"Listen up, the reason I can't take you in is that I'm dirt poor. I can barely afford to get by with two mouths to feed, add you to the mix and its hell. I may be a Boron by title but I'm not rich. Also, my reason for fighting isn't noble in the least, I plan to overthrow this kingdom, my path is filled with blood. Having heard all that, do you wish to still follow me?"
"Overthrowing the kingdom, ha-ha," She laughed, the girl whose been speaking instead of the four others.
"Glad to see we are not on the same page, so refrain from following me, goodnight"
"Listen up master, who said we weren't on the same page. I'll have you know we are known as the Silver Guardians. As a disguise, we are seen as knights but deep inside we are full-blown assassins who've been sent to spy on boron Hamon by the order. Our orders were to kill him but that mission failed when he forced us into a blood contract. Following that, all our ties to the order were erased, we were abandoned. Serving such a master for half a year has been hell. All of that is in the past now, you are the master we sought for so long, please let us accompany you."
All five of them got up, face covered with a helm with wings atop, they all revealed their true identity
and slowly took off the expensive-looking armor.
"Let us introduce ourselves starting from the elder to the youngest."
"Please to meet you, master, I'm Adelana Geua, the one who's been speaking to you from the start." Each one of them was twins, they all looked very pretty, the only thing setting them apart was the hair and eye color, for the oldest she had dark crimson hair with blue eyes.
"P-please to m-meet you m-master, I'm Ayleth Geua," A bit on the shy side, her hair was black with brown eyes.
"It's a pleasure master, I'm Ancret Geua," Judging by how she acted, she's on the extreme side, Blonde hair paired with blue eyes.
"Alyson Geua, " Mysterious and not so talkative persona, brown which ended in blonde with green eyes.
"Hey, I'm Annet Geua," Friendly and easy to get along with, grey hair with grey eyes."
"It's nice to meet you, master," They all shouted.
"Calm down there, I didn't say nor agree in taking you guys in, as I've said, I'm broke, what part of that don't you understand?"
"I'll speak on the behalf of my sisters," Adelana spoke out, "If money is the issue then sell our armor which is made with adamantite. It should fetch a good price, if that still isn't enough, we'll consider selling ourselves and virtue to whomever you desire, just let us be by your side."
"I'm not an animal, ok, if I did take you in then what about traveling? I can't move as fast, besides, I have Eira and my kid sister to take care of." He was still adamant on not letting them come with.
"Staxius Haggard, stop your complaining at once, can't you see the resolve in their eyes, if you wish to take over Dorchester you will need allies and what better than the silver guardians." Undrar stepped out and approached the campfire.
*Bam,* "Ouch my head," She pouted.
"Don't speak that way to your big brother, fine, I'll take you guys in with one condition, you are tasked to find an adequate means of transport. Without a carriage or even a car, the Geua sisters can forget the part about accompanying me."
"That should take them off guard, man I can't take those girls in, gathering an army this soon is not possible, I'm dead broke, Eira isn't that grown up yet and not to mention Krigi is in danger.
Think about this rationally, I'm playing hard to get so I can exploit them more, judging by their emotions right now, every single one of them is clueless. It's in my advantage to have those girls by my side, assassins sent to be spy's, with them I can gather info and kill anyone I desire. They even proposed to sell the adamantite armor, those go for like ten thousand gold coins at best. Ok I'm just being paranoid now; I'll do the last test and see if they don't have any ulterior motive."
"Master," His thoughts were interrupted by Annet, "if it's a carriage you want, Hamon stationed his at the exit of the Rotten thicket."
"…" Silently gazing into her grey eyes, the fear of being overly familiar forced her to hide behind Adelana.
"Viola, hold Eira for me."
"Now then silver guardians, pick up arms and ready yourselves."
*Death element activate, spell unleash aura. Conjure weapon, Daemonum Gladio.*
"Everyone, take your battle positions," Adelana shouted.
On top of the hill, the wind grew anxious, the moon began to shine as brightly as the sun, a battle
to test each other's worth. Adelana, Alyson and Ayleth were in front while Annet was at the back with a bow accompanied by Ancret who was the supporting mage.
"If they have the resolve and sheer will to kill me then they pass, if they falter even the slightest I'll have no reason to keep them alive," He thought to himself.
