Just as the woman was on the verge of releasing a piercing scream, Rozerd, with swift agility, bounded towards her. He pressed her firmly against the wall, muffling any sound with the deftness of his palm. With a pointed finger, he urged her to maintain absolute silence, conveying the dire consequences that awaited otherwise. Gripped by terror, the woman obediently withheld any outcry, her heart pounding with fear as she silently beseeched for her safety.
Rozerd's ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps, quickening his heart rate. Tightening his grip on the hilt of his dagger, he pondered the grim possibility of resorting to drastic actions. Hangaz's stern warning echoed in his mind, emphasizing the strict directive to harm no one outside the assigned targets.
"Make a wrong move, and this dagger will slice your throat," he gently warned the woman as he heard the footsteps approaching just outside the storage room. The woman frantically shook her head from side to side, tears streaming down her cheeks out of sheer terror.
"I had a dream that King Hangaz fell in love with me. He would shower me with gifts everyday, and I gave birth to his three children."
"Hahaha, stop daydreaming. You are only a worker here. At the end of the day, we could only marry someone equal to us."
Two women paused outside the door of the storage room, their voices carrying as they chattered excitedly. Rozerd felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead, acutely aware that they could enter at any moment, jeopardizing his crucial mission. To his immense relief, they eventually strolled away, completely oblivious to his presence.
He quietly crept out of the room after carefully placing the woman, who was now unconscious, against a bag of potatoes with her mouth and hands tied. Moving with surprising agility, he navigated the hallway adorned with grand paintings of past monarchs, elegant sculptures commissioned by the royal family, and majestic chandeliers suspended above.
He stealthily made his way to the end of the hallway, his senses heightened by the sound of approaching footsteps. Pressing himself against the cool stone wall, he concealed his presence as a figure, a soldier, drew closer. Seizing the opportune moment, he lunged, swiftly immobilizing the soldier and dragging him into the shadows. With a precise strike, he subdued the soldier, rendering him unconscious as he secured the area.
***
Under the cloak of night, the remaining soldiers of Hammer huddled around crackling bonfires, their weary voices intermingling with the gentle crackle of flames. Unaware of the looming peril inching closer, they sought solace in mugs of ale, oblivious to the grave danger stalking them under the shroud of darkness.
Tyler and Dyna strategically positioned their troops on opposite sides, effectively trapping their unsuspecting targets. From a hidden vantage point, a watch guard suddenly found himself struck by an arrow, causing him to collapse to the ground with a heavy thud.
Amid the commotion, a lone intoxicated soldier heard the disturbance and went to investigate. "What's that sound? Are you alright?" he called out to the fallen guard. However, before he could comprehend the situation, he too met a swift and fatal end, felled by an arrow that found its mark in his eye.
At that very moment, a sudden torrent of arrows poured down on the unsuspecting intoxicated soldiers.
"We're under attack!" They exclaimed, but it was too late. The enemy had already initiated a ruthless onslaught, leaving no one spared.
Dyna sprang into action, swiftly engaging a soldier in combat. With a deft stroke of her sword, she cleaved open his abdomen, then seamlessly drew her bow and expertly loosed an arrow into the chest of an approaching foe. Evading a swing aimed at her, she countered by driving an arrow into the thigh of her assailant. As another blade arced towards her, she adeptly maneuvered and delivered a lethal strike, piercing the soldier's neck with the arrow.
Tyler, displaying a strategic approach, refrained from engaging in close combat and opted instead to unleash a flurry of arrows from a distance. Observing an adversary stealthily encroaching upon Dyna from the rear, he swiftly released an arrow, thereby thwarting the imminent threat. Dyna, taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, glanced towards Tyler, who had intervened to safeguard her. A smile of gratitude adorned her face as she nodded appreciatively at Tyler, before refocusing on their combat.
Hammer's soldiers, inebriated and unable to mount a proper defense, were being mercilessly cut down in the surprise ambush. Tyler and Dyna had everything under control, or so they thought, until a distant horn sound caught their attention.
