Rayne Page 6

  “It is time for us to strike a decisive blow. We have learned that Lord Clearly has obtained a powerful artifact of a nefarious nature. Not only that, but he’s conspiring and allying himself with an enemy who wishes great harm to the people of our country. I deem the threat high enough that an immediate assault is necessary. We will rush the manor and take out as many of the guards as possible with our skills while remaining silent. When the alarm is raised it’s an all-out assault without quarter. Anyone holding a weapon that isn’t part of this group will not be left alive by the end of the night.” Lucas explained to them.

  The faces of those around him were grim and determined. A few had a touch of fear in their eyes, but that was to be expected. These men were used to sneaking around, gathering intel, and the occasional assassination when needed, but rarely had they ever needed to assault a standing force.

  “Our main goal is to remove this artifact from Lord Clearly’s control as soon as possible. It’s an orb, roughly the size of a melon, and looks like it contains writhing black shadows. If you find it, do not touch it directly with your skin. You must only touch it with gloves or with something covering it. Once the orb has been secured, we will retreat from the premises. We usually avoid killing lords, but I authorize anyone who sees Lord Clearly to end his life if the situation presents itself.” He continued.

  Lucas saw the nods of agreement as he looked around the room and smiled.

  “Let’s get moving.” He concluded as everyone began departing from the building.

  Lord Clearly’s mansion wasn’t very far from the warehouse, but to avoid suspicion, they all tried to stick to alleys or the roof of the nearby houses as they traveled. It wasn’t long before they came upon the stone wall he was so familiar with. Lucas and Rose came up beside him.

  “You ready, Rayne?” Lucas asked.

  “Hell yea. After what I witnessed, I almost hope that I get to end Lord Clearly myself.” Rayne told him.

  “I appreciate the fervor lad, but remember, the orb is our primary goal. Ending that foul excuse for a human is a secondary matter.” Lucas told him.

  “All right, you two. Let’s get over this wall and get to work.” Rose said.

  They all made their way up the wall and used the Wall Running skill to get high enough to reach the rim and pull themselves up. As their eyes cleared the top of the wall, they each froze. The entire courtyard was full of guards. There were at least thirty of them where they could see. Instead of pulling themselves over, they dropped back down.

  “Where did all of these guards come from?” Rayne asked.

  “I don’t know, but it seems someone tipped him off about the assault. We have a leak in the group, or at least in the warehouse.” Lucas said grimly.

  “That’s a problem for tomorrow. For now, we have to get that artifact.” Rose interjected.

  “I doubt they can fight like we can when obscured. This might be a good time for a smokescreen to mask our assault. We should be able to weave through the smoke to the mansion and easily dispatch any of the confused guards along the way.” Rayne told them.

  Lucas smiled at Rayne’s suggestion. “I always knew you’d be a good fit for this organization. Ever since your masterful work on your final test, I’ve wanted to see how far you’d go. We may have to invest more heavily in additional training to see that your potential is not wasted.”

  Rayne beamed with pride at the compliment.

  “Everyone prepare to toss one smoke bomb over the wall on my mark,” Lucas whispered as he walked down the line and informed each person. They all watched Lucas as he returned to his starting position and pulled out a smoke bomb of his own. He nodded his head as each person activated their Smoke Bomb ability and threw the bag over the wall. The bags only contained the substance needed to create the haze, but using them still required an ability that had to be learned. Otherwise, the bag would do nothing when thrown.

  The bags flew over the wall, and they could hear shouts from some of the guards that were stationed close to the short wall. They gave the bags a few moments to start spewing out a heavy amount of smoke and then made their way over the wall. As soon as Rayne, Rose, and Lucas hit the ground, they took off in a rush toward the manor. Their goal wasn’t to take out all the guards, merely to get to the manor and retrieve the artifact.

