War of Deceit Pt. 3

The loud sounds of metal striking against metal rang out in front of the Zephyr palace. A deadly dance of black and yellow exchanged blows amongst the chaos. However, the yellow uniforms of the Zephyr guards and military was now but a faint glow in the night compared to its glaring and vibrant appearance when proudly worn during the day.

The black robed mercenaries were like shadows in the darkness. Along with their tanned bodies, the only visual cue identifying their assault was the flash and spark of steel as they engaged in ruthless combat with the Zephyr knights.

At the same time, in another part of the palace, two other groups snuck into its corridors and halls, eliminating any resistance they came across.

Strom still wore his roman infiltrator/scout armor while Aaron had redonned his covering rags similar to the ones his warrior Marcus was wearing.

Amira had her usual black and scarlet cloth clothes with a black veil covering half of her face.

The small group was also accompanied by two mercenaries that Amira barely could afford to spare to support them in their mission.

After cutting down a few more sentry guards as they silently ran through the grand corridors of the palace, they came to an intersection.

Three routes presented themselves in front of the group. Amira pointed one of her dark daggers towards the hallway on the far left.

"This is the way to the council room... Down the center path is the throne room leaving the last direction leading to the sentry's barracks." Explained Amira in a hushed voice.

"Alright, I guess this is where we split up." Stated Strom as the whole group nodded their heads in agreement.

"I'll see you on the other side." Promised Aaron as he patted Marcus on his one shoulder.

Strom walked over to the two and slung his arms around each of them before Aaron could run off.

"Marcus, you watch my brother's back. You hear?" He seriously requested of the warrior.

Marcus nodded in complete fealty, lessening Strom's worries ever so slightly.

"I'm right here you know you asshole." Grumbled Aaron in response.

Strom raised his hand and ruffled his younger brothers hair through the hood covering it like he used to do when they were kids.

"I know that you little shit. Be careful, alright." Smiled Strom in a brotherly fashion before returning to a stoic expression while glancing over his brother's shoulders at Amira.

"Aaron... I'm sorry..." He whispered before walking away from his younger brother.

"I know..." Brokenly mumbled Aaron in return while hiding a small smile underneath his covered face.

After departing from his brother he watched as the group began to set off towards the council and noticed Marcus looking back at him.

Strom pointed with his sword towards Amira and mouthed his final request to the warrior he had begun to respect.

Marcus widened his eyes and silently nodded in acceptance before hurrying off with the rest of his group.

A single remaining mercenary from Amira's group remained with Strom and was confused by the last interaction.

"What was that about roman?" Suspiciously questioned the mercenary.

"Nothing important. Come on we have our own work to do." Shrugged Strom before leading the mercenary down their path.

As they silently ran through the corridor, Strom could see the entrance to the throne room approaching in a golden splendor at the end of the arched hallway.

Strom had never seen the throne room of his parent kingdom before, even when his parents were still alive. Judging by the sparkling gold door, that shined underneath the glow of torches lining the walls, Strom could assume that this kingdom did in fact have its own glory days at one point in time.

The torches in the hallways did not offer the greatest of illuminations for sight to be perfectly clear at night, but squinting his eyes, Strom could make out the figures of four guards in heavy armor stationed in front of a large gaudy door.

"Shouldn't be a problem. Right?" Murmured Strom over to his seemingly irritated companion.

The mercenary merely grunted in response as if Strom even asking such a question was ridiculous.

"Alright whatever, just get the ones on the right then. The two on the left are mine." Signaled Strom as the two split off to opposite sides in the corridor.

The corridor they were in had sturdy granite pillars that lined its edges like polished pearly ribs. The torches lining the hall were higher up in elevation, only a couple feet below the vaulted ceiling, in between the pillars.

Such placement of these torches allowed Strom to slightly relax as he carefully weaved between the pillars, while slowly and carefully approaching his targets.

The pair he was facing had the same equipment as the pair the mercenary would encounter. The royal guard on the outside held a long spear, more closely resembling a pike, while the inner guard had a sword and shield. The shield was larger in scale than the normally issued ones, with its surface covering about three quarters of the guards body, leaving little no room for error in Strom's assault.

The armor each guard wore was far more grand than the regular guards or soldiers, with full silver plates and dyed leather protecting any small openings left around the arms or legs.

'For this to end quickly... I'll target the one on the inside first. Looks like the only fatal spot left is their necks...' Strom calculated.

Reaching the third pillar away from his opponents, he stopped to assess his comrade's situation.

The mercenary had closely followed suit and was stationed at the third pillar opposite to Strom as well, glancing over at his ally.

Strom nodded while half unsheathing the longsword at his waist, glinting slightly from the dim glow of the torches above them.

The mercenary in response pulled out his own weapon from his concealing robes and nodded in confirmation.

'Alright, let's get this over with.' Exhaled Strom as he rushed towards the guards.

"Intruders!" Shouted the guards in the center who, as Strom guessed, were the core of their formation.

The shielded guards stepped forwards, implanting their heavy shields into the floor beneath them. While the long spearmen stepped behind them with their pointed spears hanging over their companions shoulders and resting on top of the shields.

"Yep... They're far better trained too." Sighed Strom as he ducked to the side to dodge the spear that lunged towards his face.

The whistling of air flowing past his right ear reversed as the spear began retreating from its path of destruction.

However, Strom could not allow such an instrument to continue to pose such a threat. Quickly, before the end of the spear could return past his side, he sliced his sword in a vertical motion. He imbued strength into his blade using his divinity as thick blue sparks crackled along its surface.

In a single motion, from unsheathing to slashing, Strom cut off the head of the spear and pressed towards the shielded guard two paces in front of him.

