"That's the idea." Oliver replied, doing his best not to snap at the Guild Master while she wasted time whispering. He nodded at her request, hoped she didn't eat the children or sic a zombie on them, and sprinted off to end the invasion single-handedly. The first thing he came across in the village was a half-dozen soldiers cornering a group of villagers. The villagers were holding their assailants at bay by doing their best to imitate a hedge made of sharp farming equipment, but they lacked shields, and the soldiers were obviously lacking patience. When he saw one of them start fumbling with a crossbow, the Paladin didn't hesitate.

He didn't even slow down, instead the warrior dropped his shoulder, and bowled over three of the raiders, barely retaining his own feet by lodging his knife in the back of a forth soldier's neck. He wrenched it free unceremoniously, and whirled on the two soldiers he had only surprised. They had their swords out and now their attention was fully on the newcomer. A horrific mistake for them, considering how close they were still standing to the pitchfork-brandishing townsfolk. One of them took a farming implement to the throat, and he collapsed as the terrified villagers descended on the other fallen soldiers. Oliver advanced aggressively and gutted the last standing opponent without mercy.

Then a trio of horse-riding soldiers came rushing around a corner. They looked like they were probably officers. Two of them had lances, and the third had a rather nasty-looking, long-handled axe. He didn't have time to play games, and shifted his stance, extending his free hand toward the newcomers. "Burn!" he roared, and they all errupted into flames. This panicked their horses, and the poor beasts stampeded through another group of soldiers, who had clearly intended to sneak up on and gank the interloper. Oliver felt the need to keep moving, to ensure that no other innocents were getting killed, but he had to put down this group first. Only one of them was still alive, though, so that made his job easier. Three had been trampled by the horses, and a fourth had caught fire when he touched the magical flames. Not in the mood for a fair fight, he cocked his arm back, and whipped his kukri into the man's chest. It tumbled through the air, rotating fully before ripping right through his armour, and his breastbone, leaving a mortal wound that the Paladin only worsened by cruelly freeing his knife with a good deal of twisting and wrenching while bracing his foot against the dying man's chest.

Then he was off. Oliver was not going to stand idly by while there were more enemies to put down. Indeed, if Sanguine spent too long messing about with the dead, he'd have the whole place liberated before she even showed up...