Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Operation Pain & Pleasure Pt. 1 – Fire Hazard

Little Nokco, the village in the north where one of three manufacturing locations for Pleasure is at. The place where Rosalina and the Starving Wolf gang are about to launch their assault at.

"Whoa... That's a lot of strange flowers they're growing." said one of the boys named Liam, spying on the village together with Rosalina in woods, where everyone of their team is at.

"Those are most likely the flowers used to create the Pleasure drug, which I have told you all about on our way here." said Rosalina, observing the guards roaming around the plantation area.

"I see. So those are what we are suppose to burn, is that it?" Liam asked.

"Yes. Seems that way."

"All right! Then let us burn that ablaze, Sis. When do we start?"

"Now, if anything. The knights should be about to begin their mission soon. So like I've told you already, set all of those flowers ablaze and retreat back into the woods immediately. Our goal is create confusion among the enemies, not subjugate them. That is the knights' job."

"Yes, ma'am! I tell the others to get their butts up right now."

"And one more thing, tell them to cover their nose and mouth as well. According to Master, burning those flowers will most likely cause some fumes to leak out into the air, which can be highly dangerous if any of you inhale too much of it."

"Got it, Sis. And what will you be doing?"

"I'm going into the village itself. To take out the guards and make sure that none of the villagers can escape once the knights make their move. So, leave the rest to you all now."

"Okie dokie! Take care, Sis."

Moving in first before her teammates do, Rosalina sprinted straight into the heart of the enemy territory wearing the Invisibility Cloak she had gotten from Jonah, and her maid outfit underneath it.

The time is night. Darkness is her ally. Spotting two guards patrolling the plantation area, Rosalina pulled out two knives and stabbed both of them in the throat, taking them out before they could notice her. After which, she grabbed their bodies with one hand each and threw them into the field, where the flowers will conceal their corpses and be burned later once the Starving Wolf gang starts burning them.

Done with that, Rosalina pressed on. Taking out any more guards she came across and hiding their bodies quickly, so that the enemies will be less likely to be alerted until the chaos begins.

Then, she entered the residential area of the village. Sneaking around, trying to figure out where the villagers are all at after into their houses to find that they aren't in.

"It's already late at night. Yet, no one's asleep. Where could they all be?" she wondered, climbing up one of the houses to get a better vantage point from above. Upon which, she spotted lights coming from several of the large houses at the end of the village. Concluding that there is where the villagers are at.

"Are they holding a meeting?"

Rosalina got down to the ground and made her way to the houses with lights on. But while she was doing that, the village bell went off, alerting Rosalina to look back to the sound to see what was going on.

Black smoke was the first thing she saw. Then, the raising red sea of flames right beyond the roofs of the houses.

"So they have began..." Rosalina mumbled under her breath. "I'd better hurry it up then." she continued with her task after that.

Meanwhile, elsewhere near the village, the subjugation team formed by the Third Prince Carlos is camping without a campfire, to not draw attention to their location.

Leading the operation for this team is a Rufus Vancreed, a knight and lieutenant of the Green Hawk Order who serves the Third Prince.

 He, like the rest of his comrades, are currently hiding some distances away from the village, awaiting a report from the scouts they have sent for reconnaisance.

"Sir Rufus!"

One of the scouts returned, dashing to his superior in a hurry and heavy breath.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Rufus asked, thinking that the scouts he'd sent are in some sort of trouble. However, it was not that.

"The village, Sir! It's being attacked by bandits!"

"What!?" Rufus began to panicked. His mind became restless. If bandits are attacking the village, then he might have to prioritise dealing with them over his mission, in order to save the villagers which is his duty as a knight.

"However, their behaviour is strange." the scout then said.

"How so?"

"They aren't raiding homes or killing anyone. The only damage they have done was setting the village's crops ablaze. After which, they ran back into the woods where they came from."

What the scout reported was indeed strange, thought Rufus. When it comes to bandits, murder, pillaging and sometimes rape would always be their usual actions. And if they were to set things on fire, it would tend to be the homes of the villagers, rather than their crops.

