Sword Saint's Reincarnation

Book 3 Chapter 52: Imminence (2)

Gerard waved his staff. The five fire spears unceremoniously shot toward the three Gnolls at the very forefront. The creatures started moving to the side, but as if they had predicted it, both Regis and Aelfric waved their wands, making spikes of earth rise from the ground and pierce through the creatures’ shins. The wounds weren’t too deep, as the enemies were at the level of the Fourth Circle, but they were enough to stop the monsters in their tracks.

The Gnolls yelped and stumbled, but they received no assistance from their kin. The other Gnolls only backed away from the flying fire spears, circling the group by the clearing’s edge. However, the fire spears moved in mid-air, shifting their targets to the surrounding Gnolls. Rylan nodded in appreciation.

Father wasn’t going to use the spears as a killing blow. Now that the frontmost Gnolls are incapacitated by the Earth Spikes, he’s aiming to injure the other ones.

As he had already realized, Gerard wouldn’t burn the enemies to death, in consideration of everyone else. It was likely that he was only aiming to inflict the creatures with enough pain to hinder them before finishing them off with another spell.

Rylan gripped Silver Twilight’s hilt, paying attention not only to the battle but also to the Gnolls still hidden in the woods.

They might target the kids.

He glanced at Sarah and her siblings. Both Andy and Laura looked scared and shocked, as they usually did whenever there was a fight. They hid behind Sarah, who was watching the battle with a serious expression. However, Elliot was different. The boy was staring at the Gnolls as if trying to burn their image into his brain, his fists clenched. Deep within his eyes, Rylan could see determination. He slightly nodded to himself.

This whole thing might turn him into a fighter.

It was a good development, even if not a kind one. If Elliot developed as he grew older, he would be able to protect his younger siblings and Sarah, especially when Rylan wasn’t able to be around.

Rylan looked back at the unfolding battle, just in time for three more Gnolls to burst into the clearing, right as Gerard’s fire spears landed on five of the original ones. The monsters screamed and howled as the fire burned through their leather clothing and quickly singed their flesh. The tongues of fire spread throughout the Gnolls’ skin before abruptly disappearing. Rylan analyzed the state of the Gnolls. They were shivering, weak voices coming out of their mouths. Stumbling in place, their grip around their weapons became weaker. Gerard had achieved his objective.

The man started wordlessly casting again. Meanwhile, Lillia had pointed her wand at the Gnolls that had been impaled by the Earth Spikes as they struggled to pull their legs out of it, with two of them only managing to injure themselves further. The last one had already pulled out one of its legs, but that was all.

That was a good spell choice.

Both Regis and Aelfric had cast just at the right time to cripple the enemies’ movements. It had only taken a single spell to virtually neutralize them, even if they hadn’t been killed, since all three of them were melee combatants.

They’re improving.

Rylan smiled to himself. A moment later, Lillia’s mana coalesced into a large spike of ice that floated in front of her. It was two meters in length and as thick as a human torso. The Frost Lance started spinning in place before flying forward, piercing through the air at surprising speed. It quickly arrived in front of the closest Gnoll and went right through its face, creating a large hole in its head. The creature was dead before the Frost Lance had passed through it.

Undeterred, the spell continued forth to reach the second Gnoll, which met a similar fate. The third Gnoll was the last one to fall as it desperately tried to pull its remaining leg out of the spike. Once the spell had killed all three incapacitated Gnolls, it quickly flew back to Lillia, floating above her head. Sweat flowed down her brow as she gritted her teeth.

“You don’t have to keep the spell active at all times,” Rylan advised. “By doing this, you’re avoiding needing to spend time casting it again, but you’re also consuming far more mana. You’re not fighting alone. There are people who will cover you.”

She flinched before nodding and waving her hand. The Frost Lance collapsed in place, turning back into ethereal mana.

“Alright,” she replied. “Thanks, Rylan.”

Rylan looked back at Gerard. Three large boulders were floating in front of him. They shot forward at the same time that Regis and Aelfric cast their next spells. Meanwhile, Elizabeth focused on providing support fire, casting simple spells like Magic Missile to try to protect the gaps between the rest of the family’s casting. Of course, her performance wasn’t stellar, but Rylan could see that she had talent. With more experience, she would improve exponentially.

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Inwardly, Rylan rejoiced.

Apart from Father, everyone else hasn’t fought much in real battles.

There was much room for improvement, but he was certain that all of them could become much greater than this, without exception.

