The darkness of the night had engulfed the entire city. Once bustling streets now lay deserted, and the illuminated roads were now lit only by torches placed along the way.
It was the perfect time for their actions. There were no witnesses to disturb them, only guards carrying torches here and there.
Inside the tavern room they had entered earlier, the five of them sat in a circle, listening carefully to Camel's plan.
"Do you all understand? Make sure you do your part well!"
The four of them nodded in response to Camel's command.
"Let's go! Micah, follow me! Rudi and Lidya, both of you follow Elia!"
With that, they left the room and split into two teams. The distance between the positions of the two teams was far apart due to the vastness of the castle city. If Elia entered through the front door, then Camel entered through the back door.
***
Elia's Side.
Elia, along with Rudi and Lidya, walked towards a manor in the middle of the city, it was in the highest position in this town. The wide entrance gate was guarded by soldiers, though their numbers weren't too many as most were deployed for night patrols.
"Their guard is weak. Rudi, can you take care of them?" Elia ordered.
They were currently behind a fence near the manor, more precisely, behind a graveyard fence.
"Are you sure? We're sneaking in, aren't we?" Rudi was not hesitant to eliminate the guards who seemed to be fighting off sleep. However, what Elia ordered contradicted his own strategy. He had considered all the consequences of doing so. The outcome would be very bad, in his opinion.
"It would be better if we do it openly, right? That way, the guards will be more focused on us!"
"Can I speak?" Lidya raised her hand.
Elia nodded, signaling her to proceed.
"Rudi's fighting style is more one-on-one. Besides, he prefers to attack stealthily. I can be as brutal as Micah, but with the tall buildings near the manor, I doubt my attack won't hit you both," Lidya explained.
"So, the one in the dungeon(Prison) who has to fight against the horde of soldiers, right?"
"Micah can handle it," Lidya said optimistically.
Even though she had claimed that the plan had been well thought out, it seemed that this plan wasn't cooked properly.
Elia nodded and turned back to the two soldiers guarding the castle gate.
She summoned out her shotgun and began to approach the soldiers. Lidya and Rudi, who were behind him, followed cautiously. They gazed at the tall fence that marked the boundary between the manor area and the city area.
As they got closer to the soldiers, Rudi tapped Elia's shoulder. "Wait, maybe I should do it instead," he said calmly and softly.
Elia nodded and crawled back past Rudi towards Lidya.
Rudi stealthily approached the soldiers, careful in his movements.
The distance closed in... Closer... And when there was only 1 meter left.
*Thud!
Rudi knocked out the first soldier with a blow to the neck, putting him unconscious.
Shortly after, Lidya, who was behind, walked forward and took the knocked-out soldier away from the gate.
*Thud!
Rudi swiftly knocked out the second soldier.
Seeing what Lidya had done earlier, Elia did the same. She took the soldier that was knocked out by Rudi away into the darkness.
"Find the key!" Rudi instructed the two of them.
It didn't take long for Lidya, who had looted the soldiers first, to find what they were looking for.
"Here!" Lidya says, tossing the key to Rudi.
*Crack!
The gate was open.
The two of them tried to enter without sneaking. The garden was too lively and spacious for human eyes. They could hide whenever they wanted.
"Wait! What about them?" Elia referred to the unconscious soldiers.
"Don't worry! Whether we kill them or not, they will still die here tonight," Lidya's words made Elia's hair stand on end. She hadn't expected that among them, not just one but all were crazy. *Swallowing her saliva, she didn't want to make unnecessary movements.
Their infiltration journey through the garden was too smooth. There were no guards or patrols to disturb them on their way.
Entering the manor, they tried to eavesdrop on each room to find the whereabouts of the Count.
The first door, "Hey, Hey, I got a message from Captain Lykeri that there are rebels sneaking into the city. It's so scaryyy! You should be careful!" The voice in the first room didn't reflect that of an adult, but that of a little girl talking to her friend.
The second door, "You filthy servant! How dare you sleep with my husband!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but he forced me!"
"How could you lie like that! He's a respectable man, you know?!"
"B-but it's true-" *slap! The sound of a whip suddenly echoed inside. "Arghhh!"
"Mercy!"
"Now confess?!"
"No! He's the one who made me like this! I'm enslaved by him! OInk! OINK! Oink!"
"Ah! Finally, you've been-"
Rudi left the room door. 'What the hell did just I hear?!' can be seen written on his face. He didn't need to hear any longer the drama like that. Besides, he got the information that the Count was a wise man in front of others... maybe.
He had to find someone like that.
Unfortunately, there were no more room doors in the manor hallway. There were only two large doors merging at the end of the manor corridor.
The three of them looked at each other and nodded indicating where the door led.
*Crack!
The door opened loudly, startling anyone inside the castle.
Rudi, who did it, immediately looked to where the Count should be sitting on his throne.
But what he saw there was not the person he was looking for. Instead, it was someone he might know.
"Hello, lucky that those who came here are the sorcerer one and the other one, not the 'eye'."
The person standing in front of the throne room greeted the three of them. He clapped his hands as if congratulating them.
Both Lidya and Elia didn't recognize him, but Rudi remembered him. The claw marks all over the man's body were the main evidence. He was the one who halted them in the underground sewer earlier this morning.
"You're different from this morning, aren't you? Does your job change according to the time?"
Rudi walked to the side, his sword aimed at the man. He tried to inspect the throne room without being distracted by the 'captain'.
"In the morning, you're a captain, and now you're a wizard. You're quite the multi-talent," he said sarcastically.
