The one thing about Isabel’s idea Mila could say was it worked. Funnelling these idiots into disadvantageous positions was so easy she had doubts about whether or not she and Isabel were being played.

With the roaring crowd on her heels, Isabel passed Mila’s location on the second floor of a living house. Her girl and the cronies were running below her through a tight alley.

The other thing about Isabel’s idea was that it worked too well. It appeared the majority of the thugs had decided to abandon thinking in their blind rage and charge. It boggled Mila’s mind how these fools didn’t see this as an obvious trap.

And because the bait had been so successful, Mila and Isabel now would have trouble swallowing it.

But they could. Mila scanned the crowd. There were a few decent fighters, but not many. And that leading woman had opted not to pursue. If she had, Mila had gotten an agreement from Isabel they would retreat.

As Mila prepared herself to strike, she realised a few more notable figures weren’t in the bunch. For one, only one leader, a loud-mouthed person with a long nose and no chin, who kept trying to get the thugs to behave, was present.

The man in the furs, the woman with the large shield and a few other better-equipped fighters were not there. Mila closed her eyes and did a quick scan. She didn’t feel anyone strong trying to sneak up on her. There were a couple of people crashing through the building below her. But that was all.

Mila sighed. Either those fighters were preparing a counter-ambush, or they assaulted Naran’s tunnel. She didn’t know which one she preferred.

There was nothing Mila could do if that woman had chosen to attack Naran’s people. They would have to deal with her on their own.

Because Isabel had reached the end of the alley and turned around to block the path. With her shield in hand, Mila’s girl made a veritable wall. Isabel had also acquired a sword from one of the people they had ambushed earlier. She wouldn’t have to punch someone to death.

Mila questioned Isabel’s sanity for even attempting to do that. Worse yet, Isabel had succeeded. Hadn’t Mila and Silinth taught her better? It was clear Isabel needed a refresher.

While Isabel used the location to her advantage, Mila did the same. As the alley became overcrowded, she had no trouble finding an easy target to pick off.

The walls surrounding the thugs became a trap. Mila leaned out of the window, still unnoticed. In her hands was a scavenged set of needles. Without poison, they would not be deadly, but…

Mila started to launch the sharp polished metal at everyone whose necks were exposed. All she needed to do was to injure as many people as possible. Killing would have been better, but she didn’t want to waste her knives with the probable fight with the armoured woman looming in the near future.

With deadly precision and controlled might, these simple needles were driven deep into the necks and shoulders of several people. Mila’s cold stare counted eight injured, two seriously and three people were just scratched.

It was a little worse than Mila had hoped but better than she had thought. Needles weren’t her choice of weapons. They were too flimsy, and it was hard to use them properly. Launching them was a pain in the ass. The wrist movement didn’t allow for a lot of strength to be put into the launch.

While distracting herself with these thoughts, Mila vanished back into the building. There was a small opening in the roof. She used it to climb up to the roof, then ran a little further to the side to repeat attacks.

Meanwhile, down below, the screams continued. Only now, they contained vails of pain and exclamations of confusion between them.

There were curses, too. Isabel had managed to stop the mass of bodies in its tracks. From the clash of weapons, Mila judged her girl was doing well. Especially since there was an occasional call for someone's name as they fell in battle.

With Isabel holding, Mila spent a moment to scout the surroundings. This was too easy. But despite her prudence, there was nothing suspicious.

Which meant more killing. Mila hurried back to the edge of the roof and glanced down at where the pandemonium was currently happening.

At this point, some parts of the surrounding walls were half broken. A few more quickwitted thugs were trying to fit through the holes to escape the trap. Isabel still stood strong. Her cloak flapped as she pushed back the bodies, trying to get her. Beneath Isabel’s legs were a few bodies bleeding out their last breaths.

Mila fished out another set of throwing weapons. This time, a handful of star-shaped blads. These exotic weapons didn’t sit well in her hands but were better than the needles.

Seven flashes later, Mila’s hands were once more free. She glanced around and hurried to change her position. She had managed to get four thugs, and with some trying to retreat or escape, it was time to take a more direct approach.

It would be a close call. Mila had to move fast to get to the enemy before they could regroup. She ran to the other side of the building and jumped down to where the doors into this place were.

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Upon landing, Mila entered the building. She could hear the crashes and breaking of the walls just a room away.

It was the perfect chance to strike. Mila moved over to the surprisingly tidy room. As she opened the doors, Mila was met with a surprised man and a woman who were tearing down the wall to help their comrades get inside.

With a dagger in hand, Mila jumped towards them, not allowing them to react. They didn’t have the chance to raise their weapons. Before they could scream, Mila, like a shadow, appeared behind the woman’s back and, with smooth motion, grabbed her head, yanked it back and slit her throat.

The screams of people witnessing Mila’s work irritated her. The few people kept cursing at her and trying to reach out. Some cautioned their comrades, but the rage-filled brutes didn’t listen.

