‘Damn..., it’s barely holding together but… we’re not far from the meeting spot.’

“Ahh… We are going to die!”

Roland's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the shouts of one of the children as the space around them began to unravel, causing the metallic wagon to tremble violently. After he had inscribed runes around them, the cart turned into an impromptu flying ship. His cube golems were used as propulsion and hidden within a magical mist he had conjured up to hide them.

During their escape, they sustained several hits, which Roland countered by erecting a magical shield around them. However, the strain of maintaining the flying construct took its toll, resulting in more damage than he anticipated. Nonetheless, they continued flying until the runes began melting through the steel chassis. Now surrounded by flames, Roland urged the children to huddle around the tower shield he had melted to the ground.

“Huh? No one is going to die, just gather around me, I promise you, no one will die.”

Roland shouted over the roar of the flames and the creaking of the metal. He focused his remaining mana into a large spherical mana shield. It enveloped the shield he was kneeling on along with the children that huddled around him.

‘The runic structures have deteriorated too much, I can’t control the flight path anymore and the levitation spell is coming undone, the landing will be rough.’

Without voicing his concerns to the group, Roland remained focused on maintaining his concentration. After over a day of being chased, he had depleted most of his mana and was suffering from a headache induced by mana potion consumption. Fortunately, his skills allowed him to persevere through the pain. Before long, the mana solidified around them, forming a thick sphere of watery energy that enveloped them all.

The children, wide-eyed with fear, clung to Roland as the wagon shuddered and groaned under the strain. The heat was intense but thanks to the water magic around them, they were shielded from the worst of it. Roland placed his arms around the children to add another layer of protection with his body and the wagon continued to descend rapidly, hurtling toward the ground below.

As they approached the earth, Roland braced himself for impact. The sphere of mana surrounding them absorbed much of the shock, but even so, the landing was rough. The wagon crashed down with a deafening roar, sending up a cloud of dust and debris. The metal groaned and protested under the strain, and eventually burst into a ball of flames around them.

Once the dust settled, the children opened their eyes.They found themselves suspended in mid-air, surrounded by a watery shield that promptly dissipated. After ignoring the sensation of wetness, they turned their attention to the wreckage of the wagon they had just been in. They realized that during the descent, Roland had reactivated the levitation capabilities of his shield and safeguarded them from the impact.

“Is everyone alright?”

He asked the children, his voice hoarse from all the accumulated exhaustion. They nodded in response, and soon felt themselves descending toward the ground. However, the landing was abrupt, and they experienced a gentle bump as they touched down. Though their savior attempted to land more slowly, it was evident that he was nearing the limits of his power.

Soon, their eyes fell upon a group of armored men bearing the same crest as their pursuers. The children were startled by their sudden appearance, but Roland remained composed. He recognized their leader, someone he knew well. As the armored men approached, they too recognized Roland and quickly saluted him, who was their Knight Commander.

“That was quite the entrance, Sir Wayland.”

“Good to see you, Lord Arthur.”

Roland stood up straight and quickly performed a Knightly salute to Arthur, who to everyone gathered here, was his lord. While he wanted to do nothing more than to get all of this behind him, there was still more left to do in this little scheme he cooked up.

“I’m glad to see you also, and almost in one piece. However, we will catch up later, we have made the appropriate preparations.”

Arthur winked at Roland before glancing to the side, where a robed man stood, roughly Roland's height. Beneath the darkened robes, he wore armor similar to Roland's, giving him a striking resemblance to the individuals their pursuers were after. Now that he was among his allies, he could rearrange his robe to take on the form of a cape, adorned with a Valerian crest on the back.

“You have my thanks.”

“Hey Wayland, what is this all about? Care to explain?”

“Hey, give him some space you big idiot, can’t you see that he is tired.”

“Hey, why did you kick me?”

Two familiar voices sounded out from the distance and they belonged to his brother-in-law and his younger sister. Both Armand and Lobelia had gathered along with Sir Gareth and Morien. Lobelia was on horseback while it seemed that Armand had used his own body to keep up with the mounted soldiers. All of them were now tier 3 class holders and were just the backup he needed.

Roland let out a weary chuckle as he spotted those two approach. Despite the dire circumstances, their presence brought him a sense of relief. He took a moment to compose himself before addressing them.

"Armand, Lobelia, it's good to see you both. I'll explain everything, but first, let’s get this over with. Troops from Aldbourne are approaching and we need to deal with them first.”

“Aldbourne? That shithole?”

Armand commented before receiving another kick to the shoulder from Lobelia. It was rather odd to see her kicking a man from horseback, but at least the sight brought the tension down. The soldiers didn’t voice their opinions, but they wore strange expressions on their faces, clearly unused to seeing people behave in such a way around nobility.

“How dare you behave in such a way in front of the Lord!”

“Haha, it’s fine Mary, it’s quite entertaining!”

Roland looked at the group that was assembled and wasn’t sure what to think. Arthur seemed to be taking things quite lightly but considering that he now had a proper tier 3 entourage, he couldn’t blame him. While his own horse was being prepared he took a bit of time to look at Gareth and Morien, who were now a force to be reckoned with.

Name :

Gareth Astastel L153

Classes

T3 Sword Champion L3

T2 Advanced Sword Knight L50

T2 Sword Knight L 50

T1 Squire L25If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

T1 Warrior L25