@PaulHaynek @Restalaan (YNG)

"I'll be with the main force for striking." Yang bumped her fist together with a smirk before looking towards Kira. "You? You want to go with distraction or main force?"

"I think I'll go with the distracting party.", Kira replied with her own smirk. "Seeing me is bound to get those Order punks foaming at the mouth to take down a 'monster' like me. The more soldiers I can pull, the less you'll have to deal with, not to mention easier and quicker."

Then a thought occurred in the flygirl. A very concerning thought that could knock the entire operation flat on it's ass as she turned to Maria.

"You....you don't think a Hero is going to be among them, do you?"

The sisters were surprised to see so many Giant Mice and Devil Bugs crammed into the kitchen, and the mess they made caused Vivian to scream, "Ah! Stop! Stop, you filthy things!" but her voice couldn't rise above the din.

As the caught Giant Mouse tried to bite the vine that held her, Sylvia called out, "H-hey! You! Stop that!" and began shaking the Giant Mouse to disorient her and prevent her from getting a good bite in, and hopefully wear her out so she would be too tired to make any further attempts to chew through the vine.

"Alright, mouse, listen up. This is a guild of strong fighters, and if I wanted to, I could ask my friends to hunt down you and your friends. Fortunately for you, this guild consists of humans and monsters who want to coexist and live peacefully. If it was all humans, they might use...POISON! If it was all monsters, they might eat you up without a second thought, or enslave you...or worse. So while we could hurt you, we don't want to."

"Don't we?" Vivian looked at the mouse with a maniacal grin, her eyes twitching from the mess that the other vermin had made.

"We don't," Sylvia insisted calmly, "I get it, all you want is some food." Sylvia tried to ignore what she had heard of the bugs and mice conspiring to gun after the human men in the Guild, hoping that by not bringing it up, she was implying that such things were not up for negotiation. "But instead of sneaking around and stealing food without our permission, maybe we could come to some sort of arrangement? You'll come to see that trade is a lot less risky than what you normally do. Do your...umm...clans have a leader, someone that maybe could negotiate with our guild leader?"

Sylvia and Vivian glared at the Giant Mouse as more vines approached, ready to recapture the mouse in case she tried anything funny.

@PaulHaynek@13org@AzureKnight

Ditzy Stoneclub

"How can you be Reed? You're human, not plant." Ditzy pondered as he tilted his head to the sides, looking up and down at Reed. "But how you'll be knighty at Otry? Is there a test? How does one become a knight? Can Ditzy become one too?"

"Also, Ditzy definitely want to see now if Ditzy can win in a fight!" He grinned at that, someone that they can play with at full strength? It had Ditzy smiling from ear to ear.

"If lady dragon or white tail can't win, then Ditzy will definitely help!" Ditzy shouted to Nagare and Ada, so there's back up from him at the very least.

^{@PaulHaynek@Restalaan@AzureKnight@Rezod92}

Ada kept carefully watching the conversation between the female ogre and Nagare, paying close attention on the ogre and their surroundings. While she was relatively calm, Ada still didn't trust the ogre girl and her group, especially when she cracked her knuckles as she finished speaking with Nagare. Ada didn't know exactly what the ogre woman meant with half of the words she said, Ada didn't like that gesture as it was commonly done by other people right before a fight.

While it was subtle, Ada's reaction to the ogre woman's knuckle crack was undeniably negative, with the tip of her claws starting to appear and lowering her posture. Despite her instincts though, Ada still gave a quick glance towards Nagare, waiting for a confirmation of what they would do now.

---

Freyr

The more Freyr and Haley followed Samuel, the more obvious it became that he had completely lost his mind. Although his loud mumbling made it easy for them to follow him, it could also draw the wrong kind of attention, especially in the place they were now, deep within the Tulisan Forest.

"Monkey? Wait... did he just... eat mud?" Freyr asked, whispeting to Haley, surprised.

When Haley mentioned her idea on how to ambush him though, Freyr thought for a bit before replying.

"Let me tackle him first. The moment I do so, you take that metal thing from his hand and fly out of his reach." He said, nodding his head as he waited for her reply before putting their plan into action.

Just after he said that to Haley though, the moment Freyr looked back at Samuel as he approached a river, he realized that there was a much easier and safer way to disarm Samuel. He was about to enter the river to clean himself and he would probably leave the strange weapon outside. The moment he did so, they could just grab it and then capture him.

"Wait, there's a better way to capture him, look!" Freyr whispered, pointing towards the river just in front of Samuel.

"He will probably be unarmed when he enters the river and will be distracted too. We just need to take the weapon and then capturing him will be much easier and safer." He said, looking to Haley and waiting for her reply.

For The Cause
~@Rezod92, @Restalaan (YNG)~

The two Guild members have decided, Yang would be part of the ambushing force while Kira with the distracting force. "It is doubtful that they will have a Hero, Miss Kira. It is merely a supply mission, after all."

-

A plan was hatched. One that deviated from the original. Kira would be sole member of the distracting force, with the reason that a single monster in the middle of the road will garner a lot of suspicion but probably, and hopefully, little aggression. After all, no one would expect a monster in the dark lands of Varjo and that was bound to cause confusion.

