As the two figures approached, Thomas was given a dreadful reminder of why you should always try to finish off people intent on killing you. The dark blue jacket with red piping, gray pants, and hat with a little spike let him know that this was a Pruss officer that had managed to chase down the train. He expected the man next to him to be one of the soldiers, but the clothes were all wrong. A high-collared shirt with the sleeves tied up revealed arms tensed and prepared. Dark trousers, cropped just above the ankle, and simple flat soled shoes. A plain vest hugged his torso, offering a hint of protection without impeding his movement, and a thin sash around his waist seemed almost decorative until the faint outline of a hidden blade caught the light. His hair, jet-black and tied back with a simple cloth, left his face bare, sharp eyes scanning his surroundings. Zhangfeng. He had abandoned his disguise and had come prepared for a fight.

This was bad. Zhangfeng alone was a formidable opponent and although Thomas hadn’t fought the Pruss officer, his enormous size and athleticism indicated that he would be a problem. Additionally, out here, on an open plain, there was nowhere for Thomas to spit them up and very few environmental hazards he could use to his advantage.

The two men dismounted, blocking the path. Thomas patted his pockets to confirm where everything was before dismounting himself. Taking the reins of Mr Liu's horse, he began to walk a wide arch to the side of the path, slowly circling the two men while staring them down.

“Run” said Thomas while looking up to Mr Liu.

Mr Liu’s blood ran cold, the gravity of the situation hitting him. Digging his heels into his horse he took off at a gallop. Zhangfeng went to mount his own horse to give chase, but Thomas rushed forwards and slapped the horse as hard as he could, causing it and the other horses to rear up and dash off, leaving Thomas stranded with the two men.

“So you have chosen to die to protect the traitor. Seems a waste to me, but it gives me a chance for revenge” said Zhangfeng

“Ve vill kill yew und then the ingenieur. Your sacrifice vill be in vein” said the Prussian officer.

From here Thomas could see a name patch on the officers chest reading “von Stein”. He also couldn’t help but notice just how huge the man was, he stood a full head taller than Thomas and made Zhangfeng look comically small in comparison.

Thomas sized up the situation. From what he knew, he would have a hard time defeating Zhangfeng and so decided it would be best to finish off von Stein quickly to allow him to focus on the Han assassin.

Launching forward, Thomas threw a right hook, a punch that had finished many fights. His fist struck square on von Stein's jaw, but the man's head didn’t even move. Thomas froze, stunned at what had just happened. The officer fixed his eyes on Thomas and tightened his jaw before letting out a roar and drawing his sword. Von Stein slashed down, Thomas managed to raise his arm to block and twisted using his forearm to shift the blade away from him, thankful that he was wearing the suit that Mr Liu had modified.

“Hmmm, you are full ov surprises. That should have removed your arm” said von Stein.

Although the suit stopped the sword from cutting him, it didn’t stop the force. Thomas shook his hand and clenched his fist a few times to check his hand was working.

Before Thomas could fully recover and think of a new plan, Zhangfeng was attacking. Lighting fast strikes to his body and legs, causing Thomas to step back and raise his hands. As he tried to regain his fitting, von Stein swung his sword again. Again Thomas managed to raise his arm to partially deflect the blow. Pain shot down his arm and he knew he wouldn’t be able to maintain that for long.

Zhangfeng ducked and spun, kicking Thomas’ foot out from underneath him. Again von Stein took the chance to strike. This Thomas wasn’t in a position to deflect the blow and instead had to brace both his arms in front of him. His lack of balance and the power of the sword strike sent him crashing to the ground. Von Stein immediately thrust down with his sword to impale him. Thomas rolled out of the way just in time, grabbing a handful of sand as he went. Rolling to his feet he threw the sand at Zhangfeng, but he was expecting it. Spinning so that the sand struck his back, he then moved into a spinning kick that struck the ground and threw up a dust cloud into Thomas’ face.

“Ha ha! Your dirty tricks will not work on me again” said Zhangfeng as he followed through with a spinning heel kick that would have struck Thomas in the temple had he not raised his hand in time.

Thomas stumbled away, both arms feeling numb and chest heaving from the exertion of getting his ass kicked. Turning to face his opponents, he took a couple of steps back to give himself space. Then, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small silver potion and downed it in one.

“Āiyā!” exclaimed Zhangfeng when he saw what Thomas had just done. He quickly reached into his sash to grab a potion of his own. Before he could uncork it, Thomas had closed the space and grabbed his wrist. With a flick, Zhangfeng threw the small bottle and caught it with his other hand and tried to pull the cork with his teeth, but Thomas grabbed his other wrist before he could.

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Unsure of what just happened and how Thomas was suddenly so fast, von Stein took a second to catch up before swinging his sword toward Thomas’ head. This time, Thomas blocked easily, using his forearm to strike the side of the blade with enough force to cause the officer to stumble. This gave Zhangfeng a chance to try for his potion again. As he lifted it up, Thomas struck him with a straight right to the gut, sending the smaller man tumbling away and the silver potion flying in the other direction. Zhangfeng rolled to his knees, before coughing and splattering the ground with his blood.

