Red Dragon's Roar - Fall of the Kuroinu!

by King Traegodia

On their way to Hammerfell, The Dragonborn and his friends get swept up into a storm only to end up in the land of Eostia. Upon arriving, they are pulled in the middle of yet another war. But what they don't realize, is that things aren't all they seem, and they will soon be forced to make some hard choices.

62. Chapter 61

Last chapter, The nightingales and the monster army had marched to Ur to prevent them from sending more to Feoh and to bring Beasley and Stannos to justice, however on their way into the Church, They ran into someone known as: The mad dog... After letting his friends inside, The Dragonborn engaged with this mysterious man... Luckily as he took a heavy hit, the other man was called off, leaving him alone for the time being... Now, stumbling into the church, Traysek searches for his team, but what about Rela's...? how did they do...? Let's find out :)

---

Chapter 61

Counterattack! - The assault on Ur! - Part 3 (Finale)

---

At Ur's royal castle...

---

While in the tunnel, Rela was walking in front of the two.

"Listen, once we get inside, you follow my orders." Rela stated, "This asked for meticulous work, not only to get the target but also to help the boss in a long time, understood?"

"You got it!" Recorder nodded with a smile.

Inigo nodded as well, "Of course, and I still remember the orders he gave me, wanted me to snipe in case the former minister tries to escape, but if we're taking the tunnel, I don't see how I'm doing that one..."

"Once we get out, you'll get to the first window you'll see and climb to the best point." Rela pointed, "Also, don't fight the mercenaries unless they joined the Black Dogs; most mercenaries aren't suicidal but seek to bring food to their table, so we'll first try to see if they'll accept gold and go. That way, not only will we improve the boss's reputation, but also gain allies who'd think twice before going against us."

"And to do that, you plan to go at a negotiating angle, okay, I think that can work..." Recorder humming thought, "Knowing that most of Beasley's assets have been frozen, I don't think he paid them all that much..."

Inigo snorted, "You already know he didn't...I'm pretty sure if they're not under Volt's payroll, they don't want to be under his...Who knows...? They might be looking for a way out..."

"Mercenaries don't take a pledge in a war unless they truly believe in it." Rela said, "These mercenaries must be in for the money, which means that they can be conveyed if we give more."

Record smirked, "From what we got from our last war contract, it's doable... and I know exactly how much to offer these guys..."

"Don't worry my friend, if they ask for the afterpay, I got you," Inigo concurred with a nod.

Rela stopped and looked back at them, "Actually, I spoke with the boss about it, and he teleported somewhere before coming back with a chest filled with gold pieces of a different currency. Thankfully, the fact that it's gold is enough for mercenaries."

The blue khajiit grinned at that, "Those would be septims... okay, So he's covering that cost..." slowly nodding, "Then we should be set... Let's hope they're willing to hear us out..."

"You and us both, Ini," Recorder sighed, "But in the case they don't, we'll be prepared there too..."

They eventually came out of the tunnel, entering the castle within... As instructed, Inigo found the nearest window with a long branch just outside of it, opened the window, and climbed out to a tree, perching himself in a good comfortable position,

"Good luck with the negotiations... If anything goes wrong, don't hesitate to call me if needed" he told them, as he closed the window.

Recorder waved at him, turning back to Rela, "Okay, he's in position, it's just you and me... I trust you've got that chest on you, right...?"

"Hmm... right in my shadow." Rela nodded.

"Alright, then let's find this minister..." Record said, "If anything, he'll most likely be around them... that would explain the lack of guards in this hall..." looking around.

"Or the men are bad at this due to their pay." Rela retorted.

"That too...Castle's nearly a ghost town at this rate..." Recorder agreed as they found the main lobby and a staircase going up, however, they weren't alone... The Mercs he hired patrolled that area, one of them spotting the duo of women.

"Whoa whoa hey!... And what do we have here...? intruders already...?" The merc asked, sporting a tiger insignia on his surcoat, slightly annoyed as the rest of the mercs surrounded the women, "And certainly, not bad to look at, not bad at all~" with an approving nod, smiling, "So, what brings you lovely ladies here...? I know you both didn't come for a social call, and you're too dressed and armed to be slaves..."

"Easy guys~ There's no need for this to get crazy," Recorder waved down, "We understand that you guys are in it for the money, I assume anyway... And as such, because our boss doesn't want your lives, we have an offer from him for your captains...We were hoping we could speak to them..."

"How much are you paid?" Rela asked.

The merc went quiet for a second, as the other mercs had scowls and tired looks on their faces, which told them everything they needed to know...

"Judging from those expressions, not much we gander?" Record asked with an eyebrow raised.

One of the mercenaries, bearing the insignia of a praying mantis, with lances crossed behind it, walked up...

"If you mean that measly 10,000 he paid us as "Much" then yeah..." The merc agreed, "Cheap bastard..."

Record frowned at that, but wanted to be sure, "You mean, he paid you 10,000 each...? Right? Right...?"

The entire room laughed as the first guy shook his head...

"Yeah...we wish, no...that's the amount he paid our entire companies for..." The first merc sighed.

"What...?" Record said, mouth slightly agape, "Wow... That's not enough cover shit, at the most a good meal and the average weapons and armor,"

"Tell us about it, but a job's a job...Little money, is better than none..." The second merc added in.

"What if you were given a choice." Rela stated, "You can either continue to work for him, or, we give you a chest full of gold and you go home to your families."

Now that made the mercs think on it for a bit, another one of them, stepping up, baring an eagle insignia and purple surcoat, very skeptical...

"Hmm, a chest you say...?" the third merc hummed, "It almost sounds too good to be true, but, if your offer is a big one, then we can't see why, our captains won't take the time to hear you both out..."

The mantis emblemed merc, gave a nod to two other mercenaries with the same insignia, "You two, go get the captains, they're gonna want to hear this..."

"You got it," One of the two men answered, as they ran off to inform their captains...

As they did, the merc with the tiger emblem, gave them a nod, "Okay, they'll be here soon... We'll see if what you have matches up..."

Rela stayed silent as four imposing figures approached.

Recorder eyed the four men, the first leader, was a big bald man wearing full-plated armor, his crest bore an eagle emblem, the second leader looked more like an aristocrat, with short blonde hair and a crimson surcoat over his armor, with a lion insignia. The third leader had an interesting appearance, he had dark hair and a large scar going across his face, along with his armor being that of a samurai's or ronin's... he donned the tiger emblem... Finally, the last leader was an older-looking pale with grey streaks going through dark hair and an eyepatch, sporting the green surcoat armor with the mantis symbol...

"Well well, looks the men we're joking, we do have interesting intruders," The first leader smirked, but it wasn't a bad smirk, "And you ladies look dangerous..."

"I'll say..." The second leader nodded, impressed, "Takes a lot of guts to come into enemy territory like that, you ladies got that down no doubt..."

The third leader had an inquisitive stare, mostly at Recorder... "They seem a lot stronger than they appear," eyeing the katana on her hips, "Very much so...Interesting..."

"Hmph..." The fourth leader hummed, "So these are the two that wish to speak to us, eh?" staring at them for a minute, until he smiled, "Well... from what my boys told us, it seems you're looking to negotiate, is that correct...?"

Recorder nodded, "That's right, and from what your men here tell us, you've been underpaid, correct?"

"That's a light way to put that yeah," He responded with, "They also told us, that you may have something better to offer..." narrowing his eyes, "Do you have it on you by chance...? It looks like you came empty-handed for such a claim..." raising an eyebrow.

'Fucking A this guy's sharp...But~' Record mused, a smile crept on her face, turning to Rela, giving a nod, "Rela, show the goods..."

Rela nodded as the shadow grew and emerged a large chest from it, "It's filled with gold pieces of another currency, but gold is gold, right?"

Record opened the chest, gold immediately came spilling out of the chest once she did, surprising everyone in the room.

The four captains were in total shock, glancing at each other...

"Well damn, that is quite the offer," The first leader complimented, impressed.

The second leader nodded with a grin, "I thought they were bluffing too, this looks more than enough for everyone here..."

"Hmm," the Ronin leader hummed, picking up one of the coins, "This is heavier than the normal Eostian coin, it's real, but heavy..." with a nod.

The mantis leader had a trained look on the chest, glancing at the two women before back to it, "I'll be the judge of that, let's see how much," taking off his eyepatch, exposing a Strange silver eye that glowed, looking the chest over, widening his eyes when he realized just how much was in there, "My word...! This is more than a generous offer..." shocked, as he put his eyepatch back on.

"No shit...? How much are we talking here...?" The lion leader asked.

