A few hours had passed since the scouting party came back to Winsor. Hannah was currently sitting on an empty supply box made of hardwood. Needless to say, she was not feeling comfortable in any way, but that currently didn't matter. Only one thing did.

In a few minutes, Gregory would come back and address the Mob's men. Or Skull would come directly. Not many realized the gravity of the situation quite yet... but Hannah and Esme knew. There was no time to waste.

So where the hell was Gregory?

How much time was needed to receive some orders? Not hours that's for sure. Unless they were planning something more complicated than an all-out assault. But what was there left to plan?

The city guard's forces were regrouping and digging in, and they had an escape path secured in case things went south. Meanwhile, the Mob was here twiddling its thumbs when in less than three days they were all going to die!

"Stop biting your nails."

"I'm sorry I just can't! This whole situation is infuriating!"

Esme was trying to lower Hannah's stress levels but it wasn't working at all. The [Rogue] grabbed Hannah's hand and squeezed it tight.

"It's going to be ok... just... relax. Deep breaths."

The [Mage] did just that, and it surprisingly worked. She was glad Esme was back. It was so strange, she had not known her that long, compared to her friends from Earth, and yet it was like they'd known each other their whole life. They were best friends. And she did feel guilty about it... perhaps it was because of their unique experience together. Hannah still shuddered at the thought of her arriving on her own. She might have died before even reaching a city. After all, it was thanks to Esme's initiative that they had reached Winsor.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Esme suddenly letting go of her hand. She looked up and saw that Gregory had finally returned, and he had a grim look on his face. The men were anxiously awaiting the news and he didn't leave them hanging.

"Listen up! Skull just ordered an attack on the remaining city forces immediately. Our forces on the front have already received the order via [Message] spell. There is no time for speeches, there is only time for action! On me!"

Cheers were heard throughout the crowd, but the two [Thieves] weren't cheering. They were trembling. Hannah looked pleadingly at Gregory one last time before he turned and stomped away, and he didn't react. She knew what that meant.

She was going too.

The men rushed forward and followed their leader. Hannah and Esme had no choice and did the same. This was such terrible timing! She needed to sleep! Only then would she finally learn [Mana Bolt]. But there was no time. As they all advanced towards the fighting, the [Mage] noticed the landscape slowly growing more and more hectic. Collapsed houses, burning buildings, dead bodies littering the floor. And slowly, she heard the screams getting closer.

The fighting had already started. She wondered how in a few weeks, the city went from a bustling peaceful place to this... hell torn apart by war. Hannah only noticed it now because they had kept her far away from all the fighting all this time. She'd only gone on one hard mission and spent the rest of the time training with Edali.

The dead bodies made her stomach turn, but she soldiered on. Just before they arrived at the fight, Gregory forwarded his men, but stopped Edali and Hannah.

"You two. Wait."

When everyone but them was gone, he went on.

"Listen. Hannah, I want you to observe. You two need to learn. Stay in the back. Don't take risks. Esme, you... stay with her. Protect her. Got it?"

The girls both nodded decisively. They were both feeling terribly afraid, but they had no choice. It had come to this.

They had to fight.

When they got to one of the actual streets where fighting was taking place, it could only be described by chaos. Of course, this was only one street. They didn't know its name or its significance, but–

No time to think. An arrow zoomed past Esme's face. She ducked moments later out of panic, but there was nothing to take cover from, except dead bodies. The [Mage] yelled.

"Hannah, get down!"

The [Mage] followed her lead, and they both tried playing dead on the ground. Hannah tried to sneak a few looks around here and she noticed that they were being pushed back. The battle had moved from in front of them to all around them.

"Guh!"

Someone had stepped on Esme's back. Hannah mentally facepalmed. Of course, if they played dead they'd get trampled. They should have just moved back! She had been so foolish. They had to get up!

And they did, however in all the confusion, Hannah didn't notice the [Guard] behind her. Thankfully her [Sense Threat] skill rung in her head and she managed to dodge a strike in time. Esme finally unsheathed her weapons in a blur and parried his second sword strike with her two daggers. He was stronger than her but she was faster. The [Rogue] slid in between his legs with dexterity Hannah didn't know she possessed and then Esme unleashed a new skill.

