Those riders dashed in, breaking through the ranks of our enemies. I leaned over, trying to discern any insignia on their capes and shields, but I found none. They wore simple plate armor and heater shields with round bosses, their faces shadowed by close helmets.One of the newcomers spurred his horse hard, leaning into it as he thrust the long spike of his halberd into his opponent’s chest, piercing right through the heart. The impact pushed the guard off balance, and a sharp pull was all it took to send him stumbling off his horse.

Steel and iron clattered around me. Men screamed in pain, knights and mounted guards trying to stab each other at full speed and force, piercing through armor, wrestling each other toward the ground. A few were already on foot, their longswords drawn, clashing against the halberd-wielding knights, their shadows like iron devils locked in deadly combat.

I looked around, getting on my feet. Enough waiting, we’d have to give them a good fight.

ALYNNA: Who are those people?

CONNOR: They’re on our side. If not, Aria would have warned me with the grid. So let's get ready to start rolling! Alynna, Lariel, each of you watch one of our flanks.

ALYNNA: Sure thing!

Alynna spun toward the fallen horses, their distressed neighs slicing through the chaos. I watched her through the grid, praying they hadn’t been injured. A mounted guard on the far side of the field spotted her and swung his crossbow into position. My heart skipped a bit.

CONNOR: Alynna, watch out!

She darted back, slipping behind the flaming carriage. In one fluid motion, she drew an arrow and took aim, but a bolt hissed close to her, lodging itself into the carriage. Unshaken, she loosed one arrow after the other. They punched through the gaps in the guard’s helm and his scream tore through the air, raw and unholy, as if the devil himself had claimed him.

Then, she lunged toward the fallen horses. With a flick of her dagger, she sliced through the bridles, freeing them one by one. She then coaxed one to its feet and jumped onto its back, riding bareback with ease. Now, she was ready to kill.

I was about to turn, when a figure clattered toward me. He was the man who’d started the fire. The flames cast a sinister light on his face, and on a city guard’s insignia on his breastplate. He’d lost his horse, and now, his hands slid toward his hip and he unsheathed a longsword with a jeweled pommel.

“It’s you!” he hissed. "That damned barbarian who’d come with the elves," he blurted out, his teeth clenched. “You’ve only brought disgrace to my land. And I’ll be the one to claim your head!”

He whirled his blade and struck with a force and precision honed by decades of mastery.

I lurched to the side. He leapt again, thrusting with his blade at my chest. I slipped and parried, swinging back at his chest. The blade slid across it, not dealing even a bit of damage.

He laughed.

"And you call yourself a warrior?" he said mockingly. He moved forward, thrusting his blade at my face. I flinched, and he took advantage of that moment to grab the side of his own sword with his metal-gloved hand and thrust it at my belly.

I was too slow to get away from it. The blade punched against the chainmail.

[CONNOR:

HP: -3]

[HP: 5/12]

Damn. Not a killing blow, but it hurt like hell. At first, it felt like a punch, but then the sting of torn flesh hit me, followed by the warmth of blood seeping through the wound. The chainmail had held against slashes before, but it was no match for the sheer force of a knight’s thrust.

He swung again, this time aiming for my head.

I ducked, the blade slicing the air just inches above my scalp. Before I could recover, his sword arced toward my shoulder. My own blade was out of range, but close combat was my game.

I darted forward, sliding my foot under his heel and pushing him off balance. My hand clamped onto his collar as I dragged him down. His blade whipped dangerously close to my chest, missing by millimeters. I had to pin that arm fast.

I twisted, halting his wrist with my palm as he sat up, twisting toward the side for a kimura lock, dropping my sword for an instant.

And then, to my shock, he escaped by whirling his entire weight forward.

I'd never expect that, especially wearing such heavy looking armor.

This guy was good at wrestling.

Catching me by surprise, he whirled, positioning himself over me and releasing his own wrist by going against the sides of my thumb, his sword coming up and down again, aimed at my neck.

I managed to grab hold of my blade and parried, stepping back and getting to my feet, trying again, to use a feint like he had done against me, attempting an attack at his ribs, for which he didn't even finch, then, attacking his unprotected face, and finally, shifting forward and taking him down with a double-leg.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

It worked this time. And I had even less time since his sword hand was still free.

I immediately went for a leg lock, cradling his iron-clad leg against my biceps and falling on the ground.

Takedowns like these on hard ground are never a good idea. Pain exploded across my back and buttocks, but I was sure the pain in his body would be leagues beyond mine. His leg burst in a satisfying pop that left him screaming and made the sword slip from his fingers. The scream pierced deep into my ears, as he writhed in pain, trying to get me off.

I shifted from one side, grabbing my sword and going right for his neck, pulling his helmet off with a swift move before digging my sword into the lower side of his jaw.

Blood spurted out like the filling of a lava cake. He gasped, blood bubbling before his final breath.

[PALADIN HP -25]

[0/22]

[EXP + 7]

[EXP: 13/20]

I gasped, pushing myself to my feet. The pain across my spine slowed my movement and made me stagger. I had to place the sword against the ground to take another step. I would have to push through and suck it up to fight. But around me, the battle was receding, and we were prevailing.

