Mordred groaned and worked her shoulder, rotating her arm about. "Ugh, you think the guards will let us in after dark? Or better you reckon we setup a campsite and just wait for tomorrow to get in?"

  "Depends on how much you want warm food and lodging," Kuch noted with a shrug. "It doesn't matter to me, but even the nights are a bit warm for you now right?"

  "Actually, it is a little chilly when the moons come up. But in a good way, not like winter! Can we just go somewhere that's sunny all the time?"

  "But then how else will I make shaved ice? You did seem to like that."

  "Ugh, guess flavored snow can be tasty- what's that going on up ahead?"

  "Nothing good."

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------?

  "What the- who opened the gates!" Hans barked the moment he was able to break away from the melee. He glanced at his nearly broken bloody sword and swapped it with a fresh blade from a dead mercenary, feeling its weight. Lighter than he'd prefer, but he couldn't pick and choose when weapons were in short supply. "Tell me, what are the other guards doing!"

  "I don't know, sir!" a subordinated reported, panting heavily from where they were resting from the ongoing fight. "We've lost contact with the other guard posts, there's mercenaries prowling the streets and attacking all messengers!"

  "Dammit. How about talking with the castle?"

  "No good sir, they've brought down their portcullis. I think some mercenary bands are looking to attack it even."

  The captain of the guard cursed. Just as the mercenaries had seemed to falter, more of them had emerged from other streets to continue pressing his established position. Worryingly, these ones seemed to be better equipped and stronger, the ones who let their less experienced colleagues act first to waste their lives before moving themselves. They also had already bloody weapons and armor, hints of a conflict elsewhere that Hans didn't like.

  As if that wasn't enough, panicked shouts echoed through the night along with a dreadful orange glow. "Fire, FIRE!"

  He swore again. Where or when was help coming, this was starting to be even worse than a tide! There was nothing to it then. "Back into them!" Hans roared and waded back into the fight. "Hold! Hold!"

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------?

  "Father," Petula tersely began when the gates slammed shut. "Are...are you sure that this is the best choice? To abandon our attack, and focus entirely on the defense."

  "The best choice," he said through gritted teeth, "would involve them all remembering the sacrifice we have made of the years, and realizing the folly of this all!"

  His fist came up and slammed hard into the stone battlements, venting the frustration so. His sister and daughter worriedly looked on, but let him express the rare open loss of composure. His son wasn't present to beheld the moment of shame, having instead gone on to take command of the house troops. However, he was not preparing for a sally now, but for a hold.

  The situation was quickly spiraling out of control and so that planned offensive would be the height of folly.

  First, the mercenary uprising. Now, an unknown noble host entering the city. Without knowledge of how they were possibly linked or related, to march out from the safety of these stone walls would be far too risky. They could be friends and allies, which would be of course welcomed- but without knowing for sure, the danger was far too great. For all he knew, this was an attempted conquest of Gabion.

  Maybe that was what frustrated Gregori most of all.

  That despite his best efforts to defend the empire against monsters, it was those people he protected that now burned his city. Did all his grand efforts result in this? Were all his sacrifices for nothing?!

  "My lord-" Vio paused, then shook her head while holding her staff. "Brother. Do not worry. We can hold, and the raven has already been sent out to the Third Legion. Should it come to a siege, our people are experts defense. It doesn't matter if it's man or monster, we will hold."

  That was right. The Third Legion of the Kerezim Empire was in this western region, cycled to garrison and recovery from other conflicts elsewhere. Per House Cordis' establishing pact with the emperor who had restored the Duchy of Gabion, they were duty-bound to intervene and help quell the chaos. And of course, demand accounting for all things afterwards.

  All House Cordis had to do was last until then, and pray that the people of the city could do so too.

