Chapter 76: Betrayed

I dropped low, letting a guard’s wild swing pass just over my head before driving my elbow hard into his gut. He doubled over, and I finished him with a quick twist of my blade before spinning to face the next one already closing in.

’Tchh... Too many of them. I need to thin their numbers quickly.’

I planted my feet and reached for the strange warmth coiled deep in my soul, bracing myself for the headache that had ruined me back in the cave.

This time, it didn’t come.

[Nine Heavens Dragon Ascension Art: First Ascension!]

A thin shell of frost spread instantly across my skin, and a moment later, ice erupted from beneath my boots, racing outward across the courtyard floor in a wide, gleaming sheet.

The nearest guards shouted in alarm as the ground beneath their feet suddenly turned to glass. Several of them slipped and crashed to the ground, armor clattering as curses filled the air.

I couldn’t help but grin.

’Now we’re talking.’

I pushed off hard, sliding across the frozen ground like I was skating on it, closing the distance to the nearest guard before he could even get his balance back. My blade found the gap under his arm, and I was already moving again before his body hit the ice, sliding sideways to dodge a spear thrust, then pivoting to drive a burst of frost straight into another man’s chest.

The ice field turned the fight entirely in my favor. The guards, unused to fighting on a surface that refused to hold still beneath them, stumbled and flailed while I glided between them, dropping one after another with quick, precise strikes. Every slash left a faint trail of frost curling off my blade, cold enough that even the shallow cuts seemed to slow whoever they touched.

By the time the last of them crumpled onto the ice, my chest was heaving, sweat freezing slightly against my skin from the sheer amount of magic I’d just thrown around.

I spared a glance upward.

The last few slaves were already disappearing over the top of the wall, sliding down the second rope on the far side. Near the top, I spotted her, the woman from the slave quarters, standing at the edge, reaching down to help an old man climb over.

’Good. They’re almost out.’

I forced my tired legs to move, sprinting toward the wall and grabbing hold of the rope, hauling myself upward as fast as my arms allowed. Below me, more guards were already pouring into the courtyard, and somewhere beyond them, I could feel it, a massive, suffocating presence rolling steadily closer like a wave building just before it crashed.

’That’s got to be him... the captain.’

I pushed harder, my fingers aching as I neared the top. Just as I reached the final stretch, I saw her there, waiting, exactly where I’d expect an ally to be.

I raised my hand toward her, relief flooding through my exhausted body.

"Hey, give me a hand—"

She reached down.

Then, instead of pulling me up, she grabbed the sword still strapped at my waist and, in one swift, deliberate motion, sliced clean through the rope just above my grip.

My stomach dropped along with the rest of me. I had just enough time to see her face, calm, blank, completely devoid of guilt, before the ground rushed up to meet me.

I hit hard, the impact driving the breath from my lungs, pain lancing up through my legs and spine. I lay there for a stunned second, staring up at her small silhouette framed against the night sky.

"If you stay here, you can buy us enough time to escape," she said, her voice drifting faintly down to me, flat, cold and emotionless.

She turned and walked off without another word, disappearing over the far side of the wall, leaving me flat on my back in the middle of a courtyard full of enemy soldiers.

’That damn backstabbing bitch—’

I forced myself upright, biting back a groan as pain flared through my battered body.

’Fine. Lesson learned. Next time I save a bunch of strangers from slavery, I’m checking their resumes first.’

The guards closest to me scrambled backward, forming a loose, wary circle, clearly thrown off by whatever they’d just witnessed. Before I could fully get my bearings, the crowd of soldiers parted, and a man stepped through.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, his armor far more ornate than any guards’, a long scar running diagonally across one of his cheek. His eyes swept over me with cold, calculating interest, and the moment his gaze locked onto mine, the air itself seemed to grow heavier, pressing down against my skin like an invisible weight.

’That presence... yeah. That’s definitely the captain.’

He studied me for a long moment, taking in the stolen armor, the ice-coated ground, the trail of unconscious and dead guards scattered behind me.

"So, you’re the traitor," he said, his voice calm but carrying a hint of dangerous amusement.

I blinked.

’Wait... what?’

Before I could even process the accusation, he continued, his expression darkening further.

"Wearing our guards’ armor to help the slaves escape... How pathetic. You really thought you could sneak into my fortress, betray my men, and walk out alive?"

He slowly cracked his neck to one side, the sound unnervingly loud in the sudden silence. "Go ahead. Run if you want. I want to see how far you get before I tear you apart."

A small, humorless laugh escaped me despite the pain still throbbing through my body.

I looked at him, stretching my arms and rolling my limbs slightly, getting my body ready for what was about to happen anyway.

The captain’s eyes narrowed as he studied the unfamiliar face staring back at him. A flicker of genuine surprise crossed his features before his expression hardened again.

"It doesn’t matter who you really are. You’re going to die here either way."

He reached over his shoulder and drew a massive broadsword from his back. The blade hummed faintly with contained mana. I rolled my shoulders, ignoring the sharp protest from my bruised ribs, and settled into a loose stance. Ice curled faintly around my boots.

"Yeah. We’ll see about that."

I forced a tired, defiant grin onto my face. As both of us moved.

...

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