dodge her weapon easily. But the fox girl jerked suddenly to the side, her fluffy tails allowing her to move in such an unnatural way. Then, with another blast of air, she pushed herself the last few inches over the lip of the wall, landing lightly on her feet in a slight crouch, those blue eyes fixed intently on Azalea’s face.
“Well well well,” she said, that self-satisfied grin spreading across her face again. “Here we are, ready for round two.”
The sounds of clashing metal behind Azalea told her that Tsubasa had successfully scaled the wall on his second attempt, and had clearly parried Oscar’s attempt to strike at him. Then a nasty, expectant silence fell over the two teams as they watched each other closely, watching to see what the other would do.
“What do you want from us?” Azalea asked, clutching her spear tightly. “Has someone paid you to kill us? That’s what you are, aren’t you? Assassins for hire?”
Asami’s smile widened. “You could say we’re enjoying some downtime right now. We’re not here to kill you. Well, not exactly. I’m just curious to see how far you’ve come and to see who’s better, once and for all. So until I get that answer, I’m going to play with you and your friends a little.”