Auto-translated
His dawn-steel eyes narrowed when Alsira fell, his teeth grinding — he was not the only one using his strategy.
"Finish him, milady, I beg you" — a grim satisfaction warmed his soul at the sight of the Knight of Joy's strike.
Lying behind a pile of sand he himself had scooped up in a couple of seconds, barely revealing his head, he continued assessing the situation. The participants were thinning out, but it was too early to speak of any final picture. To the right — the golden one was struggling with a hood; behind — a one-eyed colleague was closing in on the grim one; somewhere in the distance, milady was trying to punish a scoundrel with her axe; the rest were maneuvering.
His gaze shifted south — it seemed the northerners were slightly battered. The Crusher was trying to join the fight, the commander had stepped back and was barking at her colleagues. Was she limping? Indeed, she had taken a serious blow earlier.
His hand darted toward his dagger but stopped halfway.
"Would that be gallant? Hardly" — his brain tried to process the impulse that had run through it. His hand and head dropped into the sand. — "That's not quite in my code."
"Now or never"
After lying still for a few seconds and running through possible options in his mind, Vargas finally drew Goldcutter, rose to half his height, and rushed with the speed of lightning — poisoned and spiritless, but lightning nonetheless. In his case, more like ball lightning, hiding the blade behind his back so that its accidental glint wouldn't cut the observers' eyes and give away his maneuver.
Coming face to face with the last remaining commander, he gave her a nod and a second to realize, then made a couple of thrusts alternating with a swing. To his credit, even in this unexpected situation and with her injury, she danced like a sylph. However, the final thrust, by his own standards somewhat dirty — which stung his heart, but a battle is a battle — was preceded by a feint: with a gesture of his free hand, as if he had decided to grab her, he directed her reflexive dodge into a convenient position that his weapon so craved.
The dagger entered the lightly armored flesh like a knife into warm butter.
"We are even, milady Scarlet Blade. Lester always pays his debts," — a phrase from the previously recalled fiction came to mind and tongue. — "You were magnificent, and your will is also worthy of praise. May a higher power judge us from here on."
Picking up the fallen hat so it wouldn't drop into the sand, he returned it to its owner's hands.
With a bow, he swept his cloak, momentarily blocking the view — and the next moment, when it cleared, he was already gone.