Yang and Kira were taken to the ambush spot, the main force hiding atop the cliffs while the Beelzebub would stand in the middle of the road. The convoy came soon after, an entire caravan of wagons and soldiers flying the banners of the Order. Amongst the troops were an entire unit of men-at-arms and several knights on horseback.

At the forefront was a knight more adorned in regalia, the leader of this group. Upon approaching you, he raised a hand to stop the convoy. The knight removed his helmet, revealing that he... was a she. A beautiful woman with long, red hair, fair skin and green eyes. She disembarked her horse and approached Kira without fear. "Hail, Beelzebub. You tread in lands dangerous to your kind, even more dangerous than in Order realms. Are you lost perchance? There is no need to fight here, we can point you to much safer areas."

The ambushing rebels awaited Yang's or Kira's signal, caring little for the Beelzebub's conversation with the knight.

---

The Great Horizons 3
~@13org (FYR)~

"He will probably be unarmed when he enters the river and will be distracted too. We just need to take the weapon and then capturing him will be much easier and safer."

"...I don't think so, Freyr." Haley pointed with a wing. Without removing anything, Samuel dropped into the river and began trying to ford it. "But I heard that guns don't do well if wet. If it's soaked then it's harmless now."

Haley unfurled her wings. "It should be safe to take him on now. I'll go fish him out of the river and drop him near you while you knock him. Sounds like a plan?" The Siren took to the air and flew at the Samuel who was waist-deep in the waters of the river. Haley's talons gripped the mad man's shoulders and in surprise, the latter started struggling.

However, Samuel then slipped and he began being swept away by the current. "What?!" Haley saw what had happened and released her grasp but Samuel, in his struggle, grabbed hold of her talons and dragged her to the waters, also to be swept away by the river. "Freyr!" You see Haley frantically flap her wings to rise from the water. "Help! Freyr!"

The currents were getting faster as Haley and Samuel flowed down the river. There was not much rocks or debris in the river for either of them to hold onto. You will have to be creative to rescue them, or maybe at least just Haley.

---

Uninvited Guests
~@Stern Algorithm~

"Alright, mouse, listen up. This is a guild of strong fighters, and if I wanted to, I could ask my friends to hunt down you and your friends. Fortunately for you, this guild consists of humans and monsters who want to coexist and live peacefully. If it was all humans, they might use...POISON! If it was all monsters, they might eat you up without a second thought, or enslave you...or worse. So while we could hurt you, we don't want to."

Shaking the Giant Mouse stopped her from further nibbling on the vine, dizzy from the sudden jerking movements. "Eeeeeek! Please don't eat me or poison me! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Intimidated by the Liliraune's vivid threats, the Giant Mouse immediately panicked and gave in.

"But instead of sneaking around and stealing food without our permission, maybe we could come to some sort of arrangement? You'll come to see that trade is a lot less risky than what you normally do. Do your...umm...clans have a leader, someone that maybe could negotiate with our guild leader?"

"Ummm, we're not exactly an organized group, you know? We just came together very recently looking for food and men and became friends. I don't even know half the girls in the group." The Giant Mouse said. "A-Although, I suppose I can call everyone out so we can talk. But you have to promise! You have to promise not to attack us, okay?"

"I can also just track them down for you to catch. But I can only find them, it's up to you to catch them and trap them." The Giant Mouse suggested an alternative. "It'll be payback for leaving me alone here. But err, can you say that I had nothing to do with it?"

"Ummm, we're not exactly an organized group, you know? We just came together very recently looking for food and men and became friends. I don't even know half the girls in the group." The Giant Mouse said. "A-Although, I suppose I can call everyone out so we can talk. But you have to promise! You have to promise not to attack us, okay?"

"I can also just track them down for you to catch. But I can only find them, it's up to you to catch them and trap them." The Giant Mouse suggested an alternative. "It'll be payback for leaving me alone here. But err, can you say that I had nothing to do with it?"

The sisters thought about it for a bit, and discussed with each other in muttered tones. "Sure, call them out, and we promise not to attack unless we're attacked first," Sylvia said.

"Try anything funny, and..." Vivian threatened, opening a drawer full of knives, numerous vines perched dangerously close to the cutlery.

of course, the sisters weren't exactly sure what they would say to the mice and bugs, even if they came out. The liliraune wanted to just offer them something so they'll go away, but the sisters weren't exactly guildmaster, and didn't know if there was anything that was theirs to give. They wondered when Bart would be back, or if there was anyway they could let him know to return.

@PaulHaynek @Restalaan (YNG)

Okay, when I said I was gonna be part of the distraction team, I didn't think I would actually be THE distraction.

This was the thought that ran through Kira's mind as she sat on a lone rock in the middle of the road with a deadpan expression. Admittedly, the plan was sound; Order troops were more likely to be hell-bent focused on mamono than human enemies, but for her to be the ONLY one to distract them? Seriously? She rolled her eyes. Well, at least they'll be more men on the actual raiding party, so this should go smoothly....hopefully.

The young Beelzebub didn't have to wait long before the caravan finally arrived, complete with armored Order foot soldiers and knights on horseback. The leader, who turned out to be a beautiful woman, stepped off her horse to speak to Kira.

