When the three iron gates fell with a bang, the ground shook up thick smoke and dust, completely blocking out the dragon roar and the sound of high-speed flame flow. Hadava finally couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Helgen was not originally built to provide settlements. The fort is steeped in history and fortification. Far from the wooden structures out there that have been smashed by lava and shattered. Even its designers never expected the fortress to be used against a legendary dragon, but it was okay to delay it for a while.

As a clerk of the Imperial Army in Helgen. Familiar with the terrain, Hadawa believes he will be able to use this respite to escape from here. But it wasn't peaceful now, and he saw many rebels rushing into the other side of the fortress, and he needed help.

So he drew his dagger and walked towards the two prisoners who had fled with him.

"Hey, let's untie these ropes. It's not safe here. ”

An Imperial, a Dark Elf.

"Ah, thank you. My hand is going to be broken from this thing. ”

Hadava knew the Dark Elf. This guy named Roy belongs to the Thieves' Guild, and his status doesn't seem to be low. When he was caught, he was 'sorting out the jewel box for the lord's wife' - and he was almost on the verge of success. If not a feral cat had suddenly knocked over the fruit bowl at that time...... God knows how that wildcat managed to climb so high, so smooth castle on such a dark and cold night.

So, in order to reward the poor thief for his professionalism, the guards were 'slightly' rude when they tied him up...... It's certain that this guy won't want to swing a sword for at least five days.

Well, at least he can still act as a proper scout, as he should.

Hadava comforted herself. Ignore the guy who was trying to move his wrist. The diagonal cross marks on his face were not at all flattering. Instead, look at another person. An Imperial Female ...... Girl.

With short pale blonde hair and a slender and slender figure, if you wash off the dust on your face, you may still be a big beauty. Unfortunately, her brain seems to have been damaged. It is a strange question that he could not even figure out where he came from - why did an imperial man come all the way from the warmth of Sirodil to his death?

However, her luck seems to be good, not every prisoner can be blown away at the moment when his head is about to be cut off.

"Your name is Alice, right, come, try this sword. ”

Imperial...... Alice took the Imperial dagger. The dragon emblem on the gauntlet glows dimly. She waved her hand casually. Draw several smooth arcs in the air.

"Good job~" Hadava couldn't help but whistle briskly. That's a lot better than a thief who can't use his wrists. This gave him a bit of confidence out of thin air.

"Practiced before?"

"I don't remember. Alice shook her head a little confusedly, her voice soft and pleasant, "I seem to have forgotten a lot of things, but ......" she casually split a cup into six with her short sword. The six pieces of shards scattered in unison. “…… My body remembers some tricks. ”

"Then don't forget about them. There may be some instability to come. ”

He looked at the ceiling, and layers of fine sand were spilling through the cracks in the marble. You can faintly feel the tremors of the earth.

"We probably don't have a lot of time. He looked at Roy. The thieves stated that they were able to move normally.

"I knew there was a cave under the castle that might lead to the outside. If only we can get there before this fortress collapses. He paused, "I'm afraid we're not the only ones who think the same way, and if those rebels can kill us, I'm afraid they won't let go of this opportunity." ”

"I'll show the way. Roy, you pay attention to the movement around you. Alice, in charge of the Queen's Palace. ”

"No problem. ”

"Listen to your command. ”

Hadava took a deep breath and glanced back at the fortress gates one last time. The iron door to the underground was opened.

"Talos Bless ......"

………………

The passage leading to the underground is narrow and winding. Torches burned silently on both sides of the wall. From time to time, fine sand fell from the cracks in the stone with a dull crashing sound. Each blow made the hearts of the three people walking underground tremble.

Buried here, there is no way into heaven and there is a door to the earth.

"This way...... How long is it?" Roy swallowed. Asked softly.

"It's right ahead. ”

"But you've said it six times!"

"That's up front, too!"

"Shh

At the end of the corridor is a small stone room, through which you can hear someone talking in a whisper.

Roy tiptoed behind the wooden door and peered through the tiny gap.

He made a series of gestures, stiff but still distinct.

Hadava recognized this sign language, which was occasionally used in the military. The gist of it is probably as follows: "It's the people of the Storm Cloak, there are eight in all.] So he responded with a gesture.