"Over 5 million gold, but there's more..." The mantis leader continued, "Under all that gold, there's uncut diamonds and rubies in there...as a layer..."

Every mercenary there gasped, wide-eyed in shock, in disbelief at what they just heard...

"Is that right...?" The eagle leader uttered, getting a nod from the fourth leader, smiling after, "Well then~" turning to the girls, "You ladies came just in time...We were just discussing if we should've stayed with them or abandoned the contract but after this...Generous offer, We've got more than enough incentive to now..."

The Ronin leader and his men sighed in relief, "Finally... we don't have to babysit that coward anymore..."

"More than that, we don't have any obligations to help those scum now..." The lion leader smiled, "The only reason we even allied with him, was because of the payload he promised should he win this war...But given what the end goal was going to be and his streak of losses as of lately, we know it's a bad investment now...I think it's time we pulled away from him, I'm sure everyone shares that sentiment..." getting nods from all the other mercs in the room.

"The only question that remains now..." The mantis leader spoke up, "Who's your boss...? Must be pretty prestigious to let an amount off so easily..."

"The boss is a good man," Rela said with a monotone tone.

Recorder nodded, "As for the name...Traysek, the Nightingale, but you might know him as, "Traysek the Red Dragon"

The entire room went silent, as they all had shocked bewildered looks...

"Him? I've heard of that guy, heard he was the one who not only outright refused Volt's offer, but then severed his contract with the holy army, as well... that means you're both part of that group aren't you...?" The lion leader asked, getting a nod from Record.

The eagle leader hummed, looking Recorder over, "I thought you looked familiar, you're the ones they're charging Desertion against...Gotta say that's a rather excessive amount for a crime like that..."

"That's what we all thought too," Record said, "I'm glad, we weren't the only ones..."

"Yeah, that ain't normal, that's someone with a vindication against you...must've really pissed them off," The second leader commented.

"So, do you guys accept?" she asked them.

"Absolutely! We'd be idiots not to," The first leader smiled.

"I second that as well, you did us a favor here," The lion leader also added.

"We graciously accept the offer as well," the Ronin leader also chimed in.

The Mantis leader nodded with a grin, "Without a doubt, the money's good enough, we also accept..."

"Pleasure doing business," Rela stated as she retracted her shadow, leaving the chest behind.

The fourth leader motioned his head to his guys, who walked up and grabbed the chest on both sides, lifting it and carrying it.

"So with negotiations out the way, We know where your guy is currently," He told them.

"Oh, that's good, where is he?" Record asked.

There was an awkward silence that deafened the halls, as the first leader cleared his throat with a disgusted scowl...

"He's currently at the royal chambers keeping himself..." The Eagle cringed, "Entertained" with the girls the black dogs brought in for him, along with a good handful of them guarding them...Goddess knows what they're doing to them..."

"So why haven't you tried to stop them?" Recorder asked with an eyebrow, "You're clearly disgusted by this..."

"Are you kidding?" The second leader cut in with, "They threatened to terminate our contract if we set foot up there, and with it as low as it was, you can see why we were hesitant but now...We have no reason to turn a blind eye to it anymore..."

"Ugh...I get the general idea, no further words needed," Record cringed, "Which way is the royal chambers?"

"When you go up, take a left, there are double doors that lead to it," The lion leader pointed, "But, Are you two planning on going alone...?"

Record nodded, "That's a general idea, yeah, we've got a guy outside, and we can handle a few of those dogs, wouldn't be our first time doing it...we're okay, thanks for asking though,"

"Besides, we're here with a plan," Rela said, hands on her hips and a confident pose... only to have her face cold and emotionless...

The merc leaders glanced amongst themselves with unsure expressions, the third one clearing his throat...

"And what is your plan, exactly...?" The ronin leader asked with an eyebrow raised.

"She'll be the bait- I mean, distraction." Rela pointed to Recorder with her thumb.

"Wait what? when was this discussed?!" Recorder responded with, multiple sweatdrops on her head.

"Oh?" The lion leader asked with a knowing smirk, "And I suppose your friend there, has an idea on how to do that, right?"

Record nervously chuckled, "Uh...Well, I could uh...Charm them with my singing voice...?" Earning a whooping laughter from the other mercs.

"Yeah, okay," The Eagle leader chuckled, "Unless you're the bard of Feoh, the second they even hear a verse, they're grabbing you..."

The fourth leader hummed in thought, "But...There may be a way to improvise that distraction," he started with, "They have a dancer's pole and stage in the chambers, Beasley requested that one case you're wondering, but given the number of women up there, I believe they're looking for that entertainment..."

Recorder gulped, going pale, "Of course, he has one of those..." taking a deep breath, "But...I'm kinda glad he does, I know...a few things...Learned the art of pole and exotic dancing from a friend of ours, never thought I'd have to use it... but it should be enough..."

"In that case," The ronin captain cut in with, "The four of us could escort you up there and present you as an entertainer, we would ensure they wouldn't be able to touch you until you finished," turning his head towards Rela, "And that would give you time to get around this guy,"

"All that I'd need is a moment of distraction." Rela stated with confidence, "They won't even have time to touch her." she then added, "On another note, can I bother you with escorting the women they have out of the castle?"

"Of course, we'll have the men see to it, they get somewhere safe," The first leader assured.

"Alright then," Recorder took a breath, "Give me a minute, I'll change into...that, gotta look the part," heading into an empty room.

---

Five minutes later...

---

Record had finished changing out of her black widow armor and into a dancer's outfit, a blue open shirt that came up to her belly and short shorts, fixing up her black long boots, looking in the mirror...'Okay, that seems to be good enough, time to do this...' stepping out.

Once back out, the mercs in the hall were shocked to see what she wore, getting an approving nod from the Captains.

"That will do nicely~ there's no way they won't be focused on you," The ronin leader smiled, "Alright if you're ready, let's get to it,"

"Let's" Recorder concurred, heading up with both Rela and the four men...

When they neared the door, Rela hid in a shadow, "Try to have all their attention on you." Her voice sounded in Recorder's head.

Recorder nodded, taking a deep breath, 'I'll do my best in that regard, don't take too long...' she thought back, turning to the mercs, "Okay, I'm ready, take me in there,"

"It's show time then~ good luck, no pressure," The eagle leader chuckled, knocking on the door.

A half-naked Dog opened the door and scowled at them, "The fuck you're doing here? We told you to stay down! Unless you want to have us cut the pay."

The lion leader snorted, "I mean if you want to cut our pay, that's fine, but I think we found a dancer to your stage here," motioning to the skimpily dressed Recorder, who tried her best to retain a confident smile.

The Dog's scowl turned to a smirk as he said, "Nice~ never seen her before, nor heard of her from our supplier. You're trying to earn a bonus, huh? Well, better see that with Beasley here." he opened the door wider, letting them in."

'Whew...That was easier than expected, easy part done...' Record mentally sighed, glancing around at all the men inside, looking at her like she was a snack or a delicacy, making her slightly shudder, before glancing at the enslaved women, finding many bruises, cuts, and marks on their bodies, their faces untouched, 'Right...No pressure at all...oh boy...' as they brought her to Beasley.

"Old man!" the Black Dog called him, gaining his attention from a young woman, "They want to talk."

The old man stopped groping one of the dark elf girls there and turned his head down, finding the newcomer with his hired help, "hoo~ This is interesting, and what's this?"

"You were talking about getting an actual dancer for your stage and low and behold, we found this woman in the courtyards," The mantis leader lied, "And you might be in for a treat, she showed us a bit of her skills before we agreed to bring her up here,"

"I see..." Beasley, nodded, slimly grinning, "Well, if that's the case, best to get started, girl, the boys were looking for entertainment, and I hope you don't disappoint,"

Recorder mentally gagged, before nodding, "It'll be worth your while, I promise~" with a faux flirty smile.

The minister chuckled, "Hohoho~ I like this one, very well," motioning his head towards the stage and pole.

She turned to it and took a deep breath, "Here we go..." in a low muttered tone, heading over to it, as the lights began to dim and one shone over her...She was about to get started until...

"You'd better have enjoyed the last hours." a voice sounded from behind him as a hand grabbed him while another one had a needle to his neck.

The Prime Minister froze, trying to find his breath, "W-what is the meaning of this?!" he tried to question, feeling the needle pressed on his neck.

"You've lost." he then saw a demonic-looking Dark Elf exiting the shadow, "Let's begin the second part of the plan. If you can hear me, try to get those who'd use women as shields."

Moments after that, one by one arrows began to fly through the window with a shatter, piercing the heads of the dogs who were either the closest to the women or had them currently, causing some of them to scream from the shock.

"Who are you people?!" The former minister demanded, "This is illegal! I'll have you all arrested!"

