TBATE | King Grey

-CHAPTER 10- Journey to Xyrus ends

"Don't damage the...goods..."

The bandit leader's voice echoed inside my mind, shaking me to the very core. Anger pulsed through my veins, consuming my every nerve, every organ, until my whole body brimmed with hatred and resentment. Magic followed suit as I reached deeper into the foreign core—once again feeling it's effect, how different it felt from wielding ki—letting it fuel my smouldering temper.

As if set on a spark of fire, the burning ember of rage inside me—burst out as more and more wind mana surrounded my frame. I looked at the group of trash—who had dared to touch what was mine.

I needed to teach them a lesson—so they would remember it through to their next life.

"All of them are mages! 8 augmenters and 3 conjurers." Reynolds' voice cut through the high tension that was building up. Then a *wizz* followed as two arrows shot through the moonlit field before piercing through the armor of one of the enemy augmenters. It was Helen, I realised.

Using the distraction I burst forward, sword in hand and wind mana under my feet. My movements enhanced by the flowing winds as I approached a augmenter wielding a mace.

"Safeguard formation!"

Reynolds' voice boomed in the battlefield followed by the rumbling of footsteps and metal clingings as everyone engaged in the battle.

Bringing down my metal sword in a swipe I sidestepped to avoid the mace that was lunged right towards my face. Sharp *cling* came as the mace wielder defended successfully by slanting the mace's shaft, but I followed it with a horizontal slash aimed at the opening towards his neck. The mace wielder took a step back in retreat, moving the weapon to intercept and push me back, but I didn't give him any room as I kicked my knee into his abdomen.

"Argh."

The mace wielder grunted as his face twisted in pain, his body stumbled back a few steps as he tried to balance himself with his maces' butt against the ground.

Not giving him a moment's reprieve I charged forward with a thrust to finish the enemy. My blade ran though his flesh swiftly followed by a wet gurgle from the enemy's mouth and blood sputtering from my open mouth. Lifting my right foot off the ground I kicked the dead man away as blood burst out from where his heart was.

Swiping my blade to get the blood off, I spun around, finally studying the battlefield.

Durden was on the defence, rising earth walls around the narrow open field—to keep the conjurers from using long ranged attacks.

Jasmine was wielding twin daggers as she fought off a burly augmenter with a spear. She tried to get closer to him as he kept moving his long tailed spear to ward off her deadly daggers. I could sense the wind mana around Jasmine's arms as she thrust forth, lifting herself off the ground in a sudden burst, catching the burly augmenter off as she slashed both her daggers against her enemy's front.

As I watched Jasmine finish off her opponent, hails of arrows rained down across the battlefield. Helen was now standing far away and above the open field—her position suitable enough to kill her enemies with ease—making her the most deadliest warrior in the field.

"Tch. Kill that bitch! Her arrows are troublesome." The man with two scars running across his face—the supposed leader—shouted at his minions, two of three conjurers who were trying to push past Reynolds and Durden's to get to the carriage where Alice was in. Then, two augmenters with a metal whip and a spear joined their companions.

"Dammit!" I cursed as I shot across the field to get close the Reynolds and Durden—to support them against the new threat.

"Where do you think you're going?" A sudden voice stopped me in my tracks as I spun around quickly, only to block a sword aimed at my neck—with my own. The leader of the group—the scarred man—-was now standing in front of me, his sword trying to cut me my head in half. "You're a swordsman, is it? Show me what you got. Entertain me till my men finish their job hehehe."