Thomas turned looking for the potion just in time to see von Stein crush the bottle in his hand and let the silver liquid drip into his mouth. The effects were immediately visible. The man's body tensed, popping the seams of his uniform as he doubled over. Looking back up at Thomas, von Stein's eyes were filled with rage and clarity. He dashed forward with speed that would be terrifying if a normal person moved that fast, but someone his size moving like that was horrifying.

He swung his sword down, but Thomas was able to block again. But rather than throwing the Pruss man off balance, he swung again, and again, and again. A relentless attack. But one on one Thomas was able to avoid taking any serious damage. Just as Thomas had a read to von Steins attack pattern, he was sent flying into the bigger man by a kick from behind. Raising his hands, he used his elbows to push against von Stein and spun to the side. Following the spin through, Thomas drove an elbow into von Stein's back, causing him to stumble forward.

The giant of a man caught himself, turned and stepped up next to Zhangfeng. Obviously the assassin had more of the silver potion. Now all three men were enhanced, Thomas knew things were going to go poorly for him again if he kept the same tactics.

Reaching under his jacket, Thomas slipped the gauntlets on and worked them into place on his hands before pulling them out and getting into a boxing stance.

“More tricks?” said Zhangfeng “They will not help you now”

Both Zhangfeng and von Stein charged forward, Zhangfeng moving faster. Rather than retreat, Thomas stepped forward and to the right, putting him to the left of von Stein and placing the large man in between him and Zhangfeng. Immediately, von Stein began to rapidly attack with his sword, but this time Thomas was prepared. Deflecting the sword with his left arm, he threw a straight right into the abdomen of the Pruss officer.

Fire exploded from the gauntlet, blasting von Stein backwards. The explosion caught Zhangfeng off guard and he stared as the big man got launched backwards.

Thomas took the chance to swing at Zhangfeng but the difference in speed was still too great and the Han assassin easily dodged away, before coming back with a kick that Thomas blocked.

The two men circled each other, sizing up their opponent, trying to come up with a winning strategy. The two drove forward, chalshing again. Zhangfeng landed multiple hits but nothing decisive while Thomas was only able to land glancing blows, nothing with any force and not enough to trigger the gauntlets.

Again they clashed and again the result was the same. Although each of Zhangfeng’s attacks weren’t doing much damage, cumulatively they would begin to take their toll. Thomas had to do something.

Before he could think of what to do, a colossal roar stole his attention. Von Stein had gotten back to his feet. His uniform had been burnt away and his skin was blackened. He changed at Thomas with reckless abandon, no regard for his safety, his only thought was killing his opponent.

Von Steins wild attack was easy for Thomas to avoid, dodging to the left, he pivoted and threw a huge left hook into von Steins already burned flank. Lighting coursed through the big man's body causing his muscles to tense and seize involuntarily as he fell to the ground and kicked up dust.

Hidden by the dust cloud, Thomas scooped up the sword von Stein had dropped. Holding it in a reverse grip and doing his best to conceal it behind his body, Thomas charged Zhangfeng, feinting with a left jab to cause the man to dodge right, before swinging the sword around and down at his leg. Expecting a punch, Zhangfeng lifted his leg and moved backwards just enough to dodge a fist, but not enough to dodge the extra reach of the sword.

The blade slashed Zhangfengs lower leg, opening a gash and splattering blood on the ground. Zhangfeng instinctively stepped backwards onto the leg that was just cut and stumbled as it gave way. Before Thomas could bring the sword down, Zhangfeng rolled and got back up. One foot planted and his injured leg in the air with both hands raised above his head.

Thomas lunged forward and Zhangfeng hopped back. With his leg injured, it was obvious that he had lost his ability to maneuver and dodge. Thomas knew the fight was over and he almost took pity on the man. Before he could make the mistake of letting him live again, he steeled his resolve and pressed forward. Chagrin quickly, he closed the gap and swung the sword and Zhangfeng’s other leg, sending him flailing to the ground with a cry of pain.

As the assassin tried to push himself up and try to crawl away, Thomas held the back side of the blade against his neck, letting him know that he should hold still. Zhangfeng turned over to his back and propped himself up on his hands.

“I will at least look you in the eye as you kill me. I will die with honor”

Although Thomas wasn’t fond of the man, he still granted him his honorable death. Looking him in the eyes as he drove the sword into his chest.

Zhangfeng coughed and sputtered out blood as the life drained from his eyes and he slumped down into the dust. Thomas walked over to von Stein and drove the sword through the man's back to make sure he was actually dead, he seemed abnormally resilient and who knows what the silver potion would allow him to survive.

Leaving the sword, Thomas turned towards the hill and the mine and took off at a sprint, his enhanced speed allowing him to cross the distance in record time.