The year 1780 of Rainmere, on the 19th.
Gunfire and sword clashes were erupting from the now-taken Stormwatch Keep.
An artillery shell whistled past and thumped in the distance.
“1,” a girl whispered.
Looking forward,
Sophia and Emilia both held each other’s hands. The purple-haired twins looked visibly shaken and afraid.
I looked away from them and reached for my revolver, unchambering it. Slowly, I began loading fresh ammunition.
I took a glance to my right and spotted Lucien, silent and deep in contemplation. His eyes focused on me for some reason, as if studying me.
Weirdo.
Looking back down, I clicked the cylinder of my revolver back into place and slid it into a holster on my hip.
Another whistle rang out.
Closer.
“2.”
Taking my time, I reached down and grabbed my supply belt, inspecting it and noticing one last thing missing.
To my left, Adrian looked deathly pale. His friend Arthur patted his back.
"Come on, Adrian, what happened to that confidence from before?"
“You mean when I didn’t know we were on the front lines!”
“Correction—we're behind enemy lines. You won't die, quit being stupid.”
Adrian began to tremble, his hands clasped together in a clap.
"Die? I'll die!?!"
“You won’t die.”
“Oh Divine Mother who shelters the lost… please don’t let me die here. I don’t want to die here. I don’t want to die like this—”
“I’m telling you. You won’t di—”
Arthur threw his hands up.
"Ah, forget it."
His body pivoting towards me, our eyes met as I reached for a bundle of knives.
“Nyphera, you bored? You seem restless.”
“Artillery's targeting us. I'm getting ready.”
Adrian’s prayer filled the awkward silence.
Annoying.
Arthur snorted. “Right. Good joke, Nyphera. And what mighty Chronos will appear from the sky?”
“3,” the girl said, finally sheathing her daggers.
Arthur’s smile faded.
“…You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Looks like you'll both meet Chronos early,” I placed a blank white mask over my face.
Adrian turned to the truck's rear hatch, finally seeing the aftermath of a distant splashdown.
“Shit.”
He jumped up and banged on the vehicle walls, signaling the driver to stop.
“MASKS UP! EARLY DISMOUNT!”
“Oh Holy Mother, please provide me with your warm embrace so that I—”
Arthur’s open palm met the back of Adrian’s head.
“Get your act together before I—”
Just as he said that, the vehicle groaned to a stop and the back door swung down into a ramp.
Ignoring the melodrama, I slipped out before they could finish.
4 would be coming soon, and I wanted distance before it happened.
I took off in a sprint, leaving the rest of my unit behind.
Solo work is more efficient.
I wonder if Lilliana made it to her position alright?
Sliding next to a boulder, I pulled out my binoculars. Looking east toward the mountain ridge, I caught a scope’s glint in the moonlight.
“How come you're here?”
A young boy’s voice sounded beside me. No sooner had he spoken than an explosion sounded off behind us.
“Lillia.”
"That can't be right..."
My eyes rolled as I peered back at the distant wooden stronghold,
His voice trailing into background noise.
My eyes actively mapped out each rock and tree that blocked the tower’s immediate line of sight.
With a path mapped, I sprang forward.
"Hey—"
Careful not to alert the tower’s attention.
I pulled out a piece of paper to reconfirm the operation’s objectives.
Infiltrate the rear flank to locate and assassinate Arnold Veyron.
Adrian and Arthur will sabotage their ammunition crates.
Emilia and Sophia will poison th—
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
A tracer flashed past my face. Thwit—
I dove behind rock cover as a barrage of bullets ripped into my last location.
Before my head could peek around the edge, stone exploded outward from rifle fire.
“Very different from your usual work,” Lucien said without a hint of sarcasm.
“Shut up.”
“Ah, so you know you’ve been sloppy.”
An annoying fly had stuck to my rock.
Anyway, how did they see me? I may have been distracted, but I was definitely careful…
Now would be her time to shine.
I pulled out a mirror.
Lucien stared for a moment.
“How impatient,” he muttered.
“You have a better idea?”
“I do,” he said.
Silence.
The doctor would punish me if I shot him now…
Shifting my focus, I angled my mirror and searched the wooden wall for any enemies.
Seven in total. Only two firing in my direction.
I guess they spotted everyone else.
The two men had semi-automatic rifles trained on my position. They wore yellow waistcoats.
I almost feel sorry for them.
Using the moon’s reflection, I signaled our distant reaper to begin her work early.
Like wisps, four tracers flew out, marking each of my targets.
A slight frost bit into the ground as I pounced forward.
Launching two knives into the wooden wall as footholds before entering the lookout tower through an open window.
“Stay with me, Jason—come on, stay with me!”
