Chapter 45. Bandit Subjugation (4)
When Nox, now almost at the destination, slowed down, Lauren hurriedly shouted,
“W-Wait! From here, it would be better to walk.”
“I agree...”
Grant was not in normal condition either.
Because of their nausea, they began walking from a little distance away, slowly moving while trying to calm their stomachs.
But only for a moment.
BOOM!
The huge sound startled Lauren and Grant.
Their eyes widened.
“Are they already fighting?”
“Looks like it!”
“Judging from the sound, there seems to be a mage. Let’s hurry.”
The two climbed onto Nox again and quickly reached the source of the sound.
However, there was no battle.
Instead, Mitchell was standing still.
Several trees in front of him were broken apart.
“What? Is an enemy hiding over there?”
“I don’t think so...”
While Grant and Lauren prepared for battle, Mitchell began gathering energy into his sword.
Then he released the gathered power.
A sphere of energy flew forward.
The rapidly moving sphere struck a tree.
BOOOOM!
A powerful explosion rang out.
Grant and Lauren stared in surprise.
“Huh. You said Mitchell was restoring the Runei Family’s martial arts, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then that must be one of the restored techniques too. Its power is impressive.”
Grant nodded.
He had vaguely seen it during the battle against the Raphel remnants.
But Mitchell had not used it afterward, so Grant had assumed the restoration was incomplete.
Now, however, Mitchell used it perfectly.
Looks like he restored the third form, Heaven-Breaking Shatter, too.
Grant was deeply moved seeing Heaven-Breaking Shatter properly for the first time.
If Runei had possessed martial arts like that, it was no wonder the family had once ruled the North.
And losing martial arts like that would naturally lead to their decline.
But now they had hope.
Thanks to Mitchell, who was practically a blessing, how much had the family already changed?
Grant could not help wondering how far they would change in the future.
Mitchell was a benefactor not only to Grant, but to Runei itself.
“Enough admiring. Let’s go.”
Grant nodded and approached Mitchell.
Only then did Mitchell notice their presence and turn around.
His eyes widened when he saw Lauren.
“Lauren, shouldn’t you be at the iron mine?”
“If what was written in the note is true, the damage could be severe. It would be better if I helped you finish this quickly. By the way, did they say whether the enemy has any mages?”
“They said they didn’t see any.”
“Figures. Mages with heavy backsides wouldn’t come all the way to a place like this.”
Most ordinary mages stayed inside Magic Towers or noble families.
There were cases where families like Raphel hired mages.
But high-level mages had little reason to be hired like that, so most hired mages were low-level.
Lauren, who stayed as a guest rather than an employee, was unusual.
Then again, an elf learning human magic was already unusual.
In any case, after hearing there were probably no enemy mages, Lauren smiled in satisfaction.
His presence alone would greatly reduce Runei’s losses.
“Then let’s go. We should attack as quickly as possible so they can’t respond properly.”
Mitchell agreed with Lauren and called the twin brothers.
“We’re going to the place where the Wild King is. Prepare everyone to move.”
“Yes, understood!”
The twin brothers returned and gathered the martial artists.
They finished preparing almost instantly.
Mitchell, Grant, and Lauren moved at the front.
The twins and martial artists followed behind.
Mitchell praised Nox for his hard work.
Lauren watched and shook his head.
“I seriously thought I’d die from motion sickness. Huh... He seems even faster than the last time I saw him.”
“Nox grows together with me.”
“A magical beast and a human growing together... That’s a strange thing to say.”
Lauren shook his head as though he could not understand.
Meanwhile, Grant’s entire attention was on the Heaven-Breaking Shatter Mitchell had used earlier.
“I saw you use Heaven-Breaking Shatter.”
“I only got the feeling for it just now. I’ll teach you after we capture the Wild King. So don’t slack off and make sure you work.”
“Of course. But how many enemies are there? Your note only mentioned the Wild King and his direct subordinates.”
“The Wild King, around forty direct subordinates, and about a hundred bandits he absorbed after coming here. Around that many.”
“What?!”
Grant was shocked by the larger-than-expected number.
But Mitchell calmly reassured him.
“You don’t need to worry much about the ordinary bandits. They haven’t properly learned martial arts. The problem is the Wild King and his direct subordinates.”
Around fifty Runei martial artists were currently moving with them.
Half of them were 2nd Rank Aura Users.
“I already have a plan. The 2nd Rank martial artists will handle the bandits. The 3rd Rank and above will join us against the Wild King and his direct subordinates.”
“That’s still not easy... Won’t the damage be severe?”
“They’ll defend using Raphel’s joint formation while we deal with the dangerous ones. And with Lauren here, won’t it be easier?”
Grant looked at Lauren and nodded.
Lauren noticed Grant’s concern and smiled faintly.
“I’ll prioritize protecting our people.”
“Thank you, Lauren.”
Grant felt much more relieved.
Together with Mitchell and Lauren, he continued refining the plan.
After several hours, they reached a place deep in the mountains where even signs of people passing through were faint.
“No wonder we couldn’t find them when they were hiding in a place like this.”
Grant clicked his tongue and looked around.
Until now, they had sent people everywhere searching for the Wild King.
Now all that effort felt pointless.
The Wild King received supplies by having other bandits leave supplies far away, then sending his own group to collect them.
