Chapter 2: Raid

"I think they really have no knights. This might be our lucky day." said Grumpit.

They were leaning over the cliff side far above their quarry. The winds carried the warm but moist winds of the nearby swamps over. Occasionally, cries from birds of prey circling above them resounded. Dense forest covered both sides of the road ahead of them. Freshly sprouted leaves obstructed the view after only a few meters inside the thicket.

"Give me the magic tool! I wanna have a look too." Alvin grabbed the leather-bound circular object that Grumpit held to his right eye.

"Fine look here."

"By the emperor, it's really true, I've only seen a dozen odd soldiers so far and from what I can tell they do not even look that strong! Haha, maybe we'll be back for dinner. That would be great. My Angela is already waiting for me. I wouldn't mind giving her some nice loot as a present!" Alvin gloated.

"Give me that you f****** retard you still forgot what the boss told us? There's no telling if any of these so-called simple soldiers are hiding their god-given powers.

I do not want to be the one who finds out, when they unload strange powers right into our faces! So be careful and observe the path ahead. I believe it will be about another hour before that passes. We had better get going now.

Raven, here you go ahead and take a look." Grumpit said before handing over the viewing device.

"I am not entirely sure, but I think Alvin is right. These soldiers do not seem very comfortable with their uniforms. From the way they look around, they do not seem like amateurs to me. Maybe it's really true, but that would mean that most of them would be knights. That would be terrible." Raven said solemnly.

"As expected of Raven," Grumpit said.

"I was on the fence before, but now I am convinced! Alvin, you go and tell the boss."

"Damn you lot! I hate being the bearer of bad news." Alvin grumbelt while disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

Almost an hour later in a hiding spot near the road.

"Raven, now listen closely. We do not have any time or leeway for playing here, alright?

Our mission is to get into the carriage, grab the goods and get the f*** out of there. If you are right and there are really at least half a dozen knights there, then we will have at most 30 breaths a time before the whole party starts to get completely annihilated." Grumpit said in a solemn tone.

"Grumpit when have I ever disappointed you?" Raven said while sounding slightly offended.

"Hah I knew you still had some fire in you!" Grumpit wiped away a few tears and furiously hit Raven's shoulder.

"Do you know where Raymond is? I have not seen him for a while." said Raven while looking around.

"He is on standby, to help us when things get out of hand" Grumpit pointed upwards towards the mighty trees above them.

"Now everybody on your posts and be quiet. The plan will commence in about 100 breaths of time" Lady Nightfall's voice left as soon as it appeared, only leaving a mysterious and unpleasant cold feeling behind. All bandits crouched down, in they're hiding spots and held on their breath.

A simple decorated carriage with the Valett family crest came around the bend on the forest path.

Besides the mysterious hooded person driving the carriage, everything else, including the twelve soldiers escorting the carriage, appeared quite normal. Most bandits learned that hope is a cruel mistress, rather early in their career. So none had the intention of holding back. The first strike team prepared a set of traps, while they were perched atop the tree branches above the path.

Currently, four of these bandits were holding onto ropes that were connected to stakes that secured multiple tree logs. The front row of soldiers were slowly closing in on a hidden pit that was set straight ahead on the path which was filled with poisoned wood spikes.

Twenty crossbowmen lay hidden only a few yards away there shop tips of the bowls also glistening with violet poison. Finally, there were twelve bandits equipped with scimitars, swords and spikes crouched down, hiding in pits right next to the path, ready to jump out at the sound of battle.

Suddenly something started to happen which startled even the bandits. Not even to speak about the convoy. The temperature started dropping, cold wind stung at their cheeks and whispers of wailing children entered their ears.

The convoy stopped following a hand sign of the driver just as four skeletons rose from the side of the road, encircling the convoy. Unholy, flickering blue light streamed out of the holes in their white skulls. Their malevolent aura looked onto the guards, especially the hooded man.

The next moment the hooded driver wanted to shout something, only to discover that his voice did not carry. All the soldiers looked around in fear noticing that they could hear nothing.

Before they could further investigate the phenomenon, the ones on the far left and right got hit by the falling tree logs. Two of them immediately got buried beneath the wood while others had a translucent light protecting them.

