"And make it quick, that search party will not be dealing with the fire for long."

"I suggest that we get the hostages to fight back while surrounding the 40 knights." Erina was very much liking her own idea, it was simple and seemed good enough.

"Then a large death toll will be added from our academy." Tanya placed her palm over her own face.

"It is best that we use my invisibility spell to quietly take them out one by one. It does not get any simpler than that." Penelope spoke up with a confident grin.

"Hmmm… great idea, Penny. But is your spell movable?"

"No."

Tanya was left with a dilemma. She had no way to safely deal with all of the knights and the options she had were all high risk. If she were to go through with these dangerous plans, the majority of the students and teachers would be slaughtered in the chaos.

Alas, there is one idea she could think of. The idea may seem stupid to some, but it was all Tanya could come up with. When faced with terrible odds and an overwhelming enemy, Tanya's tactical mind showed.

"Make a small amount of noise near the door, we're taking hostages." Tanya smiled.

"What do you mean? Are you asking me to attract those knights to our room?!" Erina gasped.

"Trust my words."

"Fine."

KNOCK KNOCK

KNOCK KNOCK

KNOCK KNOCK

The sound of footsteps conveniently began approaching the room. From Tanya's experiences, she could tell that there were only two sets of feet approaching. Knowing this, she took a post at the en-suite and readied her sword.

"Penelope, cast some sort of sleep spell please." Tanya requested, blowing a kiss to Penelope.

"Of course."

"Oi! Who's there? Come out if you don't want us to be rough! We won't mind breaking you in if you don't open up!" The voice of a rough and uncultured man penetrated the door.

"F**k it, here we go ladies!"

Just as the knight was about to kick open the door, his foot came launching forward and completely missed the door as it opened.

CRASH

He fell on the floor and was quickly subdued by Tanya's sharp blade.

"Do not move or make a noise if you want to live." Tanya coldly ordered as she slashed the back of the man's knees with her sword.

"Ergggh…." The man could not help but groan a little.

"[Sleep]." Penelope casted towards a confused knight who was just about to charge in from behind the other one.

FLOP

The two knights were easily subdued by the party.

"Erina, grab some of those knight corpses from the piles downstairs while no one is looking." Tanya whispered.

Erina nodded and quickly made her way outside.

"Penny, please tell me. We have some rope or some excess bedsheets~" Tanya deviously smiled. Penelope looked at Tanya and could read what the latter meant from just the smile and the vague words. Penelope seemed rather happy after interpreting.

"Yes, I will grab the linens and ropes in the room." Penelope answered.

After a ten minutes of waiting, Erina returned with a few corpses still in their armour. Penelope also managed to put together a bundle of rope and linens, smiling somewhat evilly.

"Now let me handle the rest."

Ten minutes later:

"Sir, the fire is nearly under control! Shall we proceed to executing the prisoners soon? The kingdom's knights might arrive anytime, we must hurry-"

SHHIIKK

A knight fell to the ground, his neck slit.

"Do not remind me. I am the commander." The leader coldly spat on the corpse before looking up.

"Wait a minute!!" Before he could even observe the birds in the sky, he was greeted by the view of 8 armoured knights sitting on the ledge of the second story balcony with ropes around their necks.

"I see that we've caught your attention. Let me put it simply. Release the hostages or we will begin executing these knights." Tanya coldly announced to the people on the gra.s.s.

With their mouths gagged, the two alive knights could not do anything but struggle, unable to inform their leader that they were the only alive hostages amongst the death row.

"I will now show you that I mean business." Tanya tied a coffee table to one of the corpses' feet and pushed it down from the ledge.

SNAP

The sound of bones breaking could be heard all the way to the gra.s.s. The hanging corpse was left there with a stretching neck and a wait pulling it down even in death. The helmet on the corpse slipped off and a deathly expression arose.

"WAIT!! I recognise one of them, it's Sir Eron!" A knight called out, pointing to one of the alive hostages.

"Eron?! Sh*t!" The commander cursed.

"Mmm…" Tanya was satisfied with the reaction and tied another bundle of weight onto the one referred to as Eron.

"STOP!!! We will execute students if-"

"If you threaten them, I will execute every single one of the knights. Torture is not out of the question. I will make it so you have nightmares for the rest of your pitiful life." Tanya cruelly grinned, placing her palm on Eron's back.

"MMMM!!! MMMM!!" Eron could not say a single word.

Tanya had much more of a distaste for Eron because of the things he said before trying to ram open the door. She did not feel uncomfortable with killing him right now.

"What will it be?" Tanya plainly asked.

"Sir Eron is the commander's son! Of course the commander won't abandon him!" A knight shouted.

'Very good, very good, feed more and more information.' Tanya could feel herself growing in confidence.

"I think my hand is slipping, make your decision quick." Tanya began nudging Eron's back, slowly pus.h.i.+ng his centre of gravity forward.

"MMM!"

"Wait! I accept your bargain."

"But sir!"

"I took this mission to teach Eron some necessary skills. He cannot die today."

"Release the hostages and open the gates to let them go. Do not even dare move men into this building or follow the released hostages. One wrong move and necks start snapping."