Koccus Ironworks sat on the outskirts of the capital in the western district, far from any crowds, with the nearest carriage rental station a good two miles away.
For the past twenty years, Koccus Ironworks had been a key spot for smelting pig iron, one of the capital's few industrial hubs.
But ever since the iron mines in the eastern Gode Basin started running dry, and the nobles kept their grip on sky-high trade and metal taxes, the Forging Craftsmen's Guild had shut down Koccus Ironworks and shifted operations closer to the ore sources.
The fires in the iron furnaces had gone out, the bellows had stopped pumping, and the once smoke-shrouded Koccus Ironworks now stood as just a handful of empty, rundown buildings.
The night was thick as ink, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The moon and stars huddled behind the clouds, not a sliver of light breaking through.
Two shadows, sleek as cats, crept up on Koccus Ironworks one after the other, hunkering down in the thorn bushes.
Barrett poked out half his head. The factory buildings, which should have been deserted and pitch-black, now flickered with faint lamplight, and the voices of several men carried on the wind.
On the single-story brick building, figures shifted about—mercenaries who had no business being there, patrolling the rooftop in every direction. From the outlines of the gear in their hands, Barrett could tell they were armed with crossbows and arcane crossbows. Any intruder who got too close would end up looking like a porcupine.
With time running short, Barrett hadn't managed to gather proper intel. He'd only snuck into an unguarded archive in the capital, turned the place upside down, and dug out a map of Koccus Ironworks.
Once they had the map, he and EeDechi had raced straight there without a break. But even then, it was already 9 p.m.—a full hour past the kidnappers' deadline of 8 p.m.!
Now all they could do was hope the kidnappers were the patient, merciful type, who wouldn't fly off the handle over being stood up and just kill Sean and Stella outright.
Over twenty years as an adventurer, Barrett had grown used to death. His companions came and went—one by one, some forced out by crippling injuries, others separated from him forever by the veil between life and death.
If a teammate fell, Barrett never grieved for long. Crying was for cowards; he'd just pick up his sword and avenge them.
Tonight's kidnapping was downright suspicious. Barrett couldn't figure out who their team, the Last Defender of the Way, had pissed off enough to send a squad of mercenaries after them.
With that kind of money and resources, kidnapping a noble's pampered daughter would be the real jackpot. Why bother with adventurers who scraped by on the edge of a blade, tasting blood just like them?
Could it be rival noble forces? Barrett's heart tightened.
A dark-haired head popped up beside him. EeDechi asked, "Got any plans?"
It was rare for EeDechi to seek his opinion. She was holding back, afraid of breaking something valuable—clearly, even the captain was out of her depth.
Barrett mulled over strategies, the map's layout burned firmly into his memory. Lighting up a non-glowing map while lurking near the enemy would be downright idiotic.
A speck of white light suddenly flared up beside him, nearly blinding Barrett's eyes! EeDechi pulled out a glowing crystal lantern and was on all fours with her butt sticking up, intently studying the map of the Koccus Ironworks.
Barrett snatched the lantern and snuffed it out. He was just about to chew out his reckless captain when a feathered arrow whooshed through the thorn bushes and thudded into the ground beside him.
Barrett grabbed EeDechi and rolled them aside. Their former spot bristled with iron arrows, gravel scattering from the impact of the arrowheads.
"Hmm... just a little slip-up..." EeDechi finally owned up to her mistake. "What do we do now?"
"I've got a solid plan." Barrett stared out at Koccus Ironworks, where lights danced in the brick buildings and voices kicked up a ruckus. "You hit them head-on from the front gate, I'll circle around for a backstab."
He finished speaking and didn't wait for EeDechi's response. Crouching low, he bounded through the thorn bushes in a few leaps, vanishing into the night like a drop of black ink blending into an inkwell.
...
Henry Ashford drew his bow, the griffon tendon string stretched taut as a rod, the ash wood longbow curved like a crescent moon. Runes on the bow's surface gleamed and flashed, brimming with destructive energy.
BANG! The enchanted adamantine long arrow rocketed out like a shooting star, tearing through the air with trails of fire and lightning. As predicted, the steel arrow struck the running black-clothed, black-haired girl square on—and then, no surprise, it bounced right off.
Henry gave a bitter laugh. Sure enough, the simpler the job briefing and the fatter the payout, the bigger the headaches!
He was part of the Tarrasque Mercenary Company, pulling bowstring duty for the coin.
Two days back, an old noble from the north, Odys Malcon Waverly, reached out to his crew with what sounded like easy work: set up an ambush in the kingdom capital's outskirts to cut down some intruders.
The employer had brushed it off casually, saying they just had to handle one girl and a mithril-level veteran adventurer.
What the fuck is this a girl? This is a roaring ancient wyrm!
The captain had kept a ton of details from them—like the girl being an orichalcum-level adventurer, or her being the freshly minted Warrior Captain... But even if you're the Warrior Captain, you shouldn't be this goddamn broken!
The black-haired girl boldly showed up at the main gate of Koccus Ironworks, charging straight into a storm of arrows. She wore no armor, held no shield, and had no magical barrier protecting her—just a giant sword slung across her back.
Enchanted arrows, adamantine arrows, fire arrows, ice arrows, armor-piercing arrows... countless shafts struck her body, like straw stalks jabbing a stone statue, all bouncing right off!
The black-haired girl kicked open the ironworks gate with one boot, and in the process, shattered the mental barriers of every member in the Tarrasque Mercenary Company.
She scooped up the arrows that had dropped to the ground and casually hurled them back; the archers went down one after another.
The brave warriors who charged in with blades swinging didn't even catch the girl's movements before getting slapped into the wall with a single sword strike.
The two high-level mages in the mercenary group chanted earth-shattering 4th Tier spells. After taking the rainbow barrage of curses, the girl raised her hand and hit them back with a 5th Tier spell: Earthquake.
Half the building blew apart in the collapse; one high-level mage died horribly on the spot, while the other hightailed it out of there in utter panic.
"Run! Get out! Change of plans, stop fighting, save yourselves!" The bearded captain yelled himself hoarse with the order.
Mercenaries aren't some undying loyal house guard; facing this total rout, they didn't need him to tell them to bolt.
The mercenary company had lost at least half its ranks by now; if they kept this up, the somewhat notorious Tarrasque Mercenary Company would fade into the dustbin of history.
Henry put away his bow, ready to make a quick getaway. He was still dozens of meters from the mad-dog black-haired girl, figuring he had time to slip away.
THUD! A heavy thump sounded from behind. Henry turned and saw "Crimson Scythe" Korran sprawled at his feet, eyes rolled back, out cold.
Henry moved to help Korran up, only to find his own feet leaving the ground.
The black-haired girl grabbed his leather armor, hoisting him into the air, and asked, "Young man, do you know where the two hostages are?"
I'm at least ten years older than you. Henry didn't dare voice that jab; he answered straight up, "Keep going straight in from here—the central building."
Then he felt himself soaring, light as a bird. Next, his body slammed into the steel furnace, stars bursting in his vision...