"Are the bandits trying to make the villagers starve...?" Rufus questioned in his mind. "No, that's not it." he concluded as such.

If making the villagers starve isn't their objective, then what could it be? Rufus began to ponder on that question. Then, his mind thought about something else. Recalling back to the time when he and his men were briefed on the mission they were assigned to.

The village that is being attacked is the same village that is procuring the dangerous drug known as Pleasure. Thinking this, Rufus then asked himself: "How are they making the drug anyways?"

Little Nokco is but a small village, as the name implies. Which is why it would be hard for villagers to make the drugs without getting caught by an inspector or tax collector. As it would be easy to get exposed even if a small amount was made.

"If that's the case, then do they have some sort of role?" Rufus thought about that possibility.

He was told that there are three places where the drug came from. The first is under the Capital city, the second is in a factory at a town, and the third is where he and his men are at right now.

"The first two places are most likely where they make the drug. But about the third...? What about the village? What is their role?"

Within a few seconds of asking the question to himself, Rufus has figured out the answer.

"Everyone get up! We are commencing the mission now!" he announced, causing his men to stand up and ready themselves in a quick minute or two while Rufus talks to the scout.

"You should get ready too, Private. The 'bandits' you and your comrades saw were not bandits at all."

"Huh? What do you mean, Sir?"

"They are a third party with the same objective as us. They have simply acted before we did." Rufus explained, as he sees his men now armed and ready.

"A third party... Ah!" the scout then realised. "The crops that they've set on fire are..."

"Not actually crops, but most likely the source for creating Pleasures. Drugs are made from plants after all. And for the village, their role is to grow and harvest them, so that they can supply the other two locations with the necessary ingredients." Rufus elaborated. "Now, Private, go to your comrades, explain to them what I have explained to you and tell them to stay put and wait for us. We will be heading your way shortly."

"Yes, Sir!"

The scout then went ahead first. After confirming that the rest of his men are all ready to move out, Rufus gave the order.

"All right, men! Let us move quickly."

And so, the team made their to the village at a fast pace.

*************

"Argggh!"

"Uck...!"

"You damn bi—"

*Swish!* The third goon was killed before he could even finish his last words. His body dropped to the floor with blood spilling everywhere. Much like the rest of his dead comrades around him.

A few minutes prior, after arriving at the house where the villagers were presumed to be gathered, Rosalina peered in through one of the windows to find them kneeling on the ground, surrounded by only a few goons dressed similar to the guards she had killed earlier.

The villagers' clothes were filthy. Their bony arms and sunken faces indicate that they were malnourished. Additionally, there were no women among the villagers sitting on the floor; only men and children could be spotted in Rosalina's eyes.

"Are they keeping the women elsewhere?" Rosalina wondered.

Meanwhile as she thought, the armed thugs in the house were restless.

Having reported that their plantation have been caught on fire, they had already sent most of their comrades to go deal with it somehow, while the rest of them watch over the poor villagers.

"Darn it!" one of the thugs cursed. "Who the hell set the plants ablaze? Was one of you guys, huh!?" he glares at the villagers, brandishing his sword at them as they looked at him with frightened eyes.

"It wasn't us. I swear! We don't know how those flowers caught on fire!" an elderly villager spoke.

Looking at how the old man was dressed a bit differently from the others, Rosalina assumed that the elderly man is the Village Chief of Little Nokco.

"Shut up, geezers! Don't you dare lie!" the thug then yelled, raising his sword at the old man, about to swing it down onto him. However, before the blade landed on the old man's shoulder, it was stopped by another thug who blocked the sword with his own.

"Hey, cut it out! Don't go killing the villagers." the other thug said, reprimanding his ally with a stern face.

 "Shut up! Don't tell me what to do!"

The two thugs were about to begin fighting. But just before they could do that, a third man with a well toned build intervened. "Stop." he said without raising his voice. Yet, the two men immediately became humbled and put their blades away.

