To A Thief - Chapter 19: Garrison

The first of many epic battles begins. Together, the Brigadiers are a force to be reckoned with.

Somewhere in a dark, secluded underground hideout.. 

The female ninja dropped in from a hole in the ceiling which was the only source of light in the entire chamber that she know stood crouched under. She made no sound whatsoever upon landing; almost as if she were just another part of this darkness itself. 

A dark hooded figure stood before her somewhere with his back turned in her direction, draped in a robe that fell over his entire profile. Without so much as looking back, he simply rested a hand on his stone chair made from the ground itself and inquired to her, 

"Now then, Kyrie.. where do we stand towards this new enemy?" 

The young ninja named Kyrie kept her head lowered as her short, light brown hair fell over her brow. "Master.." Her voice spoke out into the darkness, barely making a ripple on the intensity of the robed being's voice. "There is no more doubt in my mind that the enemy is none other than The Brigade. They are a linkshell that have their headquarters stationed somewhere in Lower Jeuno. A password is required to be led to the exact location."

"I know who they are." The man interrupted her. "Spare me the lesser details, if you will.. I would like to know how familiar they are with us." 

"Understood." Kyrie quickly replied, keeping her head down. "They are aware that there is an underground group taking part in what they have classified as a conspiracy. Due to this fact, their leader has begun taking action against anything  that their 'source' believes is related to us." 

"Their source.. this 'Moku'. Just how much does that weasel really know?" The robed man muttered, looking up at the dark ceiling. "As for the results of Gazo and Daan's encounter.. if they have truly found one of the 'Catalysts', then at this point we may have to shift our plans. The experiment is no longer a priority in this matter.. although retrieving it wouldn't hurt, either." 

Kyrie nodded and looked up, remaining on one knee. "That would explain quite a bit from the incident with Warchief Vatgit a month ago.." 

"Oh? What do you mean?" The man asked. 

"Well.. after digging deeper into the identity of these Brigadiers, I was able to find the names of both Stiff and Draven among the list of passengers from the list in Khazam's Travel Agency within the time range of the encounter." 

"Ah.. the former Warchief Wreckers." The robed man murmured. "So you are saying they are in league with the Brigade now?" 

"I believe so.." Kyrie nodded. "Daan recalled the experiment shouting out the name 'Stiffy' when he had her pinned down. The one they had failed to kill due to the sudden outburst of the emptiness within his body taking control.. was Stiff. Gazo and Daan have confirmed him to be a catalyst. He bore the same Brigade insignia as the ones in the Temple of Uggalepih on his armor, according to Gazo."

"How curious.." The man spoke thoughtfully. "One could almost be led to believe that The Brigade is possibly harboring catalysts behind the scenes.."

"That's what I was thinking." Kyrie nodded, looking back down in thought. "Stiff appeared to be oblivious to his phenomenal abilities, so I think that it is safe to assume that their leader keeps it to himself for whatever reason."

"Hmph.." The man thought for a moment before turning to face her. "Putting that aside for now, what is the current progress of those miniscule Moblins looking for the next magicite fragment? It's been far too long since I've heard word from them." 

"Ah, I almost forgot. They have found the magicite deep within the mines they named themselves; Movalpolos. The Moblins have begun drilling it out of the earth, though have said it could take at least another week before they successfully pick it out of the mines. It runs deep into the earth.."

"I see. Well, as long as they have found it and keep their location secluded, I don't see why it would hurt to wait one more week. Any more than that, and I'll see to them myself.." He sighed, turning his attention towards the doorway at the end of the chamber. "Now then, Daan and Gazo.. rather than have our other members compromised by the enemy, I will have you conduct any and all assignments pertaining to the Brigade, along with Kyrie who of course, will act as our source." 

"Yes, my lord." Gazo nodded, lowering his head in respect while resting his hand on the hilt of his weapon. 

".. You will find no better for that, lord.." Daan bowed his head. ".. Just say the word.."

Both had been standing crouched near the doorway leading into the chamber the entire time, hardly visible what with their dark armor among the shadows.

The robed man turned away once again. "I'm counting on you." 

"Master, I would like to add.." Kyrie began. "There is an outpost in West Ronfaure that has been reserved under the Brigade's signature. It seems their linkshell has some business to attend to at that particular location.. some sort of event, I'd wager." 

