The attack came quickly.

We had expected them to move when there were less guards patrolling, and the environment more suitable for abductions, with dusk being the best theoretical timing.

So they were prepared.

7 C-ranks had attacked the stall, with the clear intent to capture the skarpans.

The 5 C-ranks were working in tandem, with cooperation clearly beyond that of the average slaver. He could believe that they were part of an elven infiltration group.

They hid their ears, clearly a sign that they didn't want their operations exposed. An unsettling thought, and made me wonder how well these elven lords had hidden their traces.

I didn't shift into human form, as doing so would easily expose myself as one of the "elves" there.

Instead...

I had Damil toss me.

I went flying straight into one of the elves, leading to a crack when I impacted one of the elves arms.

Damil quickly forsook his disguise, taking out stakes and throwing daggers, rushing to deal with one of the elves, as I sat on one of them, suppressing them entirely.

Oh, and I used a few stake strikes, piercing through one of the hands of the elf in question.

It was the others I had to worry about dispersing.

They reacted quickly.

While Damil managed to deal with one, as did Femil and Borsch challenged 2 of them, I was still left to fend off the three of them.

They were clearly cautious of me. I may have been small for a tree monster but tiny was not something anyone took lightly, for even the smallest of monsters could be a terrifying thing.

They circled me, each brandishing their weapons.

The mage amongst them moved to the back, while the two rogues surged forward, seeking to distract me in fight.

I let them attack me with their blades for a bit as I contemplated my situation.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

One of the benefits of a shell. Even at the same level, for the most part my defense can soak the damage with ease.

Obviously the mage wanted to bombard me from a safe distance. I can't potato mine them unfortunately, as that would cause real damage in the town. Even now I'm sure guards are coming and will likely apprehend the guards, so there is no need to go too extreme, and spite ourselves in such a way.

Still, can't ignore the mage.

Lenore suggested using Ore in a greater variety of ways.

Well in that case, where else would I get such an opportune moment to try this on such eager targets?

I cast... CANNONBALL!

A giant ball of metal separates itself from Ore, emerging in front of Ore's head, as if the head was spitting an iron ball as I lob it at the mage.

I feel a faint sense of dissatisfaction from it because of such sensation, but this dissatisfaction easily disappears as my magic replenishes its being.

The mage sees it, and was unable to move out of the way in time. Instead, one of the rogues pushed the mage out of the way, taking the brunt of the force.

Shame.

[You learned: cannonball!]

Well that's nice at least.

I got used to it quickly, and soon Ore was spitting cannonballs with ease, though I shrunk their size and strength, to avoid causing excess damage. A cannonball does cause quite the bit of damage after all.

BOOM!

... That wasn't me.

As if on command, all the elves began to retreat, as many that could possibly move, though they were forced to leave the one I pinned behind.

I didn't have the time to think about this however.

The explosion... It came from our carriage.

Oh no.

This wasn't the main force.

Damn it! We've been lured out We may be the oriole, but we've been hit by the hunter further behind!

We were never the real target! Willow was the real target!

The others may be in danger now!

With this revelation, we quickly headed back, with heavy hearts and quick feet.

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

We rushed back as quickly as possible, only to find the aftermath of a rough battle.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Guards were clearly investigating the scene of the crime, as we were stopped for a minute, looking clearly suspcious.

We had managed to get one of them after all, and dragging them in towe did not look good.

He was bolted to my shell using my metal aspects. Lenore was right there's something worth focusing on there.

When Servante came over to explain accompanied by a rather familiar guard, their caution against us lessened, amplified by our cooperation and handing over one of the instigators.

Chip smiled, albeit wearily as he saw us approach.

"Earl! To think we'd run into each other like this! I'd say it's good to see you again..." he turned to look at the scene of the assault and sighed. "... But not under these circumstances unfortunately. I was talking to your friend here, and getting his testimony. Seeing the "friend" you've brought along, it looks like you have some talking to do. And I have a guest to talk to?" he smiled, revealing a wolfish grin as he headed to the elf we managed to capture.

"By all means, have him. I don't have time to interrogate him.

I turned to Servante.

"We've been played." Servante says as he gritted his teeth and I could only agree hopelessly.

It clearly wasn't just a small group of C-ranks.

"What happened? Where are the children!?" I asked urgently and he grimaced.

"The children are fine. I don't know what kind of magic ability that boy has, but they couldn't find the 2 of them no matter what they did. We underestimated them. I had assumed it was just some small group of spies we'd happened upon on, a small group of upstarts." He paused, as he winced. "They captured Lenore." He said, and I felt confused for a moment.

"There was an A-rank." I grew alert upon hearing that. "Do you mean by training or by feat?"

He shook his head. "By feat probably.

"How's the tracker working?" I asked, and he shook his head. "It's not. But, I think I know where they've gone." He notes and I turn to him quizzically.

"Remember that annoying brat you encountered last time at the bar?" Servante snapped and I felt an ominous premonition to that statement.

"Yeah?" I said warily.

"They mentioned his name. In fact, I don't even think they were after the high elf at all. They were after you for that night." He said, sounding particularly angry.

