"Fly me down there." I point at a rooftop, and Windborne obeys with gliding us down. He then poofs into his tiny form and settles in my hair with his head poking out. I crouch over the metal roof and observe the surroundings. Now that I'm closer, I'm sure of it. That's the same type of footprint I saw earlier. For the amount of houses, there aren't that many people in this place, only about 3 dozen, and around half of them are stationed near the tower. I slowly make my way from rooftop to rooftop, trying my best to land gently so as to not make noise on the roofs. I go around the tower and survey the surroundings further to make sure I don't miss any important detail. As I reach the opposite side of the tower, the roof I land on gives out, causing me to fall straight through the floor with a loud crash of metal. I quickly look around and see a group of four guards sitting around a table playing cards. An awkward silence fills the air as neither of us move before I break the silence a moment later.
"Mind if I join?"
They then proceed to grab their weapons and scream at the top of their lungs, alerting literally everyone in the area of my presence. I quickly close the distance and knock two of them out in quick succession, but the other two manage to block my attempt and push me back. Behind me, I can hear the footsteps of the other reinforcements arriving. I must end this quickly. I close the distance again and feint a punch into a leg sweep, knocking them both onto the floor and disarming them of their weapons. I grab one of them just as the door opens and half a dozen more guards pile in front of the door. I launch the guard in my hand at them, causing all of them to fall back and buying me time.
"There's an intruder!" A voice from above me exclaims. I look up and see a man standing on the roof that I fell from. My presence has been confirmed, and my position has been revealed. I run out the door, jump over the mob of guards, and dash straight towards the tower's back entrance. Just as I reach it, a large metal foot steps in the way as a mech arrives just in time to stop my entrance.
"Dammit," I mutter to myself. Then, more from each side began to approach me, and the guards from before were getting back up. I'm being surrounded. Even if I get through the mechs and into the building, I'll be pursued by all the guards in the area. I need to block off the entrance somehow. Shit! No time to think!
I slide underneath the mech in front as the arm tries to grab me. I follow up by climbing up its back and reaching the top of the cockpit, where there seems to be a battery unit and a breaker box. A flash of colors and wires greets me as I tear open the front panel. Although some of it seems familiar, I don't have the luxury to stay and examine it further. I shove my sword into it and pour my electricity through, causing a crackling sound and a small flame to erupt out of the box. I quickly jump down and run through the entrance as the mech blows up behind me and falls, blocking the back entrance. I grab Windborne and toss him down near the front entrance.
"Watch that, make sure no one comes through." He chirps as if to understand what I meant and transforms into his biggest form. At least he seems like he's taking it seriously. I make my way through a flight of stairs before being greeted to a sign that says Floor 2 of 3. I charge through the door to find 5 guards with hefty chest plates waiting for me and another flight of stairs to their right. I slowly move to my left, waiting for the guards to make the first move. The first one charges at me with a baton in his right hand. Just before he can swing, the tower shakes and rumbles, causing everyone to lose their footing. I managed to recover quickly and get past him. The second guard throws in a feint but I respond with a jab to his nose, leaving a straight path between me and the stairs. My plan to lure them away from it worked like a charm.
"Wind Burst activated. High usage detected. Cooldown of 5 seconds will be applied after usage," Info Nexus displayed.
I channeled my electricity into my shoes and the wind at the soles, generating a tremendous boost of speed which allowed me to zip straight through them. Catching myself at the foot of the stairs, I climb my way up quickly and kick open the door to the last floor at the top. I walk to the railing and peer over, seeing a huge hole in the wall at the base of the tower and Windborne wreaking havoc outside. Didn't I tell him to stay guard? I suppose it's fine as long as he's doing his-
My thoughts get cut off as a sharp, slim object gets sent straight at my face from my right. I barely deflect it as it cuts a small scratch on my cheek. I stumble backward from the surprising amount of force behind it, and looking up, I see Clara tied up in a large cage and a tall man with long, dark red hair in front of it with a black suit and red undershirt. His face is pale and his figure is as slender as a malnourished man. He turns around slowly to face me.
"Are you the one causing trouble at our camp?" He asks with a sly tone and a red glint in his eye. "Perhaps I need to show you what happens when you interfere with the plans of The Orbital Revelation Sect."