I guess Lillia was sloppy…
Still in the windowsill, my hand grabbed an additional two knives from my belt. One slipped from my left hand and flew into the head of a soldier laid out on the floor.
Instantly, at the same time—
“Wh—”
My second blade drove deep into the grieving guard’s neck before he could finish.
I laid him next to Jason, while he was silently choking on his own blood.
I’ll need to see Lillia in the training room after this…
Looking at another tower beside me, I saw Lucien had made himself useful, carefully dispatching his share of guards.
Below, tents flickered beneath lit braziers.
If I’m right, the guard captain should be in—
Wait.
Why the hell is that guard still alive?
Emilia had scaled the third tower and was struggling with a guard.
Sophia must be hung up in the lower tower…
I infused my blade with aura and threw it into the fleeing soldier’s head.
The girls stared, stunned.
After correcting their mistake, I retrieved a knife from one of the dead guards, replacing the one I’d thrown.
Across the tower, Emilia was hunched over, vomiting.
Amateurs complicating things.
Meanwhile with Lucien
“Change of plans,” he mumbled into a crystal while sitting atop four corpses.
A few hours later.
Deep inside the camp, hurried footsteps rang out.
Apparently Arthur had made a fool of himself and gotten caught with Adrian.
A useful distraction.
I'll have to make their death painless.
My footsteps went unnoticed as I slipped through the chaos.
Two armed guards were watching the front entrance of the tent, with at least six in opposite corners blocking any blind spots.
I chose to subdue two of them and approached the tent from a blind spot.
I peeked inside.
Ah.
There he is.
An old man with ashen grey hair wearing a black suit stood staring down at a desk.
Getting closer, the maps seemed eerily familiar…
Seems like we had a mole.
That explains the deployment change.
“Why would they pull back now…” he muttered.
I suppressed my steps and closed the distance between us.
“It’s almost like—”
“—a trap.”
My aura blade came crashing down—
Deflected.
My eyes widened as I staggered back.
The air shimmered slightly as a knight stood fast.
Duke Vanne watched calmly behind this goliath of a knight.
The family crest engraved on his black armor wasn’t of House Vanne.
He's right-handed—and the way he shifts his weight—he seems to be a shield user.
But his left hand was empty…
An opening.
I answered with a right kick to his stomach.
My foot met steel.
Unexpectedly, he kept his posture; usually targets think I'm weaker from my small size.
The man quickly reached for my leg.
Before he could grab me, I flipped backward and fired three shots from my revolver.
The bullets were deflected as he advanced slowly with only one sword in hand.
Unexpected.
I dropped the smoking gun and charged forward. My figure blurred as a barrage of strikes met effortless parries.
He’s strong.
I slowed down, trying to throw off his momentum.
He fell for my feint and swung upward.
I adjusted mid-motion, driving aura into a concentrated thrust—
A hand seized my wrist and pulled me closer.
The pommel of his sword smashed into my spine.
The ground rushed up.
My mask cracked.
That’s my blood on the floor.
Is this finally something worth my time?
Before his boot could crush me, I rolled sideways.
My vision widened. His movements slowed.
Just as he prepared a shoulder charge, my blades were already guided toward his pancreas.
He deflected it without breaking stride.
“BANG.”
My body slammed through a table and out of the tent.
Soldiers stared in shock.
“A child—”
“They used children—”
How noisy.
I eyed my surroundings carefully.
Soldiers.
Armored ones up front—they have riflemen in the back.
“She’s no older than—”
Soon Duke Vanne, followed by the dark knight, carefully walked out of the tent.
"Quiet."
…
..
"She's from Group A, so adjust your tactics, Sir Ashford of Blackthorne."
The black knight silently stared at Duke Vanne for a moment before walking forward, with an audible snort.
"You… what’s your name?"
"Piss off or fight."
He paused for a moment before letting out a light chuckle.
Through his visor, his eyes then swept over the soldiers watching in the background…
Quieting their murmurs,
then settled on me.
"Don’t interfere."
Without another word, he adjusted his stance.
Inviting.
I tried moving my arm and noticed—
The hell is this?
My left arm hung useless.
Escape.
Not yet.
A grin slowly started to creep onto my face.
As the excitement built, frost crept outward from my aura, crystallizing the grass beneath my feet.
This complicates the mission.
But I can’t lose in such a low-level fight.
…sorry, Lillia.
The soft earth cratered beneath my feet as I sprinted.
Everything blurred.
Then—
Impact.
His shoulder met my face before something outside of my vision smashed me into the ground.
My skull rattled from the impact.
Before I could recover, his left fist was already descending.
“Damn it.”
BAM.
Darkness.