  Lucas took the middle while Rayne was on his left and Rose on Lucas’s right. They had made it a quarter of the way to the manor when a sword came swinging through the haze at Rayne. He quickly ducked under the blow and jerked his stiletto dagger out of its sheath to bury into the neck of the man that had emerged from the smoke. Blood sprayed from the man’s neck like a fountain as Rayne removed his dagger and kept running. That guard was guaranteed to die now.

  You have dealt 140 damage to Guard (1) (Level 10) (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow) with Iron Stiletto Dagger.

  They kept their pace but before long run into a group of six that had gathered together.

  “I’ll take the two in the middle. Rayne, the two on the left, are yours. Rose takes the two on the right.” Lucas called out.

  Rayne gulped for a moment at the thought of fighting two at once, but he needed to at least keep them focused on him to prevent them from attacking one of his companions without them being aware of the threat. He deftly brought his swordbreaker and the stiletto dagger into his hands and charged the two on the left.

  His initial charge was headed directly for the man on the right. As he closed the distance, he was waiting for them to commit. When the two guards both started their swing for him, he burned some of his mana to allow his Air Magic to boost his speed. Instead of heading straight into the man on the right, Rayne quickly redirected himself with a push of Air Magic to the left and come face to face with the man on the left. This man had swung where he expected Rayne would end up and was now completely unguarded.

  Rayne brought his stiletto dagger around and slammed it directly into the man’s side with a backhanded swing. Still burning some mana, he let his speed carry him past the man, and he plunged both daggers directly into the man’s back while he was holding his side in pain.

  You have dealt 100 damage to Guard (2) (Level 10) (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow) with Iron Stiletto dagger.

  You have dealt 150 damage to Guard (2) (Level 10) (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow) with Dual Strike.

  Guard (1) has died.

  Guard (2) has died.

  The other target of Rayne’s was quicker than he expected. While Rayne was plunging his blades into the first guards back, the other guard had recovered from his swing and was swinging toward Rayne’s new position. Rayne tried to get the swordbreaker into the path, but he missed catching the blade in the groove and failed to parry the attack. The blade was knocked slightly off target, but it still scored a stinging hit on Rayne’s left arm.

  Guard (3) (Level 10) has dealt 25 damage to you with Standard Iron Shortsword.

  Rayne grimaced at the pain but didn’t relent. His new armor helped absorb some of that hit, or it would have done more damage and more than likely caused him to drop his swordbreaker. The guard thought to try another overhand chop after his first successful hit, so Rayne used that to his advantage and buried his swordbreaker in the man’s armpit while it was raised. At the same time, his stiletto dagger found the man’s neck. The guard crumpled to the ground lifeless.

  You have dealt 250 damage to Guard (3) (Level 10) (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow) with Dual Strike.

  Guard (3) (Level 10) has died.

  Rayne quickly looked around and spotted Rose and Lucas. Both only had one left standing against them, and each was handling their opponents easily. Rayne watched the one facing Rose make the foolish mistake of trying to overpower her.

  Rose was a smaller woman, and she liked to fight with long daggers that were almost the size of shortswords. She had a bit of a dueling flair to her, so she had caught the guard’s overhanded swing on her blade, and the foolish man was trying to push through her guard.

 
Rayne could see the corner of her mouth morph into a smile as she twisted her blade to throw the man’s sword down and at an angle that caused him to stumble off balance. She followed this with three quick strikes that left him bleeding out on the ground.

  Lucas was using his sword and his dagger to great effect, as well. Instead of the approach Rose had used, Lucas liked a blocking style. He would block the swings with his sword and then use his dagger to counterattack while holding the other person’s blade on his. It was hard to defend against with only a single weapon and no shield. The man went down shortly after Rose finished hers.

  They all gathered back together and headed for the manor again. They made their way through the smoke with little in the way until they reached the manor itself. Some of the guards had the foresight to pull back to the manor and fortify one of the doors instead of wandering through the smoke. Rayne spotted ten guards in this entrance, but they were out of time. They couldn’t afford to stop, and by now, someone would have raised the alarm in the manor itself.

