The mercenaries of the Vanguard's Guild circled Jack, ready to strike, while Jack settled into his middle sword stance, carefully and vigilantly watching for their next move. The fight began as two mercenaries lunged at Jack, one wielding a sword, the other a dual axe.
Jack parried every strike the mercenary threw with swift precision. His lower left arm transformed into solid ice, blocking the mercenary's sword. Lightning crackled through the frozen limb, and with a violent release of ice and lightning combined, Jack blasted the mercenary away, knocking him out and electrocuting him as he rolled across the ground.
The dual-axe wielder made a quick slash, scratching Jack's armor as he dodged and stepped back. The mercenary raised his axes and hurled a red, cross-shaped energy slash at him. Jack rolled beneath the attack and, in the same motion, brought his sword up with both hands to block the dual-axe wielder's follow-up double strike.
Pushed back by the dual-axe wielder's relentless assault, Jack spotted the group's leader, the same swordsman he had spoken with earlier, who appeared to be the leader of his group, charging in. The man unsheathed his sword, its blade glimmering with light as he swung from the waist, attempting to sever both of Jack's arms.
Jack unleashed a strong gust of wind from his hand, blasting both himself and the dual-axe wielder backward. The force separated them from the leader's upward slash, saving Jack's arms.
The leader lunged at Jack, his sword aimed at Jack's neck, but Jack parried the strike, and the two clashed blades. Each swing Jack unleashed ignited flames along his sword, infused with his energy. With swift, acrobatic movements, he drove the leader back before releasing an inclined flaming slash that blasted both the leader and the dual-axe wielder away.
Both mercenaries slowly rose, groaning, their armor and clothes scorched by the flaming slash. Jack watched the duo struggle to their feet as he flourished his sword.
"Isn't it time we stopped fighting?" Jack asked.
Unfortunately, both mercenaries glared at Jack with fury as they rose to their feet, raising their weapons, fully determined to kill him.
Jack sighed, lowering his head and raising it. "Fine then."
Both mercenaries rushed toward Jack, shouting. Jack hardened his left arm into the earth, blocking the dual-axe wielder's double strike while parrying every blow they threw as he backed away. He then spun around and drove his left knee upward, summoning earthen pillars from beneath his leg that slammed into the dual-axe wielder's chest.
Jack drove the leader to the side with a powerful swing of his sword, which the leader managed to block, and then pressed the advance while the leader struggled to keep up with Jack's attacks. The leader dashed back, settled into a lunging stance, and then surged forward, attempting to thrust his blade into Jack's armpit.
But Jack caught the leader's blade with his own, gripping his sword with both hands and turning it downward to block and slide along the steel toward the hilt. With a swift motion, he wrenched the weapon aside, tearing it from the leader's grasp. Jack followed up with a sweeping kick to the leader's chest, sending him rolling across the ground, separated from his sword.
Jack lowered his sword and caught his breath, seeing that all the opponents he had fought in the street lay fallen. But the dual-axe wielder was still getting back up, standing in front of it, clutching his chest where the earthen pillar had struck him, his eyes burning with determination to kill Jack.
"Ah, no, no, stop!" Jack warned the dual-axe wielder with an index finger up, facing him. The dual-axe wielder rushed at Jack with a shout.
Jack quickly swirled his left hand, summoning a water orb, then mimicked a hook punch. The spiraling water launched forward, slamming the dual-axe wielder into the side of an earthen pillar, crushing into his ribcage and sending him crashing to the ground.
With his heightened senses, Jack spotted the group's leader rushing toward the sword on the ground. The moment the man grasped the hilt, Jack unleashed a stream of ice, freezing both the leader's hand and the sword to the earth, trapping them in place.
The leader struggled to pull his hand free from the ice as Jack walked toward him, sheathing his sword across his back, looking down at him.
"Can we stop?"
After Jack asked, the leader had no choice but to accept defeat and nod.
"Good."
"Jack!" Shouted the man.
Jack turned his head and saw his father walking toward him with open arms and a surprised expression, questioning Jack's actions in the street. He had two young women with him, both wrapped in the cape he had given them.
"What did I tell you about causing trouble?"
"They started it." Jack pointed at the fallen mercenaries.
While the two spoke, the father of the two daughters rushed toward them in tears. He and his daughters fell to their knees, embracing each other tightly.
"Oh, thank god!" Cried the father.
Jack's father looked around the village and saw no damage, except along the road where Jack had fought the mercenaries. There, the mercenaries lay defeated on the ground, including the leader, whose hand remained frozen to the ice as he struggled to retrieve his sword.
"Well, at least you didn't cause any damage to anyone's houses," Jack's father said before walking toward the leader. "Now that you boys have learned your lesson, don't take pride for granted, and be careful who you choose to fight. You've crossed blades with members of the Ryder family."
The leader of the mercenary group looked confused at first, then suddenly realized who they truly were and that he had never been dealing with mere Ryder grunts.
"Wait a minute-"
"Thank you, sir, for saving my daughters." The father, who walked up to Jack's father, was holding his daughters to his side.
"Yes, thank you, sir."
"Thank you."
The two young women bowed their heads to their savior.
"Nah, that's a day's work. Now go back to your homes, and have a good day, all of you," Jack's father said, watching them leave before turning to Jack. "Now let's get back inside the tavern, I'm starving.""
"Agree."
The father and son walked back to the tavern together, ready to finally feast on the boar meat.