"Thank you for your praise. We witches who detest Count Ingro's existence strongly oppose this rebellion (spreading his hands while smiling at Rudi)! That's why the Duke's trust in us very highly!"
"I just want to let you know. I am Captain Lykeri, just call me Lyke. I'm here as a replacement for the Count," he added.
Rudi glanced at the corners of the room and then asked, "Where is the Count?!"
"Isn't it obvious? He's not here. Instead, I will be the one fighting you here."
Rudi's movement stopped suddenly. He stared at Lyke with a murderous look.
"Damn it(grumble)... Looks like you don't want to talk!"
Rudi attacked without warning. His sword swung towards his opponent's stomach. He was just trying to make his opponent kneel without killing him.
But the sudden attack was blocked by a claw just as quickly.
"What?!" (Rudi)
"Hmm(smiling)!" (Lyke)
An Eruplion came into the throne room and halted Rudi's attack with its paw. The wounds on its legs seemed quite deep due to Rudi's slash. Blood flowed quite a bit, making the carpeted floor wet.
"I am a beast tamer, you know?" Lyke said proudly.
The Eruplion ignored the pain in its leg and forcibly pulled its leg, which was stuck with a sword.
Then it lunged forward, "Gwar!" attacking Rudi who was still stunned.
*Bang!
With quick reflexes, Elia fired her shotgun randomly. Her body was thrown back by the force of the weapon.
Her shot hit both of them. Luckily, Lidya reacted quickly and created a barrier to protect Rudi.
"How the hell you could only shoot brutely?!" Lidya was angry.
"I don't know how to use it! I just copied the soldiers!" Elia's retort surprised Lidya. She wanted to think about it, but this wasn't the right time. They were in the middle of a fight, and Rudi was currently fighting Lyke one-on-one.
Lidya realized that soon the city guards would also start arriving and joining the party
***.
Rudi got up and looked back at Lyke with a focused gaze. He couldn't attack suddenly again. He had to be careful of his surroundings. This time, he was saved by his two friends, but the next opportunity would not come again. He had to be independent.
"It's unfortunate that your friend interfered. But don't worry, I've left some guards to take care of those here."
Rudi attacked immediately after Lyke finished his word. He tried to make a thrusting move to end his opponent quickly. *Thrust!
"Diamond Shield!" But once again, his attack was thwarted. This time not because of a wild animal, but because of a spell chanted by his opponent.
"You think I only strengthen my fighting abilities? Unfortunately, that's not the case," Lyke said, suddenly silent. He seemed to be observing something from his opponent.
Rudi, who saw this, suddenly realized. Lyke was looking at his status. He was using Sense Satusus on Rudi.
Immediately, Lyke was shocked, unable to believe it.
Rudi, who was in front of him, didn't want to waste this golden opportunity. He attacked Lyke once again.
"Dyamond Shilt!" Lyke, still in shock, chanted his spell hastily.
As a result, *crack! His shield shattered too easily from Rudi's sword thrust.
Lyke immediately jumped back and raised his red-colored magic staff. "Water Blast!"
A sudden splash of water sprayed towards Rudi, blinding him instantly.
"Eruplion! Attack!"
"Not gonna happen!"
*Tack! When Lyke commanded his tamed animals to come out of hiding and attack Rudi, Rudi drew his crossbow and shot relying on his hearing instinct.
The random shot hit Lyke's right chest.
"Urgh!" Lyke groaned, clutching the arrow lodged in his chest.
He didn't feel angry; instead, a smile spread across his lips, conveying "This is the end!" to Rudi, who would soon be attacked by a horde of Eruplions.
"Lidya!!!" Rudi shouted to Lidya.
When his eyes saw the girl, he realized that his friend was also in trouble. The city guards had already surrounded them. Lidya and Elia were fighting them.
"Alright!"
However, Lidya quickly left the fight and turned to Rudi.
The bodies of the Eruplions suddenly shone brightly and, *poof! The Eruplions circling Rudi vanished instantly. Their footprints were left behind in the places they stood.
"You teleported them?!"
Lidya ignored Lyke's question. She focused on her fight again.
"Your opponent... IS ME!" Rudi attacked once again as Lyke was still dazed.
His attack was repeated several times, as Lyke was already anticipating the arrival of his attack and dodged without resorting to magic or relying on his beasts.
The tension in the middle of the fight would continue. Rudi, who was fighting Lyke, trembled more and more. He realized that Lyke was not an ordinary person. He could easily avoid every sudden attack he made.
Rudi stepped back and moved towards Lidya. "Lidya (holding her shoulder)! You take care of that damn captain! Let me deal with these guards!"
"W-what?!"
"Just do it! Fighting him as an assassin is very difficult, moreover. His shield will only weaken if hit by magic!"
"A-alright!"
And so, they swapped places.
"There are only a few of them, it's no problem for me."
*Looking at Elia.
Elia seemed to have a problem with her weapon.
"What are you doing?"
"How do I reload this weapon?"
Rudi shook his head, raising both his shoulders. He didn't know either.
***
Lidya walked towards Lyke. She aimed the tip of her staff that shaped like Micah's head, at him.
"You're a great wizard, as Rudi said. So... I'll be the one to fight you!"
"Ca-can I ask first?" However, it wasn't a resistance that the man made.
He asked with uncertainty within himself. He was filled with confusion upon seeing Lidya on the wrong side.
Lidya shook her staff to the side as a sign, 'yes', to Lyke.
"Why do you support the rebels? They hate magic, don't you know that?!"
"Huh?"
Lidya blinked. She didn't understand at all what the man was saying.