Chapter 83: The Chase (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Zero had sensed people hiding in the shadows when Angele had run down to lure the elephant away. The people hiding behind the bushes probably did not think Angele would notice them, but they did not know Angele had a chip that could record anything it detected.
‘I need to go back. There is no way two Glowing Elephants just randomly appeared outside the city. Also, those people in the bushes… Maybe they’re after Harland.’ Angel’s eyebrows furrowed. ‘According to the data, Glowing Elephants are intelligent enough to make decisions, and they are cunning, but the two I saw here were different. Their eyes were red, and they had no reason to fight to their last breath. Maybe someone casted Bloodlust on them.’
Bloodlust was one of the basic water type spells. It was a level zero spell that had a similar effect to the Berserk Potion, but its effect was a bit weaker than the potion’s. Bloodlust would only make the creatures lose their mind, without boosting their attributes. The Bloodlust model was displayed in the school as well, but Angele did not buy it; he only recorded the free data he had access to.
Angele stopped thinking and increased his speed. He was sure something went wrong.
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The logging site.
The last rays of sunlight made everything on the ground look red and shiny. With the white mist in the forest, the area was dreamy.
“Why are you still here?” the man with silver hair yelled out. “Although I’m not sure if I can kill you, you won’t stop us from taking the elephant. Also, I think you already know who’s coming.”
“Campbell, right? The man that dual wields swords,” Harland said in a deep voice. It seemed like he was still having trouble with his left arm.
“Your left arm was not fractured. Why are you faking it?” The man looked at Harland’s left arm.
“Well”—Harland straightened his back and stretched his arms— “I was planning to lure you out, but I guess I’m bad at acting.” He smiled.
“One on one, Campbell will lose. However, what about you versus me and Campbell?” The man chuckled.
“I will lose for sure,” Harland answered without hesitation.
“Let’s go.” Harland waved his hands. “I will retreat today. However, make sure you stay alert on your way back. The deep forest is probably more dangerous than you think…”
“We will see.” The man smiled and stepped on Harland’s broken tower shield.
“You will regret this…” Tinos stared at the three in anger. The soldiers behind him helped each other to stand up before starting to walk towards their horses.
Harland fell back with his axe in hand, still staring at the man’s hands. He had fought with the people that could use the mysterious power before and knew that they could cast strange spells just with incantations or hand gestures.
Harland kept moving back until he reached a large tree. A silver greatsword suddenly appeared behind his head, but for some reason, Harland did not notice it at all.
*Clank*
A crossguard sword appeared before the man who was trying to slash Harland, but the man blocked the attack with another great sword in his other hand.
The two men dropped down from the trees and stepped back.
“Campbell!” Harland broke out in cold sweat. He hadn’t noticed the stealth attack at all.
“How is that even possible? Did you cast some stealth spell on him?” Harland was staring at Campbell, but he was talking to the man with silver hair.
The man who tried to attack Harland was wielding two silver great swords. He was rubbing the back of his neck where there was a short line of blood dripping down. Angele was standing opposite the man with a thick beard, holding his sword and looking calm.
“You’re fast. You can use mysterious power too?” Campbell laughed. “That’s why Harland hasn’t given up yet, right?”
The soldiers hadn’t noticed Campbell until he traded attacks with Angele. They were surprised by how fast and accurate Campbell’s attack was. Tinos’ face turned pale, and he held the sword in his hand tight, his eyes filled up with fear.
“You really think there is nothing I can do?” Harland asked. He raised his axe and charged towards Campbell. His footsteps were heavy, and the ground was almost shaking.
Campbell jumped and backflipped to a tree behind. “Harland, long time no see. That’s how you welcome an old friend?”
*Clink*
He swung his swords and sliced two daggers that were coming toward him into pieces.
Angele lowered his arms, and there was a serious look on his face, “Impressive.”
He drew his crossguard sword and stepped forward, but his way was blocked by the man with silver hair.
“You’re an apprentice too, huh? I will be your opponent.”
The soldiers were still trying to figure out what was going on when the Vinci Brothers had already blocked them from moving toward Harland. Thus, the battlefield was divided into three parts: Harland against Campbell, Angele against the man with silver hair, and the rest of Harland’s team against the Vinci Brothers.
