It just happened.
The monsters had lessened up for a while, and for a second, the elves thought the wave was finally going to be over.
But Tiel told the soldiers to stay focused, to not let down their guard even at the last moment.
He would be proven right when the efforts of the monsters redoubled as a huge concentration of monsters emerged, as if they had been gathering for a final push, likely, considering the suggestion another family would be behind these choices.
As the monsters mindlessly rushed into the walls, an unpleasant surprise would soon reveal itself.
It happened at night, quiet but surely, signaled by a scream at night.
The scream wasn't terribly unique, people had been screaming for the last few days, another scream wouldn't stand out, even the ones of one in death throes.
What was different was the accompanying elf slitting another elf's throat.
An elf shrouded in a cloak appeared at the northern walls, accompanied by elves coming in from all directions, confirming some of the worst suspicions people had throughout the siege.
"Invaders at 3 O'clock!"
"Invaders at 8 O'clock! Reinforcements needed!"
"Invaders at 11 O'clock!"
Shouts and alerts rang throughout the town as the well prepared walls were disrupted as monsters finally broke through into the town.
The invaders leapt into the town, clearly correlating towards one spot in the town, seeking their target first before clearing the town.
----------------------------------------
"Has Lenard not returned yet?" asked the elderly elf annoyed. "Did he die to some random ass D-rank monster? Pathetic." sneered one elf.
A more professional one shrugged. "It's a shame he died. We're now down 1 asset, but ultimately it's not enough to drastically drop the chances of success. Even if he had the plans on him, it'd hardly matter, since the chances of anyone managing to find the plans after the monster has killed and likely eaten him is unlikely. The monster likely ate the plans; even if it somehow understood the plans since intelligent monsters exist, it's probable the monster wouldn't care since a monster has no reason to protect an elven village."
The elderly elf nodded in agreement. "Indeed. If he could not kill the D-class monster, then he is worthless anyway. Well then, the monsters should be about ready. Do we have the location of the child?"
Another elf nodded. "Yes sir. The child was witnessed heading to the local tavern with her two guards, separate from the children."
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The former huffed. "A clear attempt to separate the child from the other children to avoid harm coming to them. Alright, so here's what we'll do..."
----------------------------------------
Though 16 elves were originally planned to come, 6 c ranks and 10 b ranks, they were now left with 15, but ultimately this did not change the plan.
Of the c ranks, four approached from the North, taking advantage of the lower number of soldiers to rush towards the orphanage and create mayhem.
One C-rank stayed behind to cause chaos on the walls, and to command the monsters to keep fighting.
The 10 B-ranks, led by the elderly elf, split into two groups, with the majority of 6 heading to face off against the A-rank and 4 heading off to fight the two B ranks guarding the child.
6 B ranks may seem overkill, but one can never be too sure.
The elderly elf smiled as he stared down the retired adventurer who was now surrounded on all sides.
"Adventurer Tiel, I've heard so much about you. You never did answer our elder's response. A shame we have to meet under these circumstances,"
"Whatever." said Tiel as he dismissively waived. "You've broken into my peaceful life and not only disrupted it, but killed a lot of my neighbors.
I'm skinning you like I skinned that fucking wyvern." He sighed as he brandished his blade, while the elderly elf's smile tightened as he signaled with his hand for the team to move into position.
----------------------------------------
The second group approached the tavern.
One elf frowned. "Not a lot of guards around here."
"Another elf shrugged. "They have other things to be concerned about. Besides, if two B ranks can't handle it, there's no way they would send out the elderly to fight in their stead. Alright who wants to open the door?"
And for a second, no one volunteered. Who wanted to be the one to open the door was like asking who wanted to take the hit? No one, duh!
"I will!" came the muffled response before a spear flew shattered the door, piercing a guy's shoulder as Lenore came out picking up another spear.
She smiled as she watched the one grunt in pain.
"Well?" she asked. "Who here can entertain me!?" she shouted as Servante stayed exasperated by the door, guarding the room.
One would think the reported B-rank knight would have difficulty fighting off four B-rank fighters.
They'd be wrong.
"Dammit, Why's she so much stronger than us! I know there's a bit of disparity between B ranks, but not like this!"
Servante smiled at that, casting four fireballs at the invaders.
"From what I can tell, you seem to think being B level in strength means something" gloated Servante. "When they trained you disposables, did they tell you what B rank refers to."
Ignoring the glares as he parried the spells aimed at him, he continued. "B rank in strength is not the same as B-rank in accomplishments. B rank legally refers too the feats of the person in question, whereas rank for monsters is dependent on the threat they can pose. True-"
Bash!
Servante used his staff to hard slam the opponents head into the ground.
"-feats can serve as a good way of measuring the opponents strength, but that's the thing about feats, they don't determine how strong you are, merely what you've accomplished officially,"
Servante chuckled as he looked at their dumbfounded faces. "You really were disposable. The only one of you who even likely had direct contact with the actual family was that old man, wasn't he?"
One of the invaders, spurred into a momentary rage, rushes forward, only to have a spear plunged through the back, as he's pulled back by a grinning Lenore.
As she does so, the elf eeks out the question:
"W-h-e-r-e~i-s~s-h-e~?" he gets out before biting the dust.
The gig is up as the question now arises on the minds of the intruders:
Where is high elf Willow?
----------------------------------------
Why is the high elf child in my tree right now?
"Heheh?!" she giggled as she tussled in my tree, and in the distance sounds of fighting intensified, with new shouts of 'invaders!' as a bloom of foreboding goes through me.
So it's begun...