It’s not sure if this could be called a crime or a siege, but whatever it was a bust. It had been progressing for nearly an hour. People are beginning to leave and get to work for the morning. In one particular neighborhood, one that resides very close to the temple, they have either been awoken earlier in the day because of noise that would match a war just outside their windows or have slept through all the noise. In either case, those residing in the neighborhood have peeked out their doors or windows to see carnage and mayhem in the streets as well as fires on their neighbors roofs and slowly begin to back away. As the neighborhood begins to flee from the battle, a lone woman is taking a drink from a bottle. A woman of immaculate beauty and womanly features. Maloon Pras, one of the four holy generals that Parnidot appointed not even an octant ago.

  “Let’s see. How are we doing?” Maloon whispers to herself.

  She pulls a spyglass from a pouch and looks the temple over. Earlier in the day, a pair of skills clashed, powerful enough to blow a part of the building to pieces. She had every doubt that the other generals would lose. So she lied in wait. Once her fellows had sufficiently weakened and injured their foes, and she swoops in and takes the glory. The plan only got more chaotic and hectic when demons started popping up and getting into fights with the Albrinters more than the Order of Nobility. Even then, the fights were a bit more one sided than expected.

  From there, Lutz Albrinter, her fellow general Forter Plomk and a demon that she didn’t care about fell into the Cerulean river and went down stream. She stopped checking in on them when their drug addled minds kept going down stream past the town’s walls. Usually there are watermills, nets and other safety guards, but men and a demon with plenty of strength and a decent number of sharp objects had no problem breaking through those. If Forter fails to kill the eldest of the Albrinter brats, she’ll need to find time to stab him later, but for now she’ll focus on other battlefields.

  Gilligan Albrinter seems to have tried to find a flank and new entrance. At that time, he and his retinue had come across a demon led by mercenaries. The demon handily won. At best, the demon had minor injuries, so minor that they weren’t visible. Beating this winner may be harder than expected, but doable nonetheless.

  Sardon and a demon fell to Parnidot himself. There was a great display of divine power that she barely paid attention to, but it was something fierce.

  Pulling up the rearguard was the younger half of the Albrinter brats along with Perschale Albrinter. The four of them bested a demon with some bullshit power of friendship. From what she saw, the children were easy pickings. It was Perschale with her coaching skill that was troublesome. Honestly, she couldn’t care about the rearguard. They weren’t aggressively pushing and would likely be the first to retreat once they noticed the tides turned against them. They could be ignored.

  While that was the last of the Albrinter siblings themselves, one person did stand out. The adventurer named Ren. From her investigation on her background, Ren the adventurer first came to Blue Pine town when a family found her dying by the roadside between here and Halward city. Beyond that, her identity is a mystery. She could probably learn more if she could travel to Halward city, but time was not a luxury she could afford. From what she has observed, this Ren girl was an extraordinary threat. To beat Ronkorell Haymen, the old fogey, was a feat unto itself. Then to use a foreign skill and cut a demon in half. She could’ve sworn that the Sword of Penitence had stuck her too. Her body should be wracked with pain, enough to make anyone bend their knee and beg for forgiveness. That girl is a true mystery.

  Still, the mystery that Maloon was interested in was where the assassin Mona Hazel ran off to. The voice told Maloon about Mona. She was talented, but wasn’t invested enough to be a king killer. Maloon was going to be different. She was going to be an assassin unlike any other. She would assassinate the Queen. That horrid witch at the head of a coup and overthrew her own father. The king. The highest of nobles. One granted the divine right to rule. The peak of nobility. Not only that, but her policy and following purge led to the decline of the noble class.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Now the question. What to do now? To win the fight for the order here and now, or search for Mona. Maloon knows Mona is here. She’s here somewhere. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like she was in any fights. Or at least she was making moves beyond Maloon’s sight. But they’re both high caliber assassins. Maloon went the lazy route. She is set up on a roof taking a scouting position. Notably, she is on a roof in broad daylight and not doing much to hide herself. She also set up a number of traps, noisemakers and other such alarms. Maloon is motivated primarily by the voice. Mona is more interested in the artifact that was unvaulted and given to her as a badge of office as a Holy general. So why look for her when she can come to Maloon?

  Sure enough, a bell hung on a string rings just behind Maloon. In that moment, a throwing knife aimed at Maloon’s neck cuts through the air. Before the knife reaches it’s mark, Maloon leans back and the knife harmlessly flies over her head. A sure sign that Maloon’s plan to laze about was right.

  “Good morning!” Maloon sneers. “It seems all who hear the voice are late to rise in the morning. That or practicing their teachings screws with the sleep cycle.”

  Mona Hazel suddenly appears in her sneaking suit and attempts to swipe at Maloon with her dagger. The dagger is empowered by magic enchantments, but they are useless if the dagger itself fails to hit. As the blade lunges forward, Maloon rolls onto her back into a backroll. Even still, Mona continues her pursuit and chases after Maloon as she rolls away. Maloon kicks up her feet into Mona’s arms. Mona is forced to back away while Maloon takes the chance to get back to her feet.

  “Alright. Alright. I’m starting to see it for myself.” Maloon says. “You have the skills, but your decision making is awful.”

  “I think you’re the one with shitty decision making.” Mona straightens her posture as she speaks.

  “Well, maybe. What I can say is that you have no talent.”

  Mona rushed at Maloon with her dagger. Maloon responded by standing up straight like a butler and clicked her heels together. Beneath her feet, a spark ignited and the entirety of this building’s roof caught fire. The flames aren’t burning unusually high. At best the flames come up to the women’s ankles and the smoke is next to nothing. The elven assassin rushes at the human one searching for the kill. Despite Mona’s overwhelming speed, Maloon matched it. Maloon palmed Mona’s arm and stopped her from thrusting the dagger. In a flash of movement, Maloon brought her own dagger to bear. It wasn’t magical, but it was still a stabbing implement that should work fine on fair elven skin. The daggers clash for a moment, but are swiftly withdrawn. A brief knife fight takes place on this newly burning roof. Most of it is blocking strikes with an open hand and trying to counter attack. They both do their best to minimize the contact that they make with each other. Both are searching for a more substantial position to land a killing blow. Despite the speed of two assassins clashing, time passes.

  Enough time for the fire that Maloon started to begin to grow in size. The smoke also becomes thicker and harder to see through. As Mona squints her eyes to try and see more clearly, Maloon stomps on the burning and crumbling floor. The entirety of the roof collapses and the two assassins fall inside. Mona crashes onto the floor of a home. Maloon was prepared for the floor to give out beneath her and lands softly. Inside a number of traps, bombs and weapons are placed on almost every surface of this home. In a corner appears to be a family slumped over and motionless with a pool of blood forming beneath them.

  “There we go!” Maloon dusts herself off as she speaks. “Finally get to benefit from all my prepwork.”

  Mona’s eyes dart around trying to gain insight on this new location.

  “What is this?” Mona snapped to attention.

  “Just a little fun house I put together to deal with you.”