The man remained silent for a moment before giving off a low chuckle. "Well, that is just perfect.. If that is the case, I would like to arrange an event for you three as well. Go ahead and intervene on this little charade of theirs. Assess the catalyst's abilities.. and if you should, pick out those unworthy. But do try to keep a low profile." 

"Yes, master." Kyrie acknowledged with a bow of her head. 

"Consider it done." Gazo smirked, pushing himself off the floor. 

"..Sounds like the ideal event.." Daan snorted, cracking his knuckles. "..It would seem things are finally picking up where we left off.. so many years ago.." 

"Have fun." The robed man muttered as he made way past the three, whom clutched the dark pendants around their necks and disappeared among the coils of darkness that enveloped their bodies. He made his way down into the corridors that led out of his chamber. 

"Picking up where we left off, hm..?" 

Back at the Brigade's Headquarters..

"Shh.. he's waking up." Flint whispered in a snicker as Stiff shifted his head for a moment before slowly opening his eyes. 

Nanaa, Annie, and Mel all stood there beside Flint quietly in amused anticipation. 

Groaning lazily, Stiff opened his eyes and took a moment to register the morning light hitting his face and causing him to squint. Eventually, his eyes registered Okina's sleeping face hardly an inch from his own, able to feel her soft breaths against his lips. His eyes instantly went as wide as a tarutaru's. 

It took him a while to realize that he had his arms around her waist and rested against her rear; his entire body pressed against hers. Okina was pretty much doing the same to him, although she had her arms around his neck. 

Laying there trembling for a brief moment as the shock overwhelmed him, Stiff finally stammered and let out a surprised scream, pulling himself away from her and rolling backwards in a little ball off the side of the bed, landing upside down with his head hitting the floor on the bottom. 

"Ahh!" 

In this position, he met the eyes of the others who were staring at him with crude grins and snickering, causing him to scream once more and scramble back against the bed with his rear on the floor instead of his head. 

"AHHH! What the hell are you guys doing in here!?" He called out in embarrassed anger as his face went red, rubbing the top of his head in pain. 

Draven shook his head and snorted slightly as he heard the screams from the other room. He continued brushing his teeth, closing his eyes in disbelief. 

"Mrrrow.. I think we could ask you two the same thing!"  Nanaa purred in amusement, chuckling. 

"How was it Stiff? Best night of your life?" Flint asked him playfully, whistling and laughing out loud at the thief's red face. 

"You looked quite comfortable.. it was almost a shame to wake you." Mel snickered to herself. 

"No way he's ever going in my room.." Annie muttered in disgust. "So typical." 

"Oh, shut up! It wasn't like that at all!" Stiff quickly defended himself. "I was just - She was just - But my bed-" 

"Hnn.." Okina shifted her body onto her back, resting a hand over her forehead before her eyes flickered open. Sitting up with ease, she yawned loudly and stretched her arms out. "Ahhh.. Stiffy~ I slept so soundly last night.. thank you, thank you!" 

"I knew it." Nanaa smirked. "Someone surrre woke up happy.." 

"Come on! You make it sound as if we.. did something.. Okina!" Stiff glared at her from the floor. 

"Oh man, I think we've heard enough.." Flint said, clicking his tongue and shaking his head at Stiff. "Damn Stiff, taking advantage of a girl who doesn't quite have a grasp on that kind of appeal.. that's a new low even for you." 

"Give me a break! We didn't do anything!" Stiff exasperated as he slapped his hand to his forehead. 

Claire suddenly made her way over to the doorway and stood with her hands on her hips. "When you're done throwing a slumber party in here, Vincent and Moku would like you all to make your way over to the common room. We'll be having a meeting shortly discussing today's training assignment." She said, narrowing her eyes at them all, resting them on Stiff and Okina for a moment longer before shaking her head with a tireless sigh and making her way back out. 

"Alright you fools, get a move on." Annie said, making her way out of the room shortly followed by the others. 

"Yes ma'am!" Okina called out excitedly. She seemed about as happy to be on her first Brigade assignment as Stiff was for his the previous day. 

Anyone who wasn't already prepared went their own way to do so. 

It makes me shiver knowing that I'll be sharing this room with that crazy girl from now on..

