The bridge was ready, and we set off in pursuit. Taking horses from the guards, we, accompanied by five soldiers and the mayor, embarked on the chase. The others stayed to guard the bridge in case the criminals decided to return.
"Kurone, you stay here and try to establish a connection with Serena; she must still be able to see the criminals."
"I hear you, Krito. Hurry, you can still catch up with them," Serena monitored the criminals using her technology from the estate, "If they see that the bridge is rebuilt, they might drop the gold and flee."
"That's unlikely. I believe this gold is their fee promised by the feudal lord, and for killing the architect, they will gain the protection of the lord. They won't abandon the gold, but they might set a trap."
"Be careful," Kurone's anxious voice interrupted me, "I'd like to go with you, but I'd probably only be a hindrance."
"What are you talking about? If you can't keep us connected with Serena, we might fall into the assassins' trap. You have an important role in protecting us, and I wouldn't trust it to anyone else."
"Heh... t-thanks," Kurone's voice trembled slightly.
"Heeee, Krito, you sly ladies' man. You'll have time for flirting later; we've got more pressing matters," the mocking voice of the red princess interjected in our conversation.
"Kuro, when we catch up with them, warn me, and I'll join you to stop them," Ragni was ready to ride off in pursuit.
"Don't risk it unnecessarily; you're still weak."
"Don't worry; I won't engage in combat, just slow them down a bit."
"Krito, there are a couple of places ahead where they stopped. They might be traps."
"Check it, Grain."
"I don't sense anything unusual, no pits or foreign objects. Although..." Grain spurred his horse, "Let's get there faster."
We arrived at a small clearing that served as a resting place for travelers. In the center stood a spreading tree.
"Oh no!" Katrina let out a quiet cry and covered her eyes with her hand. A young man hung from the lower branch, suspended by his feet. Blood trickled onto the ground from a small wound on his chest.
"Monsters!" Ragni roared, unable to contain her anger. It was the young man she had saved from the roaring avalanche earlier that day. "They'll pay for this!"
"Krito!" Grain called me softly from behind, "Did you know all of this would happen?"
"I began to suspect it after the incident at the Seleria café, but all the pieces came together when the dam collapsed."
"Why didn't you protect them?"
"I wanted to, but the guards detained us for questioning. If I had resisted, the killers would have hastened their plan. I simply couldn't save everyone."
"You could have explained everything! That's always your way!"
"And what good would that have done? Ten minutes ago, I explained everything, but it didn't convince anyone without your help. And if I had argued with the mayor back then, they might have found out about Serena too. I saved who I could, but I'm not all-powerful."
"Damn you and your logic."
"Don't ask the impossible of me; I save everyone I can."
"Kurone!!!! Where are they!?!?" Ragni shook the air with her roar, scaring the horses and the guards, who couldn't hear the girl's response.
"They are ahead of you, fifteen minutes' ride away."
Not having listened to the dragoness until the end, she spread her wings and rushed in pursuit.
"Damn it! After her, they'll catch her so easily."
Spurring our horses, we chased after the dragoness, who was rapidly getting away from us.
"I'll kill them all! I'll kill them all!" Within the night vision range, lizard-like riders in black cloaks surrounding a carriage came into view.
Exhaling flames before the group, the girl landed right in front of them.
"You wretched murderers!"
"Where did she come from? Leader, what should we do?"
"Who cares, kill her," a middle-aged man with black hair coolly ordered his men.
Ten riders simultaneously drew crossbows from their belts and released a shower of arrows at the girl.
"Like I care about that," Ragni somersaulted aside, evading the arrows. At that moment, another arrow was aimed at her new location.
"Hah, easy!" Covering her right arm with scales, the girl deflected the arrow, but it left a shallow cut on her skin. "Is that all the best Veranian assassins can do?"
The girl got up with a malicious grin but promptly fell to the ground, clutching her arm.
"What the hell is this?"
"Oh, Commander, you're as splendid as always."
"It was obvious where this brat would dodge, so I shot in advance."
Ragni tried to stand up, but the searing pain in her arm clouded her consciousness.
"Oh, I see you've already felt its effects. A good poison, isn't it? It doesn't kill or paralyze the victim; it just delivers excruciating pain. Quite useful, actually. Now, how did you end up here, my dear?"
"Commander, I saw her; she was working on the bridge, the one we couldn't reach."
"Ah, a student from the Academy. That means the others will be here soon too. Take your positions. And you, my dear, will be of further service to us."
At full speed, we chased after the dragoness, but we arrived at the scene too late. Eight figures stood on the road, holding a semi-conscious girl in the center.
"Mayor, stay here. We'll handle everything ourselves."
"What? This is our city's affair; I can't leave it to some students!"
"If you interfere, I can't guarantee your safety," I dismounted and slowly walked towards the bandits.
"Stop!"
"Trust him, it's better to do as he says," Katrina winked and followed the black swordsman, "Well, Krito, what's the plan?"
"They're a coordinated team, and I think they have experience fighting against mages," I signaled the others to follow us, "But we're not that simple either."
