Chapter 33: To Death

Chapter 33: To Death "Hopefully? Maybe twenty. Each about as strong as a Squire," Lucen answered. His body was feeling lighter as Ymir’s golden light washed over him. The strange gaze she gave him slightly unnerved him, but he ignored her. Ymir had always been weird to some extent. Set was always the same to him. Too obsessed with their little family. Warren, grey hairs mixing in his brown, was a steady and resolute man. But even he could see the Lightcloaks were flawed. That was why he trusted that Warren would help and didn’t immediately go after Korgath and Peter Cross. He was strong for a Squire, but Warren was a full Knight. He had already weakened Korgath—Warren would destroy him. He had spent the whole of last night using Aya’s Crown of Stars to expand his mana sense, surgically finding and exterminating all the Crunchers hiding in town. Warren sighed once again, looking like he regretted his decision. "Ymir, go back to the Keep and inform Chester of what happened here." "What? Why me? I want to fight." "You are the only one Chester is likely to take time out for. Go. Now." She frowned deeply but immediately began marching back to the castle under the harsh light of day. "Then let’s start," Warren muttered. ■——■ The large group of young knights moving through the streets was reassuring. The townspeople spilled into the streets to applaud them. Their cheers washed over them. The young Knights, not used to such admiration, simply blushed and waved at the roaring crowd that clapped heartily as they passed. They gave Lucen a harder applause, though. Throughout last night, he had burst into people’s houses, slaying Crunchers pretending to be family. There were some horrible instances—having to tell a single father his only son was dead, or pulling a wife from her husband as he tried to kill her. And yet, in the crowds, among the thunderous roar of their voices, Lucen could see people he expected to hate him cheering him on through tears. He had long given up on understanding the people of this world, but he cringed. In front of a massive fountain, in the middle of Lost Street, Lucen explained his thought. "I don’t know how many more powerful Crunchers are out there, but if we stay in groups of five and work well together, we can beat them." "Have they displayed any magic? Other than stealing forms?" Warren asked. "They can absorb strength from their victims, but I don’t think they take spells." Warren looked around at his students and the soldiers. A single glance seemed enough to pry all uses he could make of them. "The soldiers will surround the location, and I will use the battleground to decide how we fight. We’ll use the teams from our Shapeless Wolf lessons." Lucen was happy to have the weight of responsibility off him. The soldiers followed Warren’s every word. This meant he could focus on how to get to Peter Cross and the spear. Rank: Squire Vitality: High Will: High Might: Minor Insight: High Dominance: High Discovery: 43% Status Effects: Relaxed Equipment: Barth’s treasured spear, magic scrolls [Lucen’s skills] Night vision (Low) Wall climbing (Low) Comprehension (Minor) Targeting (Minor) Reading (Minor) Song of Light (Heroic) Breath of Mending (Low), Breath of Veil (Low) Traveller’s aid (Minor), Sinking sand (Minor) Surging Flames (High) Bone spear (Minor) His Vitality and Dominance had risen dramatically as he devoured Crunchers. Minor rank spells could no longer fade from his mind, and he even gained a new one. [Surging Flames (High): It is an enhancement spell that grows stronger the harder you fight. The excess energy reached at your body’s limit will be stored and can be used in fast bursts.] Vitality was also helping his tired body. A full night of combat and mental stress would usually leave him unable to stand. He was tired right now, but he could fight. He waved Aya’s guard over lazily. He abandoned his sleek silver armour for the leather garb of the garrison’s Knights. "He’s the tracker," Lucen said. "Adrian. He’ll use the arms of the monster I fought to track him." Warren eyed the man. "They’ll be Veiled and could use spells that isolate mana." "My spell relies on blood and flesh," Adrian explained. "It’s like a magnet leading back to its source." Tharic whistled. "Very specific, but rather useful." "How do you have such a high-ranked spell?" Callan asked more suspiciously. "Did you steal it?" Adrian’s face showed no offense. "My parents taught me." "Do we have to waste time asking stupid questions?" Lucen said before Callan could speak again. As Callan glared at him, Warren sighed again. "Let’s just go already." So they were off. Adrian led at the front, and a small army of nearly a hundred armed combatants followed. Their heavy, loud march cut through the slums and into the forests. Lucen was armoured lightly, it didn’t burden his tired body. Leather vest and greaves, a metal helmet that crushed his blonde hair. He lagged behind, watching the still-sleeping giants. Set appeared beside him a few seconds later. "What are you planning?" he asked, keeping his eyes forward. "You understand what you are, right? No matter what you do, it won’t change the shame. The elders will never give you anything." Lucen rolled his eyes. He considered not saying anything, too tired to give a damn. "I don’t want anything from your family, Set." Set’s jaw tensed. But he didn’t want to say Lucen belonged to the family. "Good. When they exile you, it won’t be to Castaway. You’ll cross the lands, to Eshara, or even the Mirrored Lakes, to serve the interests of the family." "It’ll be an honour." Set frowned but simply clicked his tongue and left. Lucen wondered what he wanted him to say. His only goal was to take his mother and leave. If they required his services later, then he’d avoid it until they gave the job to someone else. He never expected them to give a damn about him, but now he understood why he could never understand them. It was a simple matter of them not thinking he was worth their sympathy. And that was totally fair; most people decided your worth the day they met you. The forest closed around them, darkness surrounding them. The trees gave off a sickly sweet smell that made his stomach turn. Lucen suddenly stepped forward and hissed, "Stop, there’s something ahead." Warren scrunched his eyebrows. "Are you sure?" "The traces are slight, but they’re there," he explained. "But honestly, we’re getting close, I think. We should start preparing to surround them." "Korgath is in that direction," Adrian said confidently. "I’ll lead the attack," Warren said. "Set’s team will be with me, Ymir’s team too. Arielle and Callan keep the weaker ones busy. Lucen, are you able to fight?" "Frankly, no." Warren watched him for a second but simply shrugged. "You and Tharic go around and stop anything from escaping, help the soldiers if they need you. Our objective is simple: I draw out Korgath and move our battle aside, and you all slowly exterminate them. If you need to heal, order the soldiers to cover." After he gave some orders on the formations of the soldiers, they were off. Lucen, Helie, Kon, and the other two members of his group took the west, and Tharic would go east. This wasn’t random. While Warren spoke, Adrian used his eyes to direct Lucen to Peter Cross’ location. Adrian would find a way to deliver a message to Aya so she could meet up with Lucen. Lucen would rely on his mana sense and intuition to find Cross’ exact location. But he expected he wouldn’t have much trouble. After all, they were destined to meet, and one of them was now destined to die. Lucen sighed. "Let’s just get this over with quickly."