Leo wasted zero time, he leapt over the fence and landed on a patch of grass, he had an eager grin etched on his face.
"Finally, let's get this over with."
However, as soon as his boots touched the grass the door to the house opened and Arthur stepped out. Walking out the door with the confidence and gait of someone sure he was in no danger
"Oh so you were expecting us, I guess it makes sense, you are a mercenary after all"
Gus concluded as he opened the small gate of the fence and stepped through fully entering into Arthur's property.
He looked at the man over and noted the sheathed blade he held in his left hand. Gus frowned, if the man before them was a swordsman then this was going far more difficult than initially thought.
"Bulat sent you?"
"You got that right, the boss doesn't like people who don't stay in their place"
Gus answered, his gaze holding Arthur's own gaze but while Arthur's face was stern, Gus had a small smile on his face, a facade of confidence.
"Oh! He's gonna hate me then"
Arthur answered, his face still maintaining its stern expression.
Hearing his words, the trio shared knowing glances. It became obvious to them that this man before them was not familiar with Bulat, otherwise, he wouldn't be saying the words he said.
"It's better to just pay the fee, it's for your own good"
Darren spoke, still behind the fence. His words garnered glances from the other two however he ignored them and continued to speak.
"It's obvious you have no idea who Bulat is, if you think you can stand up to him, you can't. Plenty of men have defied him and all have died, some along with their whole families. Be reasonable and just pay the fee"
Darren explained, his words coming out as more angry than the neutral tone he wanted to convey. It was completely stupid to him, the idea that someone would risk their lives over some small fee, if one truly values their life then paying a small fee to keep it should be a no-brainer, an easy choice to make.
But unfortunately, there are always fools, people who are too proud or too stubborn to see the easy choice and instead choose the option that is not only bad for them but the one that will get them killed.
"Sorry big man, can't do that, do what you came to do and I'll do what I must"
Darren heaved a deep sigh and shook his head, there was nothing he could do for a fool too stubborn to listen to reason.
'I gave him a warning, it's not my fault he did not listen'
He said to himself and jumped over the fence as well. Even if the man before him can beat the three of them, Bulat has many more powerful fighters under his thumb, people with incredibly powerful magic items and fighting power.
It was hopeless to fight against him, if it was possible to defy Bulat, Darren wouldn't have been under his thumb for so long.
"Alright enough with the talking, I'd much rather be done with this in the next hour"
Gus said as much and just as he finished speaking, Leo jumped into action.
Springing forth and launching himself towards Arthur. His pointy daggers were held with a reverse grip.
The reverse grip was not the most advantageous way of holding for bladed weapons as it decreased one's reach but allowed one to punch while holding a weapon.
Leo reached Arthur within seconds and swung his arm almost as if going for a punch but quickly transitioning into a swing as soon as his arm got close enough, he aimed his left dagger at the throat.
Fwhip!
Arthur was quick to pull his neck back and let the dagger cut the air as it flew to the side. Easily evading the attack before immediately retaliating with a swift kick to Leo's stomach.
BAM!
The kick connected and a groan escaped the thief's mouth, the kick to his stomach was delivered with enough force to send him rolling back on the ground several feet, however, Leo was able to make a quick recovery and got on his feet, dusting himself off.
"You might wanna try a little harder than that"
None of the three responded to his taunt, however, Gus noted how Arthur did not use his sword to block or parry, he didn't even unsheath it.
'He's confident he can fight us without it'
He surmised, something that made him frown just slightly. He did not appreciate being underestimated. He was about to charge in when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.
"No, not yet. Let Leo fight, if he's a swordsman and currently thinks he doesn't need it, swarming him is not a good idea, we need to get rid of the sword before doing that"
Darren whispered to Gus, who could only frown deeper as he heard those words however he didn't argue, he understood that the moment Arthur unsheathed his sword it would be far more difficult to get close.
Gus shook off Darren's hand from his shoulder and nodded before turning to Leo who was glancing at them, Gus gave him a nod as well, practically telling him to continue with his assault.
Leo grinned and moved once more. This time he changed his grip on one of his daggers, using a forward grip while maintaining a reverse grip on the other.
Once he reached his opponent, he launched a flurry of attacks at Arthur, each swing of his twin daggers aiming for vital spots, the throat, the heart, the eyes, and the stomach; however, Arthur easily dodged all, without even using his hands to block or parry.
Arthur's body moved at his command, he dodged an oncoming slash from the left, by ducking down, and a forward thrust from Leo's right hand came, however, Arthur slid to the side evading it with ease.
Leo tried once more, trying a downward slash at his chest but Arthur evaded by stepping to the side. Their movements looked like a sort of dance, any civilian who saw them would no doubt assume they were dancing together.
As the two continued their dance, there was a small smile on Arthur's face, a confident smirk that told Leo he was not on Arthur's level, it was the type of smirk that irked Leo and fueled his anger.
However his attacks just did not land on Arthur at all, he was seemingly untouchable however Leo had no plans for things to remain that way for long.
Not only was the young thief not moving at his fastest, but he also hadn't used any feints to try and misdirect Arthur; however, the need for feints was apparent.
Leo threw a slash at Arthur's right, going for the ribs, however, Arthur was quick to move to the side having seen the attack coming and moved accordingly, unfortunately that was a feint and Arthur moved directly into the path of Leo's left dagger.
CLANK!
The dagger collided with Arthur's sheathed blade, blocking it from reaching his left ribs Leo had thrown in a feint but unfortunately it still failed.
"Ha! You thought"
Arthur taunted before kicking Leo on the stomach once more and sending the thief sliding back multiple meters.
However despite the feint having failed, Leo had a smile on his face, the fact that he managed to get his opponent to block using his sheathed blade meant it's possible to overwhelm him enough to use his weapon and if that's the case then that also means, without his weapon, it will be easy to overwhelm him.
"Come on, try a little harder"
Arthur said, taunting them once again and this time using his hand to beckon them to come at him.
Leo did not respond to the taunt, he simply shared a glance with Gus and they nodded at each other, a mutual agreement that it was time for him to join in as well.
"I'll be moving fast, so keep up"
"Don't worry about me"
Gus answered as he rolled his shoulders and flexed his muscled arms.
Arthur watched as the two prepared to attack however his eyes looked at the one behind them, he could see that they were planning something and that the two were merely a distraction, he couldn't guess what they were planning but he did not plan to let it succeed.