"An attack? I don't see anything.."
That was to be expected, as Veronica had not reached the stage of masterswordsman, limiting her ability to use sword aura to detect her surroundings. Seraphine could sense a presence of 49..50 people slowly moving to surround them, using darkness and the ragged terrain as cover to approach. Out of the 50 figures, three of them seemed to possess mana, and ten looked to be master swordsmen. They were still some distance away, which gave the group a bit of time to prepare.
Truthfully, she had sensed them even earlier, but she wanted to test something.
Armand and Flint must have sensed them too by now, as they lifted the flap of their tent with grim expression, swords in hand. Darryl peeked from inside their tent with a worried expression, but Flint just turned around and winked at him. Seeing this, Veronika wordlessly rose up and went to warn Sir Kingsley and Sir Regulus.
Seraphine touched her cheek lightly with her steel fan. They were vastly outnumbered, but it was not that big a deal. She found the timing of the attack to be strangely good, as if the attackers had been notified of their arrival and location beforehand, even though they had avoided camping in the direct proximity of the cave, as that would be suicidal.
She looked at Armand, who was standing still with his eyes closed as he used divine power to detect the oncoming intruders. Flint, whose detection ability was not as accurate, sat down on a large pile and yawned.
Checking Sir Kingsley's and Sir Regulus's tent, she saw both of them slowly emerging from the inside, looking disoriented. Dame Ardent followed them outside, a bit flustered.
Sir Kingsley growled. "What is all this commotion? What do you mean, an attack? No one's here!"
Seraphine and Armand exchanged glances.
Sir Kingsley turned his attention towards them and raised his voice. "Is this some kind of prank? Young lady, who do you think you are! Commander, don't think that just because you are the head of the holy knights, you can go along with this kind of prank!"
Seraphine ignored him and locked eyes with Armand and Flint.
"I'll take the left side." She seamlessly blended into the shadows of the trees.
Armand nodded, and Flint lazily stood up and headed towards the opposite direction.
"Then I'll take the right."
Agitated from being ignored, Sir Kingsley's face reddened. Sir Regulus tried to calm him down but he slapped his hand away. "I will not stand for such disrespect! Look at me wh-"
Whizz.
With a whizzing sound, an arrow flew past his nose and embedded itself on a tent pole with a loud thunk.
The knights froze. The following second, they drew their swords and assumed proper stance, darting their eyes trying to scan the darkness in front of them.
"What the-" Sir Kingsley mumbled under his breath. "How did they know we are here??"
"Duck!"
A barraged of arrows flew past their heads. Unconcerned, Armand activated his holy barrier, but some arrows managed to stray past him towards the knights, who immediately ducked.
Armand pulled his sword from the sheath. "Dame Ardent....follow Flint and provide support. Sir Regulus, if you can track down Lady Mizan, go with her and provide support. Sir Kingsley, stay here with me."
Even if he wanted to protest, Sir Kingsley was too busy trying to avoid the arrows. When they had an opening, Dame Ardent and Sir Regulus quickly went their respective way as told.
Armand focused on the attackers in front of him. There were about 20 of them, all wearing pitch-black robe that seemed to suck in even the slightest bit of moonlight. Observing their weapons, he concluded they had only around two archers, and the rest were swordsman, except for a figure in the far back.
A mage.
He had no idea who these people were, but he could always find out later. His main concern was to restrict the mage's movement as quick as possible.
With his enhanced vision, he could see the mage's mouth moving - a good sign. Although, a mage of Seraphine Mizan's calibre, who could cast magic without incantation and easily dispel a curse with a flap of a hand - was closer to a legend than the norm. It was just these past two days, he had been exposed to too many extraordinary things, he had started to think he did not know the world very well.
He did not have any intention to let the mage finish. Condensing his holy power, he shaped them into arrows and send them flying back to the archers, knocking both of them down. Without checking for their vitality, he rushed forward to meet the attackers in close combat. Behind him, he could see Kingsley crossing swords with two of the intruders, but he did not have the luxury to look after him now - his main goal was to stop the mage.
The intruders fell in front of his sword one by one, their bodies were not capable of catching up to his speed as deep slashes severed their tendons and arteries. This continued on until his strike was, surprisingly, parried by a final figure defending the mage.
"Ugh!"
Unable to withstand the force of Armand's sword, the cloaked figure was thrown backward onto the forest floor, almost hitting the mage in the process. The hood fell off from his head from the impact, revealing a clean-shaven, middle-aged man with auburn hair. He staggered as he tried to rise to his feet, but managed to step in front of the mage and shakily raised his sword again. He shouted at the mage.
"How long??"
Sweat dripping from his forehead, the mage ignored him and started to recite the incantation faster, but the sickening rusty smell from the blood and the gruesome scene in front of him made him nauseated. The ancient rune sigil floating around him trembled as if sensing his fear.
"You're pretty durable." Armand said calmly. "Mind sharing who sent you? Are you one of the kidnappers?"
"Shut your mouth, you filthy Temple's dog!" The man spat on the ground. He looked ordinary, with no other redeeming feature. He did not even seem like a mercenary with his average build. Armand did not think someone of his stature would be able to parry his attack.
Thinking any more would be pointless. Armand readied himself as the man lunged at him, his sword aimed at his throat. He easily avoided the stab, and with a downward slashing motion, severed the muscle on his thighs.
His scream reverberated through the forest, but Armand's focus was now on the mage, who seemed to have finally completed the spell.
"This is the end, young Commander." The mage's hands were trembling, but he had a wide grin on his face. "Ember Tempestate!"
A fire pillar materialised from the sigil, crackling and hissing as it surged towards Armand.