Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Surrender

I was still having trouble breathing, my lungs were only now healing, the decay slowly turning back to healthy tissue, but I still tried to get up. Weak in my knees but standing, I looked around. I stood less than twenty meters from the barracks wall, wondering why were they heading here, to the opposite side from the barracks gate? Was there another entrance? Place where did they break-in, or did they just want to jump over the wall?

"Where's Roe?" I heard Hal ask, somewhere behind me.

Turning quickly, I saw a swordsman just a few steps away rushing at me. This time I didn't get a chance to create a barrier. He punched me in the stomach with his left hand, taking my breath away, and threw me over his shoulder like a bag in one motion. That's how I felt, like a punching bag. How many blows have I received tonight?

"She's doing her damn job. Why do you think we have to deal with only the two of them?" the swordsman growled at Hal, ignoring me on his shoulder. Not stopping for a moment, he said, "If you did your job, we wouldn't have to be in this mess!!"

"How could I know that the local captain ... aaaah," Hal shouted suddenly in pain and fell to the ground.

The swordsman just looked back at his companion, smirked, and said, "Good luck!"

Still gasping for breath on the swordsman's shoulder, I looked at Hal. He sat on the ground holding his left leg, which was missing from the knee down. The rest of it lay on the ground beside a sword stuck in the ground. Of course, another potion appeared in his hand, but I was more interested in who had thrown the sword.

So I looked in the direction from which the sword flew. My heart leaped when I saw Captain Rayden jumping off the barracks wall and running here. She moved so fast that in the darkness illuminated by the burning building behind her, it seemed to me that she was teleporting, appearing closer and closer.

Though, my joy was short-lived, as I realized how close we were to the barracks wall, which the swordsman either intended to run through, as he did not slow down at all, or rather jump over it. I looked at the Captain again. But even though she was so close, she was still far away. I knew Castiana was behind this wall, that it didn't mean the end, but as I saw it, my chances of escaping behind this wall were slimmer than here.

That's why I was determined to do everything I could to keep the swordsman from crossing the wall.

From my position on the swordsman's shoulder, where I faced the wall with my ass, I covered his face with my healthy wing, hoping it would distract him at least for a second. I was under no illusion that a man as strong as he would not have a skill similar to mine [Space Domain], and even with blocked vision, he will have no problem with orientation.

I screamed in agony as pain seared through my loins after that asshole grabbed my wing and tore it from my back. The pain I felt when a spear pierced me, or a dagger stabbed my heart, was nothing compared to this agony I felt right now, hitting my mind so hard that my vision went black. Unfortunately, I didn't faint even though I wished I did.

In pain, overwhelmed by the fact that it was all probably in vain, I watched as he tossed my wing aside. When the swordsman staggered with the next step as an arrow hit him in the thigh, gave me hope that, for some reason, he didn't have the skill I thought he must have and relied on his eyesight.

Because of the pain and tears in my eyes, I relied more on my domain now, so I had no idea how far the Captain could be? How far were the two Guards the swordsman had fought before? Who shot the arrow at him? I didn't know!! But I was terrified that if he got over the wall, the pain I had experienced so far would be the least I had to fear.

Therefore, despite my fear of more suffering, I wrapped my tail around his face, releasing little poison left in the tail's glands. The swordsman immediately grabbed the root of the tail and slammed me against the wall in front of him, coughing up clouds of poisonous gas he inhaled.

I hit the wall with such force that countless of my bones cracked. By the time I slid to the ground along the wall, my body was strangely numb, and the pain was gone. Quickly checking my body, I was horrified to find that several of my vertebrae were cracked or shifted, that my spine broke, that one of my worst nightmares has come true. I was paralyzed.

Although I never wanted to end up like that, I was happy about it as I was free of the agony right now

"I've had enough with you!" the swordsman shouted furiously, the poison apparently not affecting him this time. Either there was too little of it, or the antidote he drank still worked.

All I could do at this point was lift my head, look at him, raising the imaginary middle finger in his direction, and smile as a guardswoman attacked him from behind. With a sweep of her glowing sword, she cut him across the calf and despite the armor cutting deep into the muscle. The guardswoman did not proceed with another attack but jumped aside, watching the man closely. Her colleague, with a shield and sword, arrived just half a breath later.

Why they didn't attack him together was a mystery to me, but only until two more Guards jumped off the wall in front of me. Their unexpected arrival scared me, but I was glad they were here. It meant that what I was trying to do was not in vain.

They surrounded him but did not attack. The swordsman spat on the ground, pulled an arrow from his thigh, and straightened up. I could only guess how he could do it with his leg injury.

