23 The Right Momen
The three Ravens searched through the guards, trying to spot the Holy Knights. They soon found them in the middle of the pack, in similar attire to what they had yesterday. They weren't too worried that they would be seen since they were inside a shop and the Holy Knights were wholly concentrated on their mission. As they made their way to the restaurant, the Holy Knights dispatched a few guards to enter the shops along the way.
When a guard entered the shop they were in, they heard for what purpose. As soon as he came, the guard yelled "There is an operation underway, under the authority of the Holy Knights. Anyone that steps out of this place while this operation is still underway might expose themselves to severe charge by the city guard. To ensure your safety, you should all move to the back. Once this is over, someone will come and tell you. If there is any physical damage to the shop, tell that other guard, and he will place an official reimbursement request for you. Remember! Don't step outside under any circumstances."
After giving his warning, the guard left the shop as soon as he came. The few patrons inside the luxury women's clothes boutique left the articles they were looking at and hurried to the back, behind the register while loudly worrying about what was going on. The three Ravens didn't bother with the civilians' worries and stayed at the front to observe the Order's movement. A few patrons tried to convince them to come to the back with them, but they watched the guards with rapt attention.
There were about twenty-five operatives, all augmented to various degrees, inside the safe house. They were vastly outnumbered, especially considering the guards could still get reinforcements, but they still had the advantage. Since they had advance notice of the attack, they were able to barricade themselves inside. There were also only a limited number of guards who could attack at the same time since space inside was limited.
Amon watched the composition of the guards' men closely and noticed that a few of them were different from the rest. It was an awkward feeling to explain, but it seemed like they were more confident, almost as if they were moving forward with more grit. They were most likely the men that the Holy Knights had brought with them from Cairo.
The Holy Knights had augmented as many guards as they could, but they did not forget to mix their men with the former to enhance the strength of their formation. With experienced soldiers among them, it was more likely that the guards would see their morale boosted and would perform better. This was not much of a worry to the Ravens as they did not intend to fight the entire guard, but it would mean that they could not entangle with the Holy Knights for too long.
The city guard positioned itself outside the restaurant which had its door closed. Seeing this, the Stormbringer knew that the operatives inside were somehow alerted to their presence. With a quick hand signal, he ordered his men to destroy the front door. Two especially burly men stepped out of rank and approached the seemingly thin wooden door.
They nodded to one another and ran towards it, presenting their shoulder and bracing for impact. Without any surprises, the two men blasted through the door with minimal effort and passed went straight through. The inside was pitch black, and the guards couldn't see what was going on inside.
Stormbringer didn't give to order to invade the restaurant as he waited for his two men to exit the building, but it became clear after a few seconds that something went wrong. If their enemies knew that they were coming, it was likely that they had set up an ambush inside. Stormbringer thought that they would be holed up in the basement and didn't expect them to be on the first floor, so he sent his men to break down the door directly.
With the small opening created by the absence of a door, there were only two guards could enter at the same time and that wasn't all that good for them as it meant that without charging in, they would just get picked out two at a time.
Faced with either the dangers of the unknown or the slow death of his troops, Stormbringer chose to barge straight into the restaurant. He selected thirty of his men to lead the first charge inside, and the others would follow as they saw fit. Stormbringer knew that once his men were used to the darkness inside, they would be able to fight, so the first few moments would be a real test of their instinct as fighters, and their ability to hold a defensive formation.
With Stormbringer's order, the men he selected rushed inside the building. Even from where they stood, the three Ravens could hear the sound of metal hitting metal and the screams of the wounded. The fight had begun, but it wasn't the right moment for them to rush out. At this early point, the Holy Knights still hadn't thrown everything into battle and were still testing the waters.
The fight was likely to last a long time, and the Holy Knights wanted to keep some of their cards hidden to respond to unforeseen events. Even though there would only be about a hundred men fighting in this battle, the mere fact that they were all augmented meant that this battle would be quite intense. On average, an augmented soldier was worth about fifty to a hundred soldiers on the battlefield. That made the magnitude of this battle quite big, despite the low numbers.
After about fifteen minutes, Stormbringer signalled to another group of guards to enter the restaurant. At this point, the sound of battle coming from inside had only reduced slightly, and it was very much evident that if things were to continue at this rate, nothing would be resolved. Since they were able to prepare for the attack, the operatives from the Ravens managed to inflict some severe damage on the guards.
From the thirty men who first entered, about a third had already fallen to the blades of the operatives. Five of those were instantly killed when they entered the building and were robbed of their vision by the sudden darkness. They couldn't defend themselves in time, and their blood now stained the hardwood floor. The surviving guards all had various degrees of injuries and were now standing in a close-knit formation that did not allow for much swinging of their blade but made defending that much easier.