  They continued on their way, and right before the three of them barreled into this new group of guards, four blades came flying by them and sunk into the throats of two of the men. They fell to the ground clutching their necks, trying not to bleed out. The remaining eight met Rayne, Lucas, and Rose as they charged.

  Rayne came in quick but wanted to throw some confusion in. He burned some raw mana and leaped high. His jump brought him over the head of the two guards in front of him as he flipped, and he came down directly behind them. He immediately thrust his blades backward and buried one in each of the two guards.

  You have dealt 140 damage to Guard (4) (Level 10) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Backstab) (Critical Hit).

  You have dealt 140 damage to Guard (5) (Level 10) with Iron Swordbreaker (Backstab) (Critical Hit).

  Both guards arched their backs at the pain as Rayne spun to face them. They were both trying to turn toward him, but he was too fast, and they were slowed because of their pain. He plunged both daggers into each of the men again, and they both collapsed to the ground.

  You have dealt 110 damage to Guard (4) (Level 10) with Iron Swordbreaker (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow).

  You have dealt 110 damage to Guard (5) (Level 10) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow).

  Guard (4) (Level 10) has died.

  Guard (5) (Level 10) has died.

  Rayne took a step back to catch a quick breath, and it wasn’t a moment too soon. A sword blade flashed down right in front of his face, and he turned to see an angry guard standing next to him. Had he not stepped back when he did, it would have split him in half. The man’s sword had continued down, and the end had embedded itself in the dirt because of his powerful swing. Rayne’s daggers came around and caught the man in a pincher style attack into his throat.

  You have dealt 200 damage to Guard (6) (Level 10) with Dual Strike (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow).

  Before he could think about the situation, he spotted a man running up behind Lucas, and he had his sword up to chop into his back. Rayne burned mana and pushed himself hard to reach the man before he managed to attack an unsuspecting Lucas. He closed the distance just in time and buried both blades into the man’s lower back. He ripped them out of each side of the man, tearing through the kidneys on his way out. The man fell to the ground with a scream.

  You have dealt 200 damage to Guard (7) (Level 10) with Dual Strike (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow) (Ripping Damage).

  Lucas heard the commotion but was busy fending off two people at once and couldn’t be distracted by it. Rayne came up by the guard to Lucas’s left and swung his dagger at the man’s throat. The blade caught on part of his neck, and Rayne felt the resistance as it cut through. It must have nicked a major artery because the amount of blood flowing from the wound was immense.

  You have dealt 140 damage to Guard (8) (Level 10) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow) (Fatal Bleed).

  At that same moment, Lucas had run his sword through the other man he was fighting, and both fell to the ground.

  “Thanks. I never even saw that guy trying to come up behind me.” Lucas told him while breathing heavily.

  “Got to watch out for my teammates. You ready to go? Rose looks finished with the ones she was fighting.” Rayne said as he nodded his head in the woman’s direction. Lucas turned to look and saw that Rose had indeed finished off the guards that had faced her.

  Rayne looked around and saw more dead bodies than he had originally seen as they charged. More must have joined that fight after it started, which would explain why those two almost got the jump on him and Lucas. The three of them gathered together and headed into the house.

  Rayne saw that most of the smoke was clearing, and more of their group was making their way into the house with them. Another eight people were gathered into the room leaving four others missing and unaccounted for. Either they were dead or still locked in fighting outside. Either way, they couldn’t afford to wait on them right now.

  The full group of them made their way through the halls of the manor. They encountered a few guards here and there but nothing with much resistance. Lucas was pretty sure where they would find Lord Clearly and his artifact. The man had a room he loved to brag about, and he called it his treasure room. The more valuable items he possessed were all locked in this room, and Lucas had been shown it once when Lord Clearly was hosting one of his parties. The man couldn’t help himself and always wanted to show off.

