Loyalty (3)

At the same time, Seleria impressively parried the attacks of three opponents. Two attacked simultaneously, and while the princess blocked their strikes, the third attempted to strike from her blind spot. They acted in unison, but it seemed as though Seleria knew exactly where the attacks would come from. Blocking their attacks, she executed a backward somersault and, landing behind the third assassin, sent him flying with a kick.

"Well, why so unoriginal? Always aim for vital points, first trying to immobilize the enemy and then finishing them off with a blow to the heart or neck," Seli played with the dagger on her finger, showing the assassins her lack of interest.

Two attackers advanced directly toward the princess, preparing to attack her from both sides, while the third remained behind for now.

"Heh," Seleria jumped towards them and, turning sideways, passed between the attackers. Their blades grazed her clothing but failed to touch her. Positioned between the assassins, the princess leaped back, knocking out one of them with a knee strike to the chin and flipping over the other's back.

Taking advantage of the moment, the third assassin instantly appeared behind Seleria, attempting to strike with a hidden blade at her heart. But with a metallic clang, his blade was blocked. The Red Princess knew exactly where the assassin would aim and had already moved her hand back, intercepting his attack with her own knife.

Grabbing the assassin standing in front of her by the collar, Seleria hurled him onto the one behind, and they both fell to the ground.

"Alright then," after dealing with the small fry, the princess dusted off her hands and looked at the girl in black standing behind her. "These must have been rookies from the guild if they surrendered so quickly. As for you, I've heard many flattering reviews."

"Hm," the girl finally stepped out of the shadows. Her black and violet cloak covered her black leather outfit with a silver belt and concealed most of her face. Only her thin lips with violet lipstick and black eyes were visible. "I heard that the master once trained another student who didn't join the guild. I never thought I'd meet you here."

"Oh, well, that happened. Your problem is that you all have the same teacher, and that's why your fighting style is almost identical. You need to add more variety to it," the princess mocked, twirling her kunai in her hands and taunting her opponent.

"I know you're unmatched by the master, but who among us is better, we'll find out now," the girl abruptly straightened her arms, and two straight blades emerged from the backs of her gloves. In an instant, she leaped towards Seleria and struck at her heart.

Meanwhile, I was battling the leader of the assassins. He wasn't particularly fast, but he easily anticipated my movements, sidestepping them a second before the clash. He always tried to counter-attack when an opening appeared, but I managed to block his attacks. We exchanged a couple of blows, but neither of us managed to land a hit. He seemed to have a slight build, so a powerful strike could knock him out of the fight. However, he brazenly took my punches with his fists, showing no sign of weakness. Apparently, he was trained to endure pain in case of torture, and one could only hope that he couldn't withstand a sword strike.

Gathering my strength, I started delivering blow after blow to him, and he had no choice but to retreat. Eventually, he found himself pressed against a wall. I delivered a strong overhead strike and brought my sword down on his head. The assassin crossed his blades in front of him and stopped my blade. Using the other sword's edge, I lifted his blades up, exposing him for an attack. Making a half-turn, I aimed for his vulnerable chest, but my muscles failed me. I stumbled, and in that moment, he pushed me aside.

Now, I was the one cornered against the wall, and the assassin wasted no time. He rushed towards me, relentlessly delivering blow after blow, trying to break through my defenses. I could barely defend against all the attacks. The problem was that I couldn't free myself from this position, unless someone helped me or the opponent exhausted himself. However, Aileen wasn't faring much better.

The girl managed to knock down the opponents, but after that, she didn't achieve much success. The enemies dodged her shots and gradually cornered her, surrounding her with their attacks. Perhaps if there were fewer of them, or if she could predict their movements like Seleria, she could handle them, but for now, she was playing right into their hands. Dodging their attacks, she kept retreating backward, and gradually backed herself into a narrow space between the trees; she needed help.

As for Seleria...

...

She was toying with her opponent. The female assassin was much faster than my opponent, but it didn't bother the princess much. Seleria effortlessly parried the assassin's attacks and tried to get closer. Being in close proximity, she struck her with fists, elbows, and knees. In other words, if she wanted to kill her, she could easily do it, but she deliberately prolonged the pleasure of superiority over her enemy. However, credit had to be given to the girl; she endured dozens of strikes and still stood firmly on her feet while her comrades were already down after such blows. But there was something else that worried me...

I intercepted the assassin's hand, and his blade hovered in front of my face. If there was an appropriate time for Seleria to help me, it was RIGHT NOW!!

"Seleria, damn it, can you help?!" My cry drew the attention of everyone present.

"Oh, damn," the princess clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Hm, a familiar name," the assassin scratched his chin, still not lowering his blade from my face.

"What? It's you," the female assassin peered into the eyes visible under the shinobi mask and fell to one knee.

