The Founder's POV

Chapter 52: Winds of War [4]

****

Nearby...

"Jump to the right!" Killian shouted as he ran, the seriousness on his face evident as he quickly navigated through the forest trees.

He carried a young man, not yet twenty, on his back. This was the person he had brought with him after escaping from the Puppet Society and the one who had necessitated Cassian and Jin's help.

Speaking of Cassian, the two of them were running together through the forest, maintaining a distance from the dwarves.

"Isn't fighting them up close better?" Cassian said in frustration as he dodged a bullet guided by Killian's instructions.

Killian's expression didn't change, and he continued moving in the direction Jin had directed them.

Cassian's idea might seem correct since their enemies were dwarves, a race that usually relies on long or medium-range combat.

"I'd prefer to retreat for now; there are rank A fighters among them!" Killian leaped to the side as he finished speaking, and surprisingly, a dwarf appeared there out of nowhere.

"That's an example!" Killian yelled as he increased his speed; the dwarf that attacked him had strength at rank A-.

Although his overall strength should be better than dwarves at the same level as a human, especially since his body had been modified to be stronger, the number of enemies was still too high.

If Cassian were at rank B like him, things would be different, but even a legendary martial art wouldn't do much now.

{Dream Descent}

Cassian cut off the arm of a dwarf who got too close and continued running with Kilian. The scene behind them was terrifying; dozens of powerful dwarves were chasing them like worms, each at least rank B.

Some were even at rank A-! There's no point in fighting now.

Cassian looked at Killian, it was clear that carrying someone on his back was slowing him down significantly, especially since brute strength wasn't his primary trait.

"We can't keep this up much longer! We need to do something!" Cassian said as another dwarf grabbed his leg, the situation turning from bad to worse.

-
=+=

"What are you doing, for God's sake?!" A loud shout from the sky drew everyone's attention, even the pursuing dwarves.

Some began to tremble in fear, while others laughed; the mixed reactions around me left me unable to predict what was coming. Standing in the sky was a dwarf, 140 cm tall, very tall for his race. Instead of the common silver hair, his hair was golden, indicating he was indeed different from the others.

Of course, I knew what golden hair meant for this race, and I didn't like it much.

The more golden the hair, the better the mana and mental capabilities of the dwarf. The dwarf in the air had entirely golden hair.

The energy radiating around him indicated two things: the amount of mana he had and that his control over it wasn't absolute. It took me a moment to recognize his identity, but I eventually did. I had written and designed this particular dwarf myself.

The dwarf used silver metallic wings to fly, attaching them securely to his shoulders, and held a giant golden hammer in his hand. As the best race in terms of mental abilities, with the worst mana among the races on earth, dwarves often relied on external tools.

With a suppressive aura around him, the dwarf disappeared into the air with incredible speed; he was at least at rank A-.

"Move!" Killian shouted loudly, but it was already too late.