Chương 18: Temporary Separation

The following day, Hale slept until nearly noon before stirring awake. They grabbed an early lunch, picked up some extra provisions for the road, and set off once more. Since the terrain ahead was smooth and even, Hale volunteered to drive the car. Sitting in the passenger seat beside him, Ryan consulted the map.

"At this rate, we'll hit the capital of Celtatic by day after tomorrow evening. The next town isn't very far, so no need to rush. Towns are going to be spaced much closer together from here on out." Maddie looked over at Hale.

"What is your plan once we arrive in Celtatic, Master?" Hale pondered for a brief second before answering, "I don't have a specific plan yet, but the top priority is tracking down a person named Emma. In the meantime... should we look into finding a job to pull in some income?" Maddie looked visibly hesitant.

"You do not need to strain yourself, Master. I can always fly back to Seki to retrieve more funds." Hale chuckled.

"I told you, you don't need to take unnecessary risks like that. Besides, I mostly just want to get a better handle on this world—get a job, meet a few new people..."

"If that is what you wish, I will support you fully." Suddenly, a large group materialized on the road ahead, blocking their path entirely. At first glance, Hale assumed it was a trading caravan. But looking closer, he realized it was a military formation of at least fifty heavily armed soldiers arranged in a wide arc. Leading the troop was a young woman with her golden hair braided neatly down her back, wearing a pristine white cloak embroidered with gold thread.

It was the exact same girl Hale had seen riding through the border town earlier. Maddie dropped into a combat stance instantly, her hands shifting into lethal dragon claws. But Hale sensed that something was deeply wrong. These were not the low-level opponents they had faced before. He reached out his left hand, holding her back.

"Don't act recklessly. There are too many of them." Maddie whispered urgently, "Then let me take you and fly out of here, Master."

"We can't. What about Ryan?"

"We can return for the boy later. You are their primary target."

"Exactly, I'm the target! I can't let the kid take the fall for my mess!" Ryan stared at the two of them arguing, biting his lip in dead silence. Hale reached over and gave the boy's head a rough, reassuring pat.

"I won't let them take you, don't worry."

"But..." the boy's voice trembled slightly.

"Can all three of us actually make it out?" Hale offered no answer, because he genuinely didn't know. The golden-haired girl leading the force nudged her mount forward, her voice ringing out clearly across the open road.

"Hale Wallace. So we meet again." It was a refined, cool, high-pitched voice—clear and chilling as a frozen winter lake. Hale's eyes widened in recognition.

"You... you're the one from last night...?" The girl spoke again, her tone carrying a sharp, uncompromising edge of warning:"Present here are eighteen mages. The remaining soldiers are the finest elite guard serving directly under me, Archmage Venessa Halley. A secondary force is also closing in from behind your vehicle. To minimize casualties on both sides, I strongly advise you against resisting or attempting to flee." So she's the brilliant, young Archmage Venessa Halley everyone's been whispering about.

An Archmage whose combat prowess rivaled that of the Sword Master, commanding a unit made up of the most talented mages in the entire kingdom. Maddie's amber eyes flashed with pure, unadulterated bloodlust. Her voice turned dangerously cold.

"Do not listen to her babble, Master. I will fight them to my last breath. Find an opening and take Ryan to escape." Hale closed his eyes. He had always known this reckoning would come; he just hadn't anticipated it striking so soon. Out of their trio, Maddie was the sole combatant. If Ryan weren't in the picture, Maddie could theoretically grab him and break through, but that was a massive 'if.' Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

A life on the run as the accomplice of a universally wanted villain was no life for an eleven-year-old boy entering his formative years. When Ryan mentioned he had no family left, Hale had quietly considered finding a decent, safe home to foster him, but the right opportunity had never presented itself. They had been constantly on the move, and their sensitive identities made establishing trustworthy connections nearly impossible. Now, reality had backed him into a corner.

He couldn't abandon Ryan, nor could he watch Maddie bleed out fighting a losing battle for his sake. He was out of choices. Hale opened his eyes, directing his gaze straight toward Venessa.

"Are you planning to execute me right here?" The young Archmage replied flatly, "I am escorting you back to the capital. The Kingdom demands a proper trial and execution for a criminal of your magnitude. However, if you offer resistance, yes, I will execute you on the spot." Hale pressed further, "If I surrender willingly, can you guarantee no harm comes to the other two?" Venessa paused for a brief second to weigh the request before answering, "Agreed. But only for today.

Should they tail us or cross my path again, I will detain them as well." Maddie's eyes widened, her voice dropping into a low, ferocious growl.

"I will never accept such a arrangement, Master!" Hale turned to her, his expression dead serious.

