As the brutish bunch marched in the view, Mila decided she was glad Isabel had argued herself into this mess. Her girl was certainly saner than Mila was. And smarter. Very admirable, that.

After all, Isabel hadn’t tried to fight an overwhelming force on her own. Hadn’t Mila chided herself to not be overconfident? Hadn’t that been her downfall before? And not just once.

But it was hard to change one's nature on the flip of a hand. Mila couldn’t do it and wouldn’t trust anyone who could.

At least Mila had somehow caught the attention of a girl who went along with her madness. It was quite perplexing how she had managed that.

Of course, Mila feared something would happen to Isabel, but she understood her girl had the same sentiment regarding her. Both opinions were valid. Not that it made her feel any better.

With the surrounding buildings cleared, Mila found it easy to find a good hiding spot. She was currently peeking out from an empty room through the window. Around her were discarded belongings the owners had judged less valuable as they were escaping.

Clothes, misplaced furniture, fallen foodstuff, and more were filling the space around Mila. Everything not immediately useful was left behind. She peeked out again.

It was clear the arriving group found the sudden peace around them suspicious. They were still joking and playing around. But now, some of them also looked around guardedly.

Especially the armoured woman at the front. She frowned and studied the silent surroundings. With a hand sign, she made the convoy stop. With another one, a few people dispersed into the surrounding buildings to see if there was an ambush waiting.

There was. But it was too soon to spring it. Isabel was further away from this position, waiting for Mila’s sign. They had decided to wait until the ‘Hatchet’s’ group engaged Naran’s people.

This way, before Isabel had to get involved, Mila could attempt to catch some of the prey unaware. There was no need to directly engage them right away.

One of the scouts entered the house, making Mila retreat deeper into the room. She stilled her breathing and hid her presence. Simply squatting behind a chair was enough for the scouting woman to completely miss her.

It would have been so easy to kill this scout. But Mila bided her time. She could be patient. Soon, the woman left, and Mila returned to her spying spot.

All of the scouts were returning to report. It was a small wonder how dutiful they were despite being part of a criminal organisation. They operated more like a well-trained mercenary group.

Which, Mila thought, they likely were. At least some of them and definitely the leaders of this little expedition. The woman at the helm had no contempt or disregard for the surroundings in her eyes. She was a professional. As were the few people serving directly under her.

Mila kept waiting.

The group gathered together and moved towards the bridge, beneath which was the entrance into Naran’s domain. They exited Mila’s field of view. She quickly left the room, then the house through the back-side doors.

After climbing over a fence, then another, sneaking down an alley and entering another house, Mila saw her targets once more.

Some of the more disposable henchmen jumped down to the channel. Mila assumed they would try to force the doors wide open. And they would fail.

Mila watched the proceedings with interest. This wouldn’t be a fast endeavour. And the sounds of shouting and short clashes of weapons proved the defences were sound.

The leading woman pulled out her sword. Mila wondered if she would try to break through the entrance. It would certainly be faster. The defenders would have no choice but to try and collapse the tunnel to stop her. And even then, they would likely fail.

But instead of jumping down to where her men were battling, the woman turned towards her side. Mila’s spine chilled. Was she detected? She had been careful. It couldn’t be. Her observations indicated danger, but her mind told her to stay put.

And Mila’s mind was correct. The woman shot almost directly towards her position, but not quite. Before Mila could come into the striking range, the woman jumped up on one of the roofs. A short moment later, she heard more sounds of battle.

Of course, there had been other spies. This one had failed. A thud of a body falling announced the end of the short engagement, and the woman returned to direct her subordinates.

Mila glanced around, trying to see if there were more spies. There probably were, but these ones were more careful. She put on her mask. There was a series of activities in the group, and part of them formed two squads.

Each squad had five people in them, and they carefully listened to the orders. Their task was to find another entrance into the tunnels and see if the defences there were more manageable.

It appeared they knew the general locations of a few more holes but had decided to use this one because it was one of the bigger ones.

This was what Mila had been waiting for. She listened for a moment longer until she knew where both of the groups would go. Then, she left. Five people a couple times was more than manageable.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Mila moved through the shadows, blending in the surroundings. She soon found a nondescript house and slipped inside.

“We go?” Isabel got up from the chair where she had been waiting while playing with a wooden figurine a child had left behind. She fixed her mask, clearly rearing to fight.

“Almost. The group split their forces. Come.” Mila invited her girl to follow. She quickly gave the information needed.

“So, how strong is she?” Isabel struggled to keep her presence on the low. Her steps were loud, and the blue cloak too showy to stay hidden.

“I am not sure. Strong.” Mila hadn’t risked getting close enough to the woman to verify the mana pool. “If possible, we should deal with everyone else first.”

“Why can’t things be easy for once,” Isabel complained. “Why can’t they just be pompous grunts?”