"[Deep Cut!]"

The [Guard] howled in pain as Esme struck. He collapsed on the ground shortly after. They needed to get out of here, but they were surrounded. Thankfully it was easy to distinguish who was on their side and who wasn't thanks to the special uniforms the city guard used. Hannah had always wondered about how medieval armies knew who was on what side in all the confusion and the messy fights.

There was nothing to do. No escapes. Hannah's heart was pounding so hard and so fast she felt pain in her chest. They had to push their war through all the [Guards]. Hannah lifted up her hand. Now was the time to use what she had learned. Her mana surged towards her hand and a purple beam exited her palm faster than anyone could run. It successfully hit a [Guard] who cried in pain, but it didn't kill him, one of the Mob's men did by slitting his throat.

"It worked! Thank god!"

"What was th– Watch out!"

"[Final Cut]!"

Hannah already knew, however. It turns out [Sense Threat] was an incredible skill akin to a spidey sense. She ducked and avoided another arrow coming behind her, then the [Mage] instantly launched her best [Mana Bolt] in the general direction of the projectile and heard a scream.

This was going to be a long day.

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On the other side of the Battlefield, Captain Morten, the leader of the city guard, was yelling orders at different [Sergeants] and [Guards]. He was winning. All he had to do was to push them back here and hold the walls! They'd lose all morale and crumble. The Mob would have time to regroup and plan another offensive like this one! He just had to wait for reinforcements.

"I want all available [Mages] in Henderson Street. Yes, don't give me that look. I said all of them! Now!"

He was about to gnaw nervously on his fingernails, but he remembered he had his gauntlets on. Of course, he was nervous. His life depended on the outcome of this battle. He'd get killed by Skull if he lost, or worse. If he managed to escape he'd be beheaded or imprisoned by the [Emperor]'s son, Jonas.

The fighting was mainly taking place on two streets. His plan was to pull all of his [Mage] units and completely take over Henderson Street. If he played his cards well, he'd rout the enemy there and surround the other part of the enemy army that was on the second street, Crimson's Way.

He wanted to go and fight. To avenge his old [Captain]. But he knew that would be foolish. He had to assure his victory.

Twenty minutes later, a wheezing [Guard] came inside of the half-collapsed house that acted as a makeshift commander tent.

"C-Captain Morten, sir! All the [Mages] we sent have been beaten back! Half of them have died! Your orders, sir?"

"W-what?"

Had he heard that right? How was that even possible? [Mages] were normally feared on the battlefield. No one had reported about enemy [Mages] on that street. In fact, the Mob had a clear lack of [Mages]. They had only spotted seven... no, it was eight. The [Guards] had reported about one girl who kept using an advanced version of [Mana Bolt]. But still, who could have done such a thing?

"Sir? Captain Morten, sir?"

"E-Excuse me. I need to... wait, who did it? Who neutralized our [Mages]?"

"It was a single man, sir. One man killed forty-eight of our [Mages]."

Morten stood up instantly, which made the [Guard] flinch in fear. Only one person could kill so many [Mages] by himself. It was...

"It's Skull! I need to get to Henderson! You, follow me!"

"Yes, sir!"

Skull was here. Of course, he'd be there! Morten had been a fool! It had been years since he'd seen Skull fight, but he still vividly remembered how he killed his old [Captain]. How fast and nimble he was. And the worse of it all?

He didn't even use a weapon.

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Hannah was exhausted. She couldn't keep up the [Mana Bolts] much longer, especially since she had to actively concentrate on each one. She was wounded, bruised, and her hands were burned, but she was alive, and so was Esme. The two girls were sure they'd both level when they'd sleep if they lived the next few hours. Fortunately, relief had come, and it was in the form of Skull.

The Mob's boss. Elusive, hard to grasp and understand, and always absent. Sometimes, people wondered if he could even fight. Today, he proved why he was their leader. He was so fast you could barely see him. He blurred in between the enemy army, instantly snapping their necks. There were no screams. They died too fast to scream.

He was like a one-man army by himself, and Hannah saw him use skills, although he didn't call them out loud. Soon enough, the Mob's forces started winning again, slowly but surely. Soon it would finally be over! Or at least the [Mage] though so.

Until the Captain of the city guard showed up.