"What is going on?" Elizabeth asked, keeping her voice to a harsh whisper as she surveyed the empty lawns.
"Stay attentive and let me know if you spot any movement in the shadows," Solomon instructed.
Elizabeth did not hesitate for a single second. She dashed toward the nearest weapon rack, grabbing two standard steel longswords from the wooden display. Sprinting back to his side, she tossed one of the blades directly into his waiting hand.
"I can protect myself perfectly fine," Elizabeth declared, dropping into a pristine fencing stance. "You do not need to worry about me. Go chase the shooter down!"
Solomon caught the steel hilt and shook his head. "If this is an organized attack by an evil sect, their primary targets are the royals. You are a princess of Bririth. I absolutely cannot leave you alone in the dark."
"Above us!" Elizabeth shouted, twisting her torso to dodge a second arrow plummeting from the sky.
Another projectile zipped past Solomon’s ear from the opposite direction. Then came another, followed by dozens more. A lethal shower of black-fletched arrows rained down upon the dirt ring from every conceivable angle, completely eliminating dodging as a viable survival option.
Solomon let out a tired sigh. He anchored his boots against the compacted earth and fluidly executed the twelfth step of the Azure Crane Blade.
He dropped into a low crouch, swinging the steel longsword upward in a rapid, rising deflection arc. The blade sparked violently as it batted the incoming arrows out of the air, creating a protective umbrella of spinning metal over their heads.
"Notice how the rising momentum of the twelfth form perfectly covers your blind spots against descending projectiles," Solomon lectured casually over the clatter of breaking wooden shafts. "If you pivot your ankle correctly, you can seamlessly transition this defense into a forward thrust."
Elizabeth swatted a stray arrow away with her own sword and glared at him. "I would love to hear more about this technique, but perhaps we can save the lesson for when we are not actively getting shot at!"
[1Fizzy: bro is giving a tutorial mid-ambush!]
[James_hayes: the teacher never rests.]
[Fatal_Beauty: Solo Man protecting the princess!]
[Mezz_3863: they are getting swarmed right now.]
[Stephen-Wood: the arrows are coming from everywhere.]
[LazyCat: tf is happening. I just got home.]
Solomon deflected another volley and realized holding their ground was a terrible tactical choice. "Even if I pinpoint the shooters, finding all of them in this darkness, when they are spread in all directions, is impossible. We need to find proper cover right now."
He grabbed her sleeve and pulled her toward the nearest stone structure. They sprinted across the open grass, dodging stray arrows until they crashed through the heavy wooden doors of a fortified observation tower.
Elizabeth ducked below the stone windowsill, her chest heaving as she caught her breath. "Where did all the royal sentries go? Why is no one guarding the inner borders?"
"The evil sect members are absolute experts at infiltration," Solomon replied, pressing his back against the stone masonry to peek outside. "The Nether Fiend Sect slipped right into the Azure Dragon Pavilion without tripping a single alarm. This group likely used the exact same methods."
He scanned the dark rooftops. ’I could easily track them down and wipe them out,’ Solomon deduced in his mind. ’But leaving Elizabeth alone is exactly what they want. This feels like a coordinated trap to isolate her.’
’Should I alert the royal guards? I don’t expect them to do anything, but they would at least distract the attackers and confuse them enough to buy me some time,’ Solomon wondered.
He needed a massive distraction to buy them some time. Looking across the sprawling estate, his eyes locked onto a towering bell structure situated in the center of the royal courtyard. Unfortunately, the path leading to the bell tower consisted entirely of open, unprotected lawns.
’Same risk here. I can’t go there alone, leaving her behind. I can’t take her with me. Even while our run to the observation tower, I noticed most arrows were aimed at her.’
Just as he weighed the risks of making a run for it, a dark figure scaled the side of the bell tower with terrifying speed.
’They are trying to sabotage the alarm so the royal guards remain completely unaware of the breach,’ Solomon concluded, tightening his grip on the steel longsword.
He channeled his internal energy directly into the weapon, preparing to unleash the first form of the Eden Imperial Sword Arts to obliterate the tower from a distance and also ringing the bell with it.
However, the mundane steel immediately groaned under the immense pressure, spiderwebbing with visible cracks before he could even raise the blade.
At that exact second, the dark figure reached the top of the platform and grabbed the heavy rope. The massive bronze bell rang out, echoing a deafening alarm across the entire Azure Moon Kingdom.
Solomon paused and let his silver aura fade. He blinked in genuine surprise, completely unsure if the figure was a hidden royal guard or a chaotic third party.
’I don’t know if I should feel happy or pathetic. I would have killed that person if I had unleashed my attack. Even worse if I had Eden’s penance with me.’
Regardless of the bell ringer’s identity, the alarm worked flawlessly. Within seconds, the inner courtyard swarmed with armored palace guards rushing from the barracks to secure the perimeter.
"Raise your shields!" Solomon roared from the observation tower, projecting his voice over the chaos. "They are raining arrows from the rooftops!"
The royal sentries heard the warning just in time. They hoisted their heavy metal shields, forming a tight phalanx that successfully deflected the incoming volley of black-fletched projectiles.
Solomon did not waste the distraction. He grabbed Elizabeth’s hand, dragging her out of the observation tower and sprinting directly into the protective mass of armored soldiers. They pushed through the defensive line, rushing straight toward the reinforced doors of the inner palace.