The operatives from the Ravens only had a few light injuries as they had been in control of the fight from the beginning. They knew they had to make a strong push right from the start if they wanted a chance at life. Conserving their strength would only mean that they would allow the Order to overrun them and once that happened, there would be no coming back for them.
The tides started to turn when the operatives saw the second group of guards coming in. There were now nearly fifty guards inside, and they would get overwhelmed quickly if they didn't employ some drastic measures. They still had a few seconds until the new batch of guards adjusted their eyesight, and the operatives chose to exploit that fact fully. Without caring about the twenty men already present, they rushed in the middle of the newly-arrived men.
The Ravens didn't even try to injure or kill these guards and quietly slid under their defence and arrived in the middle of their formation. Once the operatives came inside the formation, they withdrew their swords and pulled out knives. They then started stabbing wantonly through the ranks of the guards. In their panic, the guards immediately slashed in the direction that seemed to match the wound they had received.
With their ranks being so tight, the guards' blind attacks only managed to further the total of injuries they received. Only a few operatives were hurt before they left the formation and regrouped. During that whole ordeal, there was nothing the other guards could do as any reckless action might prove fatal to their newly arrived comrades.
With nearly eighty men present, the restaurant was quite crowded, and the Ravens' operatives were forced into a corner. They once again readied their retractable swords and faced the guards.
Outside, Amon was observing how the situation was evolving. Even though he couldn't see inside the restaurant, the way, the guards manoeuvered told him everything he knew. By now, the third group of guards was preparing to go inside. When they did, Amon was quite sure that everything would be over for the men inside. Even if it was cramped and only a few could fight at a time, the Order's men could still establish a rotation of soldiers to prevent them from getting exhausted, but the Ravens' men would be forced to fight to the bitter end.
Drawing a deep breath, Amon whispered to the other two, "Prepare yourselves, we're moving out soon. Remember, don't even try to fight the guards and aim solely for the Holy Knights. Stormbringer is our primary target, but they're all a target. Ven, if you can, I want you to make us a path to the Holy Knights using your gust augmentation."
The two Ravens nodded their head, and Ven closed her eyes, focused on feeling her augmentation and started charging up her power. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and nodded to Amon, who smiled wickedly. "Let's stain the Order's pristine city red." With those words, Amon exited the small boutique, followed by Bel and Ven.
When a guard entered the shop they were in, they heard for what purpose. As soon as he came, the guard yelled "There is an operation underway, under the authority of the Holy Knights. Anyone that steps out of this place while this operation is still underway might expose themselves to severe charge by the city guard. To ensure your safety, you should all move to the back. Once this is over, someone will come and tell you. If there is any physical damage to the shop, tell that other guard, and he will place an official reimbursement request for you. Remember! Don't step outside under any circumstances."
After giving his warning, the guard left the shop as soon as he came. The few patrons inside the luxury women's clothes boutique left the articles they were looking at and hurried to the back, behind the register while loudly worrying about what was going on. The three Ravens didn't bother with the civilians' worries and stayed at the front to observe the Order's movement. A few patrons tried to convince them to come to the back with them, but they watched the guards with rapt attention.
There were about twenty-five operatives, all augmented to various degrees, inside the safe house. They were vastly outnumbered, especially considering the guards could still get reinforcements, but they still had the advantage. Since they had advance notice of the attack, they were able to barricade themselves inside. There were also only a limited number of guards who could attack at the same time since space inside was limited.
Amon watched the composition of the guards' men closely and noticed that a few of them were different from the rest. It was an awkward feeling to explain, but it seemed like they were more confident, almost as if they were moving forward with more grit. They were most likely the men that the Holy Knights had brought with them from Cairo.
The Holy Knights had augmented as many guards as they could, but they did not forget to mix their men with the former to enhance the strength of their formation. With experienced soldiers among them, it was more likely that the guards would see their morale boosted and would perform better. This was not much of a worry to the Ravens as they did not intend to fight the entire guard, but it would mean that they could not entangle with the Holy Knights for too long.
The city guard positioned itself outside the restaurant which had its door closed. Seeing this, the Stormbringer knew that the operatives inside were somehow alerted to their presence. With a quick hand signal, he ordered his men to destroy the front door. Two especially burly men stepped out of rank and approached the seemingly thin wooden door.
They nodded to one another and ran towards it, presenting their shoulder and bracing for impact. Without any surprises, the two men blasted through the door with minimal effort and passed went straight through. The inside was pitch black, and the guards couldn't see what was going on inside.