"It seems everything is ready," Hilda maintained the icy barrier above her comrades and noticed the signal from the girls ascending the ropes to the cliff above the fortress. "Everyone, get down!"

Three shinobi lit the fuses under the vault and hurriedly retreated to cover. Yesterday, Levris not only fortified the cliff to prevent it from collapsing from the explosion but also created several openings within the rock where they could place the bombs. Each individual charge carried by the shinobi couldn't cause significant damage, but when placed in several rows, they could seriously cripple the enemy forces. The series of explosions shook the cave's vault. The ceiling held, but stones and many enemies who had taken cover above were dislodged and rained down on their own comrades.

The enemies were stunned by such a turn of events, and it was an opportunity that couldn't be missed.

"Kurone, relay to all shinobi to head up. Let them cover us with ranged weapons from above. Ursa, Mitri, and Shinryu will lead them. Levris, create the thickest wall possible and leave only one passage in the center. We'll hold on until the last!" It was impossible to withstand the remaining five thousand on their own. This "army" was a motley crew consisting of local guards, entire clans of mercenaries, and individual individuals. They all obeyed commanders who stood on the forest edge behind the army. They didn't get involved in the battle, only giving orders. Perhaps if they could be taken out of the equation, the enemy's squads would be thrown into confusion. But reaching them was impossible. They had to rely on their own strength and the help of their friends.

The Baron sat in his tent on a hill five kilometers away from the battlefield. From here, he could observe the course of the battle through a magical lens, and he was not pleased with what he saw.

"They only have five hundred men, and yet we should have taken the fortress by now!" The Baron's patience was slowly wearing thin.

"My lord," a messenger entered the tent from the front lines, "our attacks are being repelled not by the fortress defenders but by a group of young people in the Academy's uniform. Also, our artillery was destroyed by powerful magic from the fortress."

"Tch, you can't rely on anyone these days. Where the hell did those damned assassins disappear to? Even that lizard couldn't do anything to them. What's wrong with these kids, don't they know when it's time to die?" The mage gnashed his teeth in anger, mentally cursing the day he decided to hire that guild. He could have managed without them, but he didn't want to lose the king's respect, so he took this risky step.

Thunk

Two dull thuds resounded behind the tent's entrance. A girl with black wings embedded the guards into the ground with a single blow.

"Finally made it," Kat looked back, the battlefield visible to the naked eye. Explosions had just rumbled there, and smoke rose above the cliff. She was afraid it might be too late, but hope still lingered. "Forward!"

Katrina and Ragni burst into the tent, ready for battle, but besides the Baron and a frightened messenger, there was no one else.

"Do you want something, Princess?" Rion maintained a cool tone even in such a situation. He was confident that he could defend himself even without guards.

"Do you even ask? I've come to stop your madness!" Kat clenched her fists with anger.

"I don't understand what you're talking about," the Baron reclined in his chair and thoughtfully folded his hands over himself. "If you couldn't handle the job, there's nothing I can do about it. I discovered a den of bandits and decided to personally destroy them before it escalated into a major uprising."

"THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT BANDITS!" Several discharges spread through the room. "It's your fault that they ended up in this situation! You were supposed to take care of your subjects instead of abandoning them to their fate!"

"You're clearly mistaken. I don't consider people who don't obey me to be my subjects," the Baron's face contorted into a malicious grin.

At that moment, the two remaining girls reached the tent. Asura was helping her weakened sister walk. After using her powers for a long time, Yuki could barely stand on her feet, but she refused to stay in a safe place and wanted to see everything firsthand. The girls entered the tent and stood behind the two princesses.

"Tch, so that's what's going on," Rion looked dissatisfied at the new guests. He had seen the girl on the left once before—light blue hair and eyes, a sign of belonging to the Yukitori clan, and a gray Academy uniform with red details. "Now it's clear who put these absurd thoughts in your head."

"Sister, what are you doing?" The assassin stopped her attacks and gazed at the scene before her with bewilderment. The attackers who had been going after Aileen also looked surprised.

"Well, it's all Krito's fault. He couldn't keep his mouth shut," Seleria began to untie her mask.

"I remember what the master mentioned," the girl didn't rise from her knees. "A guy wielding two blades, victorious in the tournament, from the same guild as our princess."

"Eh?!" The assassin looked at the red-eyed girl with skepticism. She removed her mask and revealed herself to everyone in all her glory, her hair fluttering like flames. The boy's gaze skimmed over her translucent outfit, evaluating Seleria's curves and velvety skin, and he nodded thoughtfully. "Right, you indeed look like a princess. I should have recognized such a beauty right away."

"And how do you recognize girls?" The girl-assassin gritted her teeth in anger.

"Ha-ha! By the most important aspects!" The boy wanted to add something else, but a well-aimed stone made him shut up. "Ah yes, my apologies."