"Brace yourself!" Shouted the guard behind the shielding one as he realized the roman's intentions.

But it was too late, Strom sprinted the last few steps and jumped slightly above the ground, bent his knees to load their full potential, and pummeled the shield with a double footed kick.

The bracing guard winced as sparks danced like vengeful spirits around his shield. The guard's grasp lessened because of their shocks and his stature weakened, allowing the full frontal assault of Strom's kick to press them back.

The guard behind this one yelped in pain as he was crushed against the golden door behind them, after the force of the kick smooshed him between the guard in front of him and the sturdy door behind.

The shielding guard panicked as he realized their dire situation. But before he could help his fellow guard or regain his grasp on the shield, a sword cleanly sliced his flesh between the armor on his chest and his helmet.

The guard in front fell and soon after, a sizzling sword was impaled straight through the remaining guards armor, only impeded by the door behind him.

The thud of the two heavily armored guards signaled the end of Strom's assault as he stuck his foot on the spearman's chest and forcefully yanked his sword out from its victim.

"Man do I hate night shifts." Groaned Strom as he stretched his arms.

Looking over to the other side, he was surprised that the mercenary was now finishing up his last target. But what was more surprising was the unique weapon he used.

Chains looped around the spear thrusted towards the mercenary and twisted in a constricting fashion, pulling the spear out of the guard's grasp, before twirling it around and smashing it against the guard's helmet.

The mercenary did not allow the stunned guard any time for a recovery and leapt behind him while pulling the chains with both hands down over his shoulders as leverage. The center of the long roping chains embedded themselves around the guard's neck and the pull from the mercenary brought the guard straight down to the floor.

A final expert twist of the mercenary's body resulted in the sickening clean snap of the guard's neck.

"Wow." Whistled Strom as he walked over to the mercenary.

The mercenary flicked the chains, wrapping them around his forearms like a punk accessory and looked over to Strom, or more specifically, the already defeated guards behind him.

The mercenary snorted as he retracted his gaze and walked over to large golden carved door.

Strom followed the mercenary while eyeing the guards his partner had defeated one last time for a final assessment.

'Yeah... These "mercenaries" are skilled alright.' He affirmed.

The door leading into the throne room, located at the center of the palace, opened with a quick motion revealing the two assailants. Both of them standing on one foot with the other raised from the powerful kicks used to push the door. They then calmly walked down the golden threaded carpet leading them to their primary targets.

"What is this? Guards seize them!" Shouted a small boy whose small legs inhibited his feet from touching the floor beneath the throne.

Strom and the mercenary glanced at each other in surprise at the sight of the "king" of the Zephyr kingdom.

"Who are you?" Confusedly asked Strom in surprise.

Even with all the intel he had gathered, he had not received nor collected information regarding the boy in front of them.

The girl standing next to the young boy, who seemed to only be in her early teens, shouted as well.

"Guards! What are you doing? Arrest these intruders!"

'According to the intel, the king should only be in his late forties and quite healthy still... But where was this king now? Did he run off already or unexpectedly pass away?' Strom was unsure of what had happened to land him in the current predicament he was now placed in.

'Whatever... I can just get the answer from them probably.'

Two remaining guards rushed towards the armed duo from behind the throne, both with spears similar to the ones used by the guards at the door.

The mercenary's chains slid from his forearms to the floor with a threatening ringing sound while Strom rushed towards the other guard.

The royal guard jabbed his spear at Strom's chest, but while keeping his momentum and pressing forwards, Strom slid beneath the spear and unsheathed his sword.

The familiar electricity seen before flashed from the scabbard of his sword as he embedded it deep into the guards lower abdomen at an angle through the plated armor.

While the other guard was caught by surprise after seeing his comrade almost immediately slain, the mercenary's chain had slipped around his spear, rendering its mobility useless.

Spinning around while regaining his firmly planted foothold on the ground, Strom pulled his blade from the guard. Using the force of the spin to do most of the work for him, the embedded charged blade became free from its human sheathe and sliced cleanly through the neck of the other guard.

Both guards were felled in mere moments before the two children.

The two young Zephyr royalty shivered in fear as the two men approached them.

"Where's the king?" Asked Strom softly while bending down on one knee.

"I-I-I'm the king..." Stammered the young boy who could not have possibly been older than six or seven years old.

"Our father... He... He was captured." Timidly moussed the girl beside her younger brother in fear.

"It's alright we are not here to hurt you." Consoled Strom as he reached a hand out towards the boy king who seemed to be on the verge of tears in front of the two scary men.

The girl beside the boy shrunk away from Strom as he approached them in terror. Strom noticed her apparent fear but that was to be expected. They were still young, like him and his brother when both their parents had died, so he could understand their situation somewhat.

But as Strom drew nearer, he discovered that the fear was not placed on him...

Looking closer at the young girl's eyes, he realized they were directed at not him but the dark figure looming behind him.

Quickly, Strom removed his outstretched hand from the boy in front of him, and he raised it up to guard his head as he ducked.

Black chains looped around and tore against the leather pads on his forearm, as he pulled his head under them, he flicked his arm to the side to deflect the chain's grasp.

Rolling to the side, away from the throne where the children ran behind for cover, Strom unsheathed his blade again.

"You cunning bastards!" Raged Strom as his previous suspicions had now been confirmed.

The mercenary retracted the chains almost as quickly as he deployed them, wrapping them back up around his arms while the piece connecting them leaned against his back.

"Nothing personal mate." Snickered the dark mercenary.

The slip of parchment he had received earlier that evening resurfaced in Strom's mind.

'Strom, there is no known data on the mercenary group or Amira on the continent... Their identities and group do not exist.'