Chapter 151 - Dogfight (2)
“I have Reygus’ words and the Dragon weapons as proof.”
Reygus spoke these words when he spoke about Carlos.
‘You sent my friends to the underworld…..’
Azell had extrapolated from Reygus’ words that the other Dragon Demon generals would be unable to return from death unlike him.
Laura queried.
“What about the Dragon weapons?”
“The guy called Jeffers Almarick wasn’t using Almarick’s Dragon Weapon. It seemed the Soul Hammer wasn’t pa.s.sed on, and it seems the Storm’s Scream hadn’t been pa.s.sed on either. That is my proof.”
If his speculation was correct, it was the worst case scenario.
Reygus had become an Undead, yet he had become stronger than the version of himself during the Dragon Demon war. Almarick might be in a similar situation, and if Atein revives…..
‘No one will be able to stop them.’
Azell bit his lips.
His heart felt heavy, and his head hurt. It had been a long time since he felt such a desolate feeling. In the past, he had a friend that had been able to share such emotional load with him.
‘Carlos…….’
Azell’s eyes unconsciously headed towards Yuren.
Yuren smiled as if to rea.s.sure him.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not sure what our enemies will do, but when I took a nap, I received a new secret technique from the guide. I’m sure everything will work out.”
His words failed to rea.s.sure Azell.
Yuren was claiming he had learned a secret technique he didn’t know by taking a nap. He was claiming his overall battle prowess had been strengthened.
How could he feel rea.s.sured after hearing such words?
The problem was the fact the Yuren could really back up what he had said.
‘Who and what the h.e.l.l is this guide?’
Was Carlos really the unidentified guide leading Yuren?
He didn’t have proof, but he wished it was so. He wanted it to be as Reygus had suspected. He wanted Carlos to be alive… No, he didn’t have to be alive. Azell just wanted some part of Carlos to exist in this world. How great would it be if Carlos had left behind a presence in this world to help him?
‘If you are alive, this is the time to show up. If you made the effort to send your descendent, you should have at least given him a Dragon weapon.’
Azell knew he was being a baby, but he continued to complain within his thoughts.
3
The Dragon Demon King worshippers caught up with Azell’s party once again on the next day.
After their first attack, Kairen, Yuren and Leticia tried to avoid as many locations that possessed waypoints leading to the Road of Darkness. Then they a.s.sessed possible locations where the enemies could station their troops. They moved to avoid such locations.
Still, there was a limit to such a method. Their enemies could track them, and they could travel long distances using the Road of Darkness…..
“Ignore them! Just run away!”
Kairen didn’t engage each and every one of their enemies.
「Protect…….」
「The man from the prophecy…….」
「We will…….」
「Protect!」
The sound of whispering children rang out from the surrounding.
The white ghost-like figures ran through the forest. They kept appearing and disappearing as if they were false images. It was a bizarre sight where they were sliding across the gra.s.s.
None of the party members knew their exact number, but it was evident that the number of Guardian Shadows following them had exceeded a thousand. It was such an overwhelming number that it really made one wonder if all the Guardian Shadows on this continent was gathered here.
The Dragon Demon king worshippers had created a wide net to impede the progress of the party. They were taken aback by the sight.
“What is going on with these ridiculous numbers!”
In the past dozens of years, they had fought the Guardian Shadows in the dark. They had never faced such an overwhelming numbers before. The Guardian Shadows operated all across the continent, and highest number of Guardian Shadows gathered in one place was 200 according to the records.
The net they had formed was made up of around 100 Dragon Demon king worshippers.
The difference in number couldn’t be overcome.
It was true that each Dragon Demon king worshippers were stronger than the Guardian Shadows. However, the Guardian Shadows moved as one. Their teamwork was excellent, and they weren’t weak against physical attacks unlike humans. This was why the Guardian Shadows became more effective in rough terrains where they held a decisive numbers advantage.
In an instant, the Guardian Shadows destroyed the enemy line. Azell’s party was able to break through, and they didn’t even have to partic.i.p.ate in the battle.
However, this skirmish allowed the Dragon Demon king worshippers to narrow down the party’s route.
Another day pa.s.sed yet their enemies had not attacked. However, the party knew they were being watched.
Kairen was able to guess at the enemy’s plan.
‘They want to avoid a direct confrontation for now. Are they trying to herd us?’
If the Guardian Shadows were included, the party was a fairly large army. However, they weren’t restricted in their movements by their large number.
Moreover, as the party’s health improved, their travel speed increased.
The healer and the recovery items provided by the Keepers of the Prophecy had been a big help in this respect. They were even able to switch out their damaged armors. They drank healing potions and magic recovery potions like water to hasten their recovery.
It had been only two days since Azell had clashed with Reygus, but he had recovered enough to be able to summon his Dragon weapon.
‘However, in a direct confrontation….. I’ll still be a burden.’
Currently, he could merely walk on his own two feet. It would be impossible for him to fight.
However, he was able to use his magical energy. It would take some time, but it would be possible for him to be of help by using his Sky Splitter and clones.
Kairen spoke.
“Unlike yesterday, it seems they aren’t willing to waste their troops. They are observing us in real time to accurately predict our route. It seems they plan on putting up a barricade to stop us.”
They could feel the gazes of their enemies. Moreover, they could feel the gazes coming from all sides.
It seemed they had dispatched scouts in the distance as the party was put on a constant surveillance. It seemed they would be unable to avoid the surveillance of their enemies.