Sheesh.. what did I do to deserve all this teasing? Am I really that easy of a target? 

After getting ready, Stiff went into the common room where everyone was already sitting or standing near Vincent and Moku. They had already begun their word to the linkshell. 

"So good of you to join us." Vincent mumbled with a displeased look on his face as Stiff attempted to sneak onto a nearby seat while Moku spoke. 

Stiff tensed his shoulders and gave him a nervous grin. "Oh.. my bad, heh." 

"So, you'd all better be in gear and prepared by the time we get to the outpost. When the orcish horde arrives, there will be no shortage of enemies and absolutely no time for rests. They will be sending their finest of warriors for this skirmish, and as such, we will be needing our finest as well. Should you fall in this battle, there will be no funeral for you.. only the relief of the linkshell to have shelled out another weakling." Moku said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at each and every member standing around, some nodding in acknowledgment. Soon after, his face softened and he gave them that helpless smile of his. 

"So please, don't die? Remember, you're all working together here.. you're a big family. You use your abilities to watch each other's backs, not to see who can kill the most enemies. Without team work, there would be no reason for you to even be in a linkshell. Those who can not see this, do not belong here. Vincent will be making sure of it." 

Stiff blinked as he listened on, raising a brow and turning his head in the direction of Draven who conveniently sat beside him. "Hey, what's going on? I got that we're being sent out to battle or something.. but for what and where?" 

Draven frowned, not turning to him but responding in a low tone so as not to disturb Moku. "Garrison at the outpost in West Ronfaure. The orcs are basically pissed off that Ghelsba was taken over, so they're going for the San d'Orian forces at full force to try and claim all of Ronfaure. If they succeed, San d'Oria is in big trouble.. so King Destin has hired the Brigade to see to it that they don't." 

"What, you mean the guy doesn't believe in his own army to keep him safe?" Stiff snickered. "That's kinda sad." 

"Would you?" Draven glanced at him. "They had trouble claiming Ghelsba.." 

"Heh, you got a point." Stiff shrugged, suddenly feeling something knock him hard on the shin. "Ouch!" 

Rubbing his leg and turning in the direction of the blow, he saw Annie looking at him with her jaded dagger-like eyes, having kicked the thief in the shin because of his speaking during the briefing. Holding her finger to her lips, she inaudibly mouthed the words, "Shut-Up." Before turning to face Moku once more. 

"Sheesh.." Stiff uttered under his breath, looking to Draven who just closed his eyes with a light snicker.

From across the room, he could see Veronaut leaning his back to the wall who glanced for a split second at him with an unpleasant albeit idle look on his face. 

Look at that prick, just standing there.. being all prickly prickish. 

Hmph. 

Prick, prick, prick. Pricka-zicka-pricky-prick--

"Stiff. This is your last warning." Vincent spoke over the briefing. "If I catch you spacing out once more, I'll have your eyeballs cut out so that your ears could get more so used to hearing. Is that clear? Maybe then you'd feel a little more inclined to listen." 

"Oh shi- Sorry, sir! I wasn't zoned out - I was thinking about - with the orcs and.. question?" He desperately attempted to defend himself, sitting up and rapidly thinking of a good question to ask. 

".. What is it?" Vincent mumbled, raising a brow. 

"Um.." Stiff pursed his lips for a second, then looked at Moku. "Will we be divided into groups for this assignment?"

Moku smirked at Stiff and nodded. "Good question. Yes, I nearly forgot.. I have split the members of this linkshell into groups of three." He started. 

Stiff's shoulders relaxed knowing he asked a formidable question. "Safe.."  

Vincent's expression eased up and he turned back to Moku to listen. 

"The groups for this assignment are as followed: 

Team One; Vincent will be leading Draven and Okina. 

Team Two; Claire will be leading Stiff and Bear. 

Team Three; I will be leading Annie and Mel.

Team Four; Veronaut will be leading Nanaa and Flint. 

Team Five--" 

The list went on until there were about eight groups in total. I was a little surprised with my group. I guess it's because it was my first time teaming up with Claire and Bear. This was bound to be interesting.. I doubt either of them will give me as much crap as Veronaut did. 

I was a little worried about Okina even though she can obviously fight, but with Vincent and Draven in her team.. she'll definitely be okay. 

