Chapter 140: Sorry for the wait
Even with the car and both of the trucks crashed during the fight, there were more than necessary cars in the nearby area for everyone to pack up and leave. But instead of rushing everyone to my home turf, I sent all the injured towards the city I visited recently.
With the a.s.sist of half of the remaining soldiers of mine, I was basically left alone with the leader of the government group and just two bodyguards of mine. In such a situation, sending the prisoners also had to fall on the shoulders of the big, detached group.
Thanks to that, everyone managed to pack up into a single car, one that the government group used. With the leader of their group already pacified and silently following anything that I would say, finding out their hideout posed no challenge at all.
Due to the local dungeon being wiped out by several parties, just those tiny forces that I brought were enough to pacify the situation. But the same couldn"t be said about the two other dungeons that were close to my hometown.
According to the reports I received as the car finally started to move, we only need to worry about one of the cracked dungeons. Be it a lucky or karmic accident, the dungeon nearing the city that I suspected to intentionally mismanage it flushed all its monsters towards that place. Sadly, the other one spread its armies in both directions.
And just the fact that a single dungeon could heavily threaten two relatively big cities at once only proved how much easier it was to farm the dungeons in a timely manner than letting them burst the waves of monsters once every so often.
"Sir, we are in the city."
The silent announcement of the driver shook me awake from a daze. Looking around, I could see that the signs of panic already reached the suburbs. Even though it would be understandable for the land lying right on the border of the city to be endangered by the invasion… that is, if it was facing the danger, instead of having the entire city shield it from it instead!
"I see…"
There was no need to elaborate. With just four of us in the car, no one was really too keen to speak up. The danger of the battle we were rushing to join was something serious. While I was no stranger to the battle, the tension before it was still getting into me.
In just a few moments, the car managed to cut through the alleys surrounding the city centre, reaching the land of my faction. Located on the eastern end of the city, it could be considered one of the safe spots. That is if the invasion wouldn"t spread across the entire settlement.
Screech!
The pained noise of the tires penetrated my ears as the driver took the last corner in a pretty aggressive manner. Before the car could even come to a full stop at the parking before the main entrance to my complex, I was already rushing towards the doors.
"Wait here!"
Dashing towards the building, I shouted to my men behind. Even though the outside of the area was relatively calm, I could already see through the windows that it was a different story altogether inside of the building.
Placing my hands on the special frame attached to the doors, I realised that even opening the doors was quite hard. Only after a long moment of struggling did I manage to somehow find the opening in the dense flow of people inside, forcing myself inside.
Step by step, I managed to squeeze through the panicked crowd. Thankfully, by the time I reached the connecting part, the crowd practically disappeared, allowing me to pick up the pace.
After sprinting to my personal wing of the compound, I rushed up the staircase before slamming the doors to Sander"s study open.
"Sir!"
Rapidly turning his body around, the craftsman only needed a single glance to both to recognise me and figure out my reason for being here.
"I will get some raws as well!"
Notifying the man as I jumped towards one of the boxes, I grabbed a handful of brighter gemstones before poaching them to my pocket. The next moment, Sander ran back from the small warehouse built into the room, with several small, decorative cases. Recognising the items, I could tell that my eyes lit up.
"Thanks. By the way…"
Before I could even finish my sentence, Sander already started nodding his head. In this tense moment, there were barely any words needed between the two of us.
"Yeah, she came and took quite a bit of them. But honestly… From the rate of the explosions that I felt, it seems that they already ran out of them. Here…"
Reaching under one of the tables, the craftsman brought up a packed-up backpack.
"Supplies if the battle will prolong."
Looking up at Sander"s face, I nodded my head.
"Thanks."
Without any delay, I ran outside. Rather than risking the journey through the packet interiors of the compound, I took a small detour, opting to go through the gardens instead. While it required me to jump over or just force my way through several combs of flowers or hedges, by the time I could maybe only reach the dense crowd at the forefront of the building, I managed to reach the parking lot.
"Here!"
Putting my hand into my pocket, I grabbed several raw magic stones before throwing them to the government-hired expert.
"You can use them to power through your smaller ranks."
The fact that one could use magic stones to speed up his or her cultivation wasn"t common knowledge yet. By not only openly informing the man about it and even offering him this precious resource, I wasn"t just generous. I wasn"t just attempting to raise the strength of this man to the level where he would become useful on the battlefield we were going to reach soon.
The fact that I could give out so much so easily, was the first part of my lesson to the man. A lesson that would forcefully ingrain in his mind what was the level of my means.
"Yes, sir!"
According to the decision he made back in the forest, he would do just two things. Follow me to the battle first, and then…
"Your excellency?!"
From the building, a voice came. Raising my head, I could see Jeff hanging his upper body outside of the window on the second floor.
"Not now, later!"
Shouting back, I put my hand with extended thumb and pinky to my ear, indicating the form of communication we could use in a moment. Not even giving the man a chance to respond, I sat back inside the car. In the next moment, its tires whined once again before the vehicle rushed forward.
Given the rush we were in, the driver already moved it around while I was running through the compound.
"Everyone, here. You should already know the meanings of those marks. With the heavy-hitters… Use them sparingly. We only have a few of them. As for the others, just don"t waste them unnecessarily."
Pushing my backpack to my knees, I distributed most of Sander"s boxes to my men. Even though this was a clear way to strengthen someone up, the government"s expert didn"t receive any.
Because the prowess of the inscribed magic stones was another way for me to show the man how stupid it would be to go against an agreement made with me.
Thankfully, the battle didn"t happen right outside of the city. Just the missed spells and ranged attacks that were flying around would easily devastate entire neighbourhoods here. From the moment we left the populated area, just a few more moments separated us from the real battle.
"Sir…"
Once the sounds of the fighting already reached our ears, the expert from the government suddenly spoke up.
"What is it, Gerard?"
Looking over my shoulder at the man sitting at the back, I could help but form a small, ironic smile once I noticed his shocked expression.
"I"m done using those stones… I understand now."
A look of determination on the man"s face proved to me that he really grasped the meaning behind what I gave him with such ease. Hearing a sudden noise to my side, I turned my head around.
"Great. Because now it"s the perfect time for you to prove it."
Tapping the shoulder of the driver, I made him stop the car. Moving outside without even a single additional word, I looked at the very front of the now visible battle.
Right amidst the monsters that spread over the entire open field, two figures could be seen wreaking havoc. Just a single look at their b.l.o.o.d.y work proved how hard Ayda was working on training her new disciple over the past few days.
"Everyone, what the h.e.l.l are you waiting for?"
Asking the question, I pushed open the lids of several of the boxes, before grabbing six different stones into my hands. Keeping them between my fingers and my palm, I made sure there wasn"t any risk of firing them off prematurely before I rushed forward.
Step by step, I was getting closer to the thick line of the monsters crowd. Step by step, I was getting closer to Ayda. Step by step, I was getting closer to saving her from the bloodbath.
After all, just in my personal opinion, having her fight was the greatest sin that humanity could commit against my happiness.
With all sorts of tricks to my name, reaching the frontline didn"t take me long at all. But instead of stopping there, I simply forced my way through the monsters standing on it, ignoring their presence altogether.
Then, I finally reached my girl, calmly securing Penne"s rampage.
"Sorry for the wait."
With a gentle smile creeping onto my face, I pressed the fingers against the triggers of the stones.