"Hail, Beelzebub. You tread in lands dangerous to your kind, even more dangerous than in Order realms. Are you lost perchance? There is no need to fight here, we can point you to much safer areas."

"Huh....an Order soldier that greets a mamono with words and not a sword? And offers to direct them towards safety? That's a breath of fresh air.", Kira commented as she stood up on her rock. "Unfortunately for you, you got nice shit......shit that some people need more than you."

Before the leader could even question her words, Kira quickly thrusted her arms forward, sending forth a whirlwind that kicked up a duststorm that engulfed the caravan, blinding them.

"YANG, NOW!", the flygirl shouted, signaling the start of the raid.

@Rezod92@PaulHaynek

Yang Bethlehem

Nodding and following the team, Yang set up as part of the ambush team.

Hiding between the rocky terrain and observing the path that the caravan will go through. Shifting and adjusting the varjo armor she had, a concern rose as she wondered if her own side will recognize her once the chaos starts.

Well, too late to change. Yang mused as she sighed, hand clutching the club she chosen as a weapon. It was simple and good enough to be used as a quarter-staff.

Movement from afar then had her stilled, breathing slowed as she lowered her head. The tromping, pushing and marching of soldiers announcing their presence before coming closer to their position.

Eyes scanning at the position, Yang eyes was fixated on the leader. This time, the champion looked completely different compared to the previous one she fought with Ozzy.

Well, only one way to find out as she looked at the caravan. Sighting her targets right in the middle, waiting for the signal from Kira.

The moment she was given the signal, Yang burst into action. Leaping from above her position and falling right in the middle of the caravan, turning a few heads from the guards before a thundering strike to the back of their necks knocked them unconscious.

Hopefully, the rest of the rebels followed her lead now that they're split in half. Something she ensured to keep doing as she knocked all the guards around the middle then moved forward to the champion. Adding further pressure for the rebel to take advantage of it.

_@PaulHaynek

Making her way outside, Vară made a sigh and placed her hands on her hips as she scanned the area for any potential witnesses. She eventually made out three figures, a staunch man, a Dhampir, and an old geezer. She didn't think the old fart would be able to tell her much, the middle-aged man maybe? But as a fellow mamono, she immediately presumed that she would be of the most help. She could've just asked the one person, but the more the merrier she supposed. She approached the three and began her explanation.

"Hail there denizens! You are addressed by none other than the noble demon Vară Riemsianne, who requires your cooperation today! I'm here on an investigation involving stolen goods from the city hall, and the perpetrator seems to have broken in last night. If any of you've seen or heard anything that would aid the investigation, I demand that you speak now!"

One could only hope that the demoness's haughty demeanor wouldn't hurt the case for worse...

---

_{@PaulHaynek@13org@Restalaan}

The Ogre took notice to Sir Reed and Ditzy sooner than Nagare would've hoped for, but it shouldn't have been of no surprise. Monsters can easily detect the mana of male beings, Nagare already began reprimanding herself for her oversight. But, ignoring that for now, she listened to the Ogre's words and sooner fought herself in quite the predicament: In order to join their merry band one would have the proven themselves by displaying their combat abilities. She felt that it would come to that, and was prepared. With the heart beating rapidly, she made her response.

"Very well. If it so pleases you, my friend and I will take on a couple of your troupe's members. If we win or if your impressed by what you see, we request to be accepted as members!" She then turned to Ada with a solemn expression. "I'm sorry Ada, but things are about to get rough. Would you mind helping me out here for a bit?"

She shot a quick glance at Sir Reed and Ditzy before turning back to the Ogre, awaiting her response and tense at the ready.

Keeping It Real 2
~@13org (ADA), @Restalaan (DIT), @AzureKnight (NAG)~

"How can you be Reed? You're human, not plant. But how you'll be knighty at Otry? Is there a test? How does one become a knight? Can Ditzy become one too?"

"Yeah well, you're Ditzy, aren't you? Are you a ditz, then?" Reed then thought about it and added. "...You know what? Forget it."

"The knight order I'm trying to join is a special one. It's an esteemed one and they don't take just anybody. It'll be hard to get in, and even harder to stay, but I think I'll be alright." Sir Reed began to answer the seond question. "Sorry, Ditzy, but I don't think they accept monsters. They only accept humans, male ones at that. It's uhh, pretty exclusive, I admit, but..."

-

"Very well. If it so pleases you, my friend and I will take on a couple of your troupe's members. If we win or if your impressed by what you see, we request to be accepted as members! I'm sorry Ada, but things are about to get rough. Would you mind helping me out here for a bit?"

"Hahahahaha! Just a couple? Why not all of us then?" Before Nagare could reply, the Ogre suddenly tackled the ice dragon with surprising speed. With an evil grin on her face, the Ogre clenched a fist and raised it high. The mighty punch was clearly aimed at Nagare's face, but fortunately it was slow enough for the Dragon to react.

Meanwhile, the troupe of warrior monsters brought out their weapons and engaged the guild squad. A tall Minotaur woman wielding a crude, stone hammer came at Ada, swinging her crude but powerful weapon down at the Hushabye. Besides that, a Lizardman was quickly approaching to help the Minotaur take Ada down.

