The men clad in dark gold armor visibly tensed, but to give them their due, they did not retreat. Having each taken his position in front of the gate, the four warriors put their hands on the swords hanging from their belts. Their faces were covered by the visors of their helmets, but for some reason Rey had no doubt that now there was no fear in their eyes of the majestic predator that had stopped ten meters from them.

The guy dismounted and, taking Mia out of Tessa's arms, stood a little ahead of the pet. Seeing the girl, the guards tensed even more, but clearly did not understand what exactly they needed to do. Fortunately, Ray decided to help them.

- Call the mistress of the estate, I think she managed to miss her kidnapped daughter. He spoke calmly, but the guards visibly hardened upon hearing his words. It was evident that their plate gloves gripped the hilts of their swords more tightly. Tessa, who also jumped to the ground next to Ray, immediately decided to clarify the situation, because she already guessed what exactly the guy was trying to achieve by saying in a similar manner:

- We met a carriage in the border town, which was accompanied by two royal guards. Mia said that a certain Farnes put her there. Don't get us wrong, we just wanted to take the girl home. - She tried to speak as sincerely as possible and it paid off. Which was no wonder, because the male name voiced by the girl was well known to each of them.

Without saying a word, they changed formation, and one of the guards hurried to report what had happened. Another of them spoke to strangers:

- Release the young mistress. Then we can trust you.

Hearing a clear young voice, Rei literally imagined a knight proudly sitting on his horse. To drive away the delusion, he even had to shake his head, however, with this gesture, he also gave the warrior an answer.

“I will hand it over to my mother.” Still, you can not be trusted, because this Farnes was like you from the estate, so do not blame me. Yes, and I'm far from being such a noble person as to return the girl just like that. The guy said spreading his arms.

- How dare you!? shouted the young "knight" as he drew his blade.

The reaction was so predictable that Ray couldn't help but smile. His hands, hidden by a makeshift cloak, were clutching the handles of daggers all this time.

- No need. Why are you provoking him? - Tessa's voice was heard from the side, to which the guy only grunted displeasedly.

- He was the first to draw his weapon, and if he makes one more unnecessary movement, he will not see today's sunset. – in the eyes of the guy flaming thirst for battle. He even ordered Cess not to interfere - he was so eager to clash with these warriors, who were clearly well trained.

The “knight”, on hearing the words of a young man whose clothes resembled a beggar, literally caught fire with rage, but one look in the direction of the panther cooled his heart, ready to explode from humiliation. He was considered one of the strongest warriors in the estate, and then some ragamuffin threatens him with death. Of course, the vanity and pride of the young warrior were hurt, but he did not dare to act thoughtlessly, being really well trained.

That's just his fleeting glance in the direction of Cess did not escape Ray, even despite the visor of his helmet.

"Don't be afraid, if you want to fight me, he won't interfere, I promise you." – all so same quietly said guy. But the warrior seemed to hear only that part of the phrase, which mentioned that he should be afraid of someone.

- Then attack. Or do you only know how to shake the air in vain? the warrior retorted, taking a stance.

Rey did not need to be invited twice, taking a few quick steps towards the warrior, he disappeared with a flash of Dash. There was a metallic chime from the collision of two blades. The guy was about to continue the attack, but the armored "knight" slightly changed the position of his sword, pointing it straight at the opponent's face.

"Retreat." - Rei reacted instantly, breaking the meter distance with a few steps back.

“Still, I’m a bit unused to fighting people.” - he thought, intercepting the daggers more comfortably.

"But it will be a great experience."

The boy was about to attack again, but at that moment the warrior took a big step forward, and his body shone with the same green color. He moved only a meter towards Rei, but the skill was also accompanied by an instant blow, aimed at the stomach, protected only by a thin layer of tent fabric.

The reflexes of a human were not worth comparing with those that Rei possessed in the body of a forest, but nevertheless, he was still able to parry the blow, though he had to use both daggers for this, but even so, an unpleasant numbness spread through his hands.

The young warrior was not taken aback, because having withdrawn his sword, he immediately raised it over his head, and the blade covered with green flashes betrayed the use of another skill.

"Badly." - a thought flashed through the guy’s head, because both the Charge and the Retreat were not yet ready, and he was not going to try to repel the blow, because this skill looked much more dangerous than the previous one.

The hesitation was unacceptable, so he instantly used one of the strongest abilities available to him and the day that she needed to recharge did not bother him, because now at stake was at least a serious injury.

"Disappearance." - With an instant mental order, the guy's body literally melted into the air with a greenish mist. The blow of the warrior with a loud whistle cut only the air, but he could no longer raise the sword. A little to one side of him stood an unharmed Rey, whose body appeared in the air, only his hand was laid aside, and the dagger clamped in it to the hilt entered the eye slit on the helmet of the already dead young guard.

Tessa, watching all this, only lowered her head, fortunately, she hugged Mia from the very beginning, not wanting to show her the battle scene.

For several moments there was deathly silence, which was interrupted by the clang of the sword, which, having fallen out of the hands of a warrior, hit the masonry. Behind him, the body wrapped in armor fell, making even more noise.

This was immediately followed by two near-synchronous sounds, with which the two guards drew their swords. Ray, however, continued to watch the scene unperturbed. The battle that had been fought clearly showed him that it was no longer worth indulging Tessa and taking off her armor, even though it would clearly show through under the fabric of the tent. He decided the same about his appearance, because he was sure that with the capabilities of the forest body he would not have had to use the last skill, but now it was too late to change it - the soldiers saw that he was a man, albeit with a strange color of hair and eyes.

Noticing that although the comrades of the deceased had drawn their blades, they were in no hurry to attack, Rey chuckled and turned to the body of the “knight”. Mentally reaching out to the soul that soared above his body, which, unfortunately, was only a little lighter than the usual gray soul of a person, he instantly absorbed it.

After that, he looked again at the two men, who were still looking at him with such undisguised hostility that their eyes, burning with anger, stood out even through a thin slit in their helmets.

Undoubtedly, blood would have been shed again if it were not for the imperious, but at the same time so beautiful voice that came from the side of the gate of the mansion:

- What's going on here?

As soon as the soldiers heard these words, they instantly stepped back, but did not hide their weapons, still carefully following every movement of the stranger.

A few seconds later, a woman appeared in the gate opening, whose beauty made even the usually imperturbable Ray involuntarily stare.

Her thick dark hair, which fell to a seductive waist, shimmered dazzlingly in the color of the sun, and her beautiful forms could not be hidden by the canopy of clothes. The woman had exactly those facial features that could be called aristocratic, and a slightly cold look of amethyst eyes only complemented the majestic image. She was dressed in a long black dress, decorated with fur, and her open shoulders involuntarily attracted the eye.

Finally stopping staring, the guy decided to answer:

- The young warrior decided to try his hand. Alas, he was out of luck. Returning the weapon to its sheath, he continued. – And we came here to return the girl, who, judging by the reaction of these warriors, is your daughter.

Hearing these words, the woman looked at Tessa incredulously, and when she noticed the little girl, from whom she tried to hide the body of a warrior, all the coldness disappeared from her eyes, replaced by the deepest tenderness that made Ray once again stare at her.

- Mia! An excited scream came from her scarlet lips. She tried to run up to the girl, only to be immediately stopped by the guards.

True, at the same moment when the little girl heard her name, uttered in such a dear voice, she joyfully screamed in response and rushed to her, not paying attention to the slightly saddened Tessa, who still smiled, looking at the girl, who after a few seconds turned out to be in the arms of a mother.