"What the hell are you!" he asked them with a hint of respect in his eyes. "You can't just be City Guards!"

"Why not?" the rough female voice I heard and knew conjured a smile on my face.

Like the swordsman, I looked who spoke. When I saw Captain Rayden, I cried with joy, daring to say that this nightmare was finally over. This was the first time I hadn't felt her aura in her presence, not knowing if it was because of my paralyzed body or she just wasn't using the skill. She was no longer in a hurry, slowly walking to her sword.

Kicking Hal's severed leg into the darkness of the night, she drew her sword from the ground and cleaned it with one quick swipe.

Half a dozen Guards, who arrived shortly afterward, immediately surrounded Hal and the swordsman. They all focused their attention on the two intruders, ignoring me except for one woman. As soon as she noticed me, she rushed to me.

"What happened to my men?" the swordsman asked, his eyes fixed on the Captain.

She returned his gaze, "What happened to the Imperial Agent?"

"I see," the swordsman smirked, but there was sadness in his eyes.

However, I did not understand. Wasn't the Imperial Agent over there on the ground, with his leg severed? Did that mean the swordsman's men's legs were also cut off? That seemed unlikely to me. My guess was probably correct, and Hal wasn't a real agent. Hal probably wasn't even his actual name. But if he was not an agent, then where was the real Imperial Agent?

Ah, I realized what was behind their words. The agent was probably dead, as were the swordsman's men.

"What is your name?" the woman who knelt beside me asked me.

Her question caught me off guard. After the infirmary experience, I almost assumed that everyone in the barracks knew my name. I looked at her, at her rough-cut auburn hair peeking under the helmet, her cutting steel coloured eyes, which scanned my wounds as her mana penetrated my body.

I couldn't tell from her expression what she was thinking. Was my condition serious, according to her, or was it something she regularly encountered as a healer? Was torn off the wings a common injury? But, in the end, I was curious only because I knew how bad my body was, how much it had suffered until now, hoping she'd feel sorry for me, or that she'd tell me how brave I was and praise me for enduring it all.

Knowing that I was no longer a little girl crying over her abraded knee, I tried to brace up and smiled, "My name is Korra, you're Janina, aren't you?"

Marcus mentioned the healer who was with the Captain, so I figured it might be her.

Janina nodded, "Did Marcus tell you about me?"

"He just mentioned you," I said, suddenly remembering the last time I was being treated, so I quickly said, "I have a very good regeneration!"

"I noticed your bleeding had already stopped, but noted," she acknowledged my remark with a slight nod.

"Fight me," the swordsman shouted at the Captain, drawing my attention back to what was happening in front of me.

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The Captain only frowned at his outburst of anger and the attempt to challenge her to a duel, "Like I said! Surrender, and you will be treated as a prisoner of war!"

"To end up like her?!" he shook his head toward me and smirked, "Coward!"

Rayden raised an eyebrow, "Says a man hiding behind civilians! One last time, surrender and ..."

"Ha" exclaimed Hal triumphantly, laughing even though he was surrounded by Guards and in the presence of Captain Rayden. The next moment I felt a faint shock wave sweep across my face before my mind was hit by an attack, but not penetrating my defense, just slightly muddling it.

"You should have killed me, bitch. Now we'll see how you deal with your precious citizens," Hal laughed, like a madman.

Captain Rayden did not take her eyes off the swordsman, apparently considering him a greater threat than Hal posed, unaffected by his apparent attack. If his attack affected others around me, I couldn't tell. The Guards and Janina must have resistance to mind attacks at such a level that they were not affected by it.

However, I did not miss their nervous glances, looking around for something. But I had no idea what they expected to appear, which made me even more anxious.

The silence was nerve-racking.

A few breaths later, a man's scream echoed through the courtyard. He ran out of the building where the infirmary was located, where I was a few minutes ago. Holding a broom in his hands, he charged at us alone across the courtyard, screaming senselessly.

Halfway through, he tripped and fell to the ground, his screams interrupted for a moment by the fall. But it was not the end of his fearless attack, as he immediately stood up and, with even greater vigor and louder shouting, set out again against the Guards.

I don't know when Hal stopped laughing, but now he was staring blankly at the screaming man, and he wasn't the only one. The swordsman and I were just as, if not more confused than he was about what was happening right now.

A guardsman broke the silence as he spoke, "Looks like we missed one. Sorry, ma'am."

It was the same guard with the shield and the short sword who was trying to stop the swordsman and Hal from kidnapping me.

The Captain nodded, "Looks like it, Erik! Tracy, take care of the poor man!"