Damn it.

Does that mean if we hadn't gone out to the bar that night we would've never encountered this problem?

We established some good repertoire with the locals, something I've been working on for the last few days, but given that the result is that Lenore has been captured, it's hard to determine whether it was worth the effort.

At this moment, Leon and Willow appeared, the two looking quite pitiful. Leon was standing in front of the girl, clearly still wary of the people around them, before rushing up with relief.

"You're alright! Thank the great mistress!" He said with great relief, and I chuckled lightly, doing my best to reassure the kid.

"Of course! You know how sturdy I am!" I confidently declare, and I smile at Willow as well, handing the 2 of them fruits.

Servante sighed, as the anger disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "It's not your fault. They were going to find us sooner or later.And it was more Lenore than you. There was no way she was going to tolerate that. At least this way, we have the initiative now. "

I frown. "They'll know we're coming."

Servante shook his head. "They'll know I'm coming, and even you in elven form, alongside those skarpans."

He paused, as he looked at me meaningfully.

"But you in your real form? They'll never see it coming. You have better chances of infiltration than I do."

Hmm.

Will that work?

I'm not huge as a turtle, but small isn't right either.

"We'll need a commotion."

Servante nodded. "I can do a commotion. They'll know we're coming anyway, so we may as well give them what they want."

"And do you have a trump card for taking down A-ranks?" I asked assertively, and Servante stiffens before responding. "Yes, though it'd be best to avoid using it unless absolute necessary. You?" He asked directly, and I answer resolutely as well.

"Yes, though like yours, best not to use unless absolutely necessary." I do have the spear of our family. As an S rank spear, it can easily change the battle in my favour, but was not to be used lightly.

However, this trump card may soon need to see the light.

We both agreed upon this. That's the thing about trump cards. The more people that knew them, the less trump they are.

Not only that, but trump cards are often valuable. As they say, a poor man alone is not guilty of anything, but a poor man holding jade is guilty of holding something beyond their means.

Perhaps both Servante and I are in similar situation. It would not be good for us to begin fighting over our valuable items.

The fact that we both agreed to use our trump cards showed how dangerous this situation could be. Last time, the A-rank had been on our side, but this time? This time it was us that had to face the great opposition.

He frowned and paused. "I just don't know if alone we can accomplish this."

Ah. Well given where this all started...

"I think I can find someone who can help us."

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

"Yeah, sure."

"Really?"

"Truthfully, we've been eyeing him for a while." The guard Chip admitted.

After the talk, I approached the beastman, with the hopes I could get a little info on the man.

He had finished his "interrogation" of the elf, and confirmed that indeed, Ridley was involved, though he would not divulge any info about the A-rank. That made sense, since few were willing to go against an A-rank, even in the face of less savory issues.

"You know the rules around here. We may be friendly to outsiders, but trust is a whole other matter. There was no good reason for Ridley to be here, it was clear he was here for something. And now we know what." He glanced at me. "We owe you for that."

Do we?

We're assuming slave trading, but that's not a conclusive statement. Unless he has more info.

Seeing my look, the guard chuckled. "Yeah, I'll admit, there was a recent uptick in slaves coming from our general direction. There were quite a few suspicious of the overall situation, but with no leads, it was hard to find the source and to move the higher ups into acting. Rats like these, it is often hard to find their tails, especially the older, more experienced one. I told you, we owe you for that one."

Well in that case...

"I don't suppose you got a location?"

The beastman responded quickly and cooperatively, easily divulging the information.

"His mansion. It's quite the public place. Why? You're not planning on breaking in are you?" He asked as his eyes narrowed meaningfully.

I choose not to respond and smile meaningfully back

The beastman chose to speak. "No worries, we're not planning to stop you. Around these here parts, we've got our own rules.We tolerated that asshat as long as he followed the rules.

But he didn't. And that changes everything." He paused. "Obviously, we can't barge in there officially. But if you manage to get in there and bring enough proof of his dirty actions, we don't mind turning a blind eye."

Shrug

"Well yeah, but if we manage to find him good for something heinous, that family will cut him off like a dead nail. Quickly, and without hesitation." He cackled. "They may even thank us for getting rid of a bastard."

"So you won't intervene."

"Nah. If you're planning to infiltrate, we have the layout of the house stored in the town hall. Mayor may be a slouch, but if it threatens his town, he'll be willing to hand it over. "

I look at Chip thoughtfully.

"You seem to have more connections than I thought."

He dismissed it with a wave. "Nah, I'm just speaking for my higher ups." Ah, so he often works as a representative of the garrison around here then. Essentially, if this all goes wrong, then he'll also be the fall guy. Guessing by the way he's acted, he's likely done this routine before, and in fact, likely also knows the risks, given his current dry smile that responded to my current look.

For a canine, he sure is flexible, more like a rat beastman honestly.

"So, we have a deal?" He asked patiently.

I agreed easily. "Deal."

We shook on it and with that the deal was sealed, and we set to planning the operation.

They would likely come again, and we needed to catch them off guard, so we had to work quickly and decisively.

Tomorrow, we storm Ridley's mansion.