Chương 150: Apparently, The Carriage Needed Armor

Sieghart looked toward the narrowing road, the approaching hills, and the four surviving aerial enemies repositioning themselves before another coordinated barrage could arrive from multiple directions. Then he remembered their escape from the settlement and realized the carriage had become his greatest tactical limitation, because defending it prevented him from shaping the entire battlefield freely. Abandoning the carriage remained equally troublesome.

Ronan was wounded, the horses were valuable, and walking for several hours while pursued would create targets considerably easier to surround. Sieghart clicked his tongue and changed elements, gathering Water Magic while the Chimerians spread apart because they clearly expected another volley of narrow electrical projectiles.

Their spacing made Thunder Arrow less efficient, but distance between individual enemies mattered considerably less when the next attack did not require striking any particular target directly.

"Oh, no.." Sieghart's patience finally disappeared when the remaining Chimerians stopped testing his defenses and began targeting the carriage directly, forcing Ronan to control the terrified horses while attacks arrived from several directions at once. The horses were already close to panic, foam gathering around their mouths while every passing shadow made them jerk against the reins. One bad hit would be enough to send the carriage tumbling from the road.

One pale Chimerian folded its wings and dropped beside the carriage, reaching toward the nearest horse with hooked claws. Apparently, killing the animals seemed easier than breaking through Sieghart's endless defensive magic. Sieghart raised both hands and abandoned the idea of building stationary walls. Instead, Earth Creation produced several dense stone spheres around the carriage, each roughly the size of an adult human torso.

Telekinesis caught every sphere before gravity could claim them, arranged them at different heights, then accelerated the entire formation around the wagon like an uneven ring of orbiting defensive satellites. The first diving Chimerian tried slipping between two spheres and immediately discovered the gap existed only for an instant. One rotating mass smashed into its ribs and launched it violently sideways.

The creature recovered before reaching the ground, but Sieghart already had Thunder Arrow forming above his right palm while Telekinesis compressed the unstable lightning into a narrow, perfectly guided shaft. He fired directly toward the Chimerian's face. The creature twisted away from the initial trajectory, only for Sieghart's psychokinetic grip to bend the electrical projectile after it through the morning air.

Thunder Arrow struck one cheek and exploded across modified flesh, blackening skin while branching electricity crawled through the creature's eyes, jaw, neck, and feathers before dispersing across its body violently. The Chimerian shrieked and beat its wings desperately, still managing to remain airborne despite smoke curling from the side of its ruined face. Sieghart raised two fingers.

"Stay still." He fired again before the enemy recovered. The second Thunder Arrow struck its forehead, while the third entered through its open mouth when the Chimerian screamed from the previous burns. The creature finally dropped from the sky with smoke trailing behind its ruined face. Sieghart immediately redirected the rotating earth spheres toward another enemy already diving toward Ronan from above.

The black-winged warrior attempted to enter from the opposite side, but two stone spheres converged and forced it sharply upward before either impact could crush the wings against its body. Sieghart anticipated the climb and fired another Thunder Arrow. The Chimerian banked away from the first projectile, then flew directly into the corrected path of a second guided electrical attack. The second strike detonated beneath its jaw, spreading lightning through the throat and chest.

A third followed immediately, burning deeper through damaged flesh until one wing lost coordination completely there. The falling Chimerian spiraled toward the carriage, forcing Sieghart to swing one earth sphere upward and smash the body aside before it could crash into Ronan or the horses below. Ronan ducked instinctively as the smoking body flew above his head and vanished behind the carriage, narrowly missing one of the wheels before striking the roadside.

"Could you stop throwing them toward me?"

"I threw that one away from you."

"That was toward me first!" The surviving pursuers changed tactics again, spreading farther apart while releasing Wind Blades, compressed water, bone projectiles, and several glowing attacks toward the rotating stone barrier protecting the speeding carriage. Stone chipped away under every impact, but Sieghart continuously repaired each sphere using Earth Creation, replacing lost material while Telekinesis maintained their momentum and altered individual orbital paths around the wagon.

