Infinite Arrow-Chapter 45 - 43: City of Ordelia (3)

A march of countless footsteps shook the entire inn as countless soldiers ascended from the stairs, each soldier holding a spear and a short sword. They dress like guards but their smiles are that of a criminal, a hint of bloodlust in every single one of them permeated through the entire hallway.

At the center of the hallway, the knights and the adventurers are located at the center, protecting the room where the princess is hiding.

The Warrior grabbed his battle axe with both hands and prepared for the fight, while the mage held her magical staff and her magical circuits glowed, they were in charge of dealing with the enemies on the left side of the hallway.

The enemies charged forward, sending the guards wielding the short swords first to the battlefield.

"Stay behind and cover my back...!" Enrid shouted before dashing towards the enemies with him performing a horizontal strike mid-swing to destroy their balance.

"I won’t let you get hurt...!" Esther, the mage of ice, started muttering silently as her magical circuits continued to glow brighter over time. The atmosphere became cold, sending cold gusts of wind towards the enemy.

"Slow my enemies down, Frostbite!" A short incantation for a spell that only temporarily slows down enemies.

The Swordswoman unsheathed her longsword and performed a knightly stance, the Tank raised his shield in front of him to protect the ones behind him.

The spearmen guards went forward and pointed it forward, aiming to kill.

"Arnheid, cover me. I’ll bash right through and open up an escape...!" The eleventh shield of the kingdom, Reinar braced himself and rushed towards the incoming enemies with his shield protecting him.

"Shield Rush–!!" Upon contact, Reinar destroyed, shattered and flattened the enemies’ spears within a second and dragged them with him towards the end of the hallway, but there were a few guards that managed to avoid contact and unsheathed their daggers to stab him behind the back.

𝗦𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗛–! 𝗧𝗦𝗜𝗜𝗜𝗜𝗜𝗜𝗜𝗜—!!!

Suddenly, a flash of light blinded their sight and found themselves staring at the ground and the feet of the female knight holding a bloodied sword.

"Swift Viper!" The guards didn’t see it coming. A swift consecutive slashes aimed to decapitate multiple heads within a second, a technique that most swordsmen learn at an advanced level of swordsmanship. It was named after an animal that can swiftly take out enemies without making a sound, hence why it is called a [ Swift Viper ].

After dragging the enemies to the end of the hallway, Reinar slammed their bodies at the wall and opened up a way for an escape. However, the stairs were filled with more guards.

"Shit–! Retreat!"

"REINAR, ABOVE!" A scream came from the young archer and reverberated through the entire right side of the hallway. Reinar heard and looked above to find a person, a figure that managed to stay stuck at the ceiling without falling.

"What a pain~!" The figure let go of the ceiling with his clutches and performed a downward slash with his strangely shaped sword. Reinar raised his giant shield in time to block the upcoming slash, even though it left his body open to attacks.

"AVOID IT–!" Cliff warned the knight again but this time it was too late. The figure’s sword already reached the knight’s shield and within a few seconds, it tore through the shield and destroyed it.

Reinar noticed his shield breaking and punched the figure away from him towards the stairs filled with countless guards.

The figure flew downward, hitting a few soldiers on the way down but landed on the ground gracefully and bowed like a performer.

"Shit...!" With his shield broken, the only weapon he has left is his Warhammer strapped from his back. The man took the hammer and wielded it with conviction.

"IF YOU WANNA KILL THE PRINCESS, YOU’LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE WALL." He released a war cry so loud, it intimidated some of the soldiers that were trying to climb up the stairs. It gave them a debuff of [ Fear ].

[ Fear ] is a status ailment that reduces 50% to every status and a high chance of stunning enemies.

While everyone was fighting for their lives to protect the princess, Cliff was still pinning down the woman in black who was trying to assassinate the princess. However, due to his sudden shift of attention because of the sword, he got thrown away.

"Urgh–!"

He groaned in pain, feeling his back falling against the hard wooden floor. But a normal floor wouldn’t stop him from pursuing the assassin, he quickly stood up but found the woman in black gone from his sight and only a loud shattering sound could be heard from a distance.

𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵-! 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥–!?

Cliff quickly entered the room and found a shattered window, he quickly ran towards the broken window and stepped onto glass shards, creating an irritating crunchy sound of glass being ground against the floor. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Get off! Augh! Help! Please..!!"

A childish scream from a distance where the princess was being kidnapped could be heard throughout the streets, but the shouting slowly faded into silence.

"NO–!"

Cliff was about to vault outside the inn but stopped mid-way. He looked behind him, listening to the sounds of his allies fighting for their lives for the sake of Her Highness’ safety and protection.

If I leave them here, they’ll die...! There were too many of them...! I can’t let them die...! Not enrid or esther...! They’re the only people I have left...!

His chest began to tighten and it twisted his heart, he began hyperventilating and panting heavily in quick succession. His vision is starting to spin and starts producing a lot of sweat to the point that he is glistening from it. His body started shaking, his fingers trembling from fear and anxiety.

"Haaaa...! Huuu...! Haaahuu....!"

[ "𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗺 & 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱" Has been activated. ]

Suddenly, an interface window popped up in front of him and his current emotional state began to calm down and relax. His breathing stabilized, his vision began to clear, his movements relaxed, and his mental state that was once fogged began to disappear.

"...Everyone, please stay alive...!"

After contemplating, he vaulted off the window and landed on the stone ground. He rolled upon impact to lessen the fall damage and he began his pursuit to rescue the princess and eliminate the assassin.

He held his wooden short bow with conviction and he used his keen observation to find where they went.

Fortunately, he just has the perfect skill for it. Cliff focused and relied on his five senses, to search.

[ "𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵" has been activated. ]