  For a moment, he considered sending a raven to the secret collaborators of House Cordis too, Bedra and her child. But that deal had been struck with the understanding it would be for aid against the tides- not against humans. It would also cause many to ask even more uncomfortable questions, especially if the legion were already on their way. They would demand to know about the truth of the dragons, and he would be torn between the oath of secrecy to her, and the oath of duty to the empire.

  Movement at the edge of closest buildings to the castle caught Gregori's attention, bringing him out of those thoughts, and he growled. "Mercenary archers? They look to start bombarding us already." His hand gripped around the edge of the stone he had slammed his hand into. "So it has begun."

  "I'll pass word over to Teodor," Petula volunteered, moving off to where her brother was already issuing commands. Gregori watched her go, then turned to his sister.

  Vio was already stepping up, staff already lit with power. "May I?" she asked, more out of courtesy than necessity. At his nod, she exhaled and reached for her belt to withdrew a potion. She popped the cork and drank it, shuddering at both the taste and power contained within. The light of her staff flared brighter and she pointed it at the offending mercenaries. "[Chain Lightning]!"

  There was a hiss, followed by a loud cackle when energy surged out of her staff to crash into one of the bowmen. They howled while the magic burnt them alive, and so did those closest to the targeted mercenary when the spell leapt to envelop them too.

  What had to be an entire squad of them fell off the roofs, charred and twitching. So too did Vio, falling to her knees and heaving deep, exhausted breaths. The duke moved to check on her while his direct bodyguards moved to cover the two siblings with their shields, in case any irate archer fired back at their general direction. "Are you alright?"

  "Give me a bit," the acolyte of Magia muttered, sounding quite tired. "That took a lot out of me and the enhancement potion tastes disgusting. Can't believe it's that expensive. But I am angry too, brother, so I consider my spell and expense worth it."

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------?

  Eifer and his vanguard retinue entered through the gates opened by the cheering mercenaries. They soon turned into shouts of horror when their payment was delivered in the form of his personal guard silencing them. They joined the bodies of the city guards and presented to the rest of his troops who followed soon behind as proof that of the butchery unfolding- that mercenaries disguised as city guards were sacking Gabion.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Only they, the chosen blessed of the gods, could restore order.

  The explanation was wordlessly accepted and any inconsistencies or discrepancies smoothed over by their loyalty to him. It really hadn't been so necessary, but it would help any questioning that could come from the empire later. And once he had House Cordis' daughter to back him up through whatever pressure he could persuade on her, then even Her Radiance would have to accept his legitimate control.

  A mere formality for those below to recognize what the heavens had already given.

  The assassin reappeared before Eifer, having taken a look at the situation. "Your first part of the plan to overwhelm the city guards have failed," they darkly reported. "The city guards are putting up stiffer resistance than expected."

  An ugly, furrowed brow was developing on the heir of Viszal's face. But still workable. "Very well, Then when House Cordis sallies out-"

  "They won't. They've closed the gates and are digging in."

  What? "They're abandoning the city?" he sputtered, actually taken aback. "They're preparing for a siege? For what reason, they should have seen us and rejoiced at our coming, to sally out and join in the attack-!"

  "You realize that their line are famed as defenders of the wall?" the assassin snapped back with a growl. "In the face of the unknown, what do they do? Start fortifying, and hold the line stubbornly. It even carries over into their guards, with how resolutely they fight on despite not knowing the situation. They are a bulwark that stands against whatever lurks out there, of course they would defend."

  Eifer pulled at his face, mind working at this new test from the gods. But, mortal as he was, his patience was thinning. "We ignore the guards then. The mercenaries will grind them down," he growled, glad that he was commanding presently now. Had the chosen not been here and his troops blindly attacking the mercenaries without knowing, they might have accidentally relieved House Cordis from this assault instead of wiping them out like he wanted. "We change our plans and march straight for the castle."

  "The portcullis is down, and you haven't the soldiers for a siege!"

  "No, but you can get in, can't you?" Eifer demanded, leaning into the mask the assassin wore. "You can sneak in, raise the portcullis, and assassinate your targets."