"Now attack! Leave the knights to me and focus on the soldiers!" Nightfall's voice startled them, yet it gave them the necessary push to overcome the shock and spring into action. Raven and the others team slowly circled the evermore becoming chaotic battlefield.

He could not get a clear view of the fight, even so at this distance he felt the waves of cold and hot hitting the side of his face. Powerful projectiles and power started raining down on the surrounding forest and quickly turning it into a hellscape. Finally, they were only a few meters away from the carriage.

The Hooded driver was fighting off two skeletons alone, one kept a man in check with its long spear maneuvering in strange dexterous and anti-rhythmic ways that gave anybody who looked at the chills. While the other one picks up logs with inhuman strength and hurls them at the man.

This was the main reason why most people feared necromancers above any kind of mysterious power. No matter how many years a night or soldier spared against his own, honing their sword or spear skills, against an opponent that could move in impossible angels completely disregarding his own health and safety would be an absolute nightmare furthermore anybody who gets dragged into a prolonged battle against an undead will soon find out that the dead do not tire. Many survivors even speak of their own life force being sucked away.

Right at this moment the man strikes his sword upwards with a shining in the glittering Arc of gold the log which came barreling straight towards him gets cut straight down the middle. Just as they pass by him, he grabs one, turns around and smashes it into the skeleton with the spear. Even at this distance Raven could see the man gasping for air as he leaned on his sword.

Most of the other knights were not faring as well, between the poisoned crossbow bolts coming hurling down from deep inside the forest, the strange magic of the necromancer and dirty tricks of the Bandits, they were falling one by one.

These proud and Noble knights, who get preferential treatment everywhere they go, were normally kept in reserve. Only to be used for special missions, which pose low risk and enable them to use their glass cannon style power's.

If one passes the deadly trials at Bellum, they indeed will be granted unparalleled might.

But for humans to wield so much strength always comes at a cost. Knights need inhuman amounts of stamina, which take years of painstaking effort and precious resources to cultivate, to actually use their powers in combat. Knights may look mysterious to the average commoner, but even though bandits fear them for their strength, they are not stupid enough to overestimate them. Even the most fearsome warrior on the battlefield can die by poison or the dagger at night.

The fact that most of them cannot produce a barrier of their own, is an open secret. Most knights rely on the magic artifacts that are handed out by the bloody red stars, in this case King Valette.

Through the chaos, Raven slowly approached the carriage and finally the last few meters he started sprinting. He only saw from the corner of his eyes Grumpit and Alvin fighting off a few foot soldiers. The remaining undead kept the hooded man tied down, while Raven jumped on the carriage and pulled the door open in one smooth motion.

Then time stopped.

The inside of the carriage looked much more comfortable than the rudimentary outside would suggest. In the small space sat just one girl dressed in what could only be described as the feminine version of a squire's outfit.

Her chest and shoulders were covered with metal plates. Besides her arms and knees, which were covered with metal protectors, everything else was covered in leather. Complementing her cyan blue eyes was the aquamarine Waffenrock with golden embroidery.

Despite her young age the well-defined sharp looking face, which was framed by fiery red hair, gave her a commanding otherworldly aura. For a few breaths Raven could do nothing but stare into her cyan blue eyes.

Soon Raven got it back together.

"Girl, don't do something stupid. You know what else happens… now behave and handover what we are looking for." he said in a raspy voice.

He held on his dagger so hard that his knuckles turned white. Raven was so occupied with keeping himself together, that he didn't notice she was also shaking.

"I know what you want, just take it and leave." She kneeled on the carriage floor pulled at a wooden plank and grabbed at a small, unassuming looking, wooden chest.

Raven was still taken aback by her attitude, as he took the box from her hands. Just as he was about to turn around, he saw a mocking smile on the girl's charming face. Before he could even notice the slight glowing on the box, he instinctively tried to dodge to the side. The next moment a golden light passed by him and the carriage exploded on one side.

A deep and piercing pain suddenly enveloped his body, as he lost to the feeling in his right foot. Waves of soul crushing anguish made him nearly faint on the spot.

He kept rolling across the battlefield, still propelled by the powerful blast.

The last thing he remembered before everything went dark was seeing Raymond standing above him, shielding him with his own body while an undead dragged him into the forest.