Kairen spoke.
“We are traveling at pretty high speeds, but…….”
Azell was being moved with flight magic, and they had travelled in a straight line for about 70 kilometers after they broke through the encircling net. If they wanted to maintain enough magical energy and stamina to be able to battle at any moment, they had to maintain this speed.
“Even if we make changes to our course, we can avoid the fact that they would also be able to make changes to their prediction. They can’t concentrate all their forces in a single location, but it is possible to choose two to three locations.”
“So we have have to choose a location where Reygus isn’t stationed.”
“No, in my estimation…. It won’t matter which route we choose.”
Kairen explained his reasoning.
As time pa.s.sed, the party was getting healthier, and the number of Guardian Shadows were swelling.
Their enemies knew this fact, so it meant that their enemies had come prepared. No matter which force they faced, it would hold troops that would be hard to breakthrough. Moreover, Reygus would show up when the party was bogged down in the fight.
Kairen spoke.
“We have to defeat them.”
“How would you suggest we do this?”
At Yuren’s question, Kairen looked at his surrounding as he spoke.
“Our strength is the fact that we are gathered in one place. Don’t we have our dependable allies with us?”
“I guess you are right, but…….”
It was unknown as to how many Guardian Shadows were actually with them. The number kept swelling even after the number reached a thousand.
It was now plain to see why such powerful beings such as the Dragon Demon king worshippers had been afraid of the Guardian Shadows. If there were couple hundred of them, maybe Reygus might not be able to overcome them…...
“Even if our enemies gather a big force, we are at an advantage.”
When the number of troops exceeded several hundreds, they needed a decent amount of s.p.a.ce to be able to fight effectively.
However, the party had strictly traveled locations where there weren"t many people around. Basically, they were traversing through mountains or forests.
If one looked at the history of wars on this continents, there were many cases where a specialized troop could easily hold off an opponent that was several dozen times larger if they held the right terrain. There was no way such a large group of Dragon Demon king worshippers could display their full strength in this forest.
In that aspect, the existence of the Guardian Shadows were a cheat. They were phantom-like figures that could ignore the restriction placed by their surroundings, and they boasted a preposterous ability that linked each of the Guardian Shadows to each other.
Kairen spoke.
“The thing that bothers me the most are the Keepers of the Prophecy. If they are with us, the probability of victory rises. So why aren’t they showing themselves?”
Kairen didn’t expect much from the Keepers of Prophecy in terms of individual fighting prowess. However, the Undeads they traveled with were very skilled. It would be a big help if such strong beings could join them. This was especially true, because the party wasn’t in perfect condition…..
Suddenly, Yuren spoke.
“Maybe they are waiting for a crucial moment to show up?”
“Mmm?”
“What if they show up during the moment of direst need? Maybe they are trying to show off?”
“…I would like to believe they are above such petty way of thinking…..”
Kairen shook his head from side to side as he made the decision.
“We’ll prioritize breaking through their line. Our most important objective is to reach the Albatan forest. It would prevent them from chasing us.”
Another seven hours pa.s.sed… The sun was about to rise in the early morning when the party clashed with Dragon Demon king worshippers that numbered over a thousand troops.
4
The ones to attack first was the Guardian Shadows.
The Guardian Shadows had the stealth capabilities of ghosts, so they attacked after getting close to their enemies. After the first clash, the white forms swept over their enemies like a wave as the sound of battle rang out.
Azell’s party slowly followed behind them.
They were a.s.sessing the number and composition of their enemies. This wasn’t a fight where they were trying to with. They had to breakthrough this line, so they didn’t charge headlong into the battlefield.
Still, their enemies tried to attack them from a distance.
Pah-ahng!
Magic spells and arrows traversed a distance of 300 meters towards the party as they detonated. However, Laura and Yuren was able to block these attacks easily.
Yuren expressed his amazement.
“There are so many of them that are able to show such accuracy at this distance…..”
It was a location where a mountain met another mountain. It was the worst terrain for a large force to operate on. Moreover, the sun hadn’t come up yet, so visibility was a problem. The trees should have also helped in hiding the party.
However, a good amount of attack was flying towards them. There were several dozen skilled pract.i.tioners that were able to accurately attack them in such conditions.
It signified that the Plain of Darkness had gathered their elites for this venture. Even if the Guardian Shadows held a decisive number advantage, they couldn’t be overconfident.
Azell focused his mind to survey the large battlefield, then he spoke.
“Reygus isn’t here.”
Laura spoke immediately afterwards..
“There is Jeffers. Moreover… The Aunsaurus tribe is here.”
Everyone turned to look at Laura in surprise.
“Isn’t that your tribe?”
“Yes. I can feel the energy of the elders.”
“How strong are the elders?”
“They stopped leading from the front when they aged, but…. They are excellent magicians. They were our teachers.”
“We’ll have to be cautious.”
Their bodies weakened as they aged, so they had withdrawn from partic.i.p.ating in battles a long time ago. This was why their senses had dulled.
If they were to fight as warriors, this fact would have been a critical weakness. However, as magicians, they would be dangerous despite such a disadvantage.
-Blade of Storm!
The surrounding trees shook as a powerful wave of Dragon Demon magic spread into the surrounding.
Jeffers Almarick had summoned his Dragon weapon.
It wasn’t just him.
-Chain of Storm!
-Son of Fire!
-Spear of Pain!
Dragon weapons were being summoned from various locations. Leticia was taken aback.
“They had this many Dragon weapons?”