[What weapons did they have?]

[Four swords, two axes, a bow, and a crossbow.] 】

[Can you get rid of the crossbow first?]

[He stood far away and couldn't do anything. 】

He patted Alice, who was visibly confused, on the shoulder, to tell her to be patient. The disparity between the number of friends and foes is too great, and it is in a confined environment. Even he couldn't cope with the close-range fire of the crossbow bolts. I can only avoid its edge for the time being.

Alice nodded, and although the gesture exchange between them was almost incomprehensible, she could tell that there was a big problem ahead. Naturally, it will not cause chaos at this time.

But sometimes, it's not like you can hide if you want to.

'Boom-'

With a loud bang, the entire fortress shook like a frog with its spine drained. The torch behind Hadava was extinguished by falling rocks almost instantly. At the same time, the stone hall behind the wooden door was also in chaos, and the oil lamps hanging from the ceiling were splashed with hot lamp oil, which happened to pour on the bodies of the two storm cloaks.

The screams they uttered in that moment were simply not human-capable of uttering. Several rebels hurriedly surrounded him, and among them was the guy with the crossbow!

"It's !! now," Hadava roared, raised his shield and rushed into the crowd. "Die!"

Before the knocked down rebel could react, an Imperial sword slashed diagonally, splitting his head in asymmetrical halves. Then Hadava swept his sword, severing the other's neck.

"Imperial!!" a rebel next to him reacted and raised his axe to slash his head, but was blocked by Hadava's shield swing, which made him stumble and fall backwards. Before he could stand firm, Alice's short sword pierced him in the heart with precision.

"Damn, there are only two of them, archers !!"

"They can't hide. "The archer with the short bow draws the strings and shoots an arrow at Alice!

But she missed, and the steel arrow flew a foot above Alice's head.

"Idiot, where are you shooting—" He jerked back, only to realize that his companion was not a poor archer—a short crossbow bolt was stabbing diagonally into her head. Scarlet blood was slowly pouring from her mouth and nose.

"This guy's neck is so hard. Roy shook his head and stepped out of the shadows with his crossbow. The corners of his mouth were covered in blood, and he had a rag on his face. It was clear that he had been wounded in both hands and used his teeth to deal with the crossbowman. And pressing the trigger of a well-wound crossbow obviously requires little dexterity in the wrist.

"Good job. Hadava gave him an appreciative look. The sword in his hand was thrown, nailing the visibly frightened Stormcloak to the wall.

"How about you take that crossbow to support us?"

"Willing to help. Roy smiled and shrugged his shoulders, combined with the war marks and blood stains on his face, it would definitely make a child under the age of twelve cry out to his mother. "I think I can do it. ”

"That's the best. ”

Hadava stepped forward and drew his sword from the wall. "Let's go, we still have to hurry. ”

Suddenly there were two rapid screams behind him. Looking back, Alice was pulling her dagger out of the heads of the two men who had been burned half dead by the lamp oil.

She flicked the dagger in her hand, and the brains and blood on it were roughly wiped out.

"That's fine, they won't live long anyway. Hadava twitched the corner of his eye, and it was clear that the imperial girl in front of him was more capable and courageous than he had imagined. "It seems that the men of Sirodil are really hard. Even Nord women are rarely able to do this without changing their faces. ”

Alice tilted her head slightly, and her big eyes widened. "Is that so? I see that you are all so relaxed, and I think this is the Nord way. I don't feel anything anyway. ”

"Hey!" Roy patted Alice on the shoulder. "How about joining our thieves' guild? We have a ...... named Wicks Uh,. You're going to talk to her!"

"Hey, you're next to an Imperial officer!" Hadava grumbled, with some displeasure.

"I'm just growing my business......"

'Bang !!'

The muffled sound from the ground made the entire hall tremble slightly. Then the sound of rolling stones could be heard in the distance. Listening to the sound, there should be a large piece of the surface building that has collapsed.

"What a powerful blow. I don't know how long this fortress will last. Hadava muttered to himself, looking a little depressed. After all, escaping from the mouth of a dragon is not a pleasant thing.

But he quickly picked himself up again.

"Let's go, guys! I don't know what awaits us yet. ”