"He must be their leader..." Rosalina thought as she continues to observe inside the house. "But, that skin and eye colour of his..."

"Leave the villagers alone for now." the leader of the thugs ordered. "Whether they caused the fire or not, it doesn't matter. We'll cut each of their left ears after that. More importantly..." the man then turned to the window where Rosalina at, staring straight at her despite her entire body being invisible.

"How long are you going to keep hiding there? Come in."

Hearing him speaking to her, Rosalina immediately assumed that he is a seasoned warrior based from his demeanour, appearance and ability to sense her presence despite her hiding it fairly well.

"I guess there's no choice..."

Rosalina removed the Invisibility Cloak from herself, revealing her appearance to the enemies who were all looking at the window she's at, after the man had spoken to her. Then, in a calm and collected manner, she walked towards the entrance of the house, while the thugs and their leader followed her with their eyes as she passed by each window.

Afterwards, she gently opened the door.

The leader of the thugs glares at Rosalina with caution as his eyes carefully observes her from a distance. His men on the other hand, except for a few, were gawking at her body. Holding a lustful gaze at her voluptuous figure with wild imaginations on what they wish to do to her.

"So, who are you?" the enemy leader asked.

With elegance and grace, Rosalina grabbed the hem of her skirt and bowed to the men. "Greetings. My name is Rosalina Mephisto, and I am here to subdue you all." she said.

"Oh. So you're a law enforcer then. Is that it?"

You are reading story Cycle of Identities: A Gender-Bending Story at novel35.com

"No. I am but a maid who is loyal to her master."

"Then it seems like you're going to need a change of master. Don't move." the enemy leader pointed to his side, directing Rosalina to look at where he's pointing and saw one of the goons holding a boy at knife point. "Make one funny move and the kid dies." said the enemy leader. And seeing that Rosalina is standing still, staring at the hostage, he carefully signalled his men to approach her. "Take all of her clothes. Make sure she doesn't have anything hidden." he instructed.

"Yes, Boss." one of his men replied, gleefully making his way towards Rosalina first, for he wished to have the first grope before anyone else.

"Hihihi~ What a nice rack you've got, eh, Miss Maid." he said, reaching his hand out, before...

"Eh?"

...it got amputated.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!" the man screamed in pain and horror, holding his injury tight as Rosalina spoke.

"Kindly refrain from touching me, thank you. This body of mine is only exclusive for my master's hands. Any other person's hands shall simply get chopped off should they try to reach for me."

Rosalina looked down upon the goon she'd injured with a face of utter disgust. The other men surrounding her were also terrified by her sudden cruelty. Meanwhile, only enemy leader seemed to be remaining calm when Rosalina shifted her sights to him.

"You... don't care about the hostage, do you?" the enemy leader began showing a slight sign of anxiousness.

"I believe I had made myself clear when I introduced myself." Rosalina argued. "I am here to subdue all of you. And kill, if I must. I have no interest in some lowly villagers who had caused trouble for my master with their work of aiding you. Regardless of their age and gender." she explained coldly with no remorse in her eyes.

"Is that so...?" the enemy leader sees that she was serious and thus, signalled his subordinate to release the child as his attempt at threatening his foe was deemed useless.

In which case, using force to deal with his opponent was his next choice.

"All of you! Draw your weapon and kill the maid! Do not bother capturing her alive." he ordered his men, to which they willingly obeyed, knowing that the single enemy before them would be better off dead than alive.

And so, they all charged at Rosalina, except for a few smart ones and the leader who stood back and watched the way Rosalina fought. Resulting in the battle now that was described earlier. Afterwards, corpses were all that remained of Rosalina's enemies. Leaving the villagers watching terrified of the maid and the last few foes wary of her.

"It would be wise for you to surrender." Rosalina said to her living opponents.

"Boss, what should we do?" one of the men asked, just as his leader stood up.

"You boys stay back. I'll handle this." he said and began walking towards Rosalina while drawing his weapon, which his opponent took noticed of.

"Dark skin, green eyes and a curved sword... As I've thought, you're an Ultharian, aren't you?"