"Kurone, focus solely on this battlefield. Warn us if they try to surround us. All communication will be through you now."
"Don't worry, they won't sneak up on you unnoticed. By the way, two of them are already hiding in the bushes by the road."
"Got it. Algo, go to the right; Rizel, to the left. Prepare for an attack. Grain, Levris, cover them."
We emerged in front of the gang, maintaining a distance of about ten meters from them. The ambush was neatly set up behind our backs.
"Excuse me, did you want something?" the one standing in the center, obviously the leader of the group, threw out this phrase with indifference.
"Mmm, yes, we are searching for dangerous criminals who caused a real chaos in the neighboring city," I decided to play along.
"Perhaps you've taken the wrong road; we haven't encountered anyone here. We have some minor issues with the carriage, but we'll be leaving soon and clearing the way for you."
"Oh, come on. You're not bothering us, but just in case, can you tell us what you're carrying?"
"Krito, what are you doing?" Katrina whispered in my ear.
"I'm distracting them; let them think they're in control."
"Excuse me, but the cargo is very important to us. You should continue on your way and not interfere with passing travelers," the leader's voice became more serious. "Besides, we have a girl here who suddenly fell ill, and if she doesn't reach the city on time, I can't guarantee her life."
"Then you'd better hand her over to us."
"I'm afraid I can't allow that. Go back, or she won't survive until morning."
"I don't think our retreat will decide her fate. It's better if you surrender peacefully."
"RAGNI! YOU DUMB LIZARD, WAKE UP! Or have you decided to perish at the hands of some street thugs?!" I tried to awaken the dragoness.
"K-K-Krito? What's happening?"
"At last, two brutes are holding you, and a dagger is pressed against your heart. Can you get rid of them?"
"I can free myself, but they poisoned me somehow; I won't be able to fight properly."
"Just hide behind the carriage. Look, they're attacking."
"Kill her, it won't lead to anything anyway," the commander gave a signal to the two men restraining Ragni, and the dagger struck her chest. However, the blade clanged against the black scales that appeared on her chest.
"Not that easy," Ragni turned both hands into dragon claws and forcefully slammed the two bandits into each other. After freeing herself, she leaped away and hid behind the carriage.
"Forget about her; she won't live long. Attack!" The commander reacted instantly and gave the order. Two assassins leaped out of the bushes and charged with daggers at the fighters closest to the edge of the road. Algo and Rizel easily blocked their attacks, but at that moment, two assassins from the flanks took out crossbows and shot them in the back. The arrows were stopped halfway by earth walls: "Heeeee, looks like you're not just whiny schoolkids. Disperse!"
After the failed initial attack, the assassins spread out in a wider formation, choosing their next victims.
"Hey, Stern, looks like you've got a familiar face here," one of them called out to an assassin standing aside, cloaked in a mantle. The guy raised his face and looked at Seleria.
"That bitch from whom they cut off my hand; it seems there's justice in this world," a crazed smile appeared on the guy's face; he was the same bandit who attacked the girl in the street fight. Now it was clear why he was hiding his body under the cloak - below his elbow, his right hand had been severed as punishment for breaking the guild rules. "Now I'll have plenty of fun with you."
The guy hungrily licked his lips, making his face even more repulsive.
"Well, well, it seems all familiar faces are here. I see you got reprimanded for your misbehavior. Does it hurt?" he said with a mocking tone.
"Shut up!" The guy who broke formation rushed into battle; it seemed Seleria's provocation played into our hands. The guy headed straight for the red princess, and she stepped forward to meet him.
"There's an idiot," the leader of the assassins charged forward, and the others followed suit.
Seleria gathered fire in her hand for an attack, but unexpectedly, an arrow flew from behind the grinning guy, straight at her. Doing a somersault forward, the girl lost her concentration.
The leader hid an arbalest behind his back, drew two daggers from his belt, and crossed them with my swords.
"You seem to be their leader; I think I should deal with you first," as soon as our blades clashed, the assassin stepped aside and lunged forward, letting my swords pass behind him. At the same time, he ended up right behind me, and both daggers were free. Understanding his plan, I somersaulted forward, evading the attack. But at that moment, I saw a glimmer of a flying arrow ahead.
"GRAIN!"
"It's taken care of!"
Another wall stopped the arrow, and it immediately returned to the ground. I turned and saw that Grain and Levris took positions on our sides, protecting everyone from the archers. The two assassins who previously shot at Algo and Rizel stepped back and continued to shoot accurately at the fighters. Algo and Rizel kept fighting their opponents; it seemed the most skilled fighters were chosen for the covert attack. Leira dueled with a rapier-wielding girl attempting to reach Levris, while Katrina took on two sword-wielding enemies trying to reach Grain. The assassins worked in perfect coordination; at first, they wanted to eliminate the earth mages who protected us from the archers and then shoot the rest. But our sorceresses' lightning spells were not that simple.
"I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not the leader of our group," rising from the ground, I lunged at the enemy again.