Bellows and screams erupted from the front gate of Ronadyphe Prison. They reverberated within Tess’ body, lighting a fire inside her, and her heretofore-suppressed resentment kindled the blaze. After licking her lips to taste the heat, she unleashed her emotions with a roar.
The front gate was made of a stone arch tall enough for a wagon to pass through with ease. Beneath the arch were dozens of tightly packed commoner soldiers and the knights commanding them.
Cobalt’s attack on the prison started with thrown rocks and flaming arrows. These projectiles did little to damage the prison’s stone walls; rather, they had been intended as provocation. The assailants could have kept it up all night without putting more than a few chips and cracks in the building. Seeing that they didn’t possess any siege weapons, it would be pretty much impossible to capture the prison, which was essentially a small fortress.
But the situation changed as soon as the defensive force opened the gate and sallied out. In doing so, the prison guards threw away their advantage of holding a defensive position, but that was simply a matter of the pride and standards characteristic of nobles.
Honor was extremely important in noble society. It would be unforgivable for them to hole up in a fortress just to deal with commoners and Crestfolk. They would be branded as cowards and lose their standing.
The force that had marched out was composed of five knights and around thirty commoners. So long as the knights were with them, defeat was impossible.
One of the knights stepped forth and shouted, “You Tainted filth! What manner of jest is this?! You dare attack this prison?! Face your judgment!”
The prison guards were under the assumption that this attack was the work of the Crestfolk. This was surely because a large number of attackers bore bloodmarks. The moment she laid eyes on the knight, Tess’ body shook with fear. It was the fear prey tasted when faced with a predator, the absolute sense of terror when victory was impossible. That was what it meant to face a noble. But there was one among the attackers who overcame such fear ahead of everyone else through unbridled rage.
“You conceited piece of shit! You’ll be nothing more than rust on my axe!”
Bandore charged at the knight who had spoken. The knight swung his sword in a large arc, and it collided with Bandore’s axe.
“It’s time to put an end to that conceit.”
“Shut your filthy mouth.”
The knight was wearing heavy armor. His sword, although not as large as Bandore’s axe, was enormous. It looked to be tremendously heavy, yet the knight’s movements were swift. This was the technique born of a noble’s strength.
Bandore showed no hesitation and began pushing forward. But upon blocking a blow from the sword head-on, his posture crumbled completely.
“Not bad for scum with tainted blood... But this is all you amount to!”
Tess could feel her blood boiling from the noble’s insults, giving her the power to conquer her fear.
Even nobles are human. I mean, Nagi said he killed a knight. I have the same weapon in my hands. Did I come here just to put my tail between my legs? Have I really been alive up until now? No!
Just as the knight was about to bring the finishing blow down on Bandore, Tess jumped into the fray. After blocking her attack, the knight made a vulgar smile.
“Well, look at that—a woman! Hey, can I take this one?”
“Give it up. She’s Tainted; your dick will rot,” another knight said with a sneer.
“But the tighter the better, don’t you think? They don’t get stretched out by having children. I’ve always wanted to try one.”
The knights cackled in a carefree manner like a bunch of vulgar drunks. Tess was seething. Her anger turned into a violent charge. The knight casually raised his arm to catch her spear, assuming it would be fine if he took the hit. Normally, a spear couldn’t do a thing to a noble’s body. There would be a slight amount of pain, but the wound itself would heal immediately. Knights trained themselves to endure such pain. They relied on their strength and regeneration to dominate and suppress the commoners.
Naturally, this knight was doing the same. He grinned as the spear stabbed his arm—no doubt because he planned on seizing Tess and tearing off her clothes. Basically, he thought it would be a waste to counterattack and potentially damage the pretty thing he was after.
Contrary to his expectations, however, Tess’ spear pierced through his arm and caused him to let out a shriek. Her spear was coated in Halahala, after all. This pain was beyond what he had endured in his training. He screamed in true agony.
“You rotten bitch! What the hell did you do?!”
The impossible sound sent waves of agitation through the defenders while inspiring the attackers. As the knight twisted in anguish, Bandore saw an opportunity to go in for the kill.
He regained his footing and took a big swing with his Halahala-laced axe, then chopped off the knight’s head with a single blow. The knight’s headless body collapsed to the ground with a thud. Bandore grabbed it and held it aloft.
“Behold! We can kill these knights! We can kill these fucking vampires!”
A battle cry erupted from the attackers. It was then that the defensive troops realized these weren’t common enemies they were dealing with.
“What’s going on? Are they using blood calibers?”
“Impossible!”
“But they just killed a knight!”
“Gather our forces! Soldiers! Close the gates!”
Fear rippled through their ranks, and the warning bell echoed throughout the prison. This was the emergency signal for all forces to focus on the front.
“Don’t let them close the gate!” someone from Cobalt shouted.
Thus, the battle over the main gate of the prison began.
The sounds of destruction and the tolling of the bell from afar indicated that the plan was progressing smoothly. Nagi and the elite Cobalt forces had been lying in wait in the woods behind the prison, waiting for the plan to reach the next stage.
Ronadyphe Prison’s back door was much smaller than the main gate. There was a single guard standing by a wooden palisade. He was, of course, aware of the attack on the main gate and was clearly restless. The guardroom was right next to him, but pretty much all the soldiers there had gone to the main gate.
“Let’s get going,” Keele said, licking his lips.
“Okay. Our objective is the underground dungeon. We’ll take the shortest path there. As I said earlier, I’d like you to cover us from the rear, Nagi,” Senak explained. He was also part of the squad. “Everyone ready?”
The other members of Cobalt raised their voices in acknowledgment, and Nagi gave him a nod.
“Then let’s get going. This is the starting signal for our counteroffensive!”
“Yeah!”
Keele dashed forward on his own while laughing like he was having a ball. Everyone else ran after him.
The guard noticed them, and opened his mouth to yell, “Who the—”
Keele slit the guard’s throat, then let the body drop to the ground.
“Somebody come get this open.”
Senak reached for the door while Keele held his sword at the ready.
“It’s locked,” Senak reported.
“Gautsch!”