  Lord Clearly had one of the few manors in the city that had a basement in it, and this treasure room of his was one of the few rooms in this basement. Lucas led them down the hall and toward the entrance to the basement. When they reached the intersection that the basement entrance was on, he called them to a halt and looked around the corner. He shook his head as he brought it back around.

  “There are twenty guards posted in the hallway here. There is no way past them I can see, so our only choice is the fight through them. Two of them look like professional soldiers and not cut-rate guards. Those two are closest to the door.” Lucas told the group.

  “You have a plan?” Rose asked.

  “Not really. Anyone with throwing weapons needs to round the corner first and launch anything you have. After the initial barrage, the rest of us will follow behind to take out the guards. Any questions?” Lucas asked.

  Everyone shook their heads, and he nodded in return. He silently counted down from five on his hand and, when his fist closed to zero, all the group who used throwing weapons rounded the corner and started throwing their projectiles. Rayne charged around the corner with everyone else and saw that six of the men had been incapacitated because of the throwing weapons. A few others had injuries but were still in the fight.

  Rayne charged ahead with a few others, but he wasn’t able to join the fight yet. The hallways weren’t big enough for more than four abreast to fight without getting in each other’s way. He stood behind the front row of fighters and waited in anticipation for his turn to fight. The man in front of him was fighting well, and Rayne was enjoying being able to study his fighting style.

  This man used two daggers, but he did not fight in the same parrying style that Rayne did. He used both of his daggers reversed and attacked like an animal bringing its top canine teeth down onto enemies for biting style attacks. He focused more on dodging but would occasionally parry a blow with the blades. It was always a quick deflect of the attack and not a true parry, but the man was effective in this style as Rayne watched multiple people fall to his blades.

  Rayne followed behind and, while a few people in the lead were taken down, the man in front of him stayed standing. Rayne had worked little with the other crews, so he didn’t know these peoples’ names. They continued through the crowd and eventually were down to a handful of defenders left. There were only eight of them standing including himself, Rose, and Lucas.

  The next two defenders went down fast, but the final four were working together. T
wo of the final four were the professional-looking fighters. They were working in pairs of one mercenary and one normal guard to deadly effect. Rayne watched them cut down one of their people before the man in front of him collapsed as well.

  Rayne jumped forward to take the man’s place. As soon as he hit the gap in the line, he was assaulted by two swords. He caught the mercenary’s blade on his stiletto in a block and was barely quick enough to lock the guard’s blade into his swordbreaker. With a quick wrench of the knife, the guard’s sword was bent to an almost unusable angle, and Rayne pulled him toward him to toss him into the men behind them. With a bent sword and stumbling off balance, they made quick work of the man.

  His focus changed to the mercenary as the man grinned at him. The mercenary twisted his blade in an attempt to bypass Rayne’s block, but Rayne was quick enough to twist his blade the opposite way and cause the blade to slide away from him. They separated and then the mercenary pushed forward on the attack.

  Rayne desperately struggled to deflect and block the man’s blows. The mercenary was so fast it felt like he was fighting a person with two weapons instead of the single short sword he was up against. He kept blocking and parrying, but eventually, a cut made its way through and caught him on the right shoulder. It tore a thin line in his shoulder, and it started seeping blood.

  Guard (6) (Level 10) has died.

  Guard (7) (Level 10) has died.

  Guard (8) (Level 10) has died.

  Mercenary (1) (Level 12) has dealt 30 damage to you with Basic Steel Shortsword.

  Damn, that did more damage than expected. Steel wasn’t common, and it was far superior to iron. It had even sheared through his iron bands in the shoulder of his armor with little resistance.

  Rayne continued with the fight but struggled to keep up with this man. His skill was far better than Rayne’s, and his weapon proficiency must have been fantastic. The attacks were coming so fast he couldn’t mount an effective counterattack. Rayne was hit with another shallow cut as the tip of the man’s sword sliced through his left thigh.