"Boy…" Ben said quietly, his voice steady as he ced a hand firmly on the invisible barrier''s shimmering surface.
His eyes, sharp and focused, scanned the intricate web of mana flowing through the spell, pinpointing the faintest irregrity.
Then, throwing a nce towards Leo, he simply looked into his eyes and then towards his palm once again, as without needing to say more, his nce alone conveyed his intent to Leo.
"Oh?" Leo responded, catching on quickly as he mimicked Ben''s actions, cing his own hand on the barrier near the same spot.
The surface felt cool and smooth, like touching ss, but a faint hum of energy buzzed against his fingertips.
"Not quite," Ben muttered, tilting his head slightly as he studied the position of Leo''s hand. "A little more to the left."
Leo shifted his palm slightly, his movements precise and deliberate. "Here?"
Ben nodded. "That''s it boy, now just follow my lead on three" he said with a steady and calm voice, though his muscles tensed in preparation.
Leo''s mind immediately started counting. One… Two…
"Three!"
In perfect synchronization, both of them poured their mana into the precise weak point Ben had identified in the barrier.
The barrier resisted for the briefest of moments, the shimmering energy rippling outward like waves on water, before a sharp cracking sound echoed through the courtyard.
*CRACK*
With a deafening shatter, the barrier broke apart, its fragments dissolving into the air like shards of light, as both Leo and Ben burst out of the broken barrier with a fury, as they began to ughter the men in front of them.
The duo moved like a storm, their des shing and slicing through the soldiers nearest to them.
Their sudden burst of speed and ferocity caught the royal guards off-guard for a moment, but the well trained soldiers quickly rallied, forming a tight circle around the pair.
"Surround them!" amanding voice barked from the ranks.
"Don''t let them escape!" another one said, as the royal soldiers began moving with practiced precision, their shields locking together as they began to close in.
Spears thrust forward from behind the shield wall, forcing Leo and Ben to stay on the defensive.
Leo gritted his teeth as he parried a spear aimed for his chest, twisting his body to avoid another strike.
His de danced in his hand, shing through the spear shaft and driving forward to pierce the soldier''s armor, as the man crumpled, but another quickly stepped in to take his ce.
"They''re trying to box us in!" Leo shouted, his voice sharp as he spun to deflect an iing strike from his nk.
"I know," Ben growled, his tone calm despite the intensity of the fight.
His de moved with precision, striking at joints and weak points in the soldiers'' armor.
Every swing that he made was efficient and every strike was lethal.
"Stay close to me and don''t let them close the gap." he instructed, as faced with such insurmountable odds, Ben decided to take on the challenge one soldier at a time.
Thankfully, Leo was up to the task of covering his back, as the duo moved like a well-oiled machine, their backs almost touching as they shifted positions to prevent the encirclement from tighteningpletely.
Ben''s experience showed in his ability to predict the soldiers'' movements, his strikes creating small openings for Leo to exploit, while Leo''s aggressive attacks and explosive speed, pushed the encircling soldiers back.
"Focus on breaking their formation," Ben instructed, his voice steady even as he parried a strike and countered with a brutal sh that tore through a soldier''s neck.
"They''re strong, but they''re relying on numbers and discipline. Disrupt that, and they''ll falter."
Leo nodded, his mind racing as he adapted to the situation. He sidestepped a shield bash, using his momentum to drive his de into the exposed armpit of an advancing soldier. With a quick flick of his wrist, he withdrew the de and spun, shing at another attacker''s thigh, sending him crumbling to the ground.
"They''re disciplined, I''ll give them that," Leo muttered, his breathsing in short bursts. "But they''re not used to fighting someone like us."
"Lord Father, allow me to contribute as well" Dumpy said, while being perched on Leo''s shoulder, as suddenly he croaked and leapt into the fray.
The ancient swamp frog then opened its maw, unleashing a burst of corrosive venom that sttered against the shields of the soldiers, eating through the metal and causing chaos in the ranks, before climbing back on Leo''s shoulders to guard his back.
"Good boy," Leo muttered with a grin as the surrounding soldiers recoiled, their formation momentarily disrupted.
"Don''t get cocky," Ben warned, stepping forward to capitalize on the opening. His de shed as he drove into the gap, cutting down two soldiers in quick session before retreating back to Leo''s side.
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"There were a few Virex Corps soldiers standing there that have vanished, expect an assassin attack from all sides now." he warned, as contrary to Leo who only focused on the immediate enemy ahead, Ben focused on the whole picture, showing his superior experience when it came to such battles.
And true to his doubts, the very next moment, an assassin popped up from behind Leo, slipping undetected past his defence, only for Dumpy to intercept his attack while being perched on Leo''s shoulder and retaliating with an acid spit straight to the man''s mask.
"Filthy Mongrel, keep your unsanitary dagger off my Lord Father" Dumpy said, as his acid melted straight through the man''s brittle face mask and subjected him to a painful death.
The soldier had genuine shock stered in his eyes when he died, as he did not expect someone as small as Dumpy to be able to block and counter his strike that was made with so much power.
Theoretically a short 6 inch frog should not be able to block such a powerful attack, but Dumpy did.
And that too with ease.
With such a powerful guardian perched on his shoulders, it was near impossible to touch Leo undetected.