  "I'm only paid for last bit-"

  "I'll pay you extra, outside the Broker's cut."

  They paused, thinking. Then they sighed and held up a splayed hand. "Five times. And it goes through the Broker too."

  That was highway robbery and would actually empty his own treasury. He would need to find a way to kill the assassin after this. "Deal."

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------?

  All thoughts of waiting until tomorrow to enter the city were totally forgone when they could now make out the sounds and screams of battle.

  The wall breaches had no guards at them, which was a sure sign that something was wrong. I shared a look with Mordred, then we wordlessly went around them to scale the western wall directly. The dragon leapt up while I used [Walk in Darkness] to join her on the battlements above. What we saw was a chilling sight.

  Gabion, in chaos and fire.

  "Gods above," I muttered, taking in the multiple apparent fights scattered throughout with Kuch's eyes. Never before have I felt like that one scene of a pizza man walking into a burning room. "What's going on? We leave for a little back, and it comes to this?"

  "Look, seems like there's a big fight going on right there at the base of the wall." My companion's eyes narrowed. "Guards versus mercenaries, I think. Is that Hans among them?"

  "Let's say hello, and prove we're on his side," I decided, picking a faction to already support. Maybe it would be the wrong choice, but Hans had trusted us. We should trust him back. "Feel free to go on ahead, I'll be right behind."

  "Right!" Out came Heart-Pierecer with a single twirl, then Mordred crouched into a ready pose with an eager grin. Giving a single grunt, she leapt up into the air, briefly illuminated by the moonlight. Then she descended with a single bark, a cornea of energy engulfing her lance. "[Dragon Dive]!"

  She slammed into the mercenaries like a dragon slamming down into the ground, and those closest to her went flying back. Those a bit further back stumbled back, stunned as they took in the armored woman ripping her lance out of the ground and take a battle stance in front of the guards' position. But it wasn't necessary as, with the enemy line now broken, the city guard charged forth, surging around the adventurer to overwhelm the panicking mercenaries.

  The dragon hummed, perhaps disappointed it had ended that easily, and sheathed her lance. "Hans!" she called out, turning to look at the other guards. "You there?"

  "Mordred!" The man appeared, looking a little worn-out but still standing and in one piece. "Thank the gods, you're here. Where's Kuch?"

  "Right here," I announced as I rose up from the shadows, causing the nearest guards to start a bit. But they quickly returned to their duties, giving only hopeful looks our way. "What's going on? Why's there a fight in the city streets?"

  "I wish I could tell you, I really do. But I'm just as lost and in the dark as you are," the captain of the guard tiredly told, looking around at the captured prisoners the guards were hauling in. "And House Cordis is now apparently under siege, so I haven't heard from them at all. That's before we even get into the fact that there's also some noble host around, entered through the eastern gates while we were overwhelmed and distracted."

  I loudly clicked my tongue, the sound echoing through my helmet. "This is a right mess."

  "It gets even worse, because more of those mercenary bands are also still roaming the streets. I...I think I need to stop them first, before heading over to try and help House Cordis." He swallowed, clearly making a difficult choice. "The guards as well are tired, we've been fighting non-stop. So I don't know if we can make a difference even. But we have to try, we can't abandon the duke-!"

  "Calm down." Mordred actually spoke up before me, reaching out to place a hand on Hans' shoulder. "You're doing the best you can, and you look like you need rest yourself too. Do whatever you can."

  "But we need to both help round up the mercenaries while breaking the siege-!"

  "Then leave it to us adventurers," I plainly declared. "Because we're here to help."

  Finally, his shoulders sagged with relief and so too did the guards nearest to the conversation. "You have no idea how reassuring that is," he said with an exhausted laugh, one that also held rekindled hope. "Guess sometimes, people really do hand out health potions to just ease our burden. I'm sorry to say, but please, I'm counting on you to help save our city."

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------?