"We need to retreat! He destroyed my shield!" Carl called as he swung his sword in panic. A glance showed me that his fighting technique was floundering immediately. Not a surprise. His technique used a shield actively, not just as a defensive tool, but also as an offensive one, mixing bashes and swings.

With the shield half-destroyed, those tricks suddenly turned into a liability.

"We just need to surround them. Get rid of the damn shield and use your other skill."

"You owe me," Carl responded as he ditched his ruined shield and switched to a two-handed grip.

Which, ironically, turned out to be a problem. The skill he switched to was nowhere as good, probably limited to Rare, but it fitted the style of his companion far better. Quick swings and rapid stabs allowed him to move around Martin's attacks and limit my movement. Since he still had the advantage in power and speed, the limited skill wasn't a big problem.

They should have been using that from the start.

If I hadn't seen Rosie's approach earlier, I would have retreated, and focused on their army. Instead, I focused on resisting them, using all the excess metal to constantly create walls to block their path between swings.

"I wonder if your reward would be enough to replenish your weapons," I mocked them.

Carl snarled at the reminder, giving me the impression that it might be a possibility. "Don't worry. With his threat level updated, we'll get paid far more," Martin replied, trying to shore up the opinion of his ally.

"Even if your armor has been ruined as well," I responded as I threw several green bolts, forcing them to dodge with great panic, splitting their formation.

[-10 Mana]

[-10 Mana]

[-10 Mana]

None of the bolts were strong, but after the success of the earlier attempt, they were enough to intimidate them. It created a forceful gap between them, one that I pushed further by creating another metal curtain, this time a dome around Carl, splitting Carl and Martin. With the shield gone, Martin was a better target for Rosie, so I focused on Carl, closing the distance for a melee attack.

I was hasty, but the situation in the dungeon wasn't necessarily resolved, not with multiple gates in place. I needed to deal with the two ascended as fast as possible, before they revealed any nastier surprises.

"Arrogant!" Martin gasped even as our blades met, for once our duel went on uninterrupted while his ally tried to break through the dome. I did my best to make the dome stronger than the others, but that only gave me a few extra seconds.

"Not as arrogant as you, fighting against a mere blacksmith with numerical adventure, mister ascended warrior. No wonder they treat you like garbage."

As far as insults went, it wasn't particularly inspired, but it was enough to distract him from an important change, that the Radiant Flame around my blade occasionally flickered, adding a hint of persistent decay to his aura, wearing his defenses down.

He responded by attacking harder, and I started to cede some ground to him, each hit pushing me back somewhat. However, I let him drive me toward a pile of metal, and even as I dueled with him, I modified the metal. At the same time, I gestured to Rosie, giving her the signal to stick close to Carl.

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The dome cracked, and Carl appeared once more, and dashed to join the battle, only for me to enclose him in another dome. This time, it was different for three reasons. First, it was made of stronger metal, unable to be broken with one hit. Second, I immediately started to pump decay mana inside, enough to interfere with his protective shell, which had already been weakened by the long duel.

And, Rosie was in with him.

It was a risky call, especially since I didn't think that, even with all the advantages, Rosie had the ability to kill him. But, I didn't need her to do so. I just needed her to distract him for a minute.

"Pathetic," I called, once again angering Martin, but this time, my empty hand was on the head of my hammer, infusing the head with mana. Martin growled and closed the distance, attacking me.

I countered by dropping my sword and hugging him. "What are you doing!" he shouted as his hands landed on my head. I ignored the damage, and used the metal from the hammerhead to form a thick chain around us, locking us together. At the same time, I formed a dome around us to hide us from the view.

With Carl blocked, that meant I was free to push my decay aura to his body freely. "Coward! Pathetic!" he growled as he punched me again and again.

[-29 Health]

[-39 Health]

[-25 Health]

They hurt even through the armor despite his lacking an unarmed Skill. A part of it was our situation. I was able to take his blade attacks, because most of them I parried and drained the majority of their potential or dodged. Our current situation didn't allow any.

"Let me go!" Martin shouted, frustration evident as his swings became more reckless, but they hurt less. I could feel his Health aura finally diminishing to nothing. "Carl, where are you!" he shouted.

He was in the other dome, trying to catch Rosie in a dark dome, which had been impossible for him, which I could somewhat watch thanks to Observe. I could feel her seizing the opportunity perfectly, never confronting Carl directly, but attacking him whenever he turned to attack the walls of the dome.

"It's your end," I responded to Martin, once the protective aura was gone, and I could access his armor directly. I didn't even bother to melt it around him. I just turned the joints into stiff blocks, making it impossible for him to move.

I wanted to kill him. I really did, but it was too much to do without discussing it with Rosie. I expanded my dome over the other instead, and put my hand on the one that was keeping Carl. From there, all I needed was to create a wall between Carl and Rosie, then another one that locked Carl into a tiny box so that he couldn't swing his weapons.

"Impressive work," Rosie said the moment I dissolved her side and looked at Martin. "We have to kill them."

"Why?" I asked. "Not that I have anything against killing them, but wouldn't keeping them prisoner make more sense?"

"I don't believe so," she said. "Things might be different if they respected us somewhat, but under the circumstances, it will just pull the whole legion to pressure us. Two ascended fighters are not something they can ignore. They will be here to pressure us to give up the asset. And, once they are here…"

"They will have no reason to leave peacefully no matter what we do," I responded. She nodded. "Fine," I said even as I modified Martin's neck slightly. Rosie struck swiftly and precisely, plunging her blades into his exposed side, bypassing the remnants of his compromised aura effortlessly.

Martin's eyes widened in shock and pain, but the helmet I modified prevented him from speaking. His armor tight around him, he lacked the ability to move as he slowly bled, his life fading away. At the same time, I applied the same treatment to Carl in his metal tomb.

Just like that, two ascended fighters had met their end. I paused, thinking about the next steps.

"Does it feel anticlimactic?" Rosie asked.

"I don't care the slightest," I replied. "I'm more bothered that we lacked the time to question them."

"It wouldn't work in any case. They must have spent months with their leader. Their loyalty is not something we can easily turn."

"And, we lack time for a longer interrogation," I completed.

Rosie shrugged. "They won't know much in any case," she said. "Do you mind turning their armor to their previous state so it looks like they died while fighting?"

I shrugged and followed her request. I preferred to keep the trick I pulled hidden if possible. "What happened with the mages?" I asked.

"They died," she replied. "They had no ascended, and once I breached their defenses, the rest was easy."

"Good," I replied as I closed my eyes, focusing on the dungeon. As far as I could tell, everything was perfectly manageable there as well, with the dungeon churning more and more insects to destroy the lizards. I would still go and look, of course, but it seemed that the siege was finally over. "It's a bitter victory," I said.

"True, but considering the forces we face, it's the best we can hope for," she said.

I nodded. She was right. "Let's mop up the rest," I said.

It was hard, but I wanted it to be over.