"By whom authority?" Rela asked, "Have you forgotten that this is war?"

"What are you four idiots just standing there for? do something!" The former minister screamed, "I paid you all good and plenty, do the job and kill this fool already!"

The four captains said nothing, until the Lion leader snickered, ending up with them all cackling...

"Why are you laughing?! Do what you were hired to do!" Beasley panicked in a yell.

The eagle leader calmed his laughter down, sighing, "Oh, that's a good one...Yeah, about that, before we...Agree to anything, we need to discuss the terms of our payment," Smirking at him.

"What in the blazes for? I already paid you and your companies a hefty sum! You will get more when this is over!" The former minister spat, sweating heavily.

"See? The thing is, we're not exactly..."Convinced" of the payment plan," The mantis leader said, "Sure, you and the black dogs paid us 10,000 for the startup, but you never said anything about the final pay, did you...?"

The Ronin leader nodded with a cold glare, "I wonder why that is...? For a noble like you, you used to be more confident than that with money, What's happened? You can't pay?"

"O-of course I can pay that, you just haven't finished the job yet!" Beasley tried to defend with but...

"You're lying, Beasley," They heard a voice come from the stage, finding Recorder back in her widow armor and mask, walking up to them, "In fact, I know all too well you can't pay, the second you fled from Feoh, you abandoned your position as minister, rendering your assets frozen...The queen of Feoh saw to that,"

"The queen?! That's preposterous, she should be dead! I made sure of it!" The former minister yelled in disbelief.

"She's safe and sound." Rela pointed coldly, "Although, we can't say where she is currently, nor anything else concerning her. You did a poor job with that knife of yours, but after seeing how you were acting just now... it's not surprising..."

"What?! she lived?" Beasley said in shock, "That-! Who's responsible for that?!"

"You can thank our boss for that one, made it just in the nick of time for that one, she would've been gone otherwise," Recorder smirked, "This is why we double tap, Beasley,"

The minister gritted his teeth, feeling the situation get more hopeless, "F-fine, I was gonna pay you guys, the rest of the 80,000 should you have completed your contract, okay? Now will you help me?" he finally croaked out to the mercs, in one last desperate attempt, which seemed to have them silent until...

All four started roaring in laughter, making the minister pale even more...

"I'm sorry, what? We just heard "frozen assets", and you expect us to help you...?" The eagle leader snickered, "How were you paying 90,000 if your assets are frozen, old man?"

The Ronin leader hummed in thought, narrowing his eyes, "I think I know what happened..." getting others' attention, "He had that money, but then he started buying women with it, and went over his spending limit...thinking we were going to die anyway. That's what you were hoping, weren't you, minister...?"

"Ugh...!" The minister breathed out, confirming it.

"So you don't deny it..." The mantis leader said, shaking his head and smirking, "Well, luckily for us, these two ladies came with an offer from their boss that was too good to refuse..."

At that, the old minister perked up, "What did they pay you?! I'm sure I can compensate, there's no way they made a higher rate!"

"They did..." The Lion leader cut in with, "5 million, plus thousands more in gem money, uncut too, diamonds and rubies" Watching the minister's eyes widen in fear, as he leaned towards his face with a smirk and sneered, "So by all means, with your frozen assets, surely you can go higher, right?" widening his grin.

"You- you'll all pay for this betrayal! I swear it!" Beasley cursed, as the needle pressed harder on his neck.

"More like profit from it," The mantis leader cut back with, before turning his head to the enslaved girls, "As for you ladies, we apologize for letting them get their way so long, once we're done wiping the floor with these scum, we'll escort you safety," with a bow, "We just need you all to get to a safe place, things are going to get violent..."

Rela snapped for a moment before looking at the four leaders, "By the way, my master is looking to have a few words with you. He's wondering if you'd accept to meet him."

The leaders thought on that, glancing at each other, slowly nodding.

"Now is your master and boss the same person...?" The eagle leader asked them.

"No, our boss and her master are different people, although the former works for the latter as well," Recorder explained.

The ronin captain hummed at that, "I see, very well, after we speak to your boss, we'll meet your master as well,"

"As for you girls..." she looked at the girls, creating some sort of barrier, "Get inside this area, you won't be touched by anyone who has ill attentions toward you."

The women did what they were told quickly and got within the bubble, one of the black dogs trying to reach out for one, until he ronin unsheathed his katana, holding it in front of the dog, as the woman passed through the bubble.

"Now, as for the rest of you gentlemen, you don't have to worry about telling your boss that we resigned," The mantis leader smiled, drawing his sword with blinding speed, "We'll carve it into your bodies, he'll get it then,"

"You fucking traitors! You're no different than that red asshole that turned us away," One of the dogs spat, "Kill these fuckers and take the women!" he ordered, as the dogs drew their weapons.

"Haha, I wish I could fight instead of babysitting an old fat pig..." Rela sighed as the Black Dogs charged, "If only he'd be a good idiot and stay put."

The old man gritted his teeth in anger, 'Dammit...I will not be judged by some dark elf demon harlot!' reaching into his robe pocket and coming out with a strange sphere, dropping it harshly on the ground, causing a large flash of light to take the room.

When the light died down, the prime minister was seen crawling on the floor with a needle stuck in his back.

"What the hell...? My legs, why can't I stand up?!" He demanded, unable to get up.

Recorder snickered, "Looks like she paralyzed your legs with that stab, if I were you, I wouldn't try to move much, less you want it to be permanent,"

"Damn you all...!" He growled, turning to the dogs, "Boys, kill them!"

Battle song: Something's Got Me Started - Swingfly

The black dogs charged at the four leaders and the two women left out, as Recorder quickly drew her water katana, catching a few that had gotten close, cutting them all in half.

Rela waited until the two were close enough before stepping behind them, stabbing the base of their skull killing them instantly, she then stabbed a charging Dog to the heart before igniting five Dogs who were approaching her.

The four commanders whistled at that, as the ronin captain evaded a swing from a mace-wielding dog with a sidestep, quickly dismantling him with a slash, quickly countering another dog with a stab to his throat, ripping out the katana, resheathing the blade as more descended on him, quickly unsheathing it, littering the attackers in cuts before they fell to bloody pieces.

The mantis captain charged his strange dark blade with green lightning before swinging down, catching a decent number of black dogs with a powerful swing, disintegrating them when the lightning bolt, before parrying another blow from an axe wielder, impaling the attacker in the chest before decapitating him.

The lion commander charged at them with a battle cry, leaping up in the air, and came down with a powerful shockwave, blowing a crowd of them away. Then, he gave a powerful outward swing, slicing up those who had to land, leaving a bloodied mist in the air.

The eagle captain has his battle ax out, pushing a black dog brute back with a harsh shove, giving an upward swing, cutting off both of the brute's arms, bringing down the ax into his skull, before swooping at an approaching trio of dogs in blinding speed, going past them with woosh of air, smirking, as they dropped their weapons, three of their heads falling to the ground and rolling to the floor as their bodies collapsed.

But as the captains fought alongside Rela and Recorder, they didn't notice that a familiar glow had started to shine on them, getting stronger the more black dogs they cut down.

Eventually, the fighting dies down, leaving the room covered in blood, guts, and corpses littered everywhere... Only one black dog remained, crawling on the ground with a missing arm and slashed eye.

Song end

"P-please don't kill m-" The wounded dog tried to plead, until...

"Shhhhhh, I don't want to hear your voice." Rela stabbed a needle at the top of his skull, silencing him for good.

The four captains and Recorder sheathed their weapons, as the latter took a sigh of relief...

"What a mess..." She commented, shaking her head, looking around, "Well, at least we got the minister, now all we have to do is-"

Before she could continue, two mercs, one a ronin and the other a mantis merc rushed in...

"Captains! We have an unknown army marching here and they've got quite the number!" The samurai informed.

The Ronin leader raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And how many are we talking about here?"

"Quite a lot of undead, along with this giant flaming colossus and four giant golems, all armed with halberds and bows!" The mantis merc added.

The fourth leader blinked twice at that, "They have giants in their numbers too...? Okay, what else?"

"Well, there seems to be a strange red-eyed woman with dark armor, leading the charge." The Ronin merc explained.

"Must be Hildegard..." Rela stated as she grabbed the prime minister by his head, "I wonder what got her to get in this war."

"The one boss mentioned...?" Recorder asked, going to one of the shattered windows and peeking out, whistling at the amount, "That...That's a lot...Must've pissed her off to get her here like this...But we've already got the guy who's responsible so..."