The rotating stones became an improvised mobile fortress, sweeping around horses, cabin, and driver fast enough that approaching enemies had to predict several moving gaps before attempting another dive. That prediction became increasingly difficult because Sieghart deliberately changed each sphere's speed, occasionally reversing one direction while the others continued rotating normally around the moving carriage.

A clawed Chimerian attempted slipping beneath the formation toward the horses, only for the lowest sphere to suddenly reverse and strike its shoulder hard enough to spin it sideways. Sieghart immediately placed Thunder Arrow against its face. One shot burned an eye. A second struck the mouth. The third hit the temple before the creature could escape the rotating stone formation surrounding it.

It dropped instantly, bouncing across the road before disappearing beneath a cloud of dust while the terrified horses continued running without ever understanding how close the attack came. Another enemy attacked from above, forcing Sieghart to send two spheres upward while maintaining four others around the carriage and simultaneously preparing another Thunder Arrow.

His Mentality handled the divided work better than it would have weeks earlier, but the number of independent movements still required enough concentration to make Sieghart's temples ache. That defense worked until one Water Bullet shattered half a sphere and created a temporary opening. The scaled Chimerian immediately folded its wings and accelerated through the gap before repairs finished. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Sieghart saw the creature coming and tried rotating another sphere toward it, but a second ranged attack struck the stone and knocked his defensive timing apart. The scaled Chimerian crossed the remaining distance.

"Oh, shit." The creature collided directly with Sieghart, tackling him from the carriage roof before either regained balance. Both bodies tumbled through open air while the wagon continued racing down the road. Sieghart barely reinforced Protection before the Chimerian wrapped both arms around him, scaled fingers digging into his coat while a broad mouth filled with altered teeth opened dangerously near his throat. They hit the roadside together.

Protection absorbed most of the impact, but the collision still traveled painfully through Sieghart's spine while dirt, grass, and stones exploded around their tangled bodies. The Chimerian remained above him after landing, one heavy knee pinning Sieghart's stomach while its jaws opened wider. Overpowering something physically stronger would be a stupid waste of valuable seconds. Sieghart grabbed its face instead, pressing one hand against the creature's nose while forcing the other beneath its jaw.

Poison Spheres began forming almost directly against both vulnerable openings there. The Chimerian realized something was wrong and tried jerking backward, but Sieghart hooked one arm around its neck while Telekinesis pushed its face closer.

"Open wide." The first sphere burst across the nostrils, forcing purple vapor inward before the Chimerian understood the tactic. Sieghart immediately created another while Telekinesis prevented the creature from pulling its head away. The Chimerian coughed violently and opened its mouth wider by instinct, trying to drag enough clean air into altered lungs already contaminated by the first magical poison. That was exactly what Sieghart wanted.

The second Poison Sphere formed partially inside the open mouth and ruptured instantly. Poisonous mana coated the tongue, throat, and damaged tissues without needing to penetrate the Chimerian's reinforced skin first. The enemy jerked backward and clawed at Sieghart's wrists, but Telekinesis clamped its jaw while another Poison Sphere burst beneath the tongue and sent concentrated corruption deeper through vulnerable tissue.

Purple vapor escaped between its teeth while the Chimerian shook its head hard enough to nearly dislocate Sieghart's wrists before he finally released the creature. The Chimerian began convulsing violently, claws tearing trenches through the roadside while altered lungs coughed purple vapor and blood. Its weight shifted enough for Sieghart to finally escape from underneath.

Sieghart rolled sideways, blasted himself several meters away with Wind Magic, then watched the poisoned creature attempt standing despite limbs that no longer obeyed properly or consistently under the spreading effect. The creature's unusual physiology probably made ordinary doses unreliable, but directly filling its respiratory system with Poison Magic had bypassed most of the defenses protecting its exterior.

It managed one step before collapsing onto a knee, shaking uncontrollably while purple saliva and blood spilled between clenched teeth. Sieghart decided waiting for poison alone remained unnecessarily optimistic now. The Chimerian raised its head toward him and attempted crawling forward despite its convulsions, claws digging deeply enough into the dirt to drag its heavy body several centimeters. Sieghart stared at it.