"Ah, s***! Ditzy, get ready!" Sir Reed unsheathed his blade and rushed to his guildmates' aid. Alas, the rest of the monster troupe charged forward consisting of two chubby but strong Orcs wielding one-handed hammers and a Salamander with a jagged sword who was already burning up in excitement for battle.

---

Help, Wanted 2
~@AzureKnight (VRA)~

"Hail there denizens! You are addressed by none other than the noble demon Vară Riemsianne, who requires your cooperation today! I'm here on an investigation involving stolen goods from the city hall, and the perpetrator seems to have broken in last night. If any of you've seen or heard anything that would aid the investigation, I demand that you speak now!"

The Dhampir was the first to speak, and she began with a laugh. "Hahaha! You got moxie, Demon! I'll give you that." She then gave her account. "Well, I was hanging around the town hall when the robbery happened. Uhh, don't ask me why I'm there in the middle of the night. You're probably expecting that I heard something, but that's thing: I didn't hear a single thing! You'd think there'd be some sort of weird noise in a break-in right? Like, doors being broken open, yeah?"

The old man was the next to speak. "If that was so, then I'd say I definitely saw a suspicious figure darting away from the town hall during the incident." He said. "I live pretty near the town hall and when I was out doing some night business, I saw a figure darting out of the hall and into darkness. It was night, though, so I could not get a good look at the suspect."

"Meanwhile I, heard something in the town hall." The middle-aged man spoke up. "But it wasn't of doors or walls breaking down, it was the sound of jingling armor. Like a knight running at full speed. I didn't see anything, but it was a distinct sound. It made me wonder what armored person did urgent business in the night."

Their accounts have been given and if Vară was perceptive, she could narrow down the culprit with these.

---

Uninvited Guests
~@Stern Algorithm~

"Sure, call them out, and we promise not to attack unless we're attacked first,"

"Try anything funny, and..."

"O-Okay! Okay, please don't hurt me!"

The Giant Mouse called out to her companions, saying that the Liliraune had no intention of harming them and only wanted to talk. At first, nothing happened but the rodent monster kept calling out and promised, with pinky fingers, that it was no trap and no harm would befall the group and that the sisters simply wanted to negotiate. Soon, ears and antennae poked out of the edges of the walls and doorways in the Altissima sisters' sights. The captured Giant Mouse continued to coax out her friends with promises and reassurances until the group slowly and cautiously assembled.

There were about a dozen of the Devil Bugs and Giant Mice that formed in front of the Liliraune, still keeping a bit of distance as caution. "Don't worry, everyone! This Liliraune is really, really, kind. They're willing to negotiate about what we can have in exchange for us leaving." The captured Giant Mouse said to the group, still dangling from the Altissimas' vines.

"But we don't wanna leave! It's great here!" A Devil Bug protested.

"W-Well, the Liliraune said there are powerful warriors in this place so if we stay, we might get hurt!" The captured monster replied. "They're not here right now, of course, but the Liliraune said they could chase us down if we get really stubborn." She was making stuff up to convince the group, but it appeared to work.

"Can we have food, then? Lots of food for all of us?" One of the Giant Mice asked. The rest of the dozen loudly agreed with her. "You can make food, right? Yeah, make us food!"

"Can we... can we have a man, too?" A rather timid Devil Bug made quite the demand. "Just one, though. We're not greedy, one will be enough. Even for just one night?"

"Which man, though?" The captive Giant Mouse asked.

The group looked at each other, pondering for a moment, before nodding at each other. "We want the brown-haired plain boy!" They all answered, almost in unison.

Bart was nowhere to be seen, nor were there signs of him returning to help the Altissima sisters on this conundrum. They will have to resolve this by themselves.

---

For The Cause
~@Rezod92, @Restalaan (YNG)~

"YANG, NOW!"

The lady knight was confused for a moment until she realized that Kira was a distraction for an ambush. Her hand went to her sword's hilt as she turned around and watched Yang leap high into the air and landed right into the middle of the Order caravan. The monk began knocking out Order soldiers left and right as she advanced towards the lady knight.

A loud war cry soon followed and the Varjan rebels descended from the cliffs and began the ambush in earnest. The Order caravan rallied and the knights in horseback charged towards the attacking rebels, lancing a few of them down. Arrows and projectiles were exchanged before the two belligerent groups clashed against each other. One of the horseback knights blocked off Yang and thrust his long spear at the monk.

"I should've known!" The lady knight drew her blade and began swinging at Kira, starting with horizontal slashes.

^{@PaulHaynek@Restalaan@AzureKnight@Rezod92}

Ada looked at Nagare a bit confused as she talked with the ogre woman. The ogre woman seemed to want to fight them and Nagare had accepted, although Ada was confused by it because she wasn't that familiar about the concept of 'sparring'. For her, a serious fight was always either kill or be killed so she was uncertain about how far she should go when 'helping' Nagare as she asked.
Despite her doubts though, Ada still nodded towards Nagare, indicating she was ready to whatever was about to happen.

