5
Sagizelus teleported himself around the arena, his fly wings diminishing rapidly. When he realized had one fly wing left, he clasped his hands in a prayer and silently hoped that this fly wing would bring him to the Sbanhealt base.
He emerged into a rather noisy base, so the wizard judged that this guild might be in the midst of a battle. He heard the clanking of steel against steel, the cry of the injured and the incantations of spells. He quickly gathered himself up and advanced gingerly, trying to refrain from being discovered.
Making a brief scout of the area, he realized that the hallway where he was right now led to the main hall. Though the hallway was rather familiar to him, he decided to keep his presence unnoticed. With that planned, he had the spell of Energy Coat at his lips, so he could defend himself immediately in case someone was aware of his presence.
He pressed himself flat against the stone wall, slowly peering out to the main hall, where the battle was taking place. The increasing screams of agony reverberated throughout the sparsely decorated hall, causing the wizard's curiosity to develop tenfold.
Sagi felt relieved and alert at the same time when he spotted his guild members. He was relieved that he finally teleported into Sbanhealt with the unpredictable fly wings. But, he was alert for it was time to put his plans into action, recalling what Tien had told him just moments ago.
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The latch securing wooden double door cracked and split apart after about twenty attempts, sending the doors flinging wide open. A tall and beefy blacksmith carrying a bloody and enormous axe that looked like it weigh a ton, stood at the front of his men. Supposedly the guild master, he lifted the axe with one well-built arm and gave a battle roar that seemed to boost his attack speed and power.
The blacksmith led his men forward, swiping his axe upward in an arc at an equally sturdy knight standing in a defensive stance, two swords in each gauntleted hand. But the blacksmith might as well have hit a tough concrete wall, for the Avenger was protected by Manald's Kyrie Eleison spell. The astounded blacksmith fell backwards as his axe ricocheted harmlessly off the impenetrable, magical shield.
Two hunters of the guild fired arrow after arrow at the rear, but in vain as the arrows merely rebounded off their targets. They both swore in frustration, having to wait till the effect wear off before resuming their ranged attacks. Even their falcons were hopelessly attacking the protected Avenger.
Out of the shadows came a pale-purple cloaked figure, leaping onto both hunters of the opposition, slapping the flat side of his Infiltrator in their faces, sending them sprawling backwards, their bow flying out of their hands. Destroying both weapons with an effortless slice of his katar, the two helpless hunters fled the base as fast as their wobbly legs would take them, otherwise their heads would become part of the assassin's possession.
A monk of the alliance made use of Body Relocation to access to the scheming assassin faster after he saw the fleeing of the two hunters, only to find him out of sight. Apparently, the assassin was much quicker despite the monk's short teleportation move.
Piffy then snuck up behind the unsuspecting monk, hurling a bottle of flame bottle at him, igniting his back. The fast-growing flame soon enveloped his torso, then his thighs. The human torch danced around madly, desperately trying to douse the flame, screaming in utter agony. But obviously, it was impossible to do so single handedly. Moreover, the immolation was too strong to get rid of.
The human torch suddenly stopped in his wild movements, staggering a few steps before collapsing in a burning heap, the screams dying down.
"Save those for State Overlord!" Cerberus shouted for Piffy.
Tossing a grin in his way to mean that he did that for his pleasure, the alchemist unbuckled an acid bottle, preparing to disfigure his next assailant.
Cerberus put on a fierce fight against the well-trained battle-smith, wielding both blades artfully to fend off the blacksmith's aggressive advances. The knight then abandoned his defensive approach and switched to a more offensive tactic, hoping to overwhelm the blacksmith.
Apparently his plan seemed to work, for the blacksmith's attack started to falter, his previously aggressive attempts to weaken the knight became earnest attempts to defend the ice falchion and firebrand.
Summoning the powers of the enchanted swords, Cerberus leaped backwards, holding both swords up in a cross, concentrating in the summoning process with eyes closed. Sensing the charge of the blacksmith, who was preparing to eliminate Cerberus once and for all with Hammer Fall, he shot open his eyes, slashing both blades in a downward arc. That, however, was not meant to decapitate his adversary, but instead, a series of glacial white and fiery red bolts rained onto and around the blacksmith, causing him to succumb to the paralytic magic attack. Slumping onto the ground in defeat, he let death takes its toll on him.
Meanwhile, when the Avenger thought they were safe temporarily, Tien and his guild stood outside, ready to bring the glowing sticksinto action.
Observing the guild a little while longer, Sagi quickly ran down the hallway and up the stairway. Within a minute he ascended to the top of the towers and walked to the edge of the roof, where the State Overlord stood waiting below. Murmuring in an arcane tongue, he casting Sight. Balls of fire flared brightly circled around him, signaling for Tien and his henchmen to start the invasion.