Chương 279: B4—Chapter 58: … And Worse

The city walls shrank behind us as open fields stretched ahead, rows of crops shimmering under the sun. Dust rose beneath our boots, gravel and dry earth crunching underfoot. Rue trotted ahead, tail swaying, nose dipping toward the ground every few seconds. Mahya walked beside me while Al trailed behind us. We cut between two fields, heading northwest toward the Gate. The distant murmur of workers drifted over from the fields, together with the rustle of stalks in the breeze.

"Once we're far enough away, we can use the bikes and the ATV," Mahya said, glancing at me. Al's voice came from behind.

"You want to reach the Gate today?"

"Yeah. It doesn't look too far, and the terrain is flat. Shouldn't be a problem." I shrugged. Didn't matter much to me either way. My mind was still stuck on the city and the slave auction. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Yes, we agreed not to interfere in local events. Yes, even if we freed them, we couldn't take them with us, so they would probably end up in the same situation again. Yes, we were Travelers, not heroes. Still…

We walked for less than an hour before I heard a faint rumble in the distance. At first, I thought it was the wind, but it kept getting louder. Rue stopped. His ears twitched, and the fur on his back bristled.

"Riders," Mahya said quietly, narrowing her eyes toward the horizon. I turned. A dust cloud rushed toward us. Massive dogs bounded across the fields with armed riders on their backs, rifles gleaming under the sun. At least a dozen of them. They looked like the guards at the city gate. Al stepped forward and raised his shield.

"It appears we attracted unwanted attention." The lead rider shouted, "Halt! Surrender your goods and yourselves, or face the consequences!" I quickly cast Mana Shield and Protective Shield.

"Yeah, not happening." The first shot rang out. The bullet slammed into my Protective Shield with a sharp ping, ripples spreading across the translucent barrier. More shots followed as the guards spread out to surround us, their dogs snarling. Mahya darted sideways and jumped. Mid-leap, her rifle barked. The lead rider jerked backward and fell off his mount. One of the guards raised both hands, fire blooming in his palms before he hurled the fireball at us.

It slammed into my shield and burst apart, draining far more mana than the bullets. Another guard started casting. I hit him with lightning. The blue arc slammed into his chest and threw him off his mount with a scream before his spell could finish. Gunfire echoed across the fields together with the barking of the massive dogs. Al charged straight into them, shield raised high. Bullets sparked off the metal as he closed the distance. His sword flashed once.

A rider toppled from his mount, blood spraying across the dry earth. Another caster joined the fight, fire gathering in his hands. A second fireball shot toward Al, but he sidestepped at the last second, letting his shield catch only part of the blast. Dirt and debris exploded outward. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Al lunged forward and cut the caster down before he could recover.

"Watch out! More fire!" Mahya shouted from above. She twisted in midair, dodging a fireball aimed at her head, and fired again. The bullet tore through the caster's shoulder and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Rue, now," I told him telepathically. Rue vanished. A second later, chaos erupted in the rear ranks as invisible jaws clamped onto one of the riders and dragged him screaming off his saddle. His mount bucked wildly. Lightning crackled in my palms as I sent another bolt toward the remaining casters. Blue arcs jumped between them, disrupting their spells in a burst of light. One rider broke through the fighting and charged straight at me. Lightning flashed from my hand and knocked him off his mount.

The dog skidded to a halt and veered away. Bullets ricocheted off my shield as I moved toward Al. He was fighting three riders at once, his sword moving constantly as he blocked strikes and cut through armor. Blood stained the ground around him, but he kept going even after a few bullets grazed him. At least, I hoped those were grazes based on where they hit. I cast Healing Touch on him and sent a Wind Blade at the rider who shot him. Between the shield and the lightning, my mana was dropping fast.

Mahya moved through the battlefield like a lunatic, leaping over riders and firing with ridiculous accuracy. At one point, she landed on somebody's shoulder, shot him, used him as a springboard, flipped through the air, shot another rider mid-jump, and landed on a third one who she, of course, also shot. My shield protected most of my body, but bullets still hit my legs twice. The third time wasn't the charm.

Pain exploded through my head as the Mana Shield shattered, while a bullet punched through my leg at almost the same moment. I gritted my teeth and pushed through it, throwing another lightning bolt into the fray. The energy arced between two riders and dropped both of them. A guard aimed his rifle at Mahya. Rue materialized behind him, grabbed his arm in his jaws, and ripped him off the saddle. Blood dripped from Rue's mouth as the guard screamed. The remaining riders hesitated.

Al immediately took advantage of it, charging forward with a roar. His shield slammed into one rider hard enough to throw him off his mount while his sword cut down another. Mahya fired one last shot. The battlefield quieted except for groans from the wounded and our heavy breathing. I let the shield fade and stumbled backward. Blood soaking into my pants. Gritting my teeth, I took out a belt and bit down on it while pulling a pair of tweezers from Storage. My hands trembled as I dug into the wound.

The pain nearly made my vision blur. The tweezers finally hit the bullet with a metallic clink, and I yanked it free. The world swayed for a second. I quickly cast Clean, Purify, and Healing Touch. The pain dulled and slowly faded as the wound closed. Then I checked my mana reserves. Over seven thousand. For a second, I stared at the number in utter confusion before remembering Siphon. Apparently, it was doing its job. A distant rumble shook the ground again.

"More incoming!" Mahya shouted. She reloaded without even looking at the rifle, eyes fixed on the horizon where another massive dust cloud approached.

"A lot more." Lightning crackled faintly around my hands as I clenched my fists.

"They really don't take no for an answer." Mahya turned toward me.

"Turn invisible," she ordered.

"Let's teach them a lesson. Fly up and fry them from the air." Without waiting for a response, she tossed a rifle to Al.

"Leave none alive, understood?" Al caught the rifle.

"They attacked first." Mahya nodded once and turned back toward the riders. The rumble grew louder. We all turned invisible. I launched myself upward, wind rushing past my face as I climbed into the sky. Below, the riders slowed down, confusion spreading through their ranks as they realized we had vanished. By then, it was too late. Lightning gathered in my hands. I unleashed it downward in one massive strike. The bolt slammed into the last rider and split apart through the group in branching arcs.

Thunder roared across the fields while the smell of ozone mixed with blood and burned flesh. Shots rang out almost nonstop below. The battlefield turned into smoke, bodies, and screaming dogs. Less than five minutes later, it was over. I hovered in the air, breathing heavily as I looked down at the wreckage. Then another shot echoed out. I glanced down just in time to see an injured rider go limp with a hole in the middle of his forehead. Mahya moved invisibly between the bodies, finishing the wounded one by one.

I flinched, but understood. If they did this to us, they did it to others too. When it was over, Mahya gathered the rifles, took out her bike, and said, "Let's get out of here." Al and I exchanged a glance. Neither of us argued.

"Mahya scary," Rue told me telepathicaly. Since Mahya didn't react, I figured he kept it private. Rue climbed onto the ATV. I scratched behind his ear and said, "Sometimes being scary is the only way." He licked my cheek, and we headed toward the Gate.