All of them jumped throught the window at once. Not waiting for even a second, they spilt up and went straight for their respective targets.
Baoba went upstairs to find the "regular" family that lived here. There was no doubt that they were Rings as well, but it was just as evident they would not be prepared for combat. Their job was to be as normal as possible.
That included not being trained too much and sleeping well.
He threw the door to their bedroom wide open. Inside, a single double bed with an empty crib. The child was big enough and slept peacefully with his parents. Chances were he did not realise yet what he was a part of.
Baoba pulled out a hammer from his belt. He stealthily got close to the bed and its unsuspecting occupants...
Then he lightly tapped them on their forehead with it.
When the hammer's strangely sculpted metal made contact, they stirred for a moment, then went into even deeper sleep.
A weapon that could incapacitate without killing had also been a priority.
As soon as he was done, he stopped being careful and sprinted downstairs.
Twenty seconds ago.
Not waiting for even a second, they spilt up and went straight for their respective targets.
Urtica and the rest almost jumped downstairs, landing soft enough to not be heard in the streets, but too loud to be discrete in the house.
So, they were heard by a hidden guard. Or at least, he would be hidden if Pando wasn't here. Now, not only did they know he was here, they had also planned who would take him beforehand.
Without losing any time, Urtica pulled out a new silver rapier and stabbed at the guard. The latter tried to defend as much as he could, but he had been caught off guard. The flexible blade went straight through a layer of chainmail before stabbing the wearer.
He winced, then blinked. He had expected it to hurt much more.
The guard quickly pushed Urtica back. He, unlike the family, had been thoroughly trained.
And equipped.
As he swung a regular looking sword, the length suddenly extended by several centimeters, just barely knicking the concealed elf's flesh.
The guard went back to his guard with a grin. He had the advantage of items in this fight.
Or so he thought.
As the battle continued, he began to notice that the areas where the rapier penetrated were becomeing less and less sensitive. With each stab, the zones of numbness became bigger and bigger, even merging together to grow even faster.
The guard's core strength now compromised, he swung wide and off enough for even the sudden increase in range to be inconsequential. Urtica did not waste the opportunity and stepped forward rapidly with a quick stab to the leg.
More and more incidents like this happened, the flow of the battle was clear.
Urtica's gloved hands were steady.
He was not using his blessing. He wasn't ready to use it on humans, even enemies. However, they had found this rapier a while back. It could paralyse a target all on its own, but the best thing was to use it against beasts and combine the effect with poison.... The two amplified and beneffited each other, Urtica was thrilled, it felt like this weapon was made for him.
This battle, thanks to it, was in the bag. In just 30 more seconds, the guard would not even be able to walk.
But, just when that thought crossed his mind, a wild, unrecognisable, barely humanoid shape flew in and bonked the guy on the head with a strange hammer. The guard immediately fell asleep.
Baoba had to admit, this time had been less gentle.
"...Is he going to be okay ?"
"We don't have time for that." The captain stopped as he started running again.
"Right, right..." Urtica sheathed his weapon and followed.
Twenty seconds ago.
Not only did they know he was there, they had also planned who would take him beforehand.
And so, Venus and the rest sped past the guard, not wasting a single second.
The actual vault was in the hidden basement. Thankfully, thanks to the ultimate scout, they knew exactly where it was and how to get there.
Right, left, break into that room... Nothing could stop them.
Until two guards came out and stopped them.
They could not spare the time. Following the plan, Venus jumped on them and swung without hesitation.
Caught slightly off guard, one of them got hit in his leg. The blade cut right through a layer of leather armor and the chainmail underneath thank you its kinetic energy and the special nature of it. This blade wasn't normal either, it was noticeably sharper than it should be.
As far as artefacts went, this was one of the more basic ones. Enhanced sharpness was the most common enchantment. But it didn't matter. It was incredibly effective.
Thanks to it, one of two was already sort of out of the fight.
The other guard was prepared, she dodged the swing narrowly and retaliated with a precise thrust her weapon. Venus could only block and back away for now.
But she was tougher than that. She immediately stepped in the danger zone again, eyes wide open behind the mysterious disguise, and a pair of glasses.
A pair of glasses that showed her a crucial detail. A flaw in the fabrication of her opponent's blade.
She attacked wildly, constantly clashing swords, specifically hitting the weak part of the guard's weapon with the strongest part of hers.