"Before I forget, Stiff.." Moku fumbled in his pouch, pulling out a dagger with a familiar hilt that was neatly placed in a fine holster. "As promised, here's your dagger back. I figured I'd work on it a bit since you seemed reluctant to part with it." 

Stiff took the dagger with a surprised look on his face, pulling it out of the holster and staring at the upgraded design. It no longer looked like a kukri; it was more like a dagger with a sharp arch on the back side nearing the tip. 

"Whoa!" Stiff exclaimed, feeling the sharp edge. It felt much sharper than the previous build. "Thanks a lot, Moku! It looks cool.." 

"Heh. No problem." Moku shrugged. "The materials I originally made it with make it easy to work on. Besides, you weren't getting anywhere with that old build.. the orcish horde would have laughed at you." 

The tarutaru couldn't help but grin at Stiff's enthusiasm towards the modified dagger. It seemed like there was nothing the thief didn't appreciate. 

Stiff latched the dagger in its holster back onto his belt and grinned. "Heh, they won't be laughing when they see me!" 

"You're right." Draven called over his shoulder. "They'll be furious. After all, we're basically the ones who took over Ghelsba. You'd better keep your head up, moron." 

"Do'h.. that's right." Stiff chuckled nervously. 

"Alright Stiff, you'd best attend to your group as well. We'll be going to San d'Oria by airship, and making our way down to the outpost on chocoback."

"Got it." Stiff nodded, hurrying off to group up with Claire and Bear. 

"Heh, seems like I finally get my turn at the maggot." Bear snorted, resting his large silver lance on his left shoulder while his baby wyvern perched itself on his right shoulder. "It'll be interesting to see why Vero hates you so much." 

"Tch.. doesn't that guy hate everyone?" Stiff muttered, crossing his arms behind his head.

Bear rose a brow, then just chuckled. "You got a lot to learn about him. But don't worry, I won't be lashing out at you." 

Stiff squinted his eyes for a moment, but gave a shrug and a light smirk. "Heh, okay. Then I won't either." He turned to Claire and gave a friendly smile. 

"Hey Claire. Guess we'll be working together again, huh?" 

Claire looked at him, resting a hand on her hip. "'Working together again'? I don't recall the first time working with you.." She narrowed her eyes in thought, before looking away with a small smirk. ".. But I remember working you to death." 

"Oh.. that's right." Stiff muttered, slumping his shoulders. He could hear Team Three beside his group as they all began to head out. 

"Hey, what do you know.. I get Team Melannie all to myself again." Moku chuckled playfully. 

"Stop that.. we're not children anymore." Annie sighed, looking off to the side. 

"Aw, don't be so negative Annie.. I still think it's kinda cute." Mel giggled, remembering those days a few years back when the two were still fresh newbies.

"I get to work with Dravy!" Okina smiled wide as she latched herself onto Draven's arm much like she did to Stiff. "This is going to be fun, fun~" 

"Great.." Draven grumbled sarcastically as he wobbled around with Okina tugging on his arm. "I'm ecstatic. But stop calling me that. It's Draven.. now let go of me." 

"Nuh, it's Dravy!" She protested. 

Meanwhile, at the outpost in West Ronfaure..

"It's about time I get to see some action.." Avondale sighed as he stood in position with his fellow Temple Knights at the outpost. Lady Curilla had led her platoon out to the outpost to face the incoming horde and fight alongside the Brigade. Avondale happened to be included in the list. 

"Stay sharp, knights!" Lady Curilla exclaimed as she caught some of the soldiers easing about. She wanted them all to be ready the moment the enemy made their move. "This is no mere party of orcs. This is an entire subdivision that will be attempting to take over Ronfaure as we know it. Failure is not an option. Those who attempt to run away will be cut down like orcish fodder!" 

"Yes captain!" The entire platoon called out in unison. 

It wasn't until a few minutes later that the sound of thunder began to fill the air. 

"A thunderstorm in this time of year?" A temple knight asked in surprise from the back as many lifted their heads to look at the sky through the trees. 

Avondale furrowed his brows a bit, glancing up and then around the entire forest as the thundering got closer and closer. "That's no thunderstorm, fellas.."

