Claire was the first to notice Jasmine sprinting across the battlefield, her experience with her former teacher helping to keep track of the assassin's movements. For the first time since the battle started, Claire pressed forward. The hole in the wall was left unattended as she raced to intercept.
In between the two was an ever-growing crowd of traffickers. Some joined the fight, while others raced towards the exits. Claire had already cut down several women trying to escape through the hole, but she now needed to protect Jasmine.
She slammed into an approaching combatant with her defensive strike, then shoved the woman to the ground. She didn't have time to stop and fight, her main priority was quickly approaching.
Jasmine spotted Claire as a wave of relief washed over her. She had to stop since her path was blocked by Ursa and the woman that were trying to contain her. Jasmine studied the battlefield for a moment, still in the shadow of the stronghold. She knew the moment she stepped into the sun that archer would find her.
She took a deep breath and shifted the goblin woman into more of a prince carry. She could probably take an arrow or two, but Firewater's wife couldn't. She let the woman get comfortable, silencing her groans of pain.
"Told you," the woman muttered. "Should have left me behind."
Jasmine was biting her lip, scanning for any route she could take. Ursa had her hands full entirely, and Claire was slowly making progress towards her.
"Shut up," Jasmine said sharply. "Doing this so your husband can fight without worry."
The goblin woman studied Jasmine closely, letting out a huff. She didn't argue further. She understood why Firewater had never attacked this place, even when he had the strength.
Jasmine glanced at the hole in the wall. Women were still attempting to leave through there, only to be bombarded with Elsie's spells. A series of fire, ice, and lightning rained down to keep the traffickers at bay.
Still no sign of Astrid.
"She's not here." Jasmine muttered. She steadied her breathing, finally finding an opening. Astrid could wait for now. She tightened her grip and raced forward, hoping her speed would save her.
Jasmine was right. Terra noticed her the moment she stepped out of the shadows. Panic flickered across the archer's face when she realized who Jasmine carried. Their insurance was about to vanish. If that goblin escaped, Firewater would unleash his monsters.
Terra felt the sweat drip down her still nude body as a shiver went down her spine. She knocked her bow and released a volley of arrows at the sprinting woman. All of them missed their marks.
This was no time to panic.
She steadied her breathing. Her heart rate slowed as she tracked the racing assassin. She knocked one arrow and slowly exhaled her breath.
The tip of the arrow glowed green as she readied her skill. It was easier for her to hit with this, but it lost quite a bit of damage. Didn't matter, she needed to slow the woman down.
Halfway through her exhale, she released the arrow. The arrow flew in a streak of magic, embedding itself deep in Jasmine's left shoulder. The assassin tumbled, losing her grip on the goblin woman.
Claire watched in horror. She pushed past the women between her and Jasmine, only to be intercepted by two traffickers. One woman swung wildly at her, the other attempted to flee.
Claire didn't hesitate. She slashed at the second woman while batting the first's sword away. The first woman lost her balance, allowing Claire to easily stab the woman. Claire did so quickly and coldly.
She shoved the body to the side and pressed forward. Thankfully, Jasmine had already moved. She was shielding the goblin woman with her body, the arrow narrowly missing her joint.
Claire slid to her side, covering them with both her shield and body. She felt arrows bounce off her armor, a few landing in the leather. None of them penetrated deep enough to hurt her.
"Jaz!" Claire cried. "Are you okay?"
Jasmine took a labored breath, suppressing her urge to scream. She nodded and inspected the goblin woman beneath her. "Fine. Are you okay?"
"Ow," the woman groaned, but she nodded weakly.
Jasmine exhaled and reached for the arrow in her shoulder. Claire didn't react fast enough to stop her. Jasmine yanked it free without flinching then moved to get up.
"Wait! Let m-"
"No," Jasmine said sternly. "You're needed to fight. Trail me until we make it to the wall, then return."
Claire wanted to argue, but Jasmine's tone was ice cold. Determination was in her eyes. Claire felt an arrow impact her armor, this one hitting harder.
"Fine." Claire said, raising her shield with Jasmine. "But get to Ana, and don't rejoin until you're healed."
Ursa moved in front of the three, putting her body between them and the traffickers. Her rational thought returned as she paced around them, scaring the panicked combatants while Claire watched the archer.
She blocked a volley of arrows that attempted to hit Jasmine, her shield now littered with arrows. It glowed with magical power, returning some of the damage back upon the archer.
Claire smirked, confirming its magic worked with long-range attacks.
The barrage of arrows paused as Jasmine struggled to her feet. Claire helped her balance the goblin woman in her arms.
"Oh shit, they have her!" a trafficker cried in panic.
"Fuck!" One brave trafficker cried out. "Get her."
The woman stepped forward to charge, but was met by Ursa's axe. The woman's body crumpled against the strike, nearly being cleaved in two. The panic in her eyes solidified in her death as her body flew to the side.
Claire watched the fear settle in their eyes as Jasmine took off. She raced behind Jasmine, hearing a stampede of feet as the mob gave chase.
Ursa moved to intercept. She wasn't enough to keep the whole group away, too many slipped past her. She could slow the majority of them down, but quite a few slipped past her.
Her rational thought finally gave out as she focused on the group in front of her, leaving Claire to deal with the stragglers. Jasmine was halfway to the wall now as the arrows began to rain down again. The assassin moved erratically, doing her best to be unpredictable as she tried to dodge the attacks.
Claire bashed the fastest trafficker with her shield, causing the woman to crash to the ground. She tumbled to the side as four more raced towards Jasmine. Claire moved to intercept them again, but one stopped to meet her.
Claire blocked the dagger thrown her way as the woman readied her sword. Claire grit her teeth and readied her defensive strike, meeting the woman's swing head-on. Claire smashed the woman's arm to the side, leaving her open for an attack.
Claire didn't hesitate to silence her screams.
With deadly precision and speed, she sliced at the woman's throat, covering herself in blood. She kicked the woman's struggling body to the ground and pressed forward, a chilling coldness in her chest.
Jasmine abandoned the crazy weave, sprinting straight towards the hole. Her body was bathed in ethereal light as Ana was finally within range.
A new problem emerged as the previously fleeing traffickers spotted Jasmine. She was now boxed in between two groups of women, one chasing her down from behind and the other blocking her escape.
Jasmine pressed forward, feeling an arrow graze her right arm. She had to make it out of the fortress with Firewater's wife. It was her only goal at the moment.
Jasmine watched as an icewall erupted from the ground, freezing one unlucky woman. Before Jasmine could even question the placement, a firewall emerged parallel to it.
Elsie's magic carved a path forward for Jasmine, leaving only one woman between Jasmine and the wall.