"Mission failed," he muttered, raising his hands in surrender. He had no murderous intent and was releasing no form of hostility, which prevented the guards from attacking, though they didn't lower their guard.
"How did you end up here?" one of them asked. His voice sounded more like a whisper, but it was enough to send chills down Kael's spine.
"I think I lost my way... I'll just retrace my steps," Kael replied, slowly turning toward the door. That was his only thought.
Luckily, it was dark when he transformed into a human, so the six Elite Guards didn't see that he could use magic. Things could have been much more complicated.
"If you take one step further... that's your end."
Kael heard the voice of an Elite Guard and lost his cool. How dare a common soldier of the Armed Nation of Dwargon speak to him that way? He was a Rank One Radiant Adept Nexus Mage. He could kill all of them with a flower magic spell.
While he was contemplating his next move, his eyes widened as he felt the intensity of the air. A fist reached his jaw, sending him flipping and crashing hard to the ground.
The Elite Guards were deciding his fate when he started releasing murderous intent, prompting one of them to punch him. The fist connected with his jaw, rendering him unconscious.
"A punch knocked him out," one of the Elite Guards exclaimed.
"No, he's just pretending. He's too weak to have been sent by House Goldvein. Besides, he looks like a hungry commoner. Take him to the prison," the leader of the Elite Guards said, sheathing his sword. Standing amidst the six guards, his physique was a testament to his leadership.
"A prison in House Stoneforge," Kael muttered as two guards grabbed his arms and started dragging him out of the room toward the prison.
Kael wanted to scream for them to take it easy, but it seemed the unconscious act was more alluring. Unaware, they didn't fall for it.
The guard who commanded the others to take Kael to the prison was known as Zodoba. He was the leader of the Elite Guards sent to protect House Stoneforge. Every guard answered to him, and he assigned their duties.
He left the room and navigated left, seeing guards standing at their respective posts. There was no way Kael could have entered the safe room without passing these guards. Without even asking, Zodoba knew they were unaware of the intruder in House Stoneforge.
"How's your mission going?"
"Aye, Boss," the Elite Guards replied at once as he strode in front of them and climbed down the stairs. He went straight to the power supply and turned off every single light in the mansion, plunging it into total darkness.
He turned on the light again and squinted at his surroundings before switching it off once more. "Why am I feeling uneasy?" he muttered to himself, his brown eyes piercing the dark.
A common trait among the Dwargons was their brown eyes, while Elves mostly had azure blue eyes. It was rare to see a Dwarf with black eyes looking so manly and hot like Kael. His journey in the Armed Nation of Dwargon would be a stressful one.
Zodoba turned and started navigating his way through the dark. He had been in this house for more than a year and was sure to find his way even in the dark. He climbed the steps of the staircase and stopped at the third step.
The guards outside...
His gaze fell on the door. Since he caused the power outage, the guards outside should have turned on their torches, and the rays should be hitting the door. But tonight was strange; none of them were doing that.
"Or is this the work of the intruder?" His thoughts lingered as he went to check it out himself.
He opened the door to the mansion and stepped outside. The cold breeze greeted him, slapping against his face.
He didn't feel any presence; there wasn't a single guard in front of House Stoneforge Mansion.
"This is bad news," he muttered, turning to head back when he heard a whooshing sound in the air. Something was coming directly at him with a force he couldn't decipher. It was too late to dodge, so he caught the object with his right hand before it could stab into his eyes.
It turned out to be an arrow. He tossed it away and pulled out his sword from its sheath, fixing his eyes in the direction from which the arrow came.
"Over here," he heard a voice from above. He looked up to see a figure descending with a blade aimed to slice him in two. He blocked it with his own blade, forming a cross in the air.
The clanging sound of metal filled the air as his opponent flipped backward. As he landed on the ground, he launched a straight horizontal attack at Zodoba, his sword threatening to stab through his chest. Zodoba shifted back, countering the attack again with his sword facing the earth.
His opponent took back his hand and swung his sword playfully while Zodoba stared with seriousness, calculating his every movement.
In a snap, his opponent launched an attack, but it wasn't frontal. It came from the back. It took Zodoba a moment to realize, but it wasn't too late. He turned and countered the sword attack.
The attack weighed more than he expected, pushing him backward, almost hitting his back on the door. He gnashed his teeth and supported his right hand with his left, pushing his opponent away with his sword. The latter leapt into the air and landed six feet away. Zodoba charged at him instantly, chanting a swordsman technique.
"Blade Tempest Technique: First Form," he chanted, shutting his eyes as he felt his inner energy building up. He focused it on his blade, and it started glowing with a faint light. He launched a precise attack at his opponent, leaping into the air. "Tempest Strike."
