The Empress began following the Marchioness. She was surprised at how quiet it had been since the entire thing had started. Not that she suspected to see any other competitors near here. They all avoided this specific area like the plague.

The serene...ish quietness didn't last for long, as Gallagher suddenly noticed they were surrounded. Completely. He immediately dropped down to the Empress's side as her horse stopped, sensing the assassins around them with clear bad intentions, even more so proved when these very assassins stepped out. By the looks of it, they seemed to be of two different groups entirely. But they all had the same goal; Take down the Empress.

Lowell
"..As expected." Lowell said with a snarl as he shunted the boar off to the side. "But we still have the upper hand. Giselle, please cover me."
He dropped to a knee and began shifting to his beast form as the illusion broke.

Giselle
"Hope you know what you're doing, Brichalles. Try not to get us all killed too."
She said as she began shielding the area around him with a weak barrier of holy magic.

Lowell

"I'll attempt to refrain." He growled as he drew his sword and stood up, trying to regain his physical bearings for the moment.

Seeing 'Lionel' turn into the beast she'd gotten familiar with 2 weeks ago, she could automatically tell that it was Lowell, the one she thought had died.

Well, she speculated whether or not he died, anyway. Gallagher was not one to leave the corpses of his comrade's behind, no matter how difficult it was to obtain them. But for now, she drew her own weapon, sticking to long-distance as the bow appeared in her hands. The poison would work much faster now on humans.

She spotted one in the trees and immediately shot him down, triggering the others to begin their attack.

Giselle
"Annnnd.. go."
She dropped the barrier, drawing her own rapier and watching as Lowell joined in the assault on two assassins that had already landed near the group.

Lowell
He had taken up the front, severing the arm off one of the assassins with a brutal swing of his sword. He caught the blade of the other assassin between the bone spikes on his forearm, twisting it just enough to clatter the man's sword to the ground.
Lowell booted the armless man to the ground, opting to grip the other assassin by the face and use him as a shield as the assassin got up and tried to stab him in the side futilely with his remaining hand.

Gallagher ran towards the large group of assassins, swiftly cutting down those that stood in his way, while the Empress made sure no one snuck up behind either of him with her arrows.

(sorry for Bebe rpply, its 4am xd)

(nah it's fine, i'm dead rn too. wolfman is just fun to be descriptive with because he's absolutely savage but mostly i'm just trying to pad out posts so i'm not like
the dog killed everyone the end)

Giselle
Giselle opted to stay out of the thick of fighting, shielding the Empress' back here and there with barriers of light while Gallagher and Lowell made short work of any that were stupid enough to run near either of them. She was honestly impressed, watching them fight side by side like this.

At least now she could see why Lowell spoke so highly of Gallagher. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear they were reading each other's minds with how they seemed to closely match each other's steps despite their vast differences in combat styles.

Most of Gallaghers talent came from his undying urge to protect his woman The Empress. He truly was a sight for sore eyes when he was fighting, especially how well he coordinated with his partner. It really did seem like they were in sync to a point where they read each others minds.

(and I'm preparing to have Seraphina MURDERED to Gallagher can save her and become a noble and they can get married and have 5 children)

(ruby you legit need to sleep though how long have you been up)

Lowell
Lowell panted a moment as he tried to catch his breath. He had taken a few slashes to the shoulder, but otherwise was no worse for wear as he looked about the dead. Many had been singed by his electric and others destroyed by Gallagher's sword. The majority of the two groups had been thinned other than those the Empress had engaged with her bow and seemed to have on the run.

He figured it safe to relax for a moment, at least until he heard a yelp from Giselle as one assassin from the other side had pulled her aside and held a knife against her throat.
Another stood next to him and with Giselle's shielding barrier disarmed, seemed intent on going for the Empress with his crossbow.

(by sylestia time? Since like...3-4 pm. I think like 3 cause i remember waking up at 1pm)

The Empress aimed for the head of the assassin that had Giselle, well aware of the one that had his eyes set on taking her out. She was careful not to aim at Giselle, fearing that even being grazed by an arrow would activate the spines and poison.

Gallaghers eyes moved from the other assassins to the one standing next to the Marchioness, along with her capture. But he wasn't worried about her at the moment, and lunged towards the assassin with the crossbow, swiftly pushing it up into the air before he could fire and slicing his abdomen completely open.

(oh okay, phew
you have actually slept at some point.
i just remember seeing you on in the morning but i think i am confusing people again)

Giselle
Giselle relaxed as the arrow went through the man's skull and he went limp in front of her.
"I guess that makes twice now for me." She nodded in thanks to Gallagher. "And one for him."

Lowell
Lowell whistled at the sight, impressed by Gallagher's speed as he bent back the arm of another assassin with his own dagger sticking out of his shoulder blade.