(Mael's POV)
"Hm." I said as I looked up, "It's around twenty feet up. And judging by the brick layout of the wall, I think I can climb it."
"O-Oh." Cecilia said softly, "You think so?"
I nodded as I began to climb up the way, placing my hands and feet through small openings within the wall.
"I can quickly dispatch them without making noise." I said with a hushed tone, "Stay here, okay?"
She shook her head, "I'll go with you."
I stopped around seven feet up from her, "What? No." I said, "I can't have you in there."
"Let me help!" She said, "I can look for the women while you deal with the others. Mael, don't leave me here! I want to be useful!"
I sighed, "Fine." I said, "But stay low."
As I climbed up the wall, Cecilia followed, clumsily making her way up towards the rampart. As I reached the top and crossed over, I noticed a single man sitting on a stool a couple of meters away. He seemed to be drinking booze from a cup, looking away.
"Hm...." I said
Cecilia flung herself over and hit the ground, "A-Ah-"
I covered her mouth, placing my finger on my lips, signaling her to be quiet. We were behind a wooden crate, low enough to be out of sight. I didn't want this guy to spot us and alert the others.
"Stay here." I whispered to her, "Don't move."
She nodded, not saying a word.
I then slowly unsheathed my sword, trying my best to not make any noise. I then slowly walked over to the man while I was crouched.
As I reached him, I grabbed the back of his shirt and slammed him on the ground.
"Ugh!" He grunted, "What the-"
I pressed my blade against his throat and slid it to the side, slitting his throat as he looked at me with widened eyes. I covered his mouth as blood poured out of his throat, his hand on my wrist as his grip slowly weakened.
His eyes then whitened out as he stopped struggling and his body went limp.
I let out an exhale and looked over to where Cecilia was; she was looking at me with a surprised expression, not expecting for me to do something like this.
I gestured her over, "Come here." I whispered, "Hurry."
Cecilia crawled over to our position, trying not to get spotted by the raiders on the other rampart.
"What is it?" She asked
I grabbed the knife that was sheathed on the man's side, "Here." I said, "Take this."
"A-A Knife?" She asked
"You need something to protect yourself." I told her, "Take it."
She took it from my hand slowly, "Okay..." She said, "I've never stabbed anyone."
"You're going to have to do it one day." I said seriously, "But for now, you stay low and let me handle it."
She nodded, "Okay." She said as she peeked over the rampart, "H-Hey, Mael, I see something."
I looked over and looked over where she was gesturing at, "What is it?"
"A man." she said, "He's tied to a post."
I saw what she meant; a man in a blue and red kimono, tied to a wooden post. He had long black hair that was tied in a ponytail, a white bandana on his forehead. His head was hunched down, but I noticed there was some blood pouring from his forehead.
"That could be the swordmaster they mentioned." I said, "Do you see anything else? I don't see any cages?"
"They could be somewhere inside. You said there were around 11? Well, 10 now." She asked, "There were five over by the river, so that means there is four in here."
I looked to the other rampart, seeing that there were two more over there.
"Two are unaccounted for." I said as I looked to where the man was, "My guess is there are inside the building."
She nodded, "Maybe the women are there." She said, "If we can lure them outside, I can go in and free them."
I nodded, "Yes." I said, "We can do that."
I then noticed that one of the men was walking over to this rampart, crossing the wooden bridge.
"Shit!" Cecilia went low, "What do we do?!"
"We wait." I said
A few seconds later, the raider reached this rampart and saw the dead man on the ground, a pool of blood around him.
"Hey, what the-" He started before I rushed up at him and thrust my blade at his throat
I stabbed him in the throat, holding the collar of his shirt and tripped him, slamming him on the ground and twisted the blade. He didn't have a chance, he simply squirmed for a split second and went limp as I stood up immediately and pulled the sword out.
"W-What....?" I heard Cecilia say softly
I looked over to the other rampart, "Okay..." I said, "We have to lure the others out. Once I do that, go inside the building and find the women."
"Okay...." She said
"Stay here." I said, "Wait for the signal."
"What signal?" She asked
I then ran over to the wooden bridge, using my enhanced speed to rush through it and launched myself to the other rampart with surprising agility and landed right next to the other raider who turned to see me with a shocked expression.
"W-What the hell?!" He exclaimed, "Who are-"
I swung my sword at his throat, cutting it deeply, and blood sprayed out everywhere. His body collapsed to the ground with a disturbing thud as blood poured out. I then grabbed his body and flung it over the rampart, hitting the ground hard to make a loud enough noise.
"Hopefully, that draws them out." I said as I looked at the door to the building
As this happened, the man who was tied to the post looked up, his brown eyes staring right at me with surprise.
"W-What?" His voice was coarse, "Who are you....?"
Suddenly, the door opened and two other men walked out, "What the hell was that noise?" one of them said with a scowl, "Huhhh??"
They stared at the dead body of their comrade, completely taken aback by this. As this happened, I launched myself over the rampart and dropped right down towards them.
I landed on the ground and rolled forward, getting up and thrusting my sword at the first one. I impaled him right through the chest, catching by surprise. I then pulled away the sword and immediately swung my sword at the second one, cutting his face.
"A-ARrghh!" He shouted in pain as he collapsed to his knees, "My face!!"
I then swung my sword again, cutting his neck and dropping him. The blade had only cut through half of his neck, roughly passing through it.
"Tch...." I said with a scowl, "I meant to cut his head off. Cecilia! Go! Now!"
Cecilia scurried down a ladder and then ran towards the door and walked inside the building as I looked over to the man who was tied to the post.
"Who are you?" He asked, "What are you doing?"
I walked over to him, swinging my sword at the ropes and cutting him free.
"There." I said, "You're free."
He collapsed to his knees, "You...." He said as he coughed, "Where did you get a katana?"
I frowned, "What does it matter to you?"
"Your physical abilities are impressive." He said as he looked at me, "But your swordsmanship is sloppy. Not even good enough to be called an amateur. You need to work on it."
I blinked, "You're serious?"
He wiped the blood off his face, "I am." He said, "Your posture is poor and the way you swing your sword is worse than what a toddler can do."
"It's quite embarrassing."