Raising the wooden shield out in front of him, the sword and mace fell to the ground. He held it tightly with both his hands as if his life depended on it. Because it really did.

With a loud thud, the short axe embedded itself deeply into the small wooden shield. The blade went through allowing Jacob to see it from the back of the shield.

'Just how much power does that guy have?"

Sweat appeared on his forehead as his arms felt numb from the impact of the attack.

Lowering the small wooden shield, Jacob struggled to pull the short axe out. Groaning, he just had to leave it in there.

"Jack!"

Jacob shouted as he kicked over the short sword that fell to the ground in Jack's direction.

Jack who was about to dart forward stopped once he heard Jacob's voice. He heard the sound of something sliding and glanced down to find a short sword.

"Oh praise Mother Nessa! I may live yet."

There was no shield, but it was better than his bare fist.

After taking it out of its black sheath, he flung it behind him.

Jacob reached down to pick up the mace. His body moved into the stance that Renold drilled into him. Shield out front, just a bit lower than his chest. Position himself so that his enemy would have to strike the shield to get to his body.

Mace low but at the ready.

Small steps to ease into the fight.

His blue eyes glanced over and saw Renold's blade soaked in blood with a corpse falling to the ground. The guards and Oswald were moving in.

His heart felt like it would jump out of his chest at any moment.

'Wish I wore that suit that benefitted from barrier.'

Jacob regretted the fact that he did not take out the outfit he brought from Sterling.

One guard glared at Jacob as he walked closer.

Renold was in the midst of his own battle, and Jake could not protect him. No one could.

The man was larger, but was he stronger?

Tightening his grip on the handle of his mace, Jacob prepared himself.

Sword and shield clashed against one another as Jacob's small body felt like it's arm would be torn off.

'Always stay on your toes, never let your guard down. When they strike, you parry.'

Renold's words echoed in his mind as Jacob deflected the sword upward. He lunged himself forward now that his opponent was off balance.
'The mace is short but packs a heavy blow. Close the distance when you ward off their attack. Once you are inside you have to be aggressive. Relentlessly strike them with everything you've got.'

With all his training and his body taking shape, the small burst of speed he managed was more than enough to get close to his opponent. He was already twice as fast as normal people, and it was beginning to show.

With the mace in his left hand, Jacob swung hard and fast. One should attack the face as it would be harder to damage the body that is protected by armor. Jacob was short, his height could not reach the man's chest let alone head. He would need to jump in order for him to reach that high, but that would leave him vulnerable.

Since he could not reach the head, he would aim for the legs.

The mace connected with the guards unprotected leg and bent inward with a loud crack.

He howled in pain.

One blow was not enough. Jacob swung again, same right leg at the same joint.

Bone broke through skin that tore through the guard's black pants. His balance was already off due to Jacob parrying his blow, but now his right leg was taken out. Falling down, he landed flat on his back while a loud noise was carried through the halls.

Like an enraged animal, Jacob pounced on the man. Mace bloody with flesh and blood, struck the man's unprotected head over and over.
After six or seven blows, Jacob could not even look at the man anymore. Tears formed in his eyes as he held down the food that was trying to come up.

His left hand was shaking, realizing what he had done. Dead, unrecognizable. For the first time ever, he has murdered someone.

He had no time to feel guilty, another guard was coming.

This was self-defense… this world was one he had to adapt to. Jacob assumed he did adapt, but he was just now comprehending what it meant to survive here. This was no game, this was his life. People lived and died here, he needed to get with the program.

Rolling to the side, he managed to avoid the swung that was cleaving in his direction.

With all the racket they were making, it was not long before the entire estate was woken up. Maids and butlers coming out of their bedrooms to see what was going on.

Witnessing Renold's blade slice a guards head clean off his shoulders, some began to scream while others ran.

They did not know what was going on, but they did not sign up for whatever was happening.

"Get them! Don't let them leave!"

Oswald shouted a command to his soldiers.

Bringing down the heavy two-handed axe, Renold blocked it with his sword. It took both his arms, but he managed.

Oswald's blow was heavy, and Renold knew all it would take was one strike to kill him.

The old butler came into the main hall leaning against the wall. Gripping his right arm with his left hand that held a small dagger, he glared at the guards.

He could not believe they had the audacity to attack him in the middle of his sleep. If not for the fact that he trained himself to wake up to the slightest sound, he may have already been a goner.

Two guards managed to heavily injure him, but he was not out just yet.

Just as he was about to join the fight, he heard something and snapped his head in the direction next to him. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his back.

Whipping his hand that was wielding a small dagger, it lodged itself into the person next to him.

The figure collapsed to the ground as the dagger pierced their head. The old butler let go of the dagger allowing it to fall along with the body. Looking down, it was a maid. It shocked him that the maid would attack him.

Reaching his head over his back, he tried to retrieve whatever was stuck in his back. However, he could not reach it.

Was this how it ended for him? Being stabbed in the back?

He could not even have an honorable death.