The soldier pointed toward the house...
The courtyard now visible was filled with people lying scattered on the ground—this group had actually chosen to launch a direct assault.
Where was the guard? Where were the Black Feather Knights?
"Save me! Save..." The soldier still clung to Sean's hand, but with barely any strength left.
His eyes had lost their focus, and above his head appeared the status [Dying!], with his HP reduced to just over a hundred points and still draining.
"Igunia, bring the potion." Sean suddenly spoke to the girl behind him.
"Ah, I... I don't..." Igunia started to say she didn't have any, but seeing the soldier on the verge of death, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Originally, today was just about welcoming the Red Dragon Witch. Not dressing formally was already a breach of protocol, let alone carrying potions. Besides, in Koga City, there was almost no fighting, so she never bothered with such heavy items. And potions weren't a cure-all—how could they restore someone in this condition?
Yet she watched as Sean picked up a stone nearby and placed it in the soldier's hand...
"Here, rest a while, and you'll feel better soon," Sean said.
Igunia had no idea what he was doing?!?
She only saw the soldier's mouth slightly open. His hand could no longer move, and the color was fading from his muscles.
He just lay there quietly on the ground, mouth still open, as if he were drinking a potion.
"Let's go!"
Sean pulled Igunia and walked away from the soldier.
She couldn't help but glance back...
"That wasn't a potion you gave him!"
"I know." Sean didn't turn around, just lowered his voice.
How could someone with only a hundred HP left, still draining, be saved? The wound on his chest showed he'd been hit in the heart—no chance of survival. Giving him that 'potion' was just easing his fear of death.
When he held the stone, [Fear!] slowly faded, replaced by [Excitement!].
At least dying in that state would feel a bit more comfortable...
"Who are they? Why target Earl Hamilton's household?" Igunia, born and raised in Koga City, had never imagined the earl's mansion would end up like this.
"They've probably been planning this for a long time, just waiting for the right moment," Sean said.
He looked at the fallen guard soldiers around them—none were very high level.
The Black Feather Knights weren't among them...
That meant the group sent east hadn't returned yet. They'd just happened to hit this exact timing.
It was risky, even pointless in Sean's eyes—a fight like throwing an egg at a stone...
The trigger for their uprising must have been the Red Dragon Witch's arrival!
With her high level, if she were stationed in Koga City, no enemy could threaten the earl's mansion. So they struck at this moment.
Even the gunpowder was prepared in advance. Clearly, the enemy had excellent intelligence on Koga City and the earl's estate.
Looking at the traces of battle around, the enemy had faced significant resistance, but their advance had been smooth...
Almost all the guards who tried to stop them were knocked down.
Some still had the status [Burn Damage!] lingering on them.
There must be high-level figures among the enemy!
"Igunia, do you know any powerful wizards close to the earl? Or any formidable people in the mansion?"
"There are... The earl has quite a few wizards, most recruited from various wizard organizations. Shalik, whom you met before, was once a member of Elinta, which is why he's so familiar with my senior brother."
It wasn't unusual for a local lord to recruit subordinates from wizard organizations. If Sean had enough resources back then, he might have tried to keep Lucille—having someone that strong would ensure his own safety.
"Are there any members of the Wizard Council?" Sean suddenly brought up the name.
"The Wizard Council! Why would you mention that?"
When Sean said "Wizard Council," he clearly saw a flicker of something unusual in Igunia's eyes.
But he didn't have time to ask.
As they neared the courtyard where the earl usually stayed, they suddenly heard voices inside.
"Shh... wait." Sean made a gesture to pause. From the sound, there were quite a few people.
Most were talking about treating each other's wounds... More soldiers lay fallen on the path to the courtyard—they must have put up a strong fight too.
Normally, the earl's mansion should have plenty of guards, but today, with the Red Dragon Witch's arrival, many Black Feather Knights had been redeployed, and there was a fire in the east.
"What are they doing?" Igunia tried to peek, but Sean pulled her back.
"Don't make a sound. There are too many of them—we can't take them head-on alone."
"Then what do we do?"
When the voices drifted farther away, Sean cautiously leaned out to check the people in the courtyard.
It was the same courtyard where, days earlier, many nobles had waited for the earl to summon them one by one. Now it was filled with those masked thugs.
Their HP was low—the few he could see through the gaps all had less than [2000] health, likely just like the ones on the street outside—armed but not skilled.
Behind them was the corridor leading to the earl's room...
Sean had been there once, when Earl Hamilton had summoned him for questioning.
"There are so many of them!"
"Yeah, but their levels are low, same as the ones outside," Sean explained to Igunia.
"Then why are they all standing here?"
He looked at the corridor behind them, just a dozen meters away.
These people wouldn't be waiting here for no reason. There were probably others inside, and these were just guarding the entrance.
Even if the fire in the east had drawn most people away, news of what happened on the main street would reach them soon. The Black Feather Knights and the Red Dragon Witch were likely already on their way back.
With just these few low-level people, guarding here was pointless.
"Did they take the earl hostage?" Igunia's words reminded Sean.
"Here's the plan, Igunia... You draw their attention. I'll attack from the side. Once they're focused on you, you flank them from the other side. Twenty or thirty people—we should be able to handle them." He pointed to the door on the other side.
"Okay." Igunia nodded.
After seeing the soldier die earlier, the girl had found more courage.
Watching her sneak over to the opposite corridor, Sean pulled out his twin guns from under his belt.
He'd used fire bullets earlier, but with so many wooden buildings here, he might burn down the whole house—including himself.
Ice bullets?
Opening the magazine, Sean considered switching ammunition.
He thought back to the hydrogen bomb Bachler had used in the fight at Taylemian. Maybe he could use poison gas bullets, metal bullets, or something similar.
"Who's there!"
But before he could finish loading, Igunia's clumsy move had already caught the attention of the enemies in the courtyard.
"Grab her!"
No time to choose. Sean instinctively loaded ice bullets into his guns with magic.
He leaped to the corridor on the other side.
Rat-tat-tat-tat...
He fired a burst at the backs of the crowd.
But as the group scattered, looking for cover, Sean suddenly spotted a [Friendly] affinity among the dozens of [Hostile] ones.