At that, the minister weakly cackled, "Haha...As if...I had something...to do...with that..." taking note of Rela's scowl, "But...I know...who did...The Archbishop...Stannos, is the one who sent Volt...to the luvenlis territories..." he struggled out, while being picked up, "He's...At...The church...underground...I assume, that's...where your boss and friends are...right..." weakly snickering, "I wonder...if he's been killed already... Stannos did have an... interesting person guarding him..." with a smirk, "Who...knows...? Next time you see him, his head might be...on a pike..."

"Do you honestly believe the boss would lose to some no-names?" Rela asked, "Must be the old age catching up to you... gramps."

"You know...nothing...girl..." Beasley groaned, "No matter, I'm done talking..."

Recorder scoffed, "That's the smartest thing you've said today," shaking her head, before turning to the captains, "As for you guys, thank you...I'm glad I didn't have to dance that dance, but I do appreciate the escort," offering a handshake, "Name's Recorder, it was nice meeting you all,"

The eagle leader laughed, "It's fine, I figured you'd be uncomfortable with that, still, your friend works fast and impressively at that," completing the handshake, "You're welcome, and my name if you're wondering, Is Cedrick Syder, nice to meet you, Recorder~"

The lion captain came up with a friendly smile and shook her hand next, "The name's Anton Dobrescu, soon to be the heir for the Dobrescu family, it's a pleasure," with a polite bow.

The ronin came up, and gave a bow, "I am Takigawa Korehiro, leader of the tiger claw, it's an honor to meet and fight with you," completing the handshake after with a firm grip, "If you are ever in rad, do look us up, we'd be honored to work with you,"

The last leader came up, and stared for a second, until he smiled, completing the handshake, "It's nice meeting you as well, Recorder... I am Gaioz Gurieli, most people just call me Gauis, it's easier to remember," with a chuckle, "And from what I can see, you two have a lot of skill and guts, it takes a lot, even with security,"

"Tell me about it, I almost noped out," Record chuckled next, "Still, I know I had a job to do, uncomfortable or not, I was going to have to do it,"

Gaioz nodded in understanding, "Such steel~ I like that~ Now I'm even more eager to meet your boss, especially if he has capable people like you,"

Recorder laughed with a slight blush, "Hey now~! You're gonna get me in trouble with all that flirting," she joked, "I appreciate that though and there are more people, they just split off with other parts of the battle,"

"I see..." Gaioz slowly nodded, hearing the rumbling get closer, "Now that we're acquainted you two need to get going, the sooner he's out of here, the better,"

"We'll hold the castle down, make sure that black dogs or holy knights don't reclaim the castle," Anton said, watching the flaming colossus get closer.

"My name's Rela... not like it interests anyone..." the demonic Dark Elf sighed.

Cedrick smiled and sighed, "Well, Miss Rela, we'll do our best to try and remember," with a nod, "Now go, and by if any chance, do let your boss know we wish to speak,"

"Will do, catch you guys later!" Recorder waved, leaving as Rela dragged Beasley along with her.

---

Meanwhile, frontlines, as the main gates

---

Some of the Holy Knights standing guard at the gate began to pale at the war machines they saw; large chariots in the form of heads with canons sticking out of their mouths.

"By the goddess... what are those..." one of the knights asked, "I... I hope that it's a nightmare..."

A second one chuckled before saying, "We have already lost, there's no point." he then jumped off the wall head first to the shock of the two officers who were watching from the garrison.

The other knights watched as he splattered on the ground, leaving a spray of blood once he made an impact...

"This...This can't be real..." A third knight said, "How is any of this happening now? Where's the Archbishop?!"

Meanwhile, at the north gate, the monster army marched there with the faux numbers they sent, fighting off the waves of emotionless knights. Erik stabbed his sword into the face of one, finishing the knight with a harsh shield bash.

"It's like they feel no pain, what is this?!" The Nord asked, horrified, ducking the swing of a greatsword, returning the favor with a spinning slash, killing the next.

Yuriana deflected a blow with her Warhammer, sweeping the halberd-wielding knight off his feet, finishing him by smashing him in the head once he hit the ground, giving a yell after, causing a large healing ray to cover her and the monster army.

"They were already dead." Zephyr pointed, "They weren't breathing."

"I still don't understand how people who preach following the light do something like this." Sylla was mounted on her Funeral Steel, glaive bloody, "At least, the Golden Order never turned to hypocrites by using Those Who Live In Death."

Erik held one of the dead knights back with a shield, who was trying to get through by smashing his flail on it, only for the nord to grit his teeth and force the shield to the side, causing the knight to stumble, taking him out with downward slash that severed the knight from the kneck down to his abdomen.

"If they're undead that would explain it," The Nord commented, sheathing his sword and drawing his gun ax, pulling back the hammer and firing to shoot at a couple trying to get Zephyr from behind, taking them out with headshots, "Let's hope the others in there are already finished up or close to!"

The Redhead wench parried a greatsword swing from an emotionless knight, countering with a powerful kick, sending the knight upwards, and giving a baseball swing with the hammer once he came back down, sending the knight into the wall with a splatter, "We'll know in due time, for now, we need to take out as much as we can..."

"I don't like this..." Zephyr looked conflicted, "Why are there this many of them?"

"No idea, but if I remember anything from how that defense battle went," Erik said, blocking a blow from a battle-ax-wielding knight, returning the favor by burying his ax into the center of his face, kicking him away, "It probably has to do with that doctor guy!"

Yuriana gave another yell, healing a wounded squad near her, "Most likely, but we won't know that until later, for now, we have to depend on the infiltration team doing their job,"

In front of the captain were thousands of dead bodies with a few encased in ice.

"He seems full of himself..." Sylla mumbled while narrowing her eyes, 'He shows no sign of fatigue of anything of the sort... strange...'

Erik whistled at the amount of damage done by the pro adventurer, 'Impressive, I didn't even notice him doing that,' he mused, until he got hit with a Warhammer, barely blocking the blow as he slid back, huffing after, "Really? That's all you hit for...? Let's go!"

---

Meanwhile, inside the church...

---

Once the Redguard reached indoors, he was treated to a mess at the first corridor, finding most of them frozen or with severe cuts and/or crushed heads, whistling at the handy work, 'Okay, seems to me they had to deal with a few of them, I don't hear anything either, that can be good or bad...' following the blood trail.

"Stop the crap!" Emily's voice sounded, "You'd better spill what you know about that guy!"

Traysek frowned at the voice, 'Sounds like they're pretty close, I know that voice...just didn't expect it angry,' he mentally chuckled, quickening his pace, reaching a room, widening his eyes.

Emily had her shield pressing Klein on a wall and her sword held in an attack position, "I've been a Lightbringer for years and never heard of that muscle guy! So talk!"

"I already told you what I know there! I barely know the guy myself, only by name and reputation!" Klein defended with.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Traysek interjected, "What's going on here?!"

Dargo sighed and said, "The Lightbringer started asking some questions about that guy from earlier and he refused to answer. And it escalated to this point."

The Redguard furrowed his brow, "You're talking about the one that calls himself: "The Mad Dog", right?"

"I've been trying to tell the Lightbringer, that I don't have much to go off of, except who he works for and his name," The former knight spat.

Traysek sighed deeply, "Does...This have anything to do with what Marquel was spouting about in the dungeons...?" getting a twitch from him.

Klein took a deep breath, "It...Has a bit to do with that, yeah..." thinking on it, "I know for a fact, that guy you fought came from a group as powerful as the birds of prey...and the only reason I know of him was that during my time serving with them as a prospect, we briefly met..."

"I see..." The Redguard nodded, "So this was around the time you were trying to get up there in ranks,"

"Yeah..." The dark knight admitted, "At first they seemed to be living up to their bargain with helping my sister, but..." thinking back on those missions, "It's how...they were doing it...And that man is a genocidal maniac with a pension for combat, many knights avoid him because they can't measure up to that...Myself included,"

Emily clicked her tongue before letting him go, "Fine, keep those secrets since they mean much to you."

"You'd better be ready, someone is approaching." Dargo narrowed his eyes as someone was approaching them.

The Redguard heard the steps approaching, sighing, "We'll have the time to talk about this later..." slightly narrowing his eyes on Klein, "Right now...let's see who this is..." in a low tone.

Then a strange busty woman in a black kimono with samurai pauldrons and armor, walked into the room, red eyes dull and cold as she entered... She was also armed with a naginata and a katana that hung on her hip.

Traysek raised an eyebrow, 'A Samurai here...? What's her deal...?' staring at her eyes, 'From that look in those...She's not there is she...?'

"Who is that...? That's not a samurai I'd recognize..." Klein said, narrowing his eyes.

"Go..." Dargo took a position, "I'll keep her occupied. You go ahead."