The man fared a little better. As Mila stepped behind his back, he managed to protect his head by lurching forward. It left his back open, and she, lazily but with force, rammed her dagger between his ribs.

For that, Mila received more shouts and challenges to fight fairly. She looked at the angry people breaking into the room. While she couldn’t get to their necks, their wrists and fingers were another matter.

With several strokes, Mila managed to cripple several more enemies, making them reel back and abandon this section of the wall. “Pathetic.” She purposefully whispered just loud enough for them to hear. Mila hoped it would enrage them further. “Loosing to a girl.” She turned around and walked away.

And as expected, these people couldn’t take the slight. With more roars, they dismissed their missing fingers and bleeding veins to chase after Mila.

The wall crashed down, and as Mila exited the room and ducked behind the doors, the building was breached. She heard calls for her and winced upon the mention of a variation of ‘Maiden’ with an expletive attached to it.

Mila knew more people were escaping in the other direction. Even if she silenced these fools, the name would continue to spread.

Resigned to the fate of being a source of rumours, Mila killed the first person to charge into the room. She then had to retreat, as the body falling made it impossible for her to take another life.

What followed was a short brawl. Mila dodged the wild swipes that were interrupted by the walls and furniture. In such a cramped space, these opponents would have had better luck if they dropped their weapons and simply piled on her.

Well, one of them tried. The man was quickly dispatched to not allow the rest to consider that as a good idea.

Despite the lives she reaped, Mila was forced back again and again. Her black cloak was again coloured red by the splashes of blood landing on her.

A particularly repulsive man with acne managed to nick Mila’s cloak while slipping into the puddle of bodily fluids. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and grimaced. That wasn’t a habit she wanted to have, not after the devastating loss to that man.

But the cut did force Mila finally out into the empty street. She waited for the assault to continue, but the many deaths in the building had been enough for the thugs.

Mila flicked the blood off of her dagger. It was time to go and see how Isabel was doing. From the muffled sounds, her girl was still in the middle of a fight.

Before Mila could take a step, she glanced back. “Come out.” Her order came out smooth and unbothered. Not at all how she felt.

Because Mila wasn’t actually sure there was anyone there. Adrenaline started to kick in. She felt like she was in danger. But no matter how she searched, there was no one.

“Not coming?” Mila tried to provoke an answer again. She studied the surrounding windows while moving backwards.

Was Mila mistaken? She tried to smell the air but immediately dismissed the idea. She wasn’t Viola. What else was there? This worried her.

Upon reaching the end of the building, Mila immediately bolted behind the corner. The sound of fighting was now closer. Not letting her vigilance slip, Mila ran towards her girl.

Despite Mila expecting an attack to come any second, it never did. She rounded another corner and reached Isabel, who was, surprisingly, forced back by the rude man with no chin.

If talking purely in skill, the man was a better fighter than Isabel. His sword strikes were fast and precise. The way he weaved away from Isabel’s counterattacks was impressive.

And yet, despite the overpowering moves, the man had not managed to hit Isabel even once. Every blow that looked like it would hit would be struck away by the shield. When it looked like Isabel would fall, she managed to counterattack.

The man was clearly annoyed. He huffed and puffed. From time to time, he tried to get one of his subordinates to come and help.

And some of them did. Just as Mila arrived, a man slipped from behind the chinless man and tried to flank Isabel.

But it wasn’t that simple. While Isabel was somewhat helpless against the chinless man, as he deftly avoided all her attacks, the same could not be said about the small fry.

Before Mila could interfere, Isabel handled the new arrival by bashing his face with her shield, which doubled as a parry against the chinless man’s attack.

It was quite the sight. Mila could appreciate the brutal beauty of her girl’s attack. But they had to move on.

Mila brandished her dagger. The man had yet to see her, but Isabel already did. She didn’t react, of course, letting Mila sneak closer.

Isabel kept parrying, and when Mila was close enough to strike, she pretended to trip backwards.

The chinless man grinned and stepped in a little too far, hoping to land a blow. Not a decisive one. He was too cautious to commit that far. But the man’s attention was wholly on Isabel.

The warning from his subordinates came too late. Mila glanced at the few remains of a once great group and accelerated. With both hands grabbing the dagger’s handle, she struck out, piercing the man’s armour and wounding him heavily.

The man screamed in pain. He jumped to the side, and Mila’s dagger slid out of the deep wound in his stomach. He glared, but instead of attacking. It was clear he was preparing to flee. “LAURA!” He suddenly screamed while stumbling back.

But before the man could escape, Isabel was upon him. Her sword swipe was blocked. Her bash was avoided, but Mila had reached him as well.

As Mila prepared to finish her job…

“Dodge!” Mila suddenly kicked Isabel’s side, making herself scarce from the spot and making her girl avoid the incoming attack.

Between Mila and Isabel, a heavy blow landed, shattering the cobblestone and showering them both in shambles.

Mila struggled to see through the dust. She had been right. There were more enemies lying in wait.