“You had those earlier.” Mila vaulted over another wall. Their targets should be visible soon.

“Sure, but I am talking about the situation in general.” Isabel jumped over the wall as well. “Ah, I think they saw me.” She noted.

“Are you sure?” Mila asked, but from the shouts behind the one last wall, Isabel had been seen. “Oh, they did.”

And they wanted to fight the mythical Paladin. Well, four of the men wanted. The one who was in charge of the small party pointed out that they had different orders.

This delay made Mila’s and Isabel’s job much easier. While the men were arguing, Isabel jumped over the last obstacle between her and the enemy.

Meanwhile, Mila did the same a little further away. Just as she landed on the street, she saw Isabel stand tall in front of the five men, raising their weapons.

Isabel manifested her shield and raised it in the air. She spat out an insult that enraged the enemy.

Mila could only shake her head. Of course, this was prearranged. Isabel gathered the attention while Mila attacked from the blind spots.

But did Isabel have to call them ball-less sacks of bugger? What did that even mean? Surely something simpler like ‘fuckfaces’ or ‘shitheads’ would have done the same?

But Mila couldn’t argue with the results. These five men were livid. They returned even viler curses to Isabel, who didn’t deign to react. It made the men lose their minds.

In their anger, two of them moved to attack the proud woman in front of them. And it happened just as Mila emerged behind the group at the back of the leader.

Isabel saw Mila make her move and did the same. She didn’t even block. The two attackers were too weak to not use the chance to attack.

So, Isabel accepted a sword swipe at her side and welcomed another one aiming for her neck. They did nothing. And in return, Isabel smashed the edge of her shield into one of the men’s noses, breaking it and blinding him forever.

Just as that happened, Mila slit the group leader's throat. The two men standing beside the now-dead man didn’t notice her. They were too taken aback by Isabel brutalising her second target by repeatedly hitting his body with her shield.

Before the two men could act, Mila was already done with them. Both of them collapsed on the ground, lifeless. Isabel was done with her share as well.

“I think you need a weapon after all.” Mila judged Isabel’s looks. “The blood splashed does not suit you.”

“Yeah. I didn’t think it through.” Instead of cleaning her shield, Isabel simply dismissed it. She looked at her cloak. “Do you think people will mistake me for you now? That’s a lot of blood.” There was dismay in her voice.

“The more important question is - do you need a hug?” Mila walked closer to her girl.

“Was it that apparent?” Isabel’s shoulders dropped. She collapsed on Mila and squeezed her tight.

“No. Your bravado came very naturally.” Mila gently rubbed Isabel’s back.

“Then how?”

“A guess,” Mila let Isabel go. “You are kind. I never thought killing would come easily for you.” She took her girl’s hand and guided her towards the next group of people on their list.

“Right.” Isabel sniffled. “Good thing I have this mask. That really hit me in the stomach.”

“Emotions?” Mila asked, and Isabel nodded. “We can still stop.”

“No.” Isabel shook her head. “I can do this. I have to.” There were unspoken lines. But it was clear Isabel didn’t want to talk about it.

Nor did they have time if the pair wanted to reach their next goal before they reached a populated area.

So they ran. Mila led while Isabel followed. The silence between them was purposeful, if a little unpleasant. Mila regretted not insisting that Isabel shouldn’t take part in this fight. The killing was hurting her girl.

And Mila hated how it made her feel closer to Isabel. This wasn’t the bonding she had in mind. With a sigh, Mila decided to face the reality.

Isabel wished to become someone who could stand on a bloody battlefield side by side with Mila.

A foolish wish. Mila didn’t hate it.

“Hey,” Isabel called out.

And Mila turned her head to hear her out.

“Are you angry?”

“Not at you, no.” Mila noticed some people were snooping around, looking for loot in the abandoned houses. Upon noticing their passing, they quickly ran. “I am at myself, but not for your decisions.”

After thinking about it for a moment, Isabel shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

And Mila sighed. “Neither do I. Ah, they are ahead.” She spotted the other group. They had reached the unevacuated area and were currently yelling at some bystanders.

“Are we doing the same?” Isabel wondered. She had gathered herself and was ready for another round.

“Too large of an audience.” Mila pointed out. “We go and kill them. Then head back. Let me get behind the leader first, though.”

There was no need for any deeper planning. The first group had proved how capable they were.

To be fair to the group of enemies, Mila had gotten quite a bit of mana from the leader. He had just not been allowed to do anything before dying. So she didn’t risk this person to have a chance to prove his prowess.

Just like that, Mila moved behind the woman who was yelling at most - both at her subordinates and the surroundings.

And as Isabel smashed into the trash, Mila took the woman’s life. It also meant the easy part was over. She ignored the hushed whispers from the simple folk and looked back at where the danger lay.

Without saying anything else, Mila and Isabel vanished between the buildings. It was time to see how much they were worth.