His eyes went wide as the scuffling and shaking of trees in the distance became more apparent. At first, it seemed as though the earth was moving towards them, but upon second glance, he could see the beady white angry eyes and the flaring nostrils of countless orcs charging towards the outpost within the synchronized movement of their dark, leathery armor. 

The sharp sound of the wind being cut slashed right at his right ear as an incoming spear flew inches from his head. It had just barely missed him, and instead he heard the sound of a fellow temple knight being pierced right through their armor followed by a pained groan and a hard thud. He wasted no second in screaming out, 

"TAKER COVER!!" 

More sounds of what could have been thunderbolts reigned down as the countless orcish spears flew overhead towards the outpost. 

Under the array of spears, the orcs continued their charge towards the platoon, roaring and howling out in bloodlust. 

"Positions, knights!" Curilla shouted as she pulled out her sword and shield, joining the front row. Throwing her shield over her head, she gripped the hilt of her broadsword and ordered their move. "Hoplite's Formation, quickly!" 

The Temple Knights at the two front rows quickly obeyed her commands and joined her in raising their shields. The next two rows behind them stood ready to charge once the horde got close enough. Healing spells began to flutter about as those who had been grazed by the ranged assault were healed. 

"Here they come..!" Avondale gritted his teeth as he held up his shield, able to see the romping feet from under his shield. The entire ground was trembling, and every wild animal that had been loitering about a minute earlier was clear out of sight. 

"Attack!" Lady Curilla ordered as the raining spears stopped, bashing an orc in the face with her steel shield using all her might. The other Temple Knights did the same, causing the first row of orcs to stagger enough for the back rows of Temple Knights to move forward and begin their attack. 

Countless screams and howls of both the orcs and the Temple Knights began to fill the air, along with the sounds of steel clashing against each other. 

These weren't your run of the mill orcs. They were a lot larger than those that normally roam these forests, and had weapons of considerably higher quality. 

Avondale ducked under an incoming axe from the orcish opponent that stood before him now, charging forward and running his sword into the beast's gut once he saw an opening. The orc whistled through it's teeth in pain and fell to its side. Yanking out his sword, Avondale went for the next one and smirked lightly. "Why, this is child's play!" 

Curilla leaped up into the air from a low blow and slashed her attacker clear across the throat, landing swiftly on her greaves with a frown as she waved off the blood from her blade. "I thought I told you not to ease up! Naturally, the weakest of orcs are the first in line.. watch it!" She suddenly called out as she saw another charging for the clueless elvaan. 

Avondale quickly turned only to see an incoming orcish fist flying at him. He attempted to shift his body to the right quickly in an attempt to dodge, but felt the hard fist just barely land on his cheek, sending him tumbling to the side. "That.. hurt." Avondale rubbed the sore spot. "Been a while since I've felt pain, too.." He snarled and stood up, going over to the orcish monk that had punched him and held up his shield quickly as another fist came flying at him. 

The shield let out the piercing sound of steel being beat on, nearly knocking his arm behind him because of the brute force. Unable to get close enough without being battered like that, Avondale instead chucked his sword and stuck the orc right through its chest. "That one was certainly a little tougher." He grumbled as he pulled the damn thing out. 

Lady Curilla hardly had any trouble mowing down the first few orcs in front of her. As a higher tier orcish monk came at her with large spiked knuckles, it began to throw countless combos in flails of its massive arms. Rather than jumping back, she charged forward into the array of swinging fists and waited for the right moment as it brought its right knuckle down. With a sudden movement, Curilla stuck her broadsword down hard into the back of its hand and through the ground under it until the hilt met its bleeding flesh. 

Howling in pain, the orc threw itself about in a stuck rage, trying to pull the sword out but only widening the wound even more with each yank. 

Curilla couldn't help but scoff at the miserable sight. "You orcs may be reckless, but you sure as hell react to pain like anyone else would, don't you? How pathetic." She said, holding up her shield and brutally bashing the orc's face in with it until it laid there motionless, face completely disfigured. Yanking out her broadsword with ease, the female captain ran forward for her next victim. 

"Glad to see she's as spirited as ever.." Avondale sighed helplessly. 

The ground was eventually littered with countless bodies of the orcish horde. The Temple Knights hadn't broken much of a sweat at all, though felt the weight of the battle that had been carried on with their own power. 