Before Nagare could say anything more though, the ogre woman laughed, saying about fighting not only some of them, but all of them at the same time. Quickly tackling Nagare into the ground with an evil grin on her face, the ogre woman raised her fist in order to punch Nagare. Such sudden act quickly made Ada realize that they weren't just 'pretending' to fight, but it was a real fight. Before she could help Nagare though, she was forced to dodge, jumping back as minotaur woman wielding a stone hammer and a lizardman approached her in order to take her down.

Quickly lowering her posture in a hostile stance, Ada hissed, showing her sharp teeth and making her claws appear as the Minotaur woman and the lizardman approached her. As the Mintaur woman approached, Ada would quickly swing her tail in a powerful whipping motion in order to hit the minotaur woman's arms and try to disarm her, following by quickly moving in, using her speed to jump to the side and try to either sink her teeth into the minotaur woman's neck or to use her claws to slash her side before jumping back and retreating again, always keeping an eye on the lizardman that was also coming for her.

---

Freyr

Freyr nodded, listening to Haley as she pointed out that Samuel had taken the gun inside the river with him. Fortunately, as Haley had said, guns apparently would stop working if they were wet and seeing how Samuel completely entered the river with it still on his hands, it should probably be soaking wet by now.

"Sounds good." Freyr said, agreeing with Haley as she told him her plan.

"Just be careful." He said, preparing himself to knock Samuel out the moment Haley brought him.

Unfortunately, Samuel slipped from Haley's grasp just after he started struggling, falling into the river once again. As he started being swept away by the currents though, he somehow managed to grab Haley's legs, pulling her down to the waters as well, much to Freyr's dismay.

"Haley!!" Freyr shouted, nervously as he franctically looked around, looking for vines on the trees near the river that he could use as a rope or even a long branch going over the river he could hang himself from in order to save Haley. In case he didn't find any of that though, he would throw himself into the river. While saving Haley was definitely the priority, he would still try to save Samuel if there were some long vines to be used as rope or a long branch. In case he had to jump in the river though, saving one person would already be exhausting, seeing how he would have to fight against the current. In that situation, he would definitely chose Haley over the crazy man.

The Great Horizons 3
~@13org (FYR)~

You ran and ran, following Haley and Samuel swept in the torrent of the river. Soon you spot a single tree branch that hung over the river, as if it grew over the water just for this moment. It was even wide enough to support your entire body and low enough for you to grab any of Haley or Samuel's limbs.

Climbing atop and reaching out your hand, Haley immediately extended her wet, indigo-feathered wing for you to grasp. You grab hold, and instantly felt the pull of the river. The torrent was strong, strong enough to pull you off the branch had you not firmly hooked your body on the wood. The river's surprising strength was probably because you were supporting not only Haley, but also Samuel who was still holding on to the Siren's leg.

Before you could think of another plan or even pull up Haley for a little, you hear the branch you were on cracking and breaking. The sudden shock when you grabbed Haley had weakened it and now the strain was becoming too much for the wood. You see Haley's face contorted into horror, it appeared she heard the branch breaking as well. The cracks became louder and you were running out of time. You must--

"RAAAH!"

Haley cried as she kicked Samuel off her leg. The mad man was no match for the monster's strength and he was swept away by the river, leaving behind his coat still within the Siren's talons. "Pull me up, Freyr! Hurry!" With the load lightened, you easily pull Haley off the river and throw her into dry land. You leap off the breaking branch before it finally snapped off and taken away by the river as well.

It all happened fast, but now you and Haley were safe. The same could not be said, though, for Samuel. Haley sat on the grass, drenched all the way with river water, panting from the ordeal.

@PaulHaynek@13org@AzureKnight

Ditzy Stoneclub

"Aww." Ditzy groaned at the fact he was unable to join the group and pouted. "That's not fair."

A moment of contemplation and then a bright idea crossed in his head. Beaming he quickly "Maybe Ditzy should make own knight group, where everyone can join!"

Though that idea was interrupted when the sound of Nagare falling down had Ditzy turned towards them. Idly, he giggled inward as even that cool dragon fall down like Ditzy.

It became less funny the moment the ogre raised her fist, followed by a flurry of motion from everyone as they burst into action. Ditzy laid eyes onto two orcs and a salamander who was rushing towards them.

Reed who was much quicker on the uptake had moved ahead, shouting for him to get ready.

Ditzy this time finally understood what happened, Nagare decided to go with his plan instead! That brought a large smile as Ditzy reached of his sandbag, snapped it back and was charging forward. Heedless of Reed caution as Ditzy ran straight to the two orcs and salamander.

Grinning and smiling to the point it split his mouth, Ditzy slammed his foot down just feet away from the two orcs, relaxing his entire body before he dove forward even deeper and between them.

Hoping to catch them off guard, Ditzy will use both arms to clothesline the two orcs and slammed them backwards, not stopping his charge as his target was one thing.

The bright colorful and burning salamander.

@PaulHaynek@Rezod92

Yang Bethlehem

Yang took a deep sharp breathe even as she disposed of the soldiers, a quick strike, ones meant to penetrate armor, sent waves of concussion to rattle the brain mildly. Those able to stand and remained conscious would find that they're unable to muster strength or even able to balance themselves.

Mowing through them as their ambush started in earnest, she spotted something moving at the corner of her eyes rapidly. Prompting her to raise her club.