Alynna rode like a fury, her horse galloping at high speed across the road. I'd seen Lariel shoot from her horse. But it was nothing compared to what Alynna was doing. She rode like a comet, deftly nocking and shooting at fleeting riders and fallen men. I saw soldiers retreat on horseback, already blocks away from her, Alynna chasing them down, putting single arrows across the creases of their armors, or else, making their horses collapse to the ground.

The knights who had fought so valiantly by our side terrorized our enemy with valor and fierceness I'd never imagined. Then something surprised me even more, and made me wonder whether what I was seeing was real or not.

I saw Malor, swinging a sword and fighting against one of the guards, or, rather forcing him to fight. The man had dropped his sword and was basically begging for his life.

Was I dreaming? That girl... Princess Camille, had picked up one of the halberds. She whirled it like an acrobat, leaping forward and smashing the breastplate of a guard. The man could barely react and attempt a parry before she slashed across his face with expert ease.

What was going on?

"Do not let them live, or else they'll tell on this!” claimed one of the knights. One of the good guys. I hadn’t noticed him before, but he had one of those crusader type cylindrical helmets. “Do it for the king!"

Then it hit me. I knew that voice.

"For the king!" shouted the soldiers with the halberds.

The last fleeing guards were soon killed by fast riding knights or by the collaborative effort of Alynna's furtive and fulminating arrows. The last one fell along with his collapsed horse, with two knights closing in on him as he lay on the ground, frantically trying to get his horse back up.

One of the knights got off his horse, lifted his halberd on high and smote off the head of the fallen guard with a swift move.

"Victory!" claimed the man with the crusader helmet. I looked attentively as he turned toward me, his cone-shaped helmet out of place with the rest of his simple plate armor. He reached for it and removed it with a swift move.

I fell down on one knee, a jolt of pain crossing through my spine, although I gave it no mind.

"Lord Kent," I said. "I’m so glad it’s you! And perfect timing."

"It’s a pleasure to find you, Lord Tactician.” A smile curved on his tanned face. “Come on! I’m not your lord for you to kneel like that.”

I straightened, stepping forward and feeling a jolt of pain in my chest. I needed healing immediately. It wasn’t that deep, but it was bleeding badly.

Kent placed a hand on my shoulder. “And I’ve got good news. Do not worry for your elven troops. We got in contact with your men, and women, let me say, and are moving them toward my estates on the side of the country. I will, if you allow me and do not have another place where to rest your head, to take you to my property and protect you there. I shall do the same with my king."

“Great!” I exclaimed. The elves were safe. That alone removed a weight from my heart.

I immediately shared the news with my friends. I wondered if they were too far away from my mental reach, because I hadn’t been able to contact them through Aria’s bond for a while.

With that, Kent turned sharply, his cloak swaying with the motion, and strode toward the king. Reaching the young royal, he dropped to one knee, bowing his head low.

“Your majesty,” Kent said. “Thank the Goddess that you’re safe.”

"Thank you for your help, Lord Kent," the king said cautiously, placing the blooded sword he’d taken over a dead guard’s chest. He looked regretful. Had it been because he’d killed one of his own men? Whatever it was, he looked back at Kent with renewed confidence. "Please stand up, Lord Kent. I'm grateful for what you did for us today."

Kent took a deep breath, and his following sentences were sharp and cautious.

“I beg Your Majesty,” he began, his voice low and measured, “as one of the Paladins sworn to protect you, allow me to take you to our castle in the hills. It has grown too dangerous in the city. Our intelligence network has confirmed that you’ve been declared dead and guards had been sent to every corner.”

"Lord Kent," Malor replied. "I thank you very much for your service, but I would like to return to the city immediately."

The words hit me like a hammer. Before I could think, I blurted out, "wait. What are you saying?" I winced, remembering who I was talking to. “I mean… Your Majesty. Forgive me, but you just fought your own guards. They tried to kill you. Do you think they’ll listen to reason now? Their leaders would sooner order them to shoot you on sight, and their scheme was elaborate, not just a misunderstanding. Please, Lord Kent’s suggestion is wise—we need to lay low.”

Malor shook his head. "I must thank you for rescuing me, Tactician. But my people know me. It’s my duty to solve this issue before it becomes worse.”

A pale hand posed on his shoulders. Princess Camille stepped behind her brother, looking at me warmly, but then talking to the man. She was a looker, even after the battle. Had I been hallucinating when I saw her fighting like that? Her hair was messy and wild, and it made her all the sexier, with that exotic soft purple color.

"It's alright, Malor," she said gently. "They're right. You cannot trust the city at all, especially now. I could tell that uncle Virna was planning something. I never thought he’d stoop that low, the cretin, but he did. There’s no doubt. That viper… I knew it all along."

He directed her a frustrated glance. "Camille, you know our people. Our cityfolk are not fools. Even if our uncle really betrayed us, the people will stand for us. Yes, maybe we need to plan a bit, but our people will understand.”

How could someone be so naive? Even after having his own people threaten him.

"You said it,” Camille said gently, pinching his cheek. “You’re a good smart boy. Don’t need to be so rash. Lay low for a few days. We can trust Kent."

“And as for this brave warrior who protected us,” Camille said, her glance fixed on me. I smiled and bowed my head, but... Yes, I couldn't help but let my eyes droop a bit and focus on that ample and exposed cleavage.

"My eyes are up here," she said with a wink.