In a matter of seconds, a group that had never seen any battle for two straight weeks suddenly instigated one for themselves. Mirrielle was the first to charge forth, bypassing the sergeant at breakneck speed toward the three other musketeers, who had positioned themself 20 meters from their sergeant. 

Simultaneously, two of the group's frontliners had suddenly repositioned themselves near the hanged man and one of the soldiers. A blade swung to cut the rope, and the poor peasant dropped with a thud. But at least he breathed. 

Landing smoothly, Ludvig spoke nonchalantly.

[quote]"Greetings, mortals. Fine morning we have today.
So, are you loyalists or revolutionists? Doesn't matter, you're all the same anyway. Do y'all know of a Paladin by the name of Thomas?"[/quote]

His answer was delivered in the form of a swing of an axe from a nearby soldier, but years of experience in the circus taught Ludvig a thing or two about preparing to evade such an onslaught. He spun a swift pirouette, and the soldiers tumbled off balance as his axe struck empty air. 

----

Meanwhile, at the same time, the sergeant was clearly not amused by Carnathia's blatherings. Although some diplomatic words were clearly understood, the gesture this group showed was clearly the opposite. How could they parley when three of them had already invaded the boundaries, releasing a criminal and pointing weapons at them? There was no turning back.

He was quick to assume a stance, and the follow-up jab was delivered almost instantly. Carnathia evaded instinctively, and Carmen sprung into action to prevent another follow-up. With his saber, he parried the outstretching axe and deflected it sideways, away from Carnathia. 

Meanwhile, the baroness dived low into her opponent's defense and countered with a quick slash on the sergeant's gambeson before deftly retreating back to her position. 

The man was startled by the sudden strike, but beneath that gambeson, he wore a chainmail and a few layers of leather. The attack did not go through but caused him to take a few steps back. 

'Enough!" Carmen barked."Senor, attacking a lady is unacceptable! You are outnumbered! Tell your men to stand down!"

For a brief second, just a fraction of it, the sergeant seemed to consider, but the loud bang from the musketeers sealed the deal. 

___

Someone who charged straight into a firing line would either have a death wish or a highly formidable opponent. That was what their training dictated. 

Similar to archery, shooting takes skills, and in Tretagorian's massive army reserves, it was what differed the marksmen from the common ground troops. They were well-trained, and trained to use their brains on the battlefield. A common grunt needed only to swing a weapon, but the marksmen had no luxury of follow-up shot, and thus every shot must be counted. 

From the safety of their temporal distance, one musketeer fired at the charging inquisitor. Meanwhile the other aimed at Ludvig after timing his movement. 
Smokes and burning stench of gunpowder permeated in the air. The first shot ricocheted off Mirielle's divine armor, While the second shot hit Ludvig on his collarbone. 
They only had one second to congratulate, because it was now apparent to them that the Inquisitor was not stopping, and in fact, closing the distance rapidly. 

By the next second, the last musketeer fired his musket, but the divine armor still prevailed. 
By the third count, they were already in Mirielle's striking range.