The battle continued to unfold. Gerard did the heavy lifting of getting through the Gnolls’ defenses, but Rylan’s siblings grew increasingly better at targeting the injuries the man created. Elizabeth continued to support them, covering their gaps and trying to protect them. One after the other, the monsters died, slain by the family’s coordinated offensive. The whole time, Rylan could feel the gazes of the three Gnolls still in the woods. They were staring at the children, but in the end, none of them came forward, even as their allies’ lives were reaped.

Finally, after ten minutes, the battle ended. Regis, Lillia, and Aelfric took deep breaths as they looked at the ten carcasses on the ground in front and around them. Some of the enemies were headless, while others had holes in their chests and bellies. A few were lacking limbs.

Elizabeth looked paler than normal, but she clenched her fists and didn’t look away from the carnage. Gerard placed one hand on her shoulder as he looked around.

“Good work, everyone,” Rylan said, making them turn to look at him. “You’ve all done well. I’m certain you can all improve.”

They smiled at him, his siblings still taking deep breaths. Nobody said anything, but Rylan could see that they were both proud of what they had achieved and hesitant about what they were doing. He smiled sadly back at them. Even if they thought it was brutal, this was still something they needed to go through. Only Gerard seemed to be stable.

“Rylan,” Philip said from behind him.

“I know,” he replied before unsheathing Silver Twilight. “Just give me a second.”

He shot to the side, right into the woods, in the direction of the closest one of the three remaining Gnolls as it raced away from the clearing. As expected, the three surviving monsters were running away, likely to meet a bigger group.

Using Snowstorm, it took Rylan only two seconds to get within two meters of the fleeing Gnoll. It looked over its shoulder, eyes filled with fear, and tried to turn around, but it was too late. The sword flashed. Its head fell to the ground. Without missing a beat, Rylan dashed to the right, toward the second Gnoll. Once he reached it, he sank his sword into its chest, ruining its heart, before pulling it out and running toward the final Gnoll, which met a similar fate. Once they were dealt with, Rylan ran back to his group with light steps, each of them crossing several meters. Once he reached the clearing, he slowly walked closer to them.

“I still can’t get over how quickly you move,” Cecilia said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Hitting you with any projectile would be difficult enough, but you can also fight masterfully.”

The others nodded, making Rylan smile.

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied. “You won’t have to fight me. Let’s keep moving. We should wrap up this Dungeon as soon as possible.”

After everyone nodded, the group started moving again.

***

Lars sat inside his Skycarriage, arms crossed. His expression was severe. Next to him sat Pollia and Gallio, while Caecia and Drusus sat on the seats across him. None of them said anything. The clouds beyond the window sped past them as they flew across the skies to a place that could be their lives’ final destination. Lars glanced through the glass, looking at the several other Skycarriages they had brought along, stolen from the Empire’s army. Lost in thought, he continued to watch the scenery.

“…The closer we get, the more I feel like this is my life’s final act,” Gallio said after almost another minute of complete silence. “But it’s still something we need to do.”

“Of course,” Lars replied almost immediately as he looked away from the window to stare at his ally. “Even if all of us die, as long as Rylan dies with us, it would have all been worth it. At this point, it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to survive if we return to the Empire, anyway.”

Gallio and the others nodded with serious expressions. Lars looked back at the sky through the window.

…I understand the feeling.

In fact, it was something he had felt as well. His words to Gallio were also meant for himself to listen. He couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he would likely die before even returning to the Empire. However, that changed nothing. His words were still true.

“It’s unlikely that Lucius will stand by and do nothing,” Caecia said. “He might have already sent someone after us.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Drusus replied. “We just need to move faster. We might need to change the plan a bit. Each of us should go to a Skycarriage and use it ourselves. We’ll move faster that way.”

Lars pondered his ally’s words for a second before nodding. So far, they had been conserving their strength, as the strongest fighters, at the cost of the Skycarriages’ movement speed. It had also been necessary for them to stay in the same carriage to flesh out the plan, which was now done with.

“I agree,” he said. “Let’s do that. But don’t push yourselves too far. Remember that we’ll be the ones to fight Rylan Flameheart, and we still don’t know his precise location. It’s imperative that we don’t meet him when we’re too weakened.”

The others nodded before standing up. Pollia threw one last glance at Lars before opening the Skycarriage’s door and flying out, followed by the others. A couple of seconds later, the door shut, and Lars was alone in the vehicle. He could feel his mana coursing through him and into the Skycarriage, increasing its speed.

We’re close.

Even if Rylan’s group had stopped to enter another Dungeon, the distance between them rapidly decreased.

How long do we have? A few days, at most?

Lars clenched his fists.

For the good of the Empire, Rylan needed to die.