The Redguard was about to protest, until he remembered, 'Hold on, I did send him ahead when it came to the other guy...and it doesn't seem that she'll be that much for him...hopefully not,' clearing his throat, coming out of thought, "You got her? Very well, be careful though...she seems pretty tough..."

Klein nodded, "I was showing them the way before...all that happened, we can keep heading there, I still remember where to go,"

"Okay, then lead the way, Klein," Traysek said, as all three of them dashed off to where he was leading them.

Dargo sent two icy waves at the samurai woman who dodged them with some hops before jumping a little higher and going for a piercing thrust. Dargo dodged before widening his eyes as his sword got blocked.

'This is going to be tough...' he sweated retaking his posture.

The woman executed three slashes with a diagonal one coming from her top right side, followed by a cleave, and finished with a retreating sweep.

'These skills... she must be one of them...' Dargo went for an attack, only to get blocked again as the woman enacted a strange stance before proceeding to sweep the ground four times.

Dargo jumped back and fired two icy waves as the woman hopped away from each one.

'I need to find a way in her defense...' Dargo narrowed his eyes before retaking his stance.

While Dargo engaged the female Samurai, Klein led the other two through the corridors, stopping and letting a patrol pass while they hid, spotting a door...

"This way..." he whispered, going to the door and opening it, finding a staircase that went down, "This leads underground and where Stannos and possibly your sister are,"

The Redguard nodded with a narrowed stare, "Seems to be it, go ahead, I'll let you lead," observing him heading down.

"Watch out!" Emily snapped as a whip-blade emerged from the ground.

The Dark Knight jumped back, the whip-blade leaving a deep graze in his armor, "That...that was too close...thank you..."

"Traps huh? Looks like he expected us to come at some point," Traysek hummed, narrowing his eyes, activating the scouter on his right eye, "This will help with identifying traps, let's proceed carefully..." heading down next, watching the walls and floor.

"No... that's..." Emily gulped as the blade was retracted at the same time as a familiar figure walked forward.

Klein went wide-eyed, "That's no trap, that's the other Lightbringer..."

"Well shit, how that sword came at us, you'd think so..." The Nightingale commented, "Looks like your sister found us..."

Emily took a deep breath as a light emanated from her, "I'll deal with my sister... make sure to deal with Stannos. Knowing him... he must have one last trick in his sleeves."

The Redguard sighed, looking at Valery's eyes, before glancing back to Emily, "I see, We'll go on ahead, good luck, Emily..." turning to Klein and motioning his head to continue.

As they left, the dark knight gave one glance back, before sighing and continuing, heading further into the catacombs, 'When this over...You'll have the answers you're looking for...I hope I don't get the reaction I'm expecting...'

Valery was about to strike the two until she dodged Emily's sword.

"Snap out of it!" the younger sister yelled, "You're stronger than this!" before blocking a sword strike with her shield.

Valery snapped her arm as the sword turned into a whip and she began to mercilessly strike with great force.

'That's why I never defeated her in a fight! It's nearly impossible to get near her!' Emily cried internally as she tried to push toward her older sister, "If only I could get close enough to her!"

Now left as a Duo, Traysek and Klein continued through the catacombs, surprised by the lack of security, compared to upstairs as they found empty corridors as they passed...

"Guess they figured no one would get this far..." The dark knight spoke, "The lack of security down here shows it..."

The Redguard hummed, "Either that or most of what's left is with the priest already, getting a major vibe with the latter...We'll know soon enough..."

As they continued, Klein looked uncertain, wondering if he should share what he knew or not, knowing how the last interaction went... However, as if sensing the uncertainty, the Redguard stopped without facing him.

"Is something wrong...?" He asked the knight, "You've been silent since we've been moving on..."

Klein slowly nodded, "Everything's okay but...I figure I should tell you this since we're far enough,"

"Do tell," Traysek simply said, turning around to face him with a serious expression, "Because it seemed that Emily was pressing hard for something...what was it...?"

"You know the guy you fought...?" The knight reminded him, getting a nod, "It's about the group he comes from..." pausing for a second, "He's from a group known as: The Obsidian Table...I'm sure you remember them,"

"Yeah, Marquel mentioned them...Also mentioned you work with them, is that correct?" Traysek questioned.

"It is..." Klein answered, "But not how you think...I worked for them, as an Errant knight, a prospect, but I never got initiated, needed a way to pay for my sister's medicine and they were fronting the bill for a while until I saw what they were... capable of...I couldn't do it anymore after that...and settled as temple knight..."

"I see, so that's how you ended up in that position..." The Redguard concluded with a nod, "Okay, that eases things a bit, now what about the guy...?"

Klein took a deep breath, "Right...Him...We call him The mad dog, but his name is Azrael...and Captain, that guy's a monster in every literal sense..." he paused, "I did a couple of errands for the table and we met on a job...He will do anything...to get a fight out of anybody, even if he has to attack those close to you to get that...I witnessed him do it in Rad to a samurai and his family...Ripped his wife apart with his bare hands..."

"By the gods...!" Traysek gasped slightly, "And he did that to get into a fight with the guy...?"

"After the samurai refused, yeah, and that Ronin was retired for years...I can't imagine what that man felt watching that happen..." Klein sighed, eyes low and dark, "After that, I couldn't do it anymore...The whole situation was more demonic...More heretical than the dark army itself...The way he did all that...You need to watch yourself with him...if he even smells you're the sentimental type..."

"He'll kill them to get a rise out of me...Okay then, good to know," The Redguard hummed, "Thank you...for admitting it to me, but why did you withhold that from Emily...?"

"Because Emily...Still has heavy ties to the holy knights and is a Lightbringer, that information was meant for the rest of the birds of prey and us..." Klein explained, "I couldn't take the risk...Sure, she's on our side for now, but that's because of her sister... what about later...? once this all blows over... She'll go back to code..."

"I understand that...More than you realize," Traysek nodded with a small smile, under the mask, "That would explain why Dargo didn't add anything to that back there..." pausing, before eventually sighing, "Fine, I can help you smooth things over between you and Emily, depending on how that goes for her...But next time...? You're on your own, understand me...? and you can't keep using the Birds of prey business as an excuse, that can go stagnant too..."

"I get that, and I won't make that habit, I promise," The knight sword with a kneel, "Whatever else comes up and I'm aware of it, I'll make sure to share..."

"Thank you that's all I ask..." The Redguard smiled, giving him a pat on the pauldron, "Now...how much further do we have to go, we've passed by several corridors already..."

Klein looked ahead, "Not too much farther, we're a corridor away from the congressional hall...that's where Stannos has gone... No doubt he's got numbers with him..."

"I figured as much, this would be his last line after all," Traysek chuckled, "Well then, let's not keep him waiting, shall we?" with a nod.

And like that they were once again traveling through the corridors, eventually reaching a large ceremonial door...

"Is this it...?" The Redguard asked, eyeing the door up and down.

"Yeah...it is..." Klein answered, "Are you ready...?"

"Don't have much of a choice, let's go..." Traysek said, pushing on the massive doors, opening them, and finding a large hall with benches going down to a podium... Behind the podium, they could see a decorated priest kneeling in front of the statues while other knights surrounded him, eyes glazed over...

"The one who corrupted the goddess and a traitor." the priest spoke without looking back, "I'm impressed that you got past those three, but your luck ends here."

The Nightingale scoffed at that, "Does it...? I don't think so, and to accuse me of corruption, that's cute~ Too bad I don't care for it," narrowing his eyes, "If me making Celestine aware of the way her world works is corrupting her, then so be it...Better a corrupted goddess than an IGNORANT one..."

"And you've got a lot of nerve accusing anyone of treason and corruption, Archbishop," Klein spat, "What you do with Celestine's blessing is far more heretical than his entire existence..." a smirk forming after, "So you're right, something IS ending...YOU are..." hand on his flail, ready to draw.

The priest turned and looked them dead in the eyes before summoning a staff, "You speak, but only nonsense comes out of your mouth. We have already extracted enough proof of your misdeed and sent it to Ken for use against the former Goddess. As for you, traitor, I'm ensuring that the people follow the right faith."

"Really now?" The dark knight asked sarcastically, drawing his flail, "By enslaving the minds of your fellow man...? Taking away their right to free thought?! That is NOT what the goddess taught...it's the opposite...You and Grisholm have twisted the very devoted meaning to it to suit your needs, why would I be loyal to that...When the very vows I swore to have been perverted...?"

The Redguard whistled, "Spoken like a true knight, Klein, but...There's been enough words, especially when they're wasted..." Drawing his sword and summoning the spear, "Let's do this, "Arch-Bishop" One more thing though, from where you got your sources from...Wasn't a very good one, but don't you worry, all that is already being rectified...and that's as much as I'm willing to share..."

