Lily and Iris approached the edge of the fortress, staying hidden within the dense vegetation that surrounded the stone walls. The walls looked to be just over five metres tall, constructed of stone. Climbing the wall was very possible, with the myriad of footholds provided by the uneven laying of the stone, but it would likely be anticipated and very noticable by the numerous guards patrolling the walls.

The slavers' group that Lily and Iris had been tasked to eliminate, >, were a large organisation, with an official Slaver's License and support from the government of Oparil. In exchange for this support, government officials got the first pick of slaves from the Chainers, who were renowned for specialising in female sex slaves.

Officially, Serena had listed the two of them as out on a goblin nest extermination in the North, upon which she would be accompanying them, with the excuse of "evaluating the newcomers' skill". Of course, this was a lie. They had split up on the way, with Serena heading to carry out the extermination solo. They had instead headed Northeast, toward the fortress of the Chainers.

From their vantage point among the branches of a tree, Iris used her inhuman vision to study the security details of the fortress. While the two of them were fairly confident in their ability to erasicate the slavers even if they launched a full-frontal assault on the single gate, the element of surprise was a key consideration if they were to, as Serena ordered, allow no survivors. Her instructions were to kill anyone in the vicinity of the fortress who saw them, which was a line of thought Lily agreed with. Their task was, after all, illegal. Leaving witnesses who could identify their admittedly unique appearances would force them to go on the run.

"Uhhh~ I see three groups of six patrolling the walls at all times. They're positioned roughly equidistant from each other. Oh, wait. They're changing shifts. Three new groups now. The fortress itself is pretty standard fortress fare. All dark and gloomy and castle-y. There are four turrets and a moat separating the castle gate from the land lining the fortress walls. I wonder why they bother with a moat? Can't people just swim- is that an alligator? Oh wow I think it is. Never seen an alligator before. Kind of ugly. Those fangs look kind of cute though. Not that I'd want to be bitten by them, but still…"

"Iris. Focus."

Iris blushed a deep pink and cleared her throat before continuing.

"R-right. Yes. Um… It looks like the castle has three floors with two levels underground. I'm seeing a lot of heat signatures in the underground levels; I think those are the slaves. All in all, about two hundred and thirty people in there, including the slaves. I'm not seeing anyone in the turrets though."

Lily contemplated. This was her first time raiding a fortress, after all; it was rather exciting, but she still needed to be cautious. Her limbs might be made of the strongest metal unknown to mankind, but her torso and head were fully vulnerable pure human being. A mistake might still be fatal.

"It seems like the gate and drawbridge is the only way in and out of the castle. Can you see if there are any hidden passages?"

Iris' eyes flickered and dilated as she switched vision modes.

"I see… just one hidden tunnel, from the lowest underground level. It seems to lead to somewhere in the forest."

"Can you find the opening?"

"Not from here, but I should be able to follow it."

"Alright then. Here's the plan. You search for the hidden exit and enter from there. Kill anyone who isn't me or the target. I'll jump over the walls and take out the gate guards and triple patrols, then storm the front gate. When I'm done, I'll meet you at the slave cells."

"Nnh."

"Then let's do this."

Lily let herself drop from the tree's canopy just as Iris began to go deeper into the forest.

Getting a running start, she kicked off and fired her boosters, clearing the five-metre high wall in a single bound, landing gracefully barely two metres away from a surprised patrolling detail.

Not allowing them any time to recover, Lily immediately dashed towards the group of 6 heavily armored men. Leading off with a double lariat, she knocked the two closest foes to the ground. From her crouched position, she smashed her elbow into the head of the next man, causing it to cave inwards as the man was flung against the wall of the fortress. Using the momentum of her attack, she led into a double spin kick, the first of which decapitated one man through sheer force, the second of which caved in another guard's chest cavity, causing spiny rib bones to erupt from his back, showcasing his skewered heart. Finally, she made a half turn and gripped the last man's head in her right hand, smashing it flat against the ground, somersaulting off the ground to land simultaneous booster-assisted fatal axe kicks to the unfortunate skulls of the first two men she has knocked down.

Lily landed on her feet and dusted off her hands as she observed her work. In the span of two seconds, she had, unarmed, taken down a group of 6 heavily armoured men before they even had a chance to cry out. She smiled.

This would be an easy job.

Sending out her probes, she quickly moved along the wall, dispatching the other two patrols in a similar way. Her braided green twintails trailed behind her as she moved, forming a stark contrast with the dull grey of the fortress walls. Quickly, she moved to the gates of the fortress walls and eliminated the two sentries standing guard.

Wasting no time, she dashed right for the castle gate, across the moat. The drawbridge was up, but that did not particularly matter. She leapt over the moat and punched right through the castle door, granting her access. The room to her right opened, and a number of lightly armoured men armed with swords rushed out. As they did, another man within the room was ringing a loud bell.

The mob of men surrounded Lily, swords at the ready, stance lowered and cautious. Some of them were looking at her face appraisingly, what with the rest of her body concealed from inspection by the loose male travelling clothes. Silently using her probes to check the number of adversaries, Lily found that she was surrounded by exactly forty-six men, with about ten of them having heightened body temperature. A number of them watched her with barely concealed lust, licking their lips even as they strengthened their grip on their blades. They circled around her, cutting off her exit. It seemed they were at least professional enough to maintain a guarded silence in preperation of their attack. After all, pretty face or not, a girl had just punched a hole through a stone door. Without any warning or signal, twelve of the forty-six men rushed her at once. A wave strategy, then.

Rolling her eyes, Lily twisted and initiated a booster-assisted tornado kick, sending the twelve flying in various directions, most with fatal injuries. As she stood and regarded the remaining thirty-four men with amused eyes, fear began to creep into their expressions as they comprehended what Lily had just done.

Just as they began to back away, Lily moved, punching, kicking, spinning, twisting. Some of the men screamed. Most had not the chance. Lily moved swift like a gale across the stretch of the castle's corridor, breaking down every door, ending life after life, a green-tinged hurricane of merciless death.

Finally one man, his pants wet with fear, recovered enough sense to drop his weapon and hold his hands above head as he saw the green terror closing in on his position, moving person to person but leaving only carrion in its wake.

"Please, mercy! I'm only doing this job to support my children! Please, show mercy!"

Lily stopped in front of the man, hair flying wildly behind her. Her plain brown travelling garb was splattered with patches of moist dark red. She looked into the man's eyes and shook her head slowly.

"I'm sorry."

With that, she sent out edged wires from within her palm hovering around the man's neck and quickly constricted them, cleanly decapitating him.

>

It was the least painful method she had of killing him. He would die almost instantly, and it would probably be less painful than having his head crushed by a powerful blow.

As the headless body fell lifelessly to the ground, Lily searched herself for any signs of remorse, and was content to find none. Using her probes to search around, she kept moving through the castles, making sure to search for any living humans.

She could leave no witnesses.