"What is this sound?" Tyler reacted.
"Is this some sort of signal?" Dyna wondered.
In a sudden realization, their eyes widened. They had fallen into a trap.
"Fall back!" Tyler screamed to signal his soldiers. "We have been lured into a trap!"
"What?" reacted Dyna. "A trap? So, the message was fake?"
The soldiers became disorganized upon hearing the sudden announcement.
"Oye, what the hell is happening?"
"What? We have been lured into a trap?"
"Fall back! Fall back!"
As they prepared to withdraw, a sudden onslaught of arrows came at them from all directions. The darkness made it impossible to gauge the number of assailants.
"Protect the commanders!" a soldier shouted. Others quickly formed a protective shield barrier around the commanders, prepared to sacrifice their lives to ward off the arrows.
Tyler and the other archers sporadically launched arrows into the darkness, but with little success as they were unable to pinpoint the enemy's location.
"Damn it," reacted Tyler tensely.
As they stepped into the light, they gradually made out a substantial assembly of tribal warriors and some soldiers of Hammer encircling them. Riding ahead on a horse was a diminutive elderly man whom Dyna immediately recognized. "Fugu," she uttered with a knitted brow.
"My, my, I never thought you would fall into our trap so easily," Fugu remarked, filled with cynicism.
"How heartless can a person be to sacrifice their own soldiers to the enemy's clutches," Tyler exclaimed. "Hammer and his collaborators have got blind in the wake of ambition."
"Every soul here is ready to lay down their lives for our messiah," Fugu retorted. "If he were to bid us to leap into the flames, our men would do so without hesitation."
"He is no messiah," Dyna interjected. "He is nothing but a cheat who has blinded you with his wealth and influence. How could a true leader be so cruel as to sacrifice his own people to ensnare us?"
Upon hearing this, some of Hammer's soldiers exchanged puzzled glances.
Sensing that the situation could spiral out of control, Fugu shifted the focus. "Greatness demands sacrifices. There is no blame on his part." He raised his hand with an air of authority. "Now, young lady, hand over the wooden crown you stole from the tribe. You have kept us on our toes for far too long."
In an instant, a soldier near Tyler raised his bow to shoot an arrow but found one lodged in his eye instead.
"Do not attempt anything foolish," warned Fugu. "We have you surrounded from all sides. If you wish to preserve your lives, you will comply with our demands," he grinned.
"Damn it," Tyler reacted tensely. "There's no way of escaping this trap."
Just when the situation seemed dire, a sudden turn of events unfolded.
"Ah!" a soldier moaned and fell to the ground.
"Huh?" Fugu turned to his right and found the man had been struck by an arrow. "What?"
Suddenly, a deluge of arrows emerged from the dark woods, catching them off-guard.
"What the hell is happening? Where are these arrows coming from?" Fugu exclaimed in puzzlement.
Tyler gave Dyna a tense smile. "They arrived on time," he said, before ordering his soldiers, "Shields up! Block formation! Break their line to form an escape route!"
His soldiers raised their shields and huddled together back to back, forming a solid block. With determination, they advanced towards the enemies who were caught off guard by the sudden ambush.
"Do not let them get away!" shouted Fugu.
***
Hangaz couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What? She took a chariot with her?" he exclaimed in shock upon learning that his sister, Flora, had left the palace in a chariot. Overwhelmed, he grabbed his head in disbelief and collapsed onto his throne. "What was she thinking? Our country is already in chaos, surrounded by enemies."
An old woman in loose black and white clothing, who happened to be Flora's caretaker, spoke up. "I am sure she has gone to deal with the brown bandits by herself."
Hangaz was unable to contain his frustration. "What?" he burst out. "She and her aspirations. Why does she not listen to me? I am the king!" he shouted, turning to the old woman. "What were you doing? Why did you not stop her?"
Shaking with fear, the old woman replied, "My king, she did not tell anyone and just left in the cover of night."
Overwhelmed with tension, Hangaz rubbed his head before ordering his soldiers to find her at any cost.