Every once in a while, the wounded guard would make an attempt at an attack, but he could put almost no weight on his right leg. Coupled with his apparent inexpirience and his fear of recieving another blow, his moves were rarely threats.
Clang, clang, clang.
The more Venus hit, the more glaring the flaw became in her eyes. Eventually, a crack visible to the naked eye appeared.
The guard started panicking after seeing this, her attacks became less threatening as she walked backwards, stalling for a solution.
She did not get that chance.
Venus, grasping an opportunity, took one hand off her sword and, using her whole body as a coil, hammered down towards her enemy with terrifying force. She could only block it.
And the poor sword shattered in a thousand glittering shards.
Now devoid of a weapon, she was quickly beat down. Or rather, she would have been, if Baoba had not jumped in from behind and hit her in the head with his hammer. He turned immediately after and chased down the other limping guard, who was practically drowning in his own tears by now.
If he wasn't so focused, Baoba could have emphasized with him. After all, from his perspective, he was working a normal shift until three dark, blurry figures ran at him and viciously attacked. Even some nightmares were better than this.
He would get to compare the two shortly.
Bam.
After sending the two to their sweet dreams, Baoba allowed himself three seconds of catching his breath.
Urtica refused that chance, as he instead looked around and said : "Yeah, you're not getting any nicer with those hits."
"I said we don't have time." He turned heels and ran again, his two elves behind him.
Twenty five seconds ago.
They could not spare the time. Following the plan, Venus jumped on them and swung without hesitation.
Thanks to her quick response, Capcsium could keep following and protecting Pando on her way to the safe.
Another right, a secret entrance, a left, stairs...
They soon arrived in the room.
It was an old stone basement, humid, infested, dirty, the whole package. The room was five meters wide and about three deep, in the center of the far wall, a big iron door with a circular handle stood out.
And to the right and left of it, two last guards stood up.
These looked better than the others. They had full body armor, as well as a decorated longsword on the right, and a spiked flail on the left.
It wasn't a surprise. Nothing ever was, to this party. They were prepared.
Pando stepped forward, wielding a metal bat, while Capcsium took a step back and readied a slingshot.
These guards were ready. They had heard the commotion upstairs and perhaps even had a way of getting warned before that. Regardless, they were charging.
Pando took an instant to understand their position. Their momentum, position, center of gravity, which muscles were the most worked, where were the scars... She could sense all of those. The next move was clear. The next instant in this frozen painting was all but determined.
She imagined a clear picture of her next moves, disregarding her lack of strength. Then, she channeled that image into her bracelets.
In exchange, the bracelets gave her the strength she needed.
Pando advanced her left foot four centimetres and planted it hard. She raised both her arms, grasping the bat, and twisted her body. Her right foot pivoted to the right, solidifying her pose. She sucked in a short breath, and waited for 0.24 seconds.
When the time was just right, her while body erupted with strength, and she swung hard hitting one guard square on the chest. The plates bent, and the already heavy man plus all his equipment and armor got sent flying back into the far wall.
The other, although surprised and honestly spooked by the fate of his colleague, was still a professional. His attack had already begun, and he knew that no matter how powerful Pando was, she was in no position to get back on guard for now. He decided in a spilt second to go through with his attempt, to defend not only the treasure but also his own life !
His did see Capcsium with her slingshot in the back, but he paid almost no attention to her. He didn't need to. Full body armor was nothing to scoff at ! Even without the strudy shell, the added weight alone made one harder to move and defend against. A slingshot was of no-
Suddenly, the very moment after Capcsium let go of her loaded projectile, it somehow already landed on the guard's helmet with absurd speed.
And, as it turned out, the projectile was metallic as well.
The impact of the pellet was enough to make him stagger back, destroying his posture.
Thanks to his experience, however, the guard was quick enough to identify the real threat.
He suddenly jumped back, dodging another devastating bat swing by a hair's breadth.
But Pando has expected that, too.
She used the momentum from her swing to leap forwards, bringing down her weapon hard enough to crack the ground.
She then used the kickback from hitting the ground into an upwards swing, timed perfectly.
And when the guard dodged that, too, she chained the same move into a full spin hit. This one connected.
And then the expirenced guard shared the same fate as his companion.
With both of them imbedded into the wall that quickly, Capcsium did a little jump to celebrate, while Pando did not waste any time and got started on the vault door immediately.
When Baoba finally came down, the safe was already open.