Seeing that it was a knight on horseback, aiming to run her down with a spear as he bore towards her at fullspeed.

Taking stock of it, Yang moved equally fast as well and held her club more akin to a quarter-staff. Distance between them closed rapidly and she readied herself, pointing her own club like a spear.

The moment the spear thrusts out towards her, Yang used her club to push it aside and then slide forward up its length. Taking a deep stance by lowering herself, she slammed the end of the club right into the knight's chest. Her lower body acting as a support as the knight felt like running chest first into a log.

Before he even reached the ground, Yang moved and grasp the knight helmet in an iron-grip. Then with a little push, sent him straight into the ground, landing on his back first and pushing all air out of his lungs. A further stamp from Yang sent him unconscious.

The moment it was done, Yang darted forward, straight towards the champion again like an arrow.

@PaulHaynek @Restalaan (YNG)

"I should've known!" The lady knight drew her blade and began swinging at Kira, starting with horizontal slashes.

"Is it too late to say no hard feelings?", Kira managed to say before hopping off of her rock to avoid being sliced by the woman's blade. "I'll take that as a yes!"

As she dodged the knight's attacks, Kira was able to take stock of the situation with the rest of the rebels. Even with the dust cloud she whipped up to give them the advantage, the Order soldiers and caravan bodyguards recovered from the surprise quickly and engaged the raiding party. She had hoped this fight would be over quickly, but now it seemed like she was too optimistic in that endeavor. Yang, however, handled her opponents soundly and was approaching the female knight from behind, which the flygirl noticed.

"You know, you'd be doing everyone here a huge favor if you cut this shit out and just give us the goods!", shouted the Beelzebub as she narrowly avoided another slash before throwing a wind-infused punch in the woman's chestplate, blowing her back towards the busty monk.

"Can we have food, then? Lots of food for all of us?" One of the Giant Mice asked. The rest of the dozen loudly agreed with her. "You can make food, right? Yeah, make us food!"

"Can we... can we have a man, too?" A rather timid Devil Bug made quite the demand. "Just one, though. We're not greedy, one will be enough. Even for just one night?"

"Which man, though?" The captive Giant Mouse asked.

The group looked at each other, pondering for a moment, before nodding at each other. "We want the brown-haired plain boy!" They all answered, almost in unison.

"He's not plain!" Sylvia declared vehemently, before clearing her throat, "Ahem, I mean, I can't give you any of the men in the Guild, but..." She looked at Vivian with a look of guilt and apprehension.

"We can definitely make you a large helping of food," Vivian interjected, "How does lasagna and cake sound?" She was hoping she wasn't stereotyping, but she assumed the Giant Mice liked cheese, and the Devil Bugs liked sweets. But Vivian knew the look Sylvia was giving her and nodded in consent.

"...and we can provide you with a little bit of alraune nectar, as long as you promise to use it somewhere else. Believe me, if you use it here, we'll be able to tell, it is our nectar after all," Sylvia, offered, hoping that this would dissuade them from persistently asking for Neil.

_@PaulHaynek

Vară listened to each of the witnesses test accounts of the events that transpired last night. At the end of it, she learned that apparently the perpetrator was an armored figured who was able to enter the hall without there being any signs of a break in, the metal clothing confirmed by the jingling sound made whilst they were making their getaway. Can get in without breaking down doors or windows, and wears armor... You MUST be kidding me. Vară quietly pondered to herself, her anger slowly rising. If what she thought was true, Neil may very well have to hold the demoness back from charring a poor metal clad dolt down to cinders.

"I see~" She said with a sinister smile and a large anger vein on her head. "I humbly thank you for your cooperation in our investigation. You may now return to your daily activities. If there's nothing else you need to inform me of, I must excuse myself. I must have a discussion with my partner and another certain 'someone'."

Vară stormed her way back into the town hall, a fiery aura gathering around her. "Neil!" She practically shouted. "We need to talk! There's something you need to know about that dastard Ian."

---

_{@PaulHaynek @Restalaan @13org}

As soon as she warned Ada to prepare for the worst, it had already come crashing down on her - literally. With a small yelp from the shock, Nagare almost instantly found herself pinned to the ground by the ogre. The bandit raised her fist, preparing to strike her right in the face. Not good! Thankfully, Nagare immediately noticed that the attack was poorly telegraphed, which gave her the time she needed. Nagare prepared an ice spell to where frozen chunks would hopefully propel the Ogre off of her. If her plan worked, she would then go in for a swift tail swipe to keep on the offense.

To her chagrin, the ogre's comrades had also begun attacking Ditzy and Sir Reed in the back. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, at least not so quickly. But she knew that Ditzy was strong and that Sir Reed was an experienced fighter. She needed to trust in her friends and focus on the enemy in front of her. She, however, still couldn't help but keep an eye on Ada. She was in the fray right along with her, and they needed to have each other's back.

Keeping It Real 2
~@13org (ADA), @Restalaan (DIT), @AzureKnight (NAG)~

Nagare sent ice chunks towards the Ogre's face, sending her stumbling back and with the sweep of the ice dragon's tail, the Ogre crashed to the ground. Nagare then saw how Ada was faring...