"Oh. So, you've figured that out, huh? Well, I'm not surprised, I guess. After all, us 'barbarians' as you Narlans call us are quite distinguishable, yeah?" the enemy leader then points his sword at Rosalina. "The name's Rahid. A mercenary hailed from Ulthar." he introduced himself briefly to her.

"Rosalina Mephisto. Just a maid." Rosalina re-introduced herself again in a graceful manner.

Then, there was no more need for words. Just the clash of their weapons as the two fighters began charging at each other.

Rahid swung his sword down at Rosalina. Deflecting the attack with the knife in her left hand, Rosalina then followed it up with a slash using the knife in her right hand.

Rahid dodged it, however, as he counters by throwing a punch at Rosalina who narrowly avoided the incoming blow to her face.

"That was close..." Rosalina took a few steps back to regain her posture. But her opponent wouldn't allow it and pursued her, delivering a horizontal slash this time, to which Rosalina blocked with both of her weapons, pushing her back a few more centimetres while her opponent pressed forward. Putting Rosalina on the defense within a minute after their match began.

Rahid's men watched their boss fight in awe. Whereas the villagers saw no hope for Rosalina, the moment she was pushed against the wall. However, what none of them know was that Rufus and his men have arrived at the village already, and had started arresting anyone they have come across.

One by one, Rahid's men who went to deal with the fire were being caught and apprehended. Killed, if they tried to resist. Leaving the flames to burn of what's left of the plants that were used as the main ingredient for the Pleasure drug.

And so, slowly but steadily, Rufus and his men marches on deeper into the village, all the way to the Village Chief's house at the end of it.

Whereas Rosalina on the other hand was having trouble dealing her opponent, Rahid.

Her two knives are in terrible shape after taking so many hits from Rahid's sword, her exhaustion was clear from her increased breathing rate and her stance was showing signs of flaw in them.

Despite all of that, her maid outfit somehow remained undamaged, except for some blood stains on her skirt which can be easily washed away afterwards when doing laundry.

"I would appreciate it, if you give up now." said Rahid, hoping that his opponent would surrender as he didn't like that he was practically bullying her at this point.

"Yes, you are right. I should give up now." Rosalina replied, tossing her knives aside which Rahid and the bystanders thought to be an act of surrender from the maid.

Unfortunately, they were wrong.

"I thought about imitating Jonah but as expected, his style not something I could easily do." she started cracking her neck. "So please... forgive my inelegance because I'm going to use my usual way of fighting now." she said, walking up to Rahid with a smile, as he held his sword up to her in response. Sensing a dangerous feeling from the maid despite already 'losing' her weapons.

In the next ten seconds, the fight was swiftly put to an end.

Rosalina charged at Rahid, who quickly swung his sword in response at a much higher speed than he did earlier. However, instead of evading the blade's path, Rosalina bent back and kicked the flat side of the sword before it could reach her, causing the weapon to shatter immediately, shocking her opponent and everyone else in the area watching.

Without giving her foe any time to react, Rosalina threw another kick straight to Rahid's chest, causing blood to spew out from his mouth as well as some ribs to crack from the sheer impact of her legs, which was then followed up by an onslaught of many more kicks from Rosalina, shattering those ribs entirely and damaging whatever organs were in that area.

Rahid dropped to the ground after that. Still alive but badly injured as shown by him coughing out blood despite being unconscious.

With their boss down for the count, the remaining goons became terrified of the maid who was more barbaric than their boss whose race was often referred to as "Barbarians."

"Now then, would you like to surrender? Or fall just the others?" Rosalina asked those goons. "Running is not an option by the way. So, which will you choose?"

The goons immediately chose surrender as Rosalina begin to tie them all up.

"Umm, Miss? Why us too?" the elderly village chief questioned the maid, seeing that she has tied him and the other villagers up as well.

"Why not? You people helped these guys with their plans, did you not? In that case, handing you to the authorities should be appropriate." Rosalina answered coldly, staring down at them without giving a single care for their circumstances, despite it being quite obvious to anyone looking at them.

