Chapter 178 Disappointment
Aion realized that Seris could use time magic on even living creatures… which was kind of scary… based on what he saw, she could make things work faster than they should. So, he wondered why she didn't make herself faster when they were sparring.
In any case, she helped him again when another bloodhound approached. The creature tried to dodge to the side at the last moment, and however, the attack still landed faster than the beast could move.
"It seems we can deal with them like this," Seris said.
As if the enemies had heard that, some horsemen armed with bows approached and then equipped crossbows. They were of the rapid-fire type, so they could use them with a single hand. Aion clicked his tongue when they fired faster before he could hit them.
After changing his bow to a spear, Aion spun the weapon in front of him and blocked the attacks. The enemies frowned when they saw that, but for a speed-based class like spearman, such a thing was easy as pie. Still, that alone made more enemies approach, and they kept firing to annoy Aion.
"This isn't good… they are getting closer," Seris said.
"Relax, just make sure to stay behind my spear," Aion said.
Seris had no idea where that confidence was coming from. Aion couldn't use his magic; otherwise, he would be identified, so his options were somewhat limited. She had no idea that there were numerous ways for one to use magic without being noticed.
When the enemies got too close, and the first group of archers stepped back and gave room to the second, Aion moved his spear to the side and then enveloped some wind magic on the tip before swinging toward the enemies. A powerful blast flew toward the pursuers and then knocked down the closest monsters and horsemen, making them become a barrier. It also raised a large dust curtain.
"I can watch our back. Go look how your brother and your friends are," Seris said.
"... All right," Seris said after a moment of hesitation.
Seris had seen her fair share of battles and shit in that world. Still, it was the first time that she saw a kid who was barely a full-fledged soldier deal with so many enemies in that kind of situation while keeping his cool like that. He either had steel nerves, or he was a fool who couldn't understand the danger of the situation.
When he was sure that Seris wasn't looking at him, Aion changed his class and then summoned Lerg and Urgen to opposite sides of the road. They quickly moved away from his field of vision, but then they began to act when the enemies approached again.
The pursuers approached more organized now, and some of the horsemen even had shields. Still, they didn't expect attacks from the sides. Arrows and wind blades began to cut their heads with fearsome speed and accuracy. Aion watched all that with a smile on his face while meditating since they were consuming his mana to keep up with the speed of the carriage and attacking at the same time. It was quite fun to deal with the enemies that way… however, it didn't last long. The pursuers eventually slowed down in order not to lose more allies.
"They are really dumb… they don't know how we escaped without alerting anyone, but they still want to keep their distance from us?" Aion thought.
The bloodhound would be able to chase them due to the problem of speed, but for how long? Before they can come up with a solution, they will reach the coast and escape on their ship.
"They probably will set some traps along the way for us since they planned so many things…" Aion said and then turned to talk with the others. "What do you guys think about this situation? Their behavior is weird."
"Well, they probably are confused due to your magic," Seris said. "From their perspective, we disappeared and appeared all over the city."
"My ancestors never did this kind of thing during their wars?" Aion asked.
"The last generations of the Mileris kingdom had way too much magic power. They're unrivaled," Sauros said. "Instead of using magic in creative ways, they overpowered their enemies. Those who saw them using in any other way probably are too old or dead."
That was disappointing. Then again, the pursuers lost a lot of monsters and soldiers without even scratching Aion's group. That level of shock was supposed to be expected… never mention the other guards that were killed before they found the prisoners.
In any case, when Aion had the chance, and they got close enough to the next city, he made the carriage fly again. The sun was going to rise in just one hour. Still, he could tell that the city below was on high alert… he couldn't believe that ravens could fly faster than them, so he could only assume that the enemies could communicate using other means, such as magic tools.
When the sun was rising, the group had already reached their ship. Aion felt a bit light-hearted since he was forced to use Meditation while using magic for so long. Still, that hard work paid off, and they left that country without suffering any losses. Sauros and Seris almost lost their allies, and they lost some products and their disguise, but it couldn't have been helped. Something like that was supposed to happen now and then in such a line of business.
The first stop on that mission wasn't like Aion had expected, but defeating assholes was always something relaxing for him. That way of thinking troubled him a little, but he also felt like letting them live was a disservice to the world… In any case, Aion was expecting fewer troubles for the next few weeks. He wanted to have the chance to check the merchandise of the countries he had never been to before, after all.