Battle theme: Into the Night - Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow

"You mean to say that she tried to stop you, or that demonic crow, from torturing a loyal young man that she was supposed to protect? I doubt that..." Stannos lifted his staff and a golden ray struck the knights surrounding him, "Go, with the benediction of the light, bring peace to their corrupted soul."

Traysek took a small breath, "MID... VUR SHAAN!" He shouted, covering Klein an aura of power, the latter feeling it, "Figured if he's gonna boost his guys, I might as well give on myself, it doesn't last long so use it well."

"I see, I do feel stronger too," The dark knight chuckled, "Alright boys, who are the first to go?!" he challenged.

"Impenetrable Fortress, go." Stannos waved his staff as the knights formed a line with the spears extended forward and began to walk forward slowly.

The Redguard clicked his teeth, and raised his foot, bringing it down for a harsh stomp, causing a shockwave that blew the wall of knights open, Klein rushed at one of them, spinning his flail while the knight tried to stand, going for a crushing blow.

"Light! Protect your children!" a wave pushed the dark knight away as the other knights reformed a wall.

"Damn!" Klein swore as he rolled back up to his feet, next to the Redguard, "That wall just got even tougher,"

Traysek slowly nodded, "I noticed, the coward...hiding behind his puppets, it'd be cute...weren't so insulting," taking another deep breath, "YOL TOOR SHUL!" Spitting out a giant torrent of Dragonfire, blanketing the soldiers when it hit, dashing towards them once a dense smoke was up.

"Now!" Stannos snapped as someone jumped into the smoke, targeting Traysek.

However, with Scouter activated, he could see the signal, smirking as his ring flashed, the spear rocketing at the unknown attacker...

The attacker threw a punch at the spear, damaging it further.

The spear spun back to him, with an even larger crack on it now, making the wielder sigh deeply, 'Damn...I'll need to stop using this so much until this is repaired, or it'll be the dragon scythe situation all over again...' Recalling it back into the ring, as the smoke cleared.

In front of him was a young man with auburn hair and fierce brown eyes.

The Redguard stared the newcomer up and down, "Well~ what do we have here...? I don't remember seeing you in here or sensing you for that matter...Who are you...?" he asked him.

Klein also focused on the new guy, frowning, "I can't put my finger around it, but I remember this guy from somewhere, it'll come back to me..."

"I don't have to answer you..." the boy answered before taking a wrestler's stance.

"And that's fine with me," Traysek said with a headshake, retaking his stance, "Bring it, Nameless one...!" pupils turning slit, giving a hard stare back.

Klein snorted, readying his flail once more, 'Still...the fact that he hasn't drawn a single weapon.

The young man rushed, going for a claw-like attack with both his arms.

Upon seeing the attack, the Redguard waited, timing the block, making him slightly stumble, before returning a small cut to his arms, once again draining stamina and health, before stepping away.

Stannos narrowed his eyes at the weapon, "A weapon that curses the victim I see..." he then waved his staff, generating a golden aura around the young man, "Go, my child, with this blessing, you shall be victorious!"

Going for a shoulder tackle, the boy charged again, but something else was on his mind...

Instead of dodging the tackle, Traysek stuck the sword in the ground, holding it and pressing his feet down causing it to web, as a sheen of magic went over him, awaiting the charge.

Instead of the shoulder charge, the young man prepared his arms, ready to catch whatever attacks were coming from the guy he was facing.

The Redguard took note of his arms, raising an eyebrow, smirking, seemingly going for a high stab, until he feinted the blow by quickly dropping low, vanishing...

But as he did this, Klein came at the man with a powerful shield charge, slamming into him, barely moving the larger man.

"Is he considering this fight as a joke...?" he mumbled, bending the shield in two with one punch.

When Klein slid away from the sheer force of the blow, before the young man could move on him, Traysek reappeared in front of him, giving a wide swing with his sword, scoring a large cut and a spray of blood, going for a thrust after...

The young man snapped his eyes and grabbed the Dragonborn's arm with great force, breaking the bones before throwing him with might and speed to a wall.

"Captain!" Klein shouted, as said man was slumped over at the wall, as the smoke and debris cleared, the Dragonborn groaning and standing up, his half mask falling off.

Traysek now standing, winced at the bones broken in his arm, "I'm fine...Klein..." Casting Grand healing on himself, fixing the arm, "In a moment he won't be..." eyes full of fire and steel, "As for you, no name...I believe that's enough courtesy...WULD NA KEST!" He rocketed himself at his opponent with a hard kick, pushed into his chest, and sent him into a wall with great force. The Redguard then slammed his hand on the ground, causing a large stream of magma to rush at him.

The young man used his hands and jumped out of the way, as the magma splashed against the wall, sweating and breathing hard while a large chunk of the wall melted.

The Redguard frowned, noting that the other man was nearly out of breath, 'Strange... we haven't been going that long and he's this tired already...? In that case...' Reverse gripping the sword, taking a low aggressive stance, his expression cold waiting for his opponent to stand.

"It's complete..." Stannos chuckled as enormous holy energy was felt from the knights, "You heretics! Feel the wrath of the true Goddess Reborn!" and not only the knights but also the walls' magic increased to an impossible point.

Klein went wide-eyed when he saw how the holy magic was swirling, "No...!" turning to Traysek, "Captain! We have to get out! Now!"

Traysek noted how the magic was building, watching one of the knights swell with magic, and nodded in agreement, "Yeah...I can see why, Move it!" dashing out of the room with the dark knight behind him.

"Be smitten!" and a light began to emanate.

On their way out, Traysek grabbed Klein, "WULD NA KEST!" He shouted, wind dashing them further down the hall when the light picked up.

And a powerful holy explosion came out.

Along with the holy explosion came a lot of debris and wind behind it, causing both warriors to shield themselves as best they could as the powerful holy energy blasted through the entire halls.

...

As the fight went on between Dargo and the samurai, the Dark Elf showed signs of fatigue, as his opponent was barely tired.

'Damn it, I need to end this...' Dargo gritted his teeth as the ground began to shake, "W-What?"

The samurai stumbled to the ground, grabbing her head, "What... where am I?" looking around, "Where's Minoshi-sama?"

'Is she free of the priest?' Dargo narrowed his eyes.

...

Emily dodged another lash of the bladed whip before lifting her shield to block a kick.

'I really need to increase my training...' Emily groaned before falling due to an earthquake.

"My head... what happened?" Valery held her head, looking around, "Emily? What are you doing here? And... where is here?"

"It's finally over." Emily sighed with relief.

...

Meanwhile, outside of the church, it wasn't those two who had been freed from mind control; many of the knights and citizens were starting to come to...

"W-what...? Where am I...?" One of the holy knights asked, rubbing his head.

"Ooh...My head, what happened..." Another knight chimed in, just as confused.

The knights at the front lines also came to find themselves confused about how they got there despite being in battle with the current frontline forces.

"What's going on?" one of them asked, looking around.

"No idea, one minute I'm running security, and the next, I'm at battleground...? It doesn't make sense!" another one shouted, as the soldiers threw their weapons down, confused about why they were fighting.

Erik notices this and raises an eyebrow while keeping his guard up, 'These people...it looks like their minds have been freed but...'

A female knight engaging Yuri also had stopped, clutching her head, "Oooh...What happened...How am I here...?"

Yuri sighed in relief, "Thank the gods...looks like the plan worked...The mind control's gone..."

Sylla sighed, saying, "Well, with how things are now... there won't be any problem in taking the city now." She smiled before saying, "Guess that playing them was fun."

Back inside the church, covered in rubble and dirt, Traysek rose out of it, The nightgale outfit in tatters, coughing, "Shit...that was intense..." he breathed out, coughing once more, "Klein...You okay?"

"Yeah...I'll live..." The dark knight panted, standing up with him, "Think he's dead...?"

"Either he is...or he bailed, but just to be sure..." The Redguard breathed out, going up to the door and checking the room, finding the armor pieces and ashes everywhere but no signs of the priest or even the mysterious man he fought, "The knights are dead, but no sign of the priest or that other guy...Seems like they got away,"

Klein caught up and gritted his teeth, "Dammit...! There's Not a body in sight, dead or alive, all we got were knight pieces and ashes..."

"Easy...Just because he fled does not mean his control has remained," Traysek informed, "Besides, with as many as he had under control, using a spell he just used, he'd depleted of magic...Overall, we still did what we needed to do and that was to disable him, be it dead or alive..." patting his shoulder, "Now, it's Greil's turn to do his part," with a smile, "For now, let's head up,"

"Yeah," The dark knight agreed, heading back with him...