"We didn't have choice!" the village chief argued back. "Those bandits killed all of our guards, threatened to kill every one of us left, and even took all of our women as hostages. We had to do as they say in order for us to live." he explained. However, Rosalina's cold gaze remained unchanged.

"Tell that to the knights then." she sighed in response as she looked at the door. "Judging from the noise outside, they should be here soon." she said, as the door was promptly kicked down as if on cue, where Rufus and his men all swarmed in, only to find a dozen corpses on the ground, some people tied up, and a maid standing before them.

"Greetings, dear knights. You are right on time... I think." Rosalina casually greeted the knights with a bow.

Seeing the maid acting so calmly whereas others around her are not, Rufus sensed that she isn't normal and asked, "Are you the one who did this?"

"Yes."

"Who are you...?"

"Rosalina Mephisto. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Rufus Vancreed."

Rufus became shocked to learn that his name was known. But what he was mostly taken aback by was the name of the maid.

"Mephisto... Are you really..."

"Yes, I am. Though I would prefer if you were to use my first name instead."

"I see. Then I will ask you, Rosalina: Were you the one who caused the fire at the plantation?" Rufus questioned the maid.

"No." she answered honestly. "But I did call for it." she added, piquing Rufus's curiosity further.

But before the knight could inquire more information from her, Rosalina took out her Invisibility Cloak. "Well then, I can tell that you have more questions to ask. But I must apologise as I'm afraid I will have to leave now." she said, putting on the cloak. "Therefore, I shall bid you gentlemen farewell."

"Wait!"

Rufus dashed forward, reaching his hand out in attempt to snatch the cloak off of Rosalina's hands. But Rosalina evaded and became invisible to the eye. However, that didn't mean her footsteps were silenced. Hearing them, Rufus shouted to his men: "To the windows! Don't let her get away!" resulting in the soldiers to act quickly upon his command and defend every window in the house to prevent the maid from escaping. But by doing that, the soldiers standing by the door had been thinned out, allowing Rosalina to charge her way through those men, sending them flying with her kicks, much to everyone's surprise as she exited through the door.

"Wha!?"

And like that, Rosalina had escaped with ease.

"Darn it!" Rufus cursed in his head. Not because he had failed to apprehend Rosalina, but because he wasn't able to learn more from her.

"Why did she did this in the first place?" he then turned to thugs and villagers she had tied up, pondering on that question.

Rufus had basically figured out the purpose behind her attack. But what he was curious about was why she would get involved in the matter in the first place. As far as he knew, the Pleasure drug shouldn't be an issue to someone like her. If anything, Rufus assumed that the presence of the drug in the kingdom would be more beneficial to Rosalina, due to her past which he, and many others, knows about.

"Mephisto... To think there was a survivor from that household."

Rufus silently watched as his men dragged the tied up thugs away along with their leader whom he recognised to be Ultharian as well. After which, he released the villagers from their bindings and listened to their circumstances. Making him and some of his men who were free, move out to rescue the women of Little Nokco who were being held in another house nearby.

Once that was done, he pardoned the villagers for growing the drug ingredients against their will and left with a load of prisoners in a carriage.

And thus, the operation at the village was a success... somewhat.

...

Around the same time at the Town of Forlai, the townsfolk have all been woken up by multiple large explosions going off in a certain perfume manufacturing facility.

*BOOM!*

*BOOM! BOOM!*

*BOOM...!*

...

"The factory has been blown up. Lady Luna is sure to be pleased now. Right, Vivian?"

"Mm."

You can find story with these keywords: Cycle of Identities: A Gender-Bending Story, Read Cycle of Identities: A Gender-Bending Story, Cycle of Identities: A Gender-Bending Story novel, Cycle of Identities: A Gender-Bending Story book, Cycle of Identities: A Gender-Bending Story story, Cycle of Identities: A Gender-Bending Story full, Cycle of Identities: A Gender-Bending Story Latest Chapter