Reinhart noticed the strangeness in his expression. “Why are you making that face?”

“It’s Narcha and Eiwin.” Red said.

The boy saw no reason to hide this information from the man, considering they were likely about to meet each other, anyway.

The knight had a complicated expression once he heard those words. “Are you sure?”

Red nodded. “They don’t know we’re here, though.”

“Are they going to attack the imperials too?”

“Definitely.”

The boy knew Narcha’s hate against imperials, so he had no doubt that the women were preparing to strike.

“That makes things complicated.” Reinhart frowned.

“Are you afraid they won’t accept you like we did?” the boy asked.

“That too. But no, I’m worried they’re going to blow our cover. Once they attack the imperials, they’ll probably be on guard against other ambushers.”

“Isn’t there a simple solution to this? We can just cooperate with them.”

Reinhart scoffed. “Cooperate how? Are you going to sneak up past the imperials and the giant snake and ask them to make a plan together?”

While they were talking, the snake had already been wounded again. It was moving far slower than when they first saw it, and its flailing against the cave walls had mostly subsided.

“There’s no need for that.” Red shook his head. “We just attack the imperials at the same time they do. Once they see me, they’ll understand we’re here to cooperate and won’t stop fighting to ask me what you’re doing here too.”

“… That makes sense.” Reinhart nodded after some thought. “But how are we going to know when they’re going to attack?”

“Eiwin and Narcha are smart fighters. They’ll definitely pick the most opportune moment to attack those imperials.”

“So you’re saying they’re going to attack right when the snake is about to die.” Reinhart seemed skeptical.

Red nodded. “Most likely.”

Reinhart sighed. “You worked with them before, so I’ll trust you on this one, kid.”

This was enough for the boy. “I don’t know who they’re going to attack first, or if they’re going to split their focuses, though, so be ready to adapt on the fly.”

The knight smiled. “That goes without saying.”

In the meantime, the battle between the imperials and the snake monster was heading towards a climax. The beast had multiple long gashes along its body, and blood was already pooling at its underside.

Red noted that, in case he needed sudden healing during the fight, but that would be his absolute last resort. He hadn’t forgotten the pain he felt back then, and he didn’t believe this miraculous power came without its consequences, so he would rather not use it unless necessary - or at least until he understood it.

The snake's movements became sluggish, and it stopped attacking the imperials. Instead, it looked like it wanted to retreat, but from what Red could see, there were no exits in this place the monster could fit through. Besides, the imperials weren’t about to let their prey retreat.

“Finish it off!” the shorter imperial called to his partner.

The giant imperial grunted and raised his halberd, about to charge at the snake for the finishing blow.

Red knew this was the moment. Sure enough, he sensed movement in the women’s fluctuations. It took him a split second to determine which direction they were heading in.

“They’re going for the one with the halberd.” Red said, getting ready to move.

Reinhart grunted. “Right then. We go for the other one.”

The duo got into action. Red took out his bow and got ready, while Reinhart charged forward.

The boy also saw the two women appearing from behind some rocks, charging at the back of the large imperial. The man seemed oblivious to their approach, still preparing to attack the snake, but suddenly something glowed at his waist.

His reaction was almost immediate. “Ambush!”

The large knight turned around to face the women and was able to lift his halberd up just in time to block Narcha’s large saber. A resound clash of steel echoed in the room, as neither the woman nor the imperial gave way in their face-off.

Eiwin, however, changed that.

She dove in from the flank, kicking the man right in his abdomen, which was in fact protected by a sturdy steel armor. It served of naught to ward off her attack, however, as the giant was pushed a few meters back by the blow and grunted in pain.

“Hurry, Eiwin!” Narcha yelled.

The snake monster took this opportunity to retreat to the other side of the chamber, where it plopped down in exhaustion and watched the humans fighting in its nest helplessly. In the meantime, the other imperial was just about to rush forward to reinforce his partner. However, Red’s arrow suddenly struck his cracked barrier, alarming the man. The projectile itself caused almost no damage to the translucent shield surrounding the imperial agent, but that was when Reinhart struck.

His sword stabbed into an already formed crack, causing the fractures in the imperial’s barrier to spread. The man was alarmed and tried to retreat, fiddling with his pouch to grab another talisman. Reinhart wouldn’t give him the opportunity to activate it, though.

His long sword came crashing down against the barrier like a storm, and in a matter of seconds, the already severely damaged protection collapsed like shattering glass. The imperial had no choice but to refrain from activating the talisman and focus on fending off Reinhart’s incoming attacks.

This commotion also caught the attention of Narcha and Eiwin, who were focused on the halberd imperial.

Narcha’s eyes narrowed as she noticed Reinhart’s figure. “Is that fucking Reinhart?!”

Red’s voice came in response to her words. “Narcha, Eiwin, focus on that one!”

“Red?!” the woman looked even more surprised this time around.