One of the guards responded immediately, drawing her attention to the approaching man. The guardswoman was wearing the same armor as the rest of the Guards, a combination of plate and leather, plus small forearm shields and combat gloves. That's why I expected the man to be put down with grappling or a blow to the head, so I was surprised when she stomped onto the ground, and the attacking man was wrapped in a moment by the vines that had sprung from the ground.

I didn't know what to think. Was she a mage or a fighter? It was the same as with healers, who were ready to fight with swords and thus destroyed the concept that I had ingrained in my mind from the games. Apparently, the mages weren't just glass canons wearing linen tunics here. They didn't hide behind the whole party, where they were safe. They were fighting in front lines.

Though, it would be too premature for me to draw conclusions, when I have only seen the City Guards fight so far, their way of fighting could be unique, and the seekers could stick to a more classic group layout.

After all, when I looked at Hal, the only proper protection he was wearing was leather chest armor, which I dare say he now regretted. Though I wished I had at least leather chest armor like him today, not knowing if it could stop the spear, I believed it would protect me from the dagger.

My painful scream, which I uttered when feeling returned to my body and with it the pain, ended this strange moment where Hal was confused as to why his plan didn't work, the swordsman was furious at his companion's incompetence, and the Captain was satisfied with the work of the Guards.

I was mad at the healer, right now wishing she would heal my spine last, or at least give me something to ease the pain. I guess my expression spoke for me again because she shook her head and told me in self-defense, "It wasn't me, it was your body. I just made sure you weren't bleeding!"

Sadly, I believed her.

Anyway, why did she just stop the bleeding and did not continue healing was beyond me? It was enough for her to hit me with her healing magic, or rather to boost my regeneration. In a few minutes, I would be able to stand on my own two feet.

Speaking of legs, I looked at Hal, who was still sitting on the ground, confusion, and anger on his face saying it all. This was not supposed to happen.

"What was that supposed to be?" the swordsman shouted at him, taking a step toward Hal. However, the guards stood in his way, not moving aside, so he growled at his companion again, "I thought you would finally be useful, but I shouldn't have hoped. I shouldn't have trusted the mind mage!"

"No, you shouldn't! For the last time, surrender ..." the Captain remarked bitterly, trying to challenge the swordsman to yield, only to be interrupted again by Hal.

"What did you do, bitch! I'm sure [Lord's Call] worked to the fullest." Hal was angry, still not understanding why his skill didn't work as it should.

The Captain smiled, "Oh, yes, it worked, but only on those who didn't have that."

Hal, the swordsman, and I looked at the creeper-bound man Captain Rayden pointed to. Guardswoman just put a collar around his neck, leaving him bound on the ground.

"You put slave collars on everyone?" the swordsman asked in disbelief, which suddenly turned into disgust, "There were children ..."

"And you let him use them like cattle and send them here for slaughter." said the Captain, her voice raised. "Don't try to make me guilty, because I know very well what I did!! What you forced me to do, but if I didn't, there wouldn't be just one man running across the courtyard to us. It would be everyone you brought here. Therefore also children!"

It was obvious that the swordsman hated slavery more than mind control. Why didn't he have a problem using mind control on children, but he was bothered by collars when in essence, it was the same, I had no idea. He came to the same conclusion as me, though.

"We were in the palm of your hand all this time, weren't we?" The swordsman asked, even though he knew the answer.

However, the Captain shook her head, "You are giving me too much credit. I have some experience with mind mages, know their tricks, but I had no idea that the famous Zander Denholm, better known as Beast of the South and his gang, would honor us today with their visit. It makes me wonder how much is this orb and that girl valued for."

A memory orb appeared in her hand, but the swordsman ignored it and looked at me with regret in his eyes, but then he smirked, "I should have asked for more."

Then he looked at Hal, "The Orb was his fuck up, as well as what he did during the interrogation. That happens when you work with an amateur."

"Or with a mind mage," added Captain Rayden.

"Fuck you," Hal cursed, pissed at both of them. "How could I know that the City Guards Captain will actually be ..."

"Shut up, do you know what the punishment is for attacking imperial citizens with mind magic? For controlling their free will? Not to mention that you attacked City Guard Barracks in Castiana, meaning you attacked the imperial city, hence the Sahala Empire!" the Captain asked sharply. not waiting for his answer, she added. "That itself is punished by slavery or death. In your case as the mind mage, the latter!"

Hal looked at her, frowned as if to say something, but then to my surprise, he jumped to his foot, sending a burst of blackish mana at the guardsman to his left, and with another mana outburst, leaped into the air to cross the wall separating the barracks from the rest of Castiana. The guardsman was forced to take a few steps back by the mana burst, allowing Hal to jump in his direction without the man being able to stop him.

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