The Greatest (The Beginning After The End X Male Reader)

Sorrowful Journey

A couple of days passed as we finally managed to make it to the foot of the Grand Mountains, which, by the way, sure lived up to their name.

Jasmine learned well from me, so I decided to teach her how to do one of my old footwork from my former life. Even though I'm not the best teacher, I have the experience of teaching since I was a captain in my former life, so my explanation is not incomprehensible.

My footwork name is Flash Step. As the name implies, you need to be fast, and it's to avoid close-range attacks. In my past life, I created Flash Step when I was still 20. I always used it when I fought enemies in close combat.

But since this is a magic world, I think my Flash Step can be further advanced to a new level with the help of mana.

Art teaches others his Feint Step.

In the carriage, I observe the outside until... Helen's alarmed voice rang in my ears.

"BANDITS! PREPARE TO ENGAGE!" she shouted, as a rumble of footsteps came from our right and rear.

I realized I forget that before Arthur met Sylvie, the Bandits attacked.

"Submit, O' wind and follow my will. I command and gather you around in protection. Wind Barrier!" Instantly I feel a gust of wind forming a tornado around Mum, Angela, Art and me. Then the gust bent into a sphere around us.

Angela was holding out her wand, concentrating on keeping the barrier active while arrows constantly bombarded the barrier, only to get redirected to a different direction.

Mum pulled me and Art in close, trying to shield us using her body from whatever might get through. Thankfully, her efforts didn't seem to be necessary as the barrier held strong.

In a matter of seconds, the tarp covering the carriage was torn to shreds and I get a better view of the situation at hand.

We were completely surrounded, shit.

Just from what I could see, there were at least thirty bandits. Our current situation was unfavorable at best, as both our path forward and our retreat back were blocked off by bandits wielding swords, spears, and other close-range weapons. On the mountainside to our right, there were archers positioned atop a cliff, their bows aimed at us, while only the steep edge of the mountain with the looming fog beckoned to our left.

Jasmine, Durden, and dad seemed to be fine, with no visible injuries, but Helen had an unhealthy pale complexion that seemed to be a result of the arrow jutting from her right calf.

A bald man with multiple scars deforming his face and a body of a bear carrying a giant battle-ax spoke out. "Look what we have here. Pretty good catch boys. Leave only the girls and the kid alive. Try not to scar them too much. Damaged goods will only sell for less," he snorted with a smirk that revealed a nearly toothless mouth.

I see that Art's getting enraged by the man's words but stop as dad yelled out, "There are only 4 mages and none of them seem to be conjurers! The rest are normal warriors!"

Faint mana fluctuations around a person's body made mages distinguishable compared to normal humans, only apparent if studied closely. As for whether they were an augmenter or conjurer, making an inference based on physical structure and the weapon they were holding gave me a pretty solid idea.

I could visible see how quickly dad reverted back to his former adventurer days when he had once led the Twin Horns as his expression held the wisdom that could only come from experience. He donned his gauntlets, shouting, "Safeguard Formation!"

Adam quickly arrived behind us as he faced the back of the road, spear pointed, while Jasmine and Helen came to our left with both of their weapons unsheathed, facing ahead. My father and Durden faced the mountainside, positioning themselves to protect us from the archers overhead. Meanwhile, Angela maintained her position, preparing another spell as she kept her wind barrier active.