The blade glowed brightly as he slashed the air vertically, unleashing a series of strikes. His opponent tried hard to evade them but was hit by one, sending him crashing to the floor. Zodoba landed on one knee, his sword piercing the ground.
"I must commend you, Zodoba. You're indeed a good swordsman. Your attack could have killed me if I hadn't dodged it," his opponent replied, trying to get to his feet. Zodoba was trying hard to catch his breath, inhaling and exhaling as he felt his heart accelerating.
"You managed to escape this one, but the next one is inevitable," Zodoba said, getting to his feet and pulling his sword from the ground.
"Unfortunately, there's no next time," his opponent chuckled, and Zodoba's eyes widened. "You must be feeling the urge to cough."
As soon as he heard his opponent's voice, his throat ached, and he coughed up blood. "What... what did you do to me?" he asked, holding his chest.
"Zodoba, if I fought you one on one, I wouldn't stand a chance. I'm no match for your mastery in swordsmanship. So, I used another means," his opponent chuckled, playing with his sword. Even in the dark, Zodoba could see the dangerous smirk on his lips. He looked at his hand and found it was turning black, his veins sprouting out. It dawned on him that this was the hand he used to catch the arrow.
"The arrow! It was poisoned," Zodoba said, coughing up more blood.
"I knew you'd figure it out. Although your body was resisting, your stunt boosted the flow of the poison. So, let me show you my attack," his opponent said, his smile vanishing as he gripped his sword tightly, focusing his energy on it.
"Swordsman Technique: Phantom Strike," he cried out, charging at Zodoba with incredible speed. He dashed in a zigzag pattern, leaving afterimages that created the illusion of four attackers.
"If you were in your right state, I'm sure you'd see through this technique, but now... this is my chance," Zodoba heard his opponent's voice as a series of rapid, precise strikes hit him from different angles, sending him bursting through the door and crashing inside the mansion, blood dripping from every cut.
"Golden ticket," the man chuckled, rushing into the building. He heard the sounds of approaching footsteps. The Elite Guards were advancing. They must be coming for Zodoba or him. 'They must have heard the loud thud,' he thought, staring at Zodoba.
"You're going to die anyway. Mission comes first," he said, launching into the darkness. The Elite Guards arrived with their torches flickering.
"Sir Zodoba," one of them called out, hearing their leader's growls, and they all rushed to him.
"We have to stop the bleeding. Bring the first aid," said one, shaking his head.
"An assassin... Sir Stoneforge," Zodoba said, alerting the Elite Guards about the intruder in Stoneforge Mansion. They were shocked and surprised.
An intruder had never bypassed their leader, let alone messed him up like this. Torches flickered everywhere as the Elite Guards scattered around the mansion, while one stayed with Zodoba, trying to stop the excessive bleeding.
Meanwhile, Zodoba was fighting to stay conscious. The poison coursing through his veins was taking its toll. He could feel the darkness closing in, but his determination to protect House Stoneforge kept him holding on.
The Elite Guards worked quickly to stop the bleeding and stabilize him. "We need to find the intruder," one of them said.
"He... he's here for something... or someone," Zodoba managed to say between labored breaths.
"We'll find him, Sir Zodoba. Just hold on," the guard reassured him, though his voice wavered with worry.
****
Five Elite Guards took the stairs, climbing to the third floor. Four went right while the last one went left . He was one of the guards who had dragged Kael to prison. He suspected the intruder to be Kael, as a direct attack couldn't affect Zodoba so severely. His footsteps echoed in his ears as he headed toward the prison, his heart thumping loudly.
Zodoba's subordinates were no match for him, and now he was close to death because of an intruder they knew nothing about. This meant one thing: they were all in grave danger.
Surprisingly, he found Kael in the prison, his head buried between his legs as he sat with his back against the bars. "Definitely not the intruder. How could he be? He's just a commoner," the guard thought. He turned to leave but then found Kael standing right before him.
He was shocked, his gaze tilting to see that Kael was out of the prison. His grip tightened on his sword instantly.
"Hey, what's the fuss all about?" Kael asked the Elite Guard calmly, which provoked the guard further. He was a prime suspect, but his carefree attitude suggested only one thing to the guard: he was allied with the intruder. They should have ended him a long time ago.
The guard charged at him, launching his sword in the air. Kael blocked the sword with his right hand.
The guard was surprised to see him employ such a foolish move, as his sword slashed through the air, descending on Kael's arm. The force used could have severed the arm, but Kael was no ordinary person.
As a Rank One Radiant Adept Nexus Mage, Kael's skin repelled the blade, which bounced back without causing a cut. The force pushed the guard backward, crashing him against the iron bars.
"Are you ready to talk now?" Kael asked, and the guard nodded, slipping to the floor.