"You people really don't know when to stop." He raised one hand and created a dense rectangular block of stone directly above the Chimerian, making it thick enough that gravity would provide most of the finishing force automatically. The Chimerian looked upward. For perhaps one second, its expression changed from animal rage into something much easier for Sieghart to understand. Regret.

The block dropped several meters and smashed across the Chimerian's skull, driving its altered head into the ground with a heavy crack that ended the struggling immediately. The body twitched twice beneath the stone before becoming still. Sieghart remained prepared for another movement, then looked toward the road when the carriage unexpectedly began slowing several dozen meters away. For one alarming moment, he assumed another enemy had reached the horses.

Then he saw Ronan standing on the driver's platform with blood covering one sleeve and both knives drawn. The final Chimerian had landed beside Ronan during Sieghart's fall, apparently attempting to exploit the distraction before the carriage escaped completely and carried both humans deeper into protected human territory.

Ronan had one mana thread wrapped around the creature's wrist and another around its throat, forcing the modified warrior backward while keeping hooked claws away from the terrified horses nearby. The creature possessed feathered legs, a muscular human torso, and a reptilian head whose jaws snapped repeatedly while Ronan struggled to keep his own face beyond their reach.

"Stop moving!" The Chimerian understandably ignored him. Ronan sighed.

"Everyone ignores good advice." The Chimerian lunged to bite him, but Ronan twisted behind its shoulder, pulled both threads tight, and dragged the creature's head sideways until the reinforced neck became completely exposed there. His knife crossed once. Blood sprayed across the carriage side, and the Chimerian collapsed from the driver's platform before tumbling onto the road while Ronan immediately reclaimed the reins there.

Ronan slowed the horses gradually rather than stopping them abruptly, breathing heavily while checking the sky for additional pursuers and keeping both animals moving until their panic finally began easing quickly. Sieghart used Impulse to close the distance, landing beside the road before walking toward the carriage while keeping Thunder Arrow prepared in case another silhouette appeared above them.

Sieghart searched as well, strengthening Enhanced Smell and listening for wings, abnormal breathing, alchemical chemicals, blood, or anything else approaching through the hills surrounding the damaged road behind them nearby. Nothing followed. Broken stone, scorched grass, blood, and several distant bodies marked how far the Chimerians had pursued them into human territory before Sieghart and Ronan finally stopped them completely.

Sieghart dismissed the remaining earth spheres and allowed them to collapse beside the road, finally noticing how heavily maintaining constant Telekinetic rotation had strained his concentration during the prolonged defense. The last pieces struck the ground around the carriage like oversized hailstones, leaving deep impressions beside the wheels while ordinary dust gradually replaced the smoke from lightning.

He rubbed one shoulder, examined Ronan's blood-covered coat, then glanced toward the trembling horses while both travelers silently acknowledged how close the elite Chimerians had come to stopping them completely. Ronan climbed down from the driver's position and inspected the horses first, checking their legs, harnesses, and flanks for wounds before finally looking toward Sieghart.

"You alive?"

"Unfortunately for my enemies." Sieghart leaned against the damaged carriage and finally allowed his muscles to relax, feeling the delayed exhaustion from controlling lightning, earth, Telekinesis, poison, wind, and Protection simultaneously.

"That was tiresome." Not terrifying like fighting the Orc King, but exhausting in a different way. Those Chimerians had continuously adapted, coordinated their attacks, changed targets, and exploited every temporary opening. More importantly, the pursuit confirmed something Sieghart disliked. The Chimerians had followed them across hours of travel, meaning whatever trace they tracked had survived cleaning, distance, weather, and several route changes now.

Sieghart looked south toward Seraphina, then north toward the road littered with bodies, wondering whether the scent came from the core, corrupted energy, alchemical residue, or something stranger. If that trace came from the corrupted core Sieghart had carried overnight, then future samples required precautions he had not even known existed before today, assuming he collected another at all. That final qualification remained inside his thoughts for several seconds. Assuming I collected another.

Sieghart already knew himself well enough to recognize how unlikely that assumption actually was.