The Hushabye opened up on the Minotaur with a spinning attack with her tail, knocking away the stone hammer from the bull monster's hands. With her agility, she clung to the side of the Minotaur to deliver a painful bite but before she could do so, she felt something stab into her. Ada was watching the Lizardman but she did not anticipate the lizard monster's speed. Once she jumped onto the Minotaur, the Lizardman took advantage of the opening and jabbed a sword unto the Hushabye.

However, Ada saw that she did not bleed, nor was she wounded. The blade inside her seemed to simply phase past her flesh. Still, she felt strength flowing out of her 'wound' and she dropped from the Minotaur. The Lizardman pulled out her magic sword out of the Hushabye, still no wound visible, to finish her off with a horizontal slash.

As the Ogre recovered, the Minotaur picked up her stone hammer and attacked Nagare. Her hammer was raised high and would come crashing down on the ice dragon if Nagare didn't do anything quick.

-

Ditzy charged back at the two Orcs and the Salamander. He managed to successfully clotheslined the two pig monsters before heading straight to the fiery monster.

The Salamander saw what happened and her grin became wider as her tail began to roar with flame. Drawing her sword, the fiery monster first spun at Ditzy which sent a wave of fire at the male Hobgoblin. She expected Ditzy to survive it and would soon follow up with slashed from her blade.

Should anyone be looking, Sir Reed would be fighting the two Orcs. He danced around the pig monsters' attacks but any hit he delivered upon them did seemingly nothing, his attacks were being absorbed.

---

Help, Wanted 2
~@AzureKnight (VRA)~

"Neil! We need to talk! There's something you need to know about that dastard Ian."

Your sudden entrance back into the treasury chamber startled Neil who was in the middle of inspecting the corners of the room. "Whoa, V-Vară?" It appeared he had not made any headway in his investigation. Not that it mattered anymore, you had a pretty good guess on who the culprit was. "You're back. Did you get anything from the witnesses? What's up with Ian?"

Before you could reply, though, another figure entered the room. A familiar one. "Hey, dude and dudette! How's the detective work going?" He asked with a carefree tone. There was no trace of guilt in his act. A consummate liar, this armored one was.

"Oh, hey Mister Ian. Speak of the devil."

---

Uninvited Guests
~@Stern Algorithm~

"How does lasagna and cake sound?"

"...and we can provide you with a little bit of alraune nectar, as long as you promise to use it somewhere else. Believe me, if you use it here, we'll be able to tell, it is our nectar after all,"

"Oooh! That sounds tasty!" The little monster group had stars on their eyes and saliva dripping from their mouths. Although, "...What's lasagna?"

"...What are we gonna do with the Alraune nectar? Are we gonna mix it with food and it'll taste better?" The captive Giant Mouse asked the Altissima sisters, still dangling from the vines. "And can you let me down now? My head's feeling funny..."

"A-And what're we gonna do while they're cooking?" One of the Devil Bugs asked. The question sparked a discussion in the group, the voices and chatter of the little monsters filled the kitchen. It made it hard for the Liliraune to hear what was the dominating suggestion in this sudden meeting. Fortunately, their captive Giant Mouse continued to be helpful.

"Hmmm, it looks like they want to explore more of the guild." She said. Would that be a good idea? The Altissima sisters will need to speak up if they do not want that happening.

---

For The Cause
~@Rezod92, @Restalaan (YNG)~

"You know, you'd be doing everyone here a huge favor if you cut this shit out and just give us the goods!"

The lady knight did not register the Beelzebub's words before receiving a wind-infused punch from the monster which sent her flying. Alas, she missed the approaching Yang and crashed into some of her troops. She quickly recovered but decided not to engage the two guild members. Instead, she began cutting down the rebels. All those who fought her was easily dispatched, and the caravan forces were rallying around her.

Two footmen in chainmail armor with spears and shields charged at Yang, yelling with their war cries as the caravan began to fight back against the ambush. Meanwhile, Kira narrowly dodged an arrow that whizzed past her. She then found a unit of four archers taking aim at her. Their arrows probably won't damage the Beelzebub, but they would likely still hurt.

The sounds of battle cries and yells and steel hitting steel drowned all other noise as battle raged. Casualties were mounting on both sides.

@PaulHaynek @Restalaan (YNG)

"Whoa!", exclaimed Kira as she narrowly dodged an arrow that flew past head. She saw four archers who had broken off from the main group and were now targeting her. Acting quickly, Kira took to the skies, her wings buzzing loudly as she dodged arrow after arrow before diving towards her opponents. Before the first archer could react, she punched him square in the face and knocking him on his backside. As the sounds of battle and clashing steel rang all around her, the worst case scenario became real to the young flygirl.

This raid was not quick.

"Yang, this raid is taking way too long! I'm getting worried over here!", the Beelzebub shouted to her guildmate as she drove a wind-infused kick into the chest of another archer, blowing him back in a rocky wall. She then turned to face the other two archers, who had unsheathed their short swords and were now engaging on her.

_@PaulHaynek

"I've gotten everything we need. Neil, I believe it's time we ended this farce." Vară stated, her voice seeping with venom. "That filthy bottom-feeder known as Ian is not who he claims to be, he's- Her sentence was cut off prematurely when the man of the honor himself came bursting in following the demoness. The fact that he had the audacity to even ask if they made any headway into the investigation almost made Vară's head erupt with steam.