On their way, they noticed Valery hugging Emily while crying, "I'M SOOOOOOOORYYYYYYYYY!"

"S-Sis, I told you that it's fine!" Emily stated, crushed by her sister's hug.

Both Traysek and Klein watched the scene with large sweatdrops on their heads...

"Um...Is this a bad time...?" The Redguard asked, awkwardly.

A little later, Dargo walked down to the others.

"I take that he's dead?" he asked.

Traysek had an unsure look, "Either he is or he's used the explosion to escape, which is starting to be likely since there wasn't a trace of him afterward,"

"Anything of that scale is very consuming, which explains why the spell broke." Dargo replied, "Also, I got a call... the general is here with the forces... that was the good news..."

Traysek nodded, "Good, I was wondering when he'd show...I'm sure he's noticed the lack of mind-controlled soldiers,"

"But you also said that was "The good news" What's the bad news...?" Klein asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A rather hostile army with most of it being undead warriors," Dargo answered.

The Redguard narrowed his eyes, already knowing who it could be, "One person comes to mind with an undead army...Hildegarde... I see... If I see her I'll try talking to her...if it gets violent, I'm not holding back...Business partner or not,"

Klein sighed, "I'm sure...she can be reasoned with, if not...Then yeah, do what you have to do there...I won't be mad either way,"

"You think that you can appease her?" Dargo asked.

"I hope so, if not... that's fine too..." Traysek shrugged, "Honestly, I'm not sure if words WILL be enough here, myself...But since I know her... I at least want to give it a chance before coming to the other conclusion..."

"Need help?" Dargo raised an eyebrow, "This one feels different somehow than the other necromancers."

That's because she's a Tarnished like Sylla and Ekaterina and a powerful one from the feel of it... So yeah, I might need a bit of backup here in case," The Redguard admitted.

Dargo nodded to that.

Klein nodded too, "I'll help too, if not against her, I can at least keep the other undead at bay,"

"I appreciate that, thanks..." Traysek tiredly smiled, "Come on, let's not keep them waiting..." turning to Emily, "As for you, Emily, thank you for coming with us, I know you had your reasons, but it was nice having you aboard," offering a handshake.

"A little... preoccupied... right now..." the younger Lightbringer grunted, still getting crushed by her crying sister's hug.

Traysek sighed with a small chuckle, "Glad to see you're back too Valery, but I think your younger sis is starting to turn purple,"

The older sister completely ignored him.

"I don't think that we should waste more time." Dargo stated, "We have no idea when that undead army would launch the attack."

"I agree, let's go," The Redguard concurred, "The sooner we put an end to that, the better,"

And with that, the three men made their way out...

Once out, they noticed some infighting between the knights.

"What's going on?" Dargo narrowed his eyes.

Traysek frowned, "Not...sure...But I'm willing to chalk this up to confusion and/or probably personal beef..."

"Mostly likely that, you seem to forget, some holy knights kidnapped other holy knights for Stannos, maybe this is them finally settling it," Klein added in, "Either way, it's not our concern, I opt we let them fight themselves,"

"Agreed, it's none of our business." Dargo nodded.

"Yeah, honestly we could just walk out, it seems my summons have also returned to Oblivion too, no reason to linger here," Traysek agreed, as the three of them casually made their way out, taking care to duck stray blows.

Once they got out of there, The Redguard went for his calling stone and activated it, "Rela, we've finished with disabling the priest, didn't go exactly as planned, but it still worked out, how's things on your end...?"

"We got ourselves a big old fat pig," Rela replied, "But I doubt that it can be turned into bacon."

"Fuck you! You dark elf harl-" he heard Beasley say until...

*Whack!*

"Arrgh!" he screamed out from the call.

"You'd do well to keep quiet...Pig..." He heard Inigo say next, making him chuckle.

"I see, so everything went good I take it, glad to hear that," Traysek smiled, before it wilted, "But now have a new problem...Hildegard...We'll need to quell that as soon as possible..."

"Someone in the church sent the dogs and knights to her new territory." Rela explained, "That's what the molding pig said."

Traysek sighed, "Yeah, and I think I know who. We just got done dealing with him. He's either dead or has escaped when he caused an explosion. The point is, there's nothing here for her now. All she's doing currently is causing problems...So on that note, we'll need to rendezvous at Regis's, before figuring out what to do..."

"From what Recorder saw... They have a camp outside the walls." Rela stated before adding, "Also, they have some real heavy artillery with them."

The Redguard frown, "That's not just vengeance then, she plans on destroying the entire city...gods be damned..." with a deep sigh, "Lucien, what's the current battle status...?"

"90% done sir, I've also taken the liberty of guiding civilians that were under mind control to safety..." Lucien informed them, "As for this Hildegard woman, does she have long brown hair, Angry red eyes, and dark and red armor with a skull on the belt...?"

"Yeah...that's her...what about it...?"

"I spotted her at her camp from the city, there's a lot of heavy artillery there too..."

"So I've been told," Traysek sighed, "Very well, meet up with us, Rela and her team are already on their way there..."

"You got it, I'll see you soon..." The line goes dead after.

The Redguard put the call stone away, "Now we play the waiting game..." Turning to Dargo, "By the way, what happened to the strange woman you fought...?"

"After she regained her senses, she went away." Dargo answered, "I believe she's heading back to Rad."

"I see... No point in sticking around, huh? Can't blame her..." Traysek commented, "Well then After we all meet up, we'll head to that camp...Hopefully your general will be in route as well..."

---

In Regis' estate...

---

Rela was poking the stomach of the tied former prime minister while saying "Pig" again and again.

"That's a unique way to pass time..." Regis commented.

Recorder shook her head with a chuckle, "Honestly, with how DB mocks people, this is pretty light..."

"He's just lucky he's not being put on Spitroast," Inigo added.

Beasley snorted, "Keep on laughing furball, I can't wait until you get turned into a coat, might be worth something then..."

Inigo's response was to flip him off, "Yeah yeah, or a rug, I've heard it all, come up with some new material, I know it's hard for an old dog like you, but do try..."

"With all that was discovered in Feoh, Beasley is sure to be executed for all the people that suffered because of him." Regis stated, "But I doubt it would be something quick."

"I'd hope not, especially with how he was "relaxing" himself in there," Record murmured, "Almost had to dance for him too, ugh..." shuddering at the thought.

Right then, there was a knock at the door...

The maid opened the door, "My lord, they're here." giving way to Traysek and the others."

Beasley looked up out the door, and bared his teeth at the oncoming group, "YOU! You're the reason this happened!" before getting a needle held at his neck.

Traysek smirked, walking in with the others, "You have no one to blame but yourself for this one...It seems they worked you up pretty good, Minister Porky,"

"Shut up!" He yelled, "You ruined everything! After all the time it took to plan all of this! Why?! Because you want to be the Dark Queen's and Celestine's favorite pet?!"

The Redguard smiled even wider, "Nope, we just don't like you and because we can~" he shrugged, "That should sum it up for you,"

"Arrogant thug! When the high inquisitor gets her hands on you...you and yours won't be singing that tune for long!" The minister snarled.

"IF...You mean IF she does..." Traysek snickered, "Gotta catch me first... but don't worry about me, pork minister, you got it coming to you when we get back to Feoh, and that's a promise,"

"Now what do we do?" Dargo asked.

The Redguard turned his head to him, "Well now that we got him here, we need to go handle Hildegard, might as well leave him here, until we get back," turning back around, "If you don't mind that is, Regis,"

"Don't worry about it," Regis laughed a little, "You can leave him here. I have some guard to ensure he stays in place."

The Redguard grinned, "Okay, sounds good..." turning to Beasley, "And don't get comfortable, minister, we'll be back to get those hams baked..." smirking, "Let's go guys," being the first to head out.

The others simply looked between themselves and followed with Rela giving Basely one last stare.

"Pig." she then got out to follow the others.

"Damn you all! I'm not fat-!" Beasley yelled, before the door shut on him, cutting him off...

Now outside, as they were walking, Traysek turned his head to Rela...

"So how did those mercs take the gift I prepped for them...?" He asked her.

Rela nodded, "They want to talk with you."

"I see, must've enjoyed it that much... I expected them to take the money and go, but this is even better..." Traysek smiled, "Alright, once we wrap up with the battle here if they're still in the castle, I'm willing to have a word em'"

Recorder nodded, "They're pretty solid, even helped us bag Beasley,"

"Glad it went well. Let's just hope THIS negotiation goes just as well," the Redguard nodded.

"You're hoping for it, huh?" Dargo looked at him.

