Dusk crept over the swamp as the light began to fail.
The air grew cold and heavy as Sam and I rested in silence, muscles tight despite the stillness. Ron remained on watch, while Maria and Paul conserved their strength nearby.
When Niles returned from scouting, he moved without sound and crouched beside us.
"There are guards," he whispered. "They rotate signals using small horns—front, left, and right. The rear is exposed. The terrain makes it difficult to approach, so they've neglected it."
That was enough.
Ron gave his orders in a low voice.
"Niles. Front approach. Use the trees."
He turned to us.
"Maria, Paul, and Raven—left side. Stay concealed."
Then to Sam.
"You're with me. Right side. Create pressure and confusion."
We waited for the swamp to fall completely silent.
When the moon rose halfway into the sky and the stars burned clear overhead, we moved.
The horn sounded.
Shift change.
Niles fired.
The sound never came.
A body collapsed inside the front watchtower before the horn could be raised again.
At the same moment, I loosed an arrow toward the left watchtower. The guard fell backward, vanishing from sight.
Maria began chanting.
Controlled.
Measured.
She raised her wand.
Above the colony, a faint magic circle formed—and for a few heartbeats, fire fell like rain. Small flames, scattered and deliberate, ignited wooden fencing and nearby structures.
Then she stopped.
The fire changed everything.
The moment the fence caught, a horn blasted through the colony—long and urgent. Lizardmen scattered immediately, abandoning formation as they rushed to contain the flames.
Shouts overlapped. Water splashed. Chaos spread.
At first, I saw no mages.
No knight.
I remained in the trees, bow drawn, observing.
Pairs of lizardmen moved toward the fire carrying buckets and crude tools. Others barked orders, trying to impose control.
Then I saw it.
Near the burning fence, a lizardman began chanting—water mana gathering around his hands as he tried to suppress the flames.
I didn't hesitate.
An arrow punched through his eye.
He dropped without a sound.
Niles' shot.
For several breaths, no one noticed.
I continued thinning the edges—isolated targets only. One arrow. One kill. Reposition. No risks. No heroics.
I avoided groups.
Then the roar came.
Loud.
Commanding.
It cut through the confusion like a blade.
I froze.
From deeper within the colony, a massive figure emerged.
The knight.
He held the fallen mage's body, the arrow still lodged in its eye.
He shouted—sharp, furious.
Instantly, the lizardmen reformed. Pairs tightened into trios. Movements slowed, disciplined. They began covering blind spots, watching angles.
Order returned.
I shifted position in the tree, scanning the battlefield.
That was when I caught sight of another figure farther back.
Surrounded.
Lizardmen with shields had formed a tight ring around it—no gaps, no openings. No visible magic barrier. Just bodies and discipline.
I couldn't see Ron or Sam anymore.
They had been there earlier—I was sure of it—but now they were gone. I could only assume they had withdrawn safely.
I glanced down.
Maria was already looking up at me.
She raised her hand briefly and gave a sharp, practiced signal.
Ready.
I drew the special arrow Niles had given me earlier—the whistle arrow—and nocked it.
One breath.
Then I fired it straight into the sky.
The whistle sliced through the night—high, sharp, unmistakable.
Large-scale attack incoming.
The moment the sound faded, I dropped from the tree.
I motioned for her and Paul to move. We retreated deeper into the swamp, putting distance between us and the colony's edge.
Only after reaching thicker cover did Maria stop.
She planted her staff and began chanting.
Mana gathered—slow, heavy, unmistakable.
I stepped forward, sword drawn, placing myself between her and the darkness.
I didn't know where Ron and Sam were—or what the knight would do next.
All I knew—
Was the sound of movement.
Water splashing.
Footsteps approaching.
More than one.
The chanting behind me continued.
Whatever was coming—
I would meet it first.