"Where the hell are our reinforcements!? I have injured men and women that need to recover!" Curilla growled in irritation as she looked around. "At this rate.." 

Her voice was cut off by an incredibly loud horn that boomed over the entire forest of Ronfaure. Feeling the beginnings of panic begin to leap from her stomach up to her chest, Curilla made her way over to a small hill to the south of the outpost and looked on at the direction from which the horn came. 

"No.. it can't be! I was told their battalion wouldn't arrive for at least another hour!" She whispered in a rasp tone as she clutched the hilt of her sword even tighter. 

In the distance, she could see another division of orcs heading their way. But these were nothing like the orcs they had just fought. These were covered from head to toe in darksteel armor and helmets, their piercing white eyes seeming to glow through the eye holes. Their weapons were also made of similar material, and looked far more lethal than the last division's. The armor was very similar to what Warchief Vatgit wore on the day he was slain. 

Her Temple Knights continued to charge forward at the enemy, unaware that these were none to be compared with the last division. 

"Hold your positions!" She called out to them. "I said hold your positions!" 

Those who couldn't hear her orders over the howls and thundering of the elite beastmen were mowed down like tall grass right before their eyes. 

"By Altana.." 

"What's going on?" 

"These aren't normal orcs..!" 

Countless Temple Knights began to panic. Little by little they began to fall back, looking to their captain for orders. 

"What do we do now, captain!? 

"Do we retreat, Captain Curilla!?" 

"Stand your ground! We've a proud city to defend!" Avondale called out over the panicked cries. He turned to Lady Curilla and pursed his lips. "Captain.. we require your orders.."

Lady Curilla stood there nearly paralyzed by the immense pressure she was feeling in her chest. Her one exposed eye reflected the charging division of darksteel orcs moving in sync with one another, waving their weapons over their heads. 

"If we stand our ground, we surely won't make it.. and if we fall back, San d'Oria's borders won't last.. What in Altana's name do I do!?" She fought within herself. 

"Captain!" Avondale called out to her as the new orcish horde came close enough so that one could even hear their furious breathing. 

"Get down." A firm voice commanded both Avondale and Curilla as the armored orcs got close enough to attack. Both of them were pulled back to the floor as a large, great black blade cut through an entire portion of the front row of the beastmen. 

Vincent stood in front of both Avondale and Curilla, arm extended out holding his black great sword that now dripped with blood. The orcs stopped to acknowledge the new menace for a brief moment as the rest of the Brigade made their way past the faltering Temple Knights, jumping off their chocobo's swiftly and charging towards the enemy horde. 

"Looks like reinforcements have arrived.." Avondale sighed in relief, helping the captain up. "M'lady, shall we join our comrades in battle?" 

"Tend to your wounded, first." Moku said as he stepped beside Vincent, bringing out his staff upon seeing the others engage in battle. "Get your feet off of the ground, and then proceed!" 

Mel placed her hands together and closed her eyes in brief concentration as she stepped in front of the group. A sparkling aura surrounded her as she began to cast a spell, keeping her hand stretched outward as she grabbed her gem-socketed staff from her back. Swinging it forward and pointing the tip at the group of incoming orcs, she called out to them, "That's far enough!" 

Suddenly, an array of loops created by her magic surrounded several orcs in her radius. Their feet were somehow bound to the floor as if they were a part of the earth. "Annie, now!"

"I know." Annie replied, narrowing her eyes as she unsheathed her great katana with a great swish, holding it out and sprinting forward with agile feet. She began to show off her impressive swordsmanship maneuvers, spinning her blade around and slicing at each orc in passing on a circular radius. The way she moved and cut through each target was so swift and smooth, it hardly looked as if she were swinging her blade. 

"Ready?" Vincent told Okina, who jumped off her chocobo and stood anxiously beside him.

She looked up at him with a big smile, despite the impending bloodshed. She was, after all, excited to be on her first Brigade assignment. "Ye'siree! Throw me!" 

She hopped onto Vincent's arm, who shortly after swung it at the air at full-force, sending the monkey girl flying into the fray and diving her foot straight into an orc's head, the landing having such an impact that the helmet dug into the earth and remained stuck there with her foot's imprint as she scampered off to join the fight. 

