Way of the Knights

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Raven and his Team flew for more than an hour and they were nearly at their destination. 

Anne already confirmed that there would be no Diamond Dust Eclipse, she then joined Mark in watching for their tracks in case some beast decides to follow them.

Ellen flew in front of the group, Paul will make sure to point her in the correct direction so that they won't be lost. Luna closely observed Ellen and whenever she's showing any kind of fatigue, she would immediately supply her with Energy so that she could continue her flight. 

Raven had been in deep thought ever since. On contrary to his silence, his mind was bustling with activity. He had been formulating a plan from the start. He wanted to take all accounts in and make sure that he could give out orders that would lead them to the best case scenario.

"I can see them!" Anne exclaimed which gathered the attention of the team. Raven heard her and immediately activated his ocular technique to gaze up ahead. 

Raven's vision extended all the way to a kilometer in front of him. He saw several wounded soldiers from their side, they were currently fighting with some folks who are wearing an all black attire with a black veil covering their faces. Just from this attire alone, they could already confirm that these people really came from the Black Curtain Guild.

"We'll take ground from here. Anne you stay up in the air, wait for my signal."

Raven then tapped the stomach of the Pegasus, causing it to fly down. Ellen then started gliding down with Paul and Mark jumped down as well. 

When they reached the ground, they immediately grouped up and waited for Raven's orders. Raven started handing out orders and once they were done, they immediately ran forward in blurring speeds.

Paul ran forward with them but he was slower, it didn't matter too much since once he entered a specific distance away from their troops, he raised his spear and threw it in a graceful arc. He then crouched down and pumped his legs with energy. His whole body then shot forward like a blazing star, going so fast that he went ahead of his team.

During the clash between the Resource Gathering Troops and the Black Curtain minions, a spear suddenly appeared between them. Everyone looked around to see where this spear came from but then they immediately heard a harsh whistle coming from above. 

Paul fell down like a meteor towards his spear, the ground beneath him caved in and exploded into shards the flew everywhere. As their vision adjusted, Paul's bulky body was finally seen. He was wearing a ferocious expression on his face. He then picked up his spear and roared towards the enemies with unprecedented ferocity. 

As his voice echoed everywhere, it carried different effects to the people around him. To his allies, it carried a feeling of protection in a spiritual level. This roar of his also caused a thick blue barrier to appear around his allies. This barrier would defend against life-threatening attacks for about six times before it shatters. This shows Paul's unceasing training over the years. 

His voice caused a severe suppression to the enemies though. They weren't expecting reinforcements to arrive at all, and it seems that the one who came was particularly strong. 

"Don't falter!" One of the enemies yelled at his comrades, "It's just one! We can handle that! We will kill him as well-Urk!"

This person didn't even manage to finish his sentence before his throat exploded into a bloody mess. His comrades felt chill crawl up on their spine. They immediately went on full alert and unconsciously grouped up with their backs against each other. 

It was then that someone saw a blue flash charging towards them at extreme speeds. The one who saw it could only let out a gasp to alert his team since the assailant was too fast and didn't allow him to react that much. 

He tried intercepting the blue flash but was stunned to see it change the course of it's flight. It missed him but hit the one behind him, and when the blue flash was gone, the head of his comrade slid down from his body. 

Of course, this blue flash was none other than Mark, who's speed right now is infinitesimally close to Old Lee's level. 

"Shit! Another one!" One of the Black Curtain Guild member cursed under his breath. "Summon your Armaments! We have to retreat! The reinforcements are too strong!"

The acting captain yelled at them, his orders were followed by them and immediately a set of Dark Steel Armor emerged from their bodies. As they were now clad with their Knightly Armament, they felt a little bit of security against the two who just arrived. 

They then started to retreat from the battle since they knew that they can't face them anymore, they could feel the threat of death looming over them so they did their best to run away. Unfortunately, the reinforcements aren't just Paul and Mark.

They would have never thought that someone was already waiting for them at their path of retreat. It was a girl with a blazing red hair who also wear a bright red clothes. The sword she was holding was pulsing with impatient flames ready to incinerate their forces.

Once they got close, Ellen snorted and plunged her sword on the ground. Shortly after that, the ground exploded with flame geysers that caught the enemies completely off-guard. 

Those who managed to react was able to avoid or defend against the attack, but that doesn't mean that they were unharmed, the scalding heat from Ellen's attack caused a painful sting on their skins. 

The stinging pain managed to distract them long enough for them to not notice a volley of whistling arrows flying towards them. 

The arrows were precise and aimed on their heads. None of the shots made any kind of noise, making it somewhat untraceable. The arrows were also made out of energy fueled by Wind Laws, which caused to be nigh invisible, specially to the distracted enemies.

The arrows successfully pierced at least five heads, some managed to react and avoid the arrows from hitting them. Unfortunately, even though they managed to evade the life threatening attacks, it's not like they could stop Raven's team from attacking. 

What happened next was completely one-sided. Mark, Anne and Ellen managed to take down all 18 Knights from the Black Curtain Guild without being injured even in the slightest. 

Paul, Luna and Raven tended to the Resource Gathering Troops while the three was busy eliminating the enemies. Of course, Raven was always paying attention to them just in case an unexpected situation happened. But it looks like it wasn't necessary since he already confirmed that all enemies died.

Well, not all of them died. Before the three could finish them, Raven swooped in and caught one of the Black Curtain Guild Members. 

He then sifted through the memories of the person he caught and found out that the Black Curtain Guild was really feeling antsy.

It was just like what the King said. It was about time that they see whether their plan from a year ago was successful or not. The only reason why this group was chasing after the Resource Gathering Troops was because they wanted to steal the minerals they collected for their own benefit. And because this team was relatively weak, they decided to finish them off in order to silence witnesses. 

Thankfully they managed to arrive in time. They were also grateful that the Skynet Array was there, the idea behind the distress signal was genius. It saved their lives.

Raven decided to let go of the one he captured but not before casting a wonderful technique. 

Raven wants to plant a mole for Kingdom. And to do that, he planted a Slave Seal on his captive. This Slave Seal was reinforced by many Inscriptions so that not even that Pale Bastard could sense it. Not that it would since it was in a deep slumber but still, just in case. Raven could never be too careful against the Black Curtain Guild.

Now that he had enslaved someone from the Black Curtain Guild, he then gave him a set of orders to complete and also gave him a unique way too contact him in case the salve wanted to report something. 

Raven didn't bother healing his slave since it would be better if he goes back in this current state as a proof that he was exhausted from a fierce battle. Raven just hoped that this slave of his won't be killed as soon as he returned or else his plan would fail. There is no honor amongst thieves after all, nevertheless he already made a pre-emptive move. All he had to do is wait and see if plan would work. 

After releasing the slave, Raven then went back to the Resource Gathering Troops and helped them retrieve the remaining resources.. It took them the rest of the day to finish so they camped out and rested, they then planned one travelling back to the kingdom tomorrow morning.