The man with silver hair smiled. “This place is too narrow for us, follow me.”
He turned around and rushed into the deep forest in seconds.
Angele followed after the man, controlling his speed to keep a distance from his opponent, and they both disappeared in the mist.
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On one of the main roads outside Lennon City.
The carriage lane was made from gray mud. Three black carriages were stopped by the bandits, and about ten guards of the carriage team were fighting them.
There were people screaming and yelling everywhere around the carriages.
A bandit laughed and stabbed into one of the guards’ chests, the blade easily penetrating the white leather chest piece, and blood spurted out of the wound once the bandit pulled his blade out.
All the bandits were wearing white masks and gray scarfs. Their faces were covered very well.
Inside one of the carriages, Avril’s mother embraced Avril in her arms while they peeked outside through the window. Avril’s father held his commander sword in hand and was finishing off the bandits that had broken their defense formation. It seemed that her father knew how to fight, and he looked wild with the blood stains on his clothes.
“You think I don’t know who you are? Damn Terrio’s puppies! I will not give up my life here, and you will never take my territory from me!” Avril’s father was yelling in anger.
Avril hugged her mother tighter after hearing her father’s words.
“Don’t worry, I’m here for you so no one will hurt you,” Avril’s mother whispered, but Avril could barely understand what she was saying.
“Mom, dad will win, right?” she asked in a light tone.
“Yea… He will, your father is the strongest man in the world,” her mother responded.
Suddenly, someone groaned outside the carriage.
The man with the commander sword in hand was staring at another man in front him, and his eyes were filled with surprise. There was a dagger protruding from his stomach, and the blood coming out of the wound was dripping down to the ground.
“Why… Dunleavy… Why did you…” the man asked in pain, but there was no expression on Dunleavy’s face.
“Don’t blame me,” Dunleavy answered in a deep voice.
“Avril, stay here!” The lady had a strange expression on her face as she released her daughter from her arms. “Once you find the chance, run, and… you will be alright!”
The lady patted the girl’s head and pushed her away. She stood up, grabbing the silver sword lying by her side, opened the door and jumped off the carriage.
Avril stayed in the carriage alone, crouching down since she did not know what else to do. She was the only one left in the carriage, her parents gone.
Avril was in shock. She could hear people screaming outside while the bandits were approaching her carriage.
“Mother…” Avril was holding her knees on the floor, and a flood of tears gushed down her cheeks.
“Run… Mother told me to run…” She suddenly realized what she should do and quickly opened a hidden exit on the floor. There was mud down there.
********************
Angele and the man with silver hair were already several kilometers away from Harland and the others. They were so quick that the objects around them looked like slideshows.
Suddenly, they both heard some people fighting.
“Huh?”
The man with silver hair hesitated for a second. He then quickly changed his direction and ran toward the source of the noise.
Through the gap between trees, he could see several carriages being attacked by a group bandits with gray scarfs. The man with silver hair was trying to say something before approaching the carriages, but his expression suddenly changed, and he blocked Angele’s slash with something black in his hands.
*Dang*
Angele’s strike hit the man hard, but he floated in the air almost like a feather and flew through the carriages into the other side of the forest. It was almost like he had blocked the attack and used Angele’s force to retreat.
Angele walked out of the forest slowly and swung his sword towards the road.
“Let’s do it here.”
He was calm, and there were green dots floating around him. He looked ghastly and bloodcurdling with the glowing green light.
“I don’t really care.”
The man with silver hair smiled. He walked out of the bush and raised his right hand. There was blue lightning sparking around his palm.
The carriages and bandits were right between Angele and the man with silver hair. Both parties stopped fighting after the two appeared.
“Wizards…” someone said in a shaky voice.
The place suddenly became silent, and everyone was dazed.
Some of them started to tremble.
Avril was under one of the carriages, looking for a chance to escape. She knew something had happened, and then saw Angele walk out of the forest.
Angele looked at the carriages and scrunched his eyebrows. He knew those carriages.
“Avril’s carriage.”
He narrowed his eyes.