"Maddie, we cannot win this fight. This is the best path forward. Take Ryan and leave." Ryan chimed in frantically, "Are you out of your mind?! Going with them is a guaranteed death sentence!" Hale flashed a faint, weary smile.

"Not necessarily. But if we try to fight or run right now, at least one of us is guaranteed to die here today." Maddie's facial features grew increasingly wild and draconic. Hale panicked, terrified that within seconds she would lose control, undergo full dragonification, and rain hellfire down on the troops. If that happened, there was no telling how many thousands of Karma points the system would slam him with.

If he got slapped with another limb paralysis penalty right now, he might as well lie down and die on the spot. Desperate to keep her grounded, he scrambled for words to soothe her:"They won't execute me immediately. They need to transport me to the capital first—and that's exactly where we were heading anyway. I need you to get Ryan to a safe place first. Just trail us quietly from a distance. I'll engineer my own escape when the timing is right, and that's when I'll need your help, got it?"

He was already counting on the Invisibility Cloak resting in the system shop. He still held over 500 Merit points in reserve; the moment a viable opening presented itself, he could pop the cloak and vanish into thin air. Worst case scenario, I die, Hale thought to himself. Dying alone is infinitely better than dragging others down with me. Maddie still looked entirely unpersuaded. Left with no alternative, Hale pulled out his ultimate trump card.

"Maddie, if you harm or kill a single person here, the gods will strike me with a divine punishment. You saw what happened to my leg last time—I am not lying to you. Wait patiently for the right moment, please?" Without waiting for her reply, he scrambled straight down from the magic vehicle and walked deliberately toward Venessa's line. He didn't dare glance back at Maddie's face not even once. Seeing Hale approach, the soldiers behind Venessa instantly tensed up, dropping into high-alert combat stances.

Hale Wallace was a notoriously high-threat criminal; none of them were naive enough to believe he was genuinely surrendering his life to protect a pair of subordinates. Venessa, however, held a slightly different perspective. To be precise, had it not been for the encounter last night, she would have shared her subordinates' absolute skepticism. But at the Canisava Night Market, she had witnessed Hale stepping in to help a defenseless Beastkin girl with her own eyes.

It wasn't some flamboyant or arrogant display of chivalry; he had handled it in a hilariously clumsy, simple manner. And the candied fruit skewer he had handed her was so cloyingly sweet that, for a fleeting second, she felt as though she were looking at the sixteen-year-old Hale Wallace all over again—as if the ruthless, dark archmage who had brought war to the continent had never existed. Sensing the suffocating bloodlust radiating from the army ahead, Hale's steps faltered slightly.

In truth, he was terrified out of his mind. If some twitchy archer lost their nerve and launched a fireball his way, he was far too helpless to do anything but take it. So he halted his advance, unclasped his cloak, and let it fall to the dirt under the intensely guarded gazes of fifty soldiers, exposing the empty void where his right arm used to be.

"Magic... can't be cast properly with a single hand, right?" He forced his voice to stay steady, trying his best not to stammer.

"There's really no need to be this on guard against me." A collective wave of shock rippled through the ranks. Whispers of Sword Master Elias defeating Hale Wallace and severing his arm had circulated widely, but because few had witnessed the aftermath, most held healthy doubts. Now, the rumor was undeniable fact. Hale Wallace had lost his right arm. He was permanently stripped of his ability to cast offensive magic as he once did. Still, not a single soldier dared relax their grip on their weapons.

The lingering shadow of his past terror ran far too deep. Venessa dismounted her steed, intending to personally bind Hale's wrists, only to realize the sheer absurdity of trying to handcuff a one-armed man. Suppressing a subtle sigh, she gestured for a guard to clamp heavy mana-suppression shackles around his ankles, while she personally used a thick iron chain to bind his remaining left arm tightly against his torso.

"The metal crafting these leg shackles actively dampens mana flow, so do not entertain any foolish ideas," she stated calmly. Hale stood dead still, letting them truss him up like a turkey, before realizing that being bound in cold iron chains was exceedingly painful and uncomfortable. He let out a pathetic groan:"I'm really not going to run away right now. Is the extra chain around my ribs really necessary?" Nobody offered him the dignity of a response.

He was roughly shoved into a heavy metal transport cage mounted on a rear wagon, sealed shut with massive iron padlocks. Still deeply anxious about Maddie's volatile temper, Hale twisted his neck toward the back, shouting at the top of his lungs:"Maddie! Remember what I said! Get the kid to safety, and do not follow me!" At least, don't tail us so blatantly! No reply came from the tree line. Moments later, Venessa's military convoy began to move, rolling steadily along the highway toward the capital of Celtatic.