"What? You're not...?" The Redguard asked, "Remember that scarlet rot disease...? She can use that same ability, that's not something the town needs right now, knowing what it did to that other fort," making the others cringe in memory.

"I was trying to say that negotiations can go sideways if the one you're talking to isn't from the same world as you." Dargo pointed, "After all, you know nearly nothing of it."

"That's True, but it's not the first time we met, that's why I'm hoping for a good mood," Traysek commented, as they headed out of the city.

---

In the camp, Hildegard looked not that pleased, surrounded by undead knights and white bugs.

The group wasn't too far from her, spotting just how many were around and that unhappy expression.

Lucien sighed deeply, "Sir...I know you WANT this to be peaceful, but something tells me, the opposite will happen, even with this glow..."

Traysek slowly nodded, "It's looking that way...Just be ready for anything, who knows..." approaching Hildegard and her group, "Hildegard...It's been a while, I see they've riled up your nest..."

"What do you want?" she asked directly.

Traysek had a poker face, stabbing the sword on the ground in front of him, taking his hands off with a small smile, "To talk to you... I see you're out in full force today, what happened...? thought this wasn't your war...?"

"When you poke a Runebear one too many... he shreds through you." Hildegard replied, "That's a lesson I plan to teach those Black Dogs."

Traysek blinked twice at that, "Ah...So they were messing with you...I see...And how many times...?"

"Two times." Hildegard answered, "The first time they came in number, trying to abduct women from the villages that are now under my protection... left them to the Mariners... and then they were scouting a village to attack it. If I stayed still, I would be unworthy of the title of Elden Lord."

The Redguard sighed deeply, nodding in agreement, "I can respect that, we do what we gotta do and they were on your lands looking for trouble...And now you're here to make them pay for it...okay then," in a calm tone, "Thing is Hildegard, we've already conquered this city by the time you got here...The very few black dog forces were in the castle and those two with the help of other mercenaries took care of them when they grabbed Beasley..." nodding his head towards Recorder and Rela "In other words, you're scaring the literal hell of out of people and our forces with those giant balls of walking fire..." with a sweatdrop.

"So there isn't any more of them in the city?" Hildegard raised an eyebrow, getting nods from the others, "I see...'

"Yeah...sorry to disappoint, I know you came all prepared and all, didn't know we were kill stealing," Traysek said, rubbing the back of his neck, "But I may have a way to help you out..." with a smile.

"What do you mean?" she crossed her arms.

"Well," Traysek started with, crouching on his feet, "Before we came here today, those I work with, were already interested in talking with you, and wanted to extend an invitation...Which after the battle, would've been the plan. But seeing as you're already out hunting them, it saves us the trouble...Of course, you would retain your individualism and your more private wares would remain that way...You don't have to offer a thing or reduce a price if you don't want to...Your help in taking them down would be more than enough for us..." with a genuine smile, "Should you accept...As a bonus, because this was a crime committed out of the constraints of war, not only would I charge them for it, but I could assure that it never happens again by renewing the land's deeds, under your name... it would no longer be the "Luvenlis" estate, but whatever you name it as... Because as it stands now, The nobles, holy knights, and black dogs see it as open land, they don't respect the fact you've taken over it...They consider you a usurper, but if we have it in writing that you own the property...Legally...That threat would cease, even if you're not there yourself..."

After staring at him momentarily, she said "I have four conditions... first, my army only listens to me and me alone. Two, I won't give anyone a link to the Erdtree. Three, If someone would do that paper writing, I'd prefer it to be the ruler of this place, and to write it off as independent. And four, You won't use it as a leverage in the future."

The Dragonborn nodded, "We have a deal then~ Although on the paperwork, because the king and queen are already dead, it would have to go through Princess Prim, who in Feoh, all it requires is her and your signatures for this to go into effect...The most I can do is offer the document...But as for the rest, you don't have to worry there...Most of us here aren't tarnished, unlike you and Sylla..." he assured, "There's more to offer of course, but I'd rather you hear that from General Greil himself..." standing back up, offering a handshake, "So...what say you...?"

"Let's see if you can hold your end of the deal..." Hildegard shook his hand, narrowing her eyes.

Traysek slowly nodded, "One second..." reaching into his back pocket and bringing out the calling stone activating it, "Greil, it's Traysek, we were successful in disabling the priest, he ended up taking coward's way out, as well as Securing Beasley, whose being held with Regis, currently... but right now, there's someone out here that wants a word with you, any chance you could come here... or should we go to you...?"

"I'll be on my way," Greil replied.

"Perfect~ I'll see you soon..." The Redguard smiled, hanging up, turning to her, "He'll be here in moments, it shouldn't take long for him to get here..." putting stone back in, before pulling out a blunt and lit it with fire magic, taking a deep pull and exhale, "So while we're waiting on him, I gotta say" looking at the strange heavy artillery, "Never seen war machines like these before...Especially that circular one, how does it fire...?"

"Divine flames of giants," Hildegard replied, "Flames strong enough to burn the Erdtree..."

Traysek whistled at that, "Impressive~ I don't know much about the Erdtree, only bits I learned from Sylla, but that's it," he chuckled, "From that description, it sounds like a divine tree, if so...Those are quite the flames..." he complimented, noticing the iron maiden roaming about, "And those scary looking iron maidens...?"

"Abductor Virgins, they were used by Praetor Rykard as a way to gather heretics to mt. Gelmir," Hildegard explained, "But, as soon as Rykard turned his back on the Golden Order, those machines became bringers of pain and misery..."

"Which you have now brought here today, yikes..." He cringed, "You planned on making them feel it I see...Imagine being on the receiving end of it, they look Gruesome enough..." with a small sweat bead.

"You have no idea..." Hildegard sighed, "Been on the receiving end myself numerous times, and it wasn't pretty..."

He shuddered at the thought, "I stand corrected then, they are gruesome... It's a good thing we didn't have anything like this back on Nirn, the closest to those, are dwemer automatons...Some of those were even possessed, doesn't come close to these..."

"Trust me, this is nothing compared to Dragonkin soldiers, those were a real pain to deal with." Hildegard stated, "Especially the one that was in Nokstella... that was a tough one for me during my Tarnished days..."

"Dragonkin, huh? Never heard of those either, but since I'm starting to see some of your threats come from your world, like the dreaded rune-bears...I guarantee we'll probably run into it here sooner or later...Hope they know Dragon speech, but I highly doubt it..." Traysek shrugged.

"What speech?" Hildegard raised an eyebrow, "These are soulless puppets that know nothing of speech. Besides, this is the first time I hear of this 'Dragon Speech' unless you're talking like the Lands Between is like your world, which isn't a smart thing to do."

The Redguard nodded, "Probably, which is why I was "doubtful" there...But if these guys are soulless beings, and the ones I hunt aren't and are divine, Then I know they are of no relation to the dov or know the language...Then again, that's been a running theme in this world..."

"It's one in general." Hildegard corrected, "Unless you're on a different timeline in your world, expect everything to be different."

"I try to keep that in mind, although if I had to be honest," Traysek began with, putting out his blunt, "This isn't the first world we've been to...But it IS the first we've had to be... more open-minded to...Rules are very different here, it's taking time, but we're adjusting..." spotting Greil approaching, "Ah right on cue, Hey there Greil~"

Greil's dragon landed as the general dismounted it, "We just finished rounding up the remaining enemy forces and received the surrender of knights who didn't seem set on fighting us."

"Oh good, I was starting to wonder if you were having issues in there, glad it went well for you guys," The Redguard smiled, before motioning to Hildegard, "And this is the one I was talking about,"

"Well, I believe we have quite a discussion ahead of us..." Greil stated.

"Indeed..." Hildegard agreed.

Traysek thought about something, "That said, once you and she talk things over, I have something to talk about with you as well, Greil...But only after this,"

"Very well." Greil nodded.

---

To be continued

---

And that concludes the trilogy of Assault on Ur... I know this is rather late, but happy New Year everybody! :) Since we already did a Christmas Omake last year, we held off on it this year and took a break to celebrate with our families...Not to worry though, there will be more in the future, so keep your eyes peeled after chapters... This last year...Was a rough one, so many Diddy's exposed...Too many... Hopefully...This year will prove to be a better one, although so far, seeing how it's already going...I'll remain doubtful... But not in writing this... To those stuck with us this far... you are hereby GOATED and you all deserve it :) you know who you are ;) and we Thank you... There will be more characters in the future...Including everyone's favorite screw-up knights... I know many of you have been wondering where HE's been during these three parts...That will be revealed in the next chapter...

Stay tuned and stay safe everyone :) Until next time...