Mark walked in the middle of the crowd of warriors and fencers, besides him was was Emily.
"Isn't it dumb to walk around in a crowd like this, won't they notice us coming?" Mark voiced his opinion.
"That's exactly the point" the village said then stopped, turning back he saw his former village then smiled.
Mark turned to look at the village Chief like a madman
"What the hell, won't we be killed?" Mark asked.
The village Chief turned back and looked forward :
" You'll understand the plan when we reach"
"Am starting to take this personal,"Mark muttered under his voice.
The village Chief led the group of 70 warriors and fencers , including Mark and Emily, through the forest, the trees spaced apart evenly, allowing sunlight to filter through. The group walked tirelessly, their footsteps in sync, as they navigated through the the forest. The air was filled with the sweet and overwhelming scent of blooming wildflowers and the earthy smell of damp soil.
Mark's muttering was met with a stern glance from the Chief, but he said nothing, his eyes fixated on the path ahead. Emily clung to Mark's arm, her eyes scanned the surroundings nervously.
"Is the fighting beauty nervous?" Mark asked, She had been quiet since the Chief told mark to wait until they reach, her mind raced with thoughts of what lay forward.
"Hey, Emily" mark called out to her, after not getting a reply.
"oh sorry, just" she was about to say something but kept quiet.
"Don't worry I'll protect you" Mark held her hand.
As they walked, the tension grew. The group had walked for what seemed like an hour, the only sound left was one of the rustling leaves and the soft murmur of the Chief's voice as he spoke to the guards flanking him. Suddenly, a rain of swords descended upon them, the blades glinting in the dappled light filtering through the trees. Emily gasped, her grip on Mark's arm tightened, as a shimmering barrier appeared, deflecting the blades.
The group quickened their pace, as they walked through the hail of swords. The barrier held strong, and protected them from the deadly rain. After a few more minutes of walking, the trees parted to reveal a sturdy fence made of blocks and wood. Before the fence stood over a hundred armed fencers soldiers, their weapons were readied.
The Chief halted, turning to face the group. "We're here," he announced, his voice firm.
"This is the perimeter of level three and and above fencers, hopefully only level 4 and not higher, me and Mark will head to fight them off but first we have to get you guys into the barrier."
Mark's eyes narrowed, his grip on Emily's hand tightened. He scanned the soldiers, his mind raced with possibilities. Emily, too, was taking in the scene, her eyes wide with fear she recognized what level of fencers they all were.
The fencers, dressed in black and silver armor, stood at attention, their weapons pointed at the group. Only level 3 and above fencers and warrior's had the ability to manifest an armor if they held there weapons, this made the groups heart to sink, there only hope now was Mark and the chief. The fence, made of sturdy blocks and wood, stretched out in both direction, and disappeared into the trees. A large gate, guarded by two massive stone statues, stood in the center of the fence. The statues, carved with intricate details, seemed to gaze out at the group, their eyes cold.
"Chief take them in first, I'll do the rest of the work" Mark let go of Emily's hand but she hugged him.
" Don't go Mark, there level 3, I don't want anything to happen to you," Mark pulled her closer to him, he hugged her tight not wanting to leave her.
" I'll be back a day or so, I can't be taken down by weaklings" he pulled away from her then disappeared into the forest.
The Village Chief walked forward, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender, as the soldiers closed in. "It seems our plan has been discovered," he said, his voice calm and steady.
The soldiers surrounded the group, their weapons trained on them:
"Take them as captives, immediately" one of the soldiers ordered, and the group was quickly bound with ropes.
The Chief pretended to struggled against his restraints, but they were too tight. Emily faked being scared, some people were actually scared some were pretending.
The soldiers dragged them through the gate and into the Level Three village. The group was taken through the streets, past rows of wooden buildings and marketplaces. They were finally stopped in front of a large, imposing structure it seemed to be the village heads place.
The soldiers pushed them forward, and they stumbled into the place's courtyard. The Chief was taken aside, speaking in hushed tones with one of the village owners advisor's. Emily was left standing, surrounded by their captors and other captives in all directions.
One of the captives asked another:
"What's going to happen to us?" She whispered, her voice trembled with fear. The male captive scanned their surroundings, searching for any opportunity to escape.
"I don't know," he replied,
"but we need to stay calm and think clearly. We'll find a way out of this. Let's trust in mark and Zico"
Emily listened to their conversation, she she looked down to the ground
'Mark am waiting for you, hurry up. I don't like this place' she lingered on this for a few minutes then took in a long deep breath.
Mark pulled a sword out as he stood on top of the longest tree near the village, he scanned the place a few more times and said to himself:
"There, it's about time we make a mess of this place now" he jumped down to the ground and began heading to the village.
after a few minutes of walking, Mark stood staring at the 100 fencers, when they saw him, they pulled there weapons out.
"Attack!" One of them commanded, then they all charged at Mark.
'lets do this' Mark thought then charged forward.