Stormbringer didn't give to order to invade the restaurant as he waited for his two men to exit the building, but it became clear after a few seconds that something went wrong. If their enemies knew that they were coming, it was likely that they had set up an ambush inside. Stormbringer thought that they would be holed up in the basement and didn't expect them to be on the first floor, so he sent his men to break down the door directly.
With the small opening created by the absence of a door, there were only two guards could enter at the same time and that wasn't all that good for them as it meant that without charging in, they would just get picked out two at a time.
Faced with either the dangers of the unknown or the slow death of his troops, Stormbringer chose to barge straight into the restaurant. He selected thirty of his men to lead the first charge inside, and the others would follow as they saw fit. Stormbringer knew that once his men were used to the darkness inside, they would be able to fight, so the first few moments would be a real test of their instinct as fighters, and their ability to hold a defensive formation.
With Stormbringer's order, the men he selected rushed inside the building. Even from where they stood, the three Ravens could hear the sound of metal hitting metal and the screams of the wounded. The fight had begun, but it wasn't the right moment for them to rush out. At this early point, the Holy Knights still hadn't thrown everything into battle and were still testing the waters.
The fight was likely to last a long time, and the Holy Knights wanted to keep some of their cards hidden to respond to unforeseen events. Even though there would only be about a hundred men fighting in this battle, the mere fact that they were all augmented meant that this battle would be quite intense. On average, an augmented soldier was worth about fifty to a hundred soldiers on the battlefield. That made the magnitude of this battle quite big, despite the low numbers.
After about fifteen minutes, Stormbringer signalled to another group of guards to enter the restaurant. At this point, the sound of battle coming from inside had only reduced slightly, and it was very much evident that if things were to continue at this rate, nothing would be resolved. Since they were able to prepare for the attack, the operatives from the Ravens managed to inflict some severe damage on the guards.
From the thirty men who first entered, about a third had already fallen to the blades of the operatives. Five of those were instantly killed when they entered the building and were robbed of their vision by the sudden darkness. They couldn't defend themselves in time, and their blood now stained the hardwood floor. The surviving guards all had various degrees of injuries and were now standing in a close-knit formation that did not allow for much swinging of their blade but made defending that much easier.
The operatives from the Ravens only had a few light injuries as they had been in control of the fight from the beginning. They knew they had to make a strong push right from the start if they wanted a chance at life. Conserving their strength would only mean that they would allow the Order to overrun them and once that happened, there would be no coming back for them.
The tides started to turn when the operatives saw the second group of guards coming in. There were now nearly fifty guards inside, and they would get overwhelmed quickly if they didn't employ some drastic measures. They still had a few seconds until the new batch of guards adjusted their eyesight, and the operatives chose to exploit that fact fully. Without caring about the twenty men already present, they rushed in the middle of the newly-arrived men.
The Ravens didn't even try to injure or kill these guards and quietly slid under their defence and arrived in the middle of their formation. Once the operatives came inside the formation, they withdrew their swords and pulled out knives. They then started stabbing wantonly through the ranks of the guards. In their panic, the guards immediately slashed in the direction that seemed to match the wound they had received.
With their ranks being so tight, the guards' blind attacks only managed to further the total of injuries they received. Only a few operatives were hurt before they left the formation and regrouped. During that whole ordeal, there was nothing the other guards could do as any reckless action might prove fatal to their newly arrived comrades.
With nearly eighty men present, the restaurant was quite crowded, and the Ravens' operatives were forced into a corner. They once again readied their retractable swords and faced the guards.
Outside, Amon was observing how the situation was evolving. Even though he couldn't see inside the restaurant, the way, the guards manoeuvered told him everything he knew. By now, the third group of guards was preparing to go inside. When they did, Amon was quite sure that everything would be over for the men inside. Even if it was cramped and only a few could fight at a time, the Order's men could still establish a rotation of soldiers to prevent them from getting exhausted, but the Ravens' men would be forced to fight to the bitter end.
Drawing a deep breath, Amon whispered to the other two, "Prepare yourselves, we're moving out soon. Remember, don't even try to fight the guards and aim solely for the Holy Knights. Stormbringer is our primary target, but they're all a target. Ven, if you can, I want you to make us a path to the Holy Knights using your gust augmentation."
The two Ravens nodded their head, and Ven closed her eyes, focused on feeling her augmentation and started charging up her power. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and nodded to Amon, who smiled wickedly. "Let's stain the Order's pristine city red." With those words, Amon exited the small boutique, followed by Bel and Ven.
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