A piercing, heart-stabbing pain dragged Keevey from unconsciousness back to reality. She moaned, trying to touch her wound with her hand, only to find her arms completely immobile. Another wave of intense pain washed over her, and this time, she was fully awake. A fat face from her nightmares slowly came into focus before her eyes, so close she could see the pores on his nose.
Keevey screamed in terror, instinctively trying to leap up and flee, but her hands were bound behind her back. She lost her balance and crashed heavily onto the table again. A fresh jolt of agony from her hip nearly made her pass out once more.
"Don't be so scared, beauty. The night is still long," the fat face close to hers wore a toad-like expression.
Keevey calmed down slightly and assessed her situation. The room was large, illuminated brightly by a dozen candles on the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The furniture was still brand new, easily recognizable as made from cheap wood, yet gaudily decorated with gold; the owner's taste was evident. But Keevey was more concerned about herself. She quickly realized her hands were firmly tied behind her back, and she was lying prone on a large laboratory table.
The fat man held a small pair of pliers, clutching a blood-stained crossbow bolt. He examined it closely for a moment before tossing it aside. He then reached out and lightly lifted Keevey's chin. "Haha, you really are quite pretty. Not so fierce now, are you? Hit me? Or do you only respond to rough treatment? Such a beauty. My shot was truly well-placed; it seems I'm a natural archer."
The female warrior spat, trying to bite Rogue's hand viciously. Rogue swiftly pulled his hand back and grabbed her hair, yanking her head up forcefully. A pained expression crossed Keevey's face as her entire upper body was pulled upright, revealing her curves.
Rogue's hand felt like a cold, venomous snake slithering over Keevey's body. Held fast by her hair, her struggles were limited. Tears finally streamed uncontrollably from her tightly shut eyes. Keevey was half a head taller than Rogue. Her skirt armor and breastplate had already been removed by Rogue while she was unconscious. Her waist tapered dramatically, and her legs were long, straight, and athletic.
In the small building, the candle flames flickered to the rhythm of the female warrior's hoarse curses. The cheap laboratory table groaned under the weight of the two. Devils danced wildly in the fire, and wraiths shrieked hysterically.
Rogue trembled, waves of vengeful pleasure interweaving, causing every ounce of his fat to quiver. The darkest depths of his heart boiled, incessantly assaulting every nerve.
The early spring night remained bleak and cold. When the wind blew, the unopened spring flowers withered nonetheless.
The song ended and the guests departed.
Rogue hummed a smug little tune, looking at the captured white lamb. The aches in his body seemed to sing. Not long ago, this lamb had been a true lion. The only thing that displeased him was the look in Keevey's eyes. Utterly cold, devoid of misery, devoid of fury, not even empty—just a chilling stare fixed on the fat man. Rogue felt like a frog being watched by a snake; he disliked this feeling intensely. He added another rope to bind Keevey. She showed no reaction, as if it weren't her own body, still watching him calmly, snake-like.
Rogue left in a hurry, almost as if fleeing that murderous gaze. The best solution, of course, was to silence her permanently, but Rogue didn't quite have the guts for that yet. Besides, killing such a great beauty would be a true waste.
Fess and the others arrived at the small building eagerly. The interior looked as if a storm had passed through; things were smashed and scattered everywhere. Their hearts sank. Rushing to the second floor, they found the large laboratory table empty, the binding ropes severed into several pieces. Lance picked up the broken end of a rope, looked at it, and said, "This was broken by sheer force. My God! To snap such a thick rope… are you sure you were the one who captured her?" Rogue remembered the Battle Aura that had flashed around the female warrior and broke out in a cold sweat.
Fess, being the oldest and most experienced, was the first to calm down. "Don't panic yet, everyone. The other side doesn't know who we are for sure. But Rogue, it seems you can't stay in this building anymore." Everyone gradually settled down. Once the panic subsided, Lance's mind became active again. "They might come to burn the place down."
"In for a penny, in for a pound! There's no peaceful way out of this now. We have to strike first. Time is short, let's plan. We'll set a trap for them. If they dare come to burn the building, we'll make sure they regret it. I doubt these mercenaries can pull off anything too fancy." Franco, who usually spoke little, was sinister enough.
After discussing for a while, they erased any traces of their visit and quickly departed.
On the path, Rogue and several men dressed as nobles swaggered towards the small building, talking in low tones and laughing loudly along the way, clearly discussing topics common among men.