Eiwin also looked over with shock at the boy, who was crouching with his bow at the ready. However, they knew they didn’t have the time to talk things through at this moment. The large imperial was recovering from their initial onslaught, so the two of them continued to press their attack before that happened.

Red was relieved once he saw the women stick to the plan he had in mind. This was what he had expected to happen, but if any of them hesitated or decided not to trust in the boy at that juncture, then things could have gotten a lot more complicated.

The youth looked over at Reinhart. The knight was likewise pressing his advantage against the other imperial, who was doing his best to keep up with the incessant assault. Although it seemed like he was on the losing end, it didn’t look like Reinhart would be able to grasp victory any time soon.

Red was impressed by this. However, it was the boy’s duty to make sure this ended as soon as possible. He nocked another arrow onto his bow, and aimed at the imperial. Then, once his target was in the process of dodging one of Reinhart’s blows, he let loose.

The man heard the arrow coming and had no problem shifting his upper body out of the way. However, like in many fights before, Reinhart grasped that opportunity to press his advantage. He extended his arm, stabbing under the imperial’s guard. The man tried to parry the Reinhart’s sword out of way, but the most he did was to slightly alter its course.

Reinhart’s sword scraped the man’s chest, creating a large gash in his body. The only thing that saved the imperial from being run through was his superior scaled armor, which absorbed enough of the sword’s force before caving in. The cut still did its number, though, and the imperial grunted in pain.

Still, the man maintained his composure and managed to fend off Reinhart’s follow up, displaying his own skill and experience in battle even on the backhand. However, it was clear that Reinhart had completely grabbed the advantage in the battle, and the imperial could do nothing but defend himself.

‘As I thought, Reinhart immediately knew my intention.’

Red wanted to use his bow to distract his opponent and create an opening for Reinhart, as he had done many times before. However, this time around, they hadn’t even discussed any strategy before the battle, and things still went according to plan. There was a mutual understanding between the two of them after a relatively short period of fighting together, and this displayed both their battle acumen and experience.

The boy didn’t immediately shoot the imperial again, knowing the man would be wise to his plans right now. He nocked another arrow and waited for the right moment, while also keeping an eye on the concurrent battle going on the other side of the chamber.

Narcha and Eiwin showed great teamwork, as Red expected, and they were also pressing the large imperial into a clear disadvantage - Narcha with her wild and monstrous swings and Eiwin with her lightning quick and precise strikes. Yet, the man wasn’t dissuaded, fending off their attacks and holding against Eiwin’s punches and kicks with surprising endurance. The women were also being careful against the imperial’s flaming halberd, which would most likely seriously injure them if it so much as dealt a glancing blow.

It was a dangerous weapon, but Narcha’s own saber was holding its own in their clashes. It was only at that moment that Red noticed that the woman was using an unfamiliar weapon, having a darker metal shade and slightly different shape than the one the boy remembered.

Red didn’t have time to examine it, though, and focused back on Reinhart and the other imperial. Suddenly, though, a human roar came from the other side of the chamber. The boy looked over again and saw as the large man seemed to have gained a second wind and made both Narcha and Eiwin retreat momentarily with a wild swing.

Then the man fetched something in his pocket in a hurry. Red half expected it to be a talisman, but he knew the imperial wouldn’t have time to activate it. To his surprise, though, the man shoved whatever he had just fetched into his mouth. The boy didn’t see what it was, but he had a fair guess.

‘A pill.’

A healing pill, perhaps? No, the man was barely wounded. Why would he waste a pill on this?

While Red contemplated this, Narcha dashed forward to attack the large imperial again. Her saber made a wide arc, accompanied by a shrill sound, and sought to crash against the man’s chest with all her wild strength behind it. The imperial wasn’t dissuaded, though, and with surprising speed hack against the woman’s weapon with his own halberd.

The same loud clashing metal noise echoed in the cave again, but this time, the results weren’t the same. Instead of ending up in a stalemate, Narcha was pushed back a few meters, grunting in pain as she felt her arms tremble from the impact.

It was the man’s turn to push his advantage, as he dashed forward to exploit the woman’s weakness. Narcha wasn’t his only opponent, though, as Eiwin dashed in from the side in a flash and sought to punch him in his ribs. The imperial seemed wise to their strategy, though, and he used the butt of his halberd to block her strike, before twirling the weapon and bringing down the blade of his weapon on her head.

Eiwin pushed back on her feet, avoiding the attack by a narrow margin. The halberd continued its trajectory, though, and crashed into the ground, causing a large crack to appear around the area of impact. The man pulled back his weapon and stared at his opponents with a hateful gaze.

Narcha and Eiwin didn’t reengage immediately either, gazing at the man with troubled expressions. At that moment, Red could make a guess as to what kind of pill the man had swallowed - or at the very least, its effects.

“Cultivator scum!” the large imperial said in a deep voice. “Trying to steal what doesn’t belong to you as always! But not today! Prepare to meet your end at my blade!”

The man pointed his halberd at the women and charged at them.