No more games

"]Wasting my time was grave mistake in of itself, then making me perform your basic duties made it even more grievous. But this, lying to a noble then using them in your own little schemes is the worst offense of all. You mock not only me but the entire house of Riemsianne, it's unforgivable!" Bursting with rage, Vară's fire was beginning to illuminate the whole room, along with increasing the temperature. Paying no heed to Neil at this point, the heiress channeled her aura into a ball of vermillion energy which she held in her hand. She then aimed it directly at Ian.

"The illusion of your cleverness ends here. I've heard the testimony of the witness from last night, an individual who was able to enter the room without breaking in was seen running off into the distance. The clanking sound heard suggests that he was an armored figure, all qualities you possess. Confess your crimes your craven wretch! You can either be detained by the authorities peacefully, or you can be carried off on a stretcher with your body charred to cinder!

While Vară postulated herself as being a denizen of justice bringing down a dangerous criminal, the mention of her noble house and talk about her honor being stained suggested that she was mainly angry at the fact that she had been used up to this point...

---

_{@PaulHaynek @13org @Restalaan}

Successfully fending off the Ogre, Nagare quickly checked on her partner who unlike her was being jumped by multiple combatants. To her dismay she witnessed Ada be stabbed by a sword-wielding Lizardman. However, there was no sight or scent of blood, the blade simply phasing through the flesh. Even so, Nagare immediately sensed something strange from the weapon, along with noticing Ada's sudden loss of stamina. While not familiar with every man-made weapon, the ice dragon deduced that the sword must be a magical blade that drains mana. A very dangerous weapon that gave the Lizardman a clear advantage. Before she had more time to gather her thoughts, Ada was about to be struck again by her attacker. "Ada!" She called out. Just as she was about to assist her comrade, the Minotaurus who was partnered with the Lizardman picked up another weapon and came charging at her. No!

Not missing a beat on her impromptu planning, Nagare sprayed a trail of ice on the ground before her. If her planned worked out correctly, the Mino would lose her balance and slide into the opposing Lizardman. The collision hopefully would knock the blade out of the bandit's hand, and knock out two birds with one stone. If not, then at the very least Nagare could counter her assailant and still go assist Ada.

^{@PaulHaynek@Restalaan@AzureKnight@Rezod92}

While the first attack was successful in knocking away the minotaur woman's weapon, Ada hissed when she saw the lizard girl approaching her. With a burst of speed that Ada wasn't expecting, the lizard girl didn't hesitate in jabbing her sword at Ada. Immediately twisting her body to try and minimize the wounds, Ada was surprised to notice that there was no blood nor wound in the place the lizard girl had stabbed. That said, Ada still felt that her strength somehow leaving her after the attack. While it wasn't as bad as literally having a huge wound to take care of, she still felt her stamina draining after the lizard girl's attack. While she didn't understand what happened that well, Ada knew that she wouldn't be able to fight if she took another hit from that strange blade.

Realizing that the lizard girl was getting ready for another attack, Ada was about to dodge her attack and try to jump away from them before Nagare shouted her name. Paying enough attention to see the ice Nagare threw on the ground and understanding what she wanted to do, Ada using the minotaur's body to jump away from both warriors, both evade the horizontal slash and pushing the minotaur on the lizard girl's direction.

Landing a few meters away from them, Ada would look straight at the lizard woman, having quickly changed her main target after she shown herself to be more of a problem than Ada previously realized. Should Nagare's ice work and made them fall, Ada would use her speed to dash towards the lizard girl, trying to disarm her with a tail whip or a slash before moving in to try and bite her throat.
Should the lizard girl avoid the hulking mass that was the minotaur though, Ada would use her camouflage while moving at full speed in order to fight against the lizard girl. While that wouldn't turn her invisible, it would at least make her a bit transparent and make her movements harder to follow while trying to disarm the lizard girl or if the opportunity showed itself, straight up down her in one go.

---

Freyr

The very moment Freyr grabbed Haley's wing, he could already feel the force of the water, trying to drag him down as well. Saying that he had underestimated how strong was the current was an understatement. Unfortunately, with the loud crack signaling that the branch he was on wouldn't handle his, Haley and Samuel's weight, made the situation even more dire.

"Damn! Haley, it's going to break!" Freyr shouted, frantically trying to think on a way out of that situation.

Fortunately, Haley thought faster, kicking Samuel away from her leg, which proved to be enough for Freyr to quickly pull her up to the branch before it broke and jump away to the margin of the river with Haley.

Approaching the wet and exhausted Haley, Freyr hugged her, to comfort and try to warm her cold body, protecting her wet body from the wind.

"Are you okay, Haley?" He asked, clearly more worried about her than Samuel.

"Things... didn't go out as we expected... But you did the right thing. I wouldn't lose you in order to save a dangerous madman." he said, with a chuckle.

"Just take your time, rest and recover. We can try to find Samuel... Or whatever was left of him afterwards. By the way... is that his coat?" Freyr said, surprised when he saw a piece of cloth still on Haley's talons.