"Listen up girls, this is my first and only order, kill me." He smiled.
"You heard the man, onwards," Adelana shouted.
The clash of swords filled and echoed throughout the village, the hill lit and sparkled from the impact caused by the weapons. "If you think swordsmanship is the only thing I have going for myself then it's wrong," *Foup,* Poison darts were thrown, the accuracy was inhumane. Luckily, Ayleth, the one who's fastest in the group deflected the attack using two daggers she duel-wielded.
"HAAA," *Slash,* It was Adelana, she wielded a great sword, the sheer force she swung that thing cut clean a massive bolder. Dodging got even harder with a constant barrage of arrows being fired by Annet. Not to forget Alyson who used a rapier and got close and personal. With an upward diagonal slash, amidst the confusing battlefield, Staxius injured Alyson who got a bit too close and personal. Ancret began healing, she fell into Staxius trap, *Dark arts, spell, mana cancellation.* With a snap, she collapsed.
"Now's my chance to take out Annet," *Poof,* smoke bombs, a dark mist instantly covered the summit. Emerging out of it the fully pumped up Staxius, he laughed frantically. With the pommel, he knocked her out. Using the shadows as cover, he disappeared once again. *Slash, Slash,* The mist faded as the wind picked up in speed. Everyone except Adelana was defeated, *Spit,* "Is this the best the silver guardians can do?" He mocked them.
"Of course not, now," *CLAP* Everyone rose once again, eyes completely void of any emotions, they were like him, made for killing. "Attack," three swords ended up inside the stomach, five arrows in the head and a curse was placed on him. *Cough,* Blood dripped from his mouth, utterly defeated. The realization that they just killed Staxius finally hit, shocked, everyone fell onto their
knees.
"M-master…"
*Snap,* The body disappeared, it was a decoy, he appeared once again behind the girls and *Bouf, bouf, bouf, bouf, bouf,* Five darts with dull edges hit everyone in their necks.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, is this the best the silver guardians can do? I'm honestly disappointed."
The battle ended after four hours, disappointment in their eyes, all five-sisters got up and left.
"Now, now, don't tell me you've given up already, remember I said to kill me and not defeat or render me useless for combat. You've accomplished your mission with great success, you've killed a dummy with eyes void of any emotions, welcome to the party girls."
Removing the heavy armor, everyone rushed to his side, "From today forth, we, the silver guardian shall be your sword and shield, use us as you see fit, we pledge our allegiance to you."
"Calm down, Viola, can you please bring the dragon crest?"
"Alright brother,"
With both crests in hand, he merged and formed a blood contract with the newest trinket. Back in the archive, Staxius Haggard's title as boron remained the same, only thing that changed was the addition of a combat rank, B-rank.
"Impossible, how can your combat strength only be B-rank master? You defeated us all, S-rank and higher warriors." Adelana was perplexed.
"Sister, remember well, he used wits more than raw strength to do what he did, Staxius Haggard's true strength is what inside those brains compare to his muscles." Alyson calmly analyzed.
"Brilliant deduction, now everyone, stick out your index finger." *Slash,* A tiny cut which seemed to appear from nowhere forced them into a direct blood contract with the name Haggard.
"From today forth, I, Staxius Haggard, head of the Haggard family hereby accept the silver guardians as a part of my house, welcome to the family." He smiled.
Astonished, Annet spoke out, "Master what were you thinking about when making a direct contract with us to your crest, said honor is only for ones who bear your family blood. Us outsiders aren't worthy for such a title."
"Who cares about blood or not, you've sworn to protect and serve me, so it's befitting for you to be considered part of the family, don't you think? Also, if anything ever happens, I want you guys to always give priority to Eira, that's the only rule I'm imposing."
"With pleasure,"
"Great, now you guys are free to do whatever, go on a vacation, go on a murder spree, tis none of my business, I'll be taking the carriage and head to Krigi at dawn. Phew, I'm tired, Viola where's Eira?"
"She's in your arms…"
"Ooops, guess I'll sleep now, goodnight."
He smoothly fell onto the ground as if he were weightless. Blood began to flow from his back, all the injuries he sustained during the battle finally appeared.
"H-his h-hurt," Ayleth softly whispered.
"Ancret, heal him this instant, I'll keep watch until morning. That includes you too Viola, please
rest." Adelana voiced.