Volume 10 Chapter 10 Pursuer Veil
The pursuers from the Tempest Kingdom that Al was worried about showed up the day after tomorrow, just before noon. It happened while Al and the others were working near the entrance of the ancient ruins they were using as their base, making a raft out of thin tree roots or branches.
"Patricia, Ms. Joanna, stop the work. A boat is coming!"
"A boat? Where?"
At Al's voice, the two let go of the ropes and looked up. They looked outside, but they couldn't see anything yet. As they focused on where Al was pointing, they finally spotted some movement between the trees after a while.
"It's a large rowboat without a sail. There are 3 of them, each with ten people."
"Thirty people? That's quite a lot."
Al nodded at Joanna's comment. He had expected to see the 'Floating Eye' first. He thought about escaping when he spotted it, but he didn't expect so many people to come at once. Maybe he missed the enemy's 'Floating Eye' that was scouting them. On 2 of the 3 boats, there were groups of 4 men led by someone called An, with 8 rowers on each. The last boat had a magician named Snowden, 3 men and women in black robes with staffs, and 6 rowers.
"This means we'll probably have to escape soon. Let's stick to the plan for now."
Joanna and Patricia nodded at Al's words. Al hid his noticeable hair by pulling up the collar of his coat and tossed the bundled wood into the water one by one, storing the rest in his magic bag. He had already organized other items so they could escape at any moment.
The boats gradually approached, but all 3 stopped about 300m (1,000ft) from the ancient ruins where Al and the others were. In the meantime, Al chanted the 'Fly' spell and the 'Carrier' spell, ready to take off, and hid behind a stone wall at the entrance. Joanna positioned herself to shield Patricia.
"What do you think they plan to do? Do they know we're here?"
As the 3 exchanged glances, a magician named Snowden floated gently above the boat. He received something from another man in a black robe and brought it to his mouth.
"Princess Patricia, I know you are there. I am Veil, the great magician serving the Marquis Prentis family. Surrender now and give up any resistance. I will not treat you harshly."
It seemed that Veil was his real name. What he held to his mouth looked like a magic tool to amplify his voice. His low, raspy voice echoed loudly over the swamp. Al and the others watched him with tense expressions. The Marquis Prentis family was a noble family that had served as prime ministers in the Tempest Kingdom for generations and had recently rebelled against the royal family. Al wasn't sure what the title of great magician meant, but it seemed to indicate he held a significant position.
In the Tempest Kingdom, there are organizations called magician squads, similar to knight orders, made up of magicians. The leader of the magician squad is called the Magician Commander, and the skilled magicians leading the teams are known as Grand Magicians. The Marquis Prentis family's mage squad is especially large, said to have over 300 magicians.
Joanna quickly explained this to Al. In Tempest, the leader of the magicians holds a position equal to the knight commander, and there is a rank called magician that corresponds to knights. This shows how important magicians are. However, the squad leader Cruss is involved in infiltration work...
"What are you silent about? Isn't Joanna Quenner from the Royal Knight Order there? As expected, she is one of the selected knights of the Royal Knight Order. It's commendable that she protected the princess, escaped Count Senet, and survived to this remote place. But as a knight, you understand the situation. There's no way to escape now. Give up and convince the princess."
Lord Veil said.
"How will you respond? Or will you run away?"
Joanna asked Al in a quiet voice. Al shook his head slightly, smiled, and whispered for her to tease him as she liked. Joanna smiled a little, looking amused, and nodded.
"Don't talk nonsense, you dog of the traitor Prentis. If you're so confident, try to catch me. Or are you trembling at the sight of a female knight? If that's the case, you should hurry back and hide behind your mother."
Even without a magic tool to amplify her voice, Joanna's voice echoed through the swamp louder than Lord Veil's. Next to her, Al was casting the 'Shield' spell one after another for both of them.
"What are you...! Fine, I don't care if the princess or the knight lives or dies. Bring me their heads!!"
Lord Veil shouted angrily. At his command, the boats on either side began to move forward. The men at the front of each boat raised metal shields, likely to protect against arrows and 'Magic Missiles.' In response, 2 magicians floated up from the boat Veil was on.
"I heard they were being careful, but to be fooled by such simple words..."
Joanna muttered in disbelief. However, Al felt that in this situation, they had no choice but to fight hard, and he probably intended to do just that. They likely didn't know everything about Al.
"Looks good. You two, get on my 'Carrier' as we planned."
Al said this and jumped over the crumbling stone railing of the ancient ruins' balcony, landing on the wooden platform below. The 'Carrier' spell he usually shaped like a chair was now a large bowl to catch both of them.
"They're trying to escape. Hurry! Magicians, unleash your magic!"
The two boats sped up. The magicians floated slightly above them, moving in the same direction. Lord Veil's boat followed closely behind. They were still over a hundred meters away.
'Magic Power Control.'
Two people jumped down and got on the 'Carrier' spell disk. They quickly arranged some prepared wood into a raft shape, making sure it wouldn't fall apart even at high speed. A chasing boat was getting closer, within 30m (100ft) of Al and the others.
''Magic Missile!''
From above the boat in front, 2 magicians shot out 3 beams of pale blue light each. Al smirked a little. If it was a group attack spell like 'Magic Tornado', he would have to deal with it using the 'Spasm' spell. He was worried that he would be on the defensive, but the spells the magicians cast were different. The pale blue lights aimed at Al, Patricia, and Joanna, trying to hit them with 2 beams each, but a hexagonal shield of light appeared for a moment, making a high-pitched metallic sound as it deflected the beams. It was the effect of the 'Shield' spell they had prepared in advance.
'Magic Tornado!'
A white light shot from Al's palm, trailing a long tail, and hit the shield held by a man named An at the front of the right boat. The main target should have been Lord Veil, but his boat was a bit farther away from the first 2, out of the 30-meter range. A swirling mass of white light erupted around the area where An was, pulling in the two boats and the two magicians above them.
"Hold on. Here we go!"
Al was trying to escape quickly on the water, pretending to be on a raft. It didn't look like a raft at all because of how fast he was going. If he moved at a normal paddling speed, they would catch up to him right away. He hoped they would just think it was some strange spell.
Behind him, he heard screams and splashes as something fell into the water. From the view of Al's 'Floating Eye' on top of the ancient ruins, 2 boats were badly damaged and taking on water. The people on those boats and the magician flying above them were covered in blood and lying on the deck. Right behind them, Veil's boat came to a stop, almost crashing into them.
"That was some serious power."
Joanna said, her voice shaking. Patricia was holding onto the railing, hiding her face. They were probably scared after seeing the effects of the 'Magic Tornado' spell. But this was just a fight to the death. Lord Veil had planned to do this right in the middle of the city.
"It went better than expected. Let's keep running, and then we can throw away the listening magic tool and some pieces of clothing with the wood. That should end our escape."
"Yeah, sounds good." "Okay."
Their voices felt a bit distant, but Al kept moving. Lord Veil's 'Floating Eye' was chasing them, but Al used 'Dispel Magic' to make it disappear. They successfully shook off their pursuers.
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