Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 19.2: The Centaur

Du-dum du-dum du-dum du-dum!

The thundering sound of hooves striking the earth interrupted the night's tranquility as three horses tore through the dense forest at breakneck speed. Drixlia led the pack, easily maneuvering through the trees. Larsial and Shadow urged their mounts to follow the same paths it took, neither of them confident in their horses' ability to run through the forest on their own at such high speeds.

Kashi's eyes narrowed as they began to near the area he previously encountered the Vine Blight. Ferulic's Practice Bow appeared in his left hand while a quiver of arrows formed on his right which he then slung over his shoulder. The daeben took out an arrow and nocked it, gaze focused on a dead tree just a few meters ahead.

Just before they reached the tree, Kashi pulled Drixlia to a halt. He quickly dismounted and instructed Shadow and Larsial to do the same. "We'll go on foot from here. It'll be disastrous if a Vine Blight trips the horses while they're sprinting."

"What about the horses?" Shadow asked.

"Shadow's right. We can't leave them out here on their own." Larsial reined her mount over.

"Don't worry about that." Kashi placated them. He placed his right hand on Drixlia then watched as a curtain of light spread around it. Moments later, the light vanished along with Drixlia. "I'll keep them in my dimension for now." To Kashi's surprise, the Shadow and Larsial's mounts approached him of their own volition, uncharacteristically whinnying like little mares. Kashi was not sure, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the aura that leaked out when he placed Drixlia in his dimension.

Kashi made a mental note to do an experiment on this later. But for the moment, he placed both horses in his dimension. Kashi's brows wrinkled as the horses disappeared. The mana drain had been a little more than he had expected. It seemed he could not just go around placing living beings indiscriminately into his world. He made another mental note to find a more cost-effective method.

"Alright, let's do this," Kashi said then charged ahead at full speed with Shadow and Larsial following. The trio blurred through the forest, their pathing zig-zag, seemingly chaotic and through tree branches rather than the ground. The assassins behind Kashi understood the brilliance behind the movement. Their pathing was aimed at highly reducing the chances of a successful ambush by a scouting enemy. If the enemy could not accurately tell where they would be at a certain point in time, it would be difficult to set an ambush.

Usually, this would force enemies to face them in a frontal. Even then, it would not be a concentrated force, but a split up faction hoping to tie them down long enough for the others to catch up.

Their efforts soon proved to be the right one as less than ten minutes later, Kashi suddenly shouted. "Descend!"

The trio dropped to the ground as dozens of half-a-meter needles zipped past their locations. A grin spread on Kashi's face as he glared at five Needle Blights. He nocked an arrow, preparing to face them, but Shadow and Larsial suddenly dashed past.