Bear leaped incredibly high off his large chocobo's back, going straight through the tree leaves and out of sight for a brief moment, taking his lance. It wasn't until a few seconds after that he suddenly shot back down through the trees like a comet, landing the sharp end of his lance right into an orc upon landing. Its armor was no match at all for his weapon. His baby wyvern followed shortly after, dive bombing another orc in the head and causing it to fall back in a daze. Swinging his great lance around his body, he began to mow down his share of orcs, mainly causing them to back away and spread out from their positions. 

"I'm moving in.. watch my back, Flint~" Nanaa called back as she jumped forward, flipping onto an orc's shoulders and twisting its neck hard with her thighs. Using her hands, she hand-stood herself off its falling body and shifted over to another orc, turning its helmet in the opposite direction to render it blind and pushing herself in a kick off its back, sending it swinging its own weapon in a frenzy at its fellow orcs. "Hey therrre." She grinned at the pair of beady white eyes that now turned their attention towards her. She pulled out her dagger and licked her lips. "I guess my flexible, currrvy body won't be enough forrr you big boys.. I'll have to use this." 

"Gotcha. Locked.. aaaand loaded!" Flint grinned, cocking his rifle as he stood on the roof of the outpost aiming it towards the group behind Nanaa. One by one, the orcs behind her were sniped clean between the eyes, unable to determine where the bullets came from before hitting the ground dead. Once he had a clear shot, Flint loaded a special bullet onto his rifle and charged it up with the secondary trigger, seeing the end of the barrel lighting up before releasing a showy, spiraling shot that broke through the air and drilled through countless orcish bodies in one go. 

Veronaut walked past the orcs and waited for the very first one that would dare lay its eyes on him. Upon finding his first onlooker, he brought away his great axe from his shoulder and pointed the end directly at the poor son of a b***h. The orc snarled and began its charge towards the glaring elvaan. As it ran towards him, Veronaut held up his axe over his head with one arm and waited for the right moment. When that moment came, he forced his feet off the ground and turned his body in a sideways position once with the great axe held out, using his insane strength to bring the sharp, yet favorably dull edge split down the middle of the orc. 

The orc stood there for a moment, completely frozen before its stumpy body parted into two symmetrical parts, along with a bloody mess. 

"Fatality.." Veronaut snorted. 

"Having fun, I'd wager?" Claire called out to him, striking down an orc in front of her with a swift cleave of her sword. "Try not to paint the grass red this time." 

"Heh, I won't make any promises!" Veronaut grinned contently, chasing after some other orcs who were actually running away from him. "Your a*s is mine! Hraarrgh!!" He mimicked their howls. 

Claire couldn't help but stifle a chuckle. "At least he's happy. Some things never change." She muttered, looking up and starting her own advancement towards the fray. Holding her sword up and then swinging it out to the side, she felt the defensive paladin magicks of hers working their stuff and reinforcing her skin. As a nearby orc swung its weapon down at her, she simply swung her own shield at the large weapon itself with a loud clash, causing the orc to stagger back a bit once its arm retracted at the force. She felt nothing at all despite the hard blow. She sustained it better than the entire hoplite formation of the Temple Knight's probably would. Leaping up into the air, she twirled acrobatically and pointed the end of her blade down, running it straight through the orc's armor and heart toward the ground as it fell. Upon pulling it out, she joined the others. 

"Just like old times, huh?" Stiff called out with a grin at Draven as the two ran side by side towards the battle field. Obviously it hadn't been long at all since they were last here slaying orcs, but Stiff felt cool saying that.

"Heh.. you'd better get ready. Once they take note of us, they will most likely go all out to take our heads." Draven replied, unable to hide the smirk cutting across his face as he pulled out his sword. "Go!" 

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Stiff exclaimed as he reached for his newly upgraded dagger and spun it comfortably in his hands, stopping it in his palm and leaping right into the heat of the battle. While in mid air, he activated his pulse attack; which up until now only Avondale, Moku, Claire and Okina had seen. "Just watch me!" 

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It's time to join the fray! 

The battlefield stretches on towards Chapter 20: Ambush! 

Author's Note

I've made an important update! I have removed Chapter 19 and the character 'Sandira' entirely from the story. In turn, I had to debunk the current chapters down by one to number them properly. Other than that, nothing much has changed. Sorry about that!