The group stopped in front of the small building. Suddenly, one of the men beside Rogue said, "Something's wrong. Someone's been inside. There's an ambush here." At that moment, with a loud crash, the door of the building exploded into fragments. A blade of light sliced through the air towards Rogue. Before the sword even arrived, its killing intent had already enveloped Rogue's entire body. The fat man felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss, watching the greatsword's edge approach but unable to move.
Two long swords suddenly extended from either side, intercepting the greatsword. The greatsword borrowed the force, bounced back lightly, and suddenly became incredibly agile, slashing and stabbing towards Rogue with unparalleled speed. The two long swords wove an impenetrable net of steel, blocking all the attacks; clearly, their wielders were no amateurs either.
The storm of attacks passed, the sword light dissipated. Keevey was breathing heavily, her sword pointed at Rogue. Her face was pale, she wore a simple set of leather armor, her eyes were bloodshot, and faint bruises were still visible on her neck.
Three more figures rushed out from the building. The men accompanying Rogue moved to engage them, and a fight broke out. They were unmistakably the three warriors from the bar that day. Only the mage was still missing.
Not far away, a loud shout rang out: "How dare you rebels attack the City Defense Force in the royal capital!?" With the clang of armor, a squad of well-armored swordsmen, led by a heavily armored knight, charged over and quickly surrounded the small building. The men fighting Keevey and her companions tore off their robes, revealing the soft armor bearing the insignia of the City Defense Force underneath. Rogue quickly retreated to the side. Fess and the others walked over as well, smirking coldly at the female warrior.
The heavily armored knight said nothing, pointing his lance forward. The soldiers swarmed in, their swords aiming for lethal strikes. Knowing they had fallen into a trap, the mercenaries called out to each other, made a concerted push outwards, then immediately turned and retreated into the building, creating distance from the soldiers. From the second floor of the building, whoosh! A bowl-sized fireball flew down and exploded among the swordsmen. The heat wave mercilessly scorched the exposed skin of the soldiers. Immediately after, a second fireball descended. Several already severely wounded soldiers instantly became human torches, screaming as they fell.
The figure of the mercenary mage appeared at the second-floor window. Bitterly cold freezing air, accompanied by countless ice shards, emanated from between his hands. Several soldiers who failed to dodge in time were instantly frozen solid. The freezing air swept over them, and those with slightly weaker physical strength shattered into pieces with a crack. The tight encirclement formation immediately developed a gap. Seizing the opportunity, Keevey and the others immediately charged through the breach. A tall warrior threw a rope towards the window backwards; it wrapped around the mage a few times. The mage leaped from the window. The warrior pulled hard, and it seemed the mage would float gracefully through the air to break out of the encirclement.
The heavily armored knight roared, a deep blue light flashing across his body. His lance flew out like a meteor, piercing through the mage's chest and nailing him firmly to the wall.
Keevey let out a grief-stricken cry, turning around ready to fight to the death. One of the warriors beside her held her back desperately, slung her over his shoulder, and quickly fled. The other warrior chanted a brief activation spell, threw out a scroll, and suddenly numerous vines sprouted from the ground, their branches madly whipping through the air, tightly entangling anything they touched. Several swordsmen who had pursued too quickly were immediately caught fast. The mercenaries used this opportunity to disappear into the slums.
Rogue gazed wistfully in the direction where the female warrior had vanished, knowing she would never let this matter rest.
The heavily armored knight looked at his heavily wounded and deceased subordinates and snorted coldly. Lance walked over and asked the knight in a low voice, "Father, what do we do now?" The knight was silent for a long time, then sighed. "Your troubles are just beginning. Hah, mercenaries." He summoned a swordsman, gave him quiet instructions, and the soldier left to carry out his orders. The knight glanced at Lance and the others again and barked, "You lot think you can learn to throw your weight around?! Train your skills properly first!" With that, he rode off, leaving a cloud of dust.
Not long after, small squads of knights rode up to the various city gates of Lyon, posting a notice on the bulletin boards:
**WANTED: Sword and Blood Rose Mercenary Group.**
**This mercenary group plotted rebellion in the royal capital. After their plot failed, they killed and wounded numerous members of the City Defense Force. Currently, the group leader's sister, Keevey, and three key members are at large. Thirty ordinary mercenaries of the group are also fugitives.**
**Reward: 500 gold coins for the capture or death of each key member. 30 gold coins for the capture or death of each ordinary mercenary. Half reward for information leading to capture.**