Chapter 31

“Huff… huff…” The distance between the city and the castle was not small, and they had been running around for a while. Kakashi and Neila began falling behind.

“Should we rest?” Syorin asked in concern, but Kakashi shook his head.

“We need to be… fast…”

There was no telling what would happen after this. They need to get to Baronnt quickly.

“Kakashi, Watch out!” Astill shouted all of a sudden, and Kakashi pressed the button. Immediately, four extra people were added to the top of the turn list. One dropped from a small area above them, heading straight for Neila. Neila unsheathed her sword and managed to stop him in time.

He quickly dashed backward before his turn ended.

The next person appeared, this time above Kakashi. Kakashi didn’t need to do a lot of work to evade him, though. He seemed surprised, and even angry at the fact that Kakashi didn’t even bother with blocking.

The next one dropped from above Syorin, but Syorin’s quick reflexes punched him before he could get a hit, and he was thrown into their rear end.

The final soldier dropped above Four. The two traded blows, and then he retreated.

“These aren’t like the ones before,” Kakashi warned.

“I know,” Astill answered, glaring at the four new threats. Like the attack on the tavern, she failed to notice them until it was too late.

“I can’t believe they’re hiding up there.” Syorin looked up. It resembled a small tunnel, similar to the ones people crawled through in spy scenes. Kakashi wasn’t sure what they were for, nor did he have the time to look into it.

“Neila, Imperial Crest!”

Unlike the soldiers before, these soldiers weren’t surprised to see the Imperial Crest in play, which suggested that they were involved in Neila’s ‘kidnapping’. Either that, or someone told them what was going on. Regardless, the fact that they set up an actual ambush is already concerning.

“Four, Dark Slash!” Four shot forward, targeting the one closest to her. The two traded blows. Four tried going for the soldier’s neck, but the soldier’s skilled swordplay allowed him to parry the incoming attacks. Not just that, he even seized a chance to counterattack, albeit that counterattack failing to harm her.

This is bad…

Four’s attack failed to damage him.

“Astill, Dark Miasma!”

Astill sent a cloud of poison in the direction of the two in front of him. They were given a chance to defend. They didn’t move. Instead, they took out a handkerchief from their pocket and used it to cover their noses and mouths. A glow appeared on the handkerchiefs, and the poison simply floated there, doing no damage.

Damnit.

They must have some kind of magic protection on that handkerchief, and Kakashi couldn’t use Dark Miasma unless he found a way to disable that magic.

“Syorin, Deep Punch!”

Syorin clenched her fist and leaped forward. Her target brought his sword to his face and used it to defend against Syorin’s attack. Syorin’s power pushed the target back, but like the other three, she too did no damage.

It was now the soldiers’ turn. They went up one by one, all four targeting Neila. Astill’s position was in front of Neila, and she helped stop the attacks from reaching her.

This is bad, this is bad.

Neither side had dealt any damage, but time was not on his side. Kakashi could be in deep trouble if the people above realized that it was a fake order and went after them.

By now, Baronnt should have known about the order after him, and he should be in the middle of his escape. If possible, Kakashi would like to capture him. While driving him out of the city and weakening his control over the region was their primary objective, capturing him might give them valuable information.

Kakashi thought about it carefully. Their enemy had strength on par with the girls. Their numbers didn't seem to increase, either. This group must be the elites, and maybe the only amount Baronnt could put to defend the sewers. Any more and he risked his defenses on the top side collapsing.

Kakashi ran around. The enemy glared at him, but he ignored them. He flew to the place where they hid. It was a small tunnel, stretching throughout the sewage system.

“... Four, what happened to the previous royal family?”

“Of Elesia? They disappeared after the empire’s annexation.”

This must be a route straight to the castle, then.

It might be designed as a secret escape route, which connected the castle and the outside world. In other words, like how the soldiers could have taken this route to intercept them, they could take the same route to bypass them.

Kakashi went through and stood in the small tunnel.

“Neila, Four, Astill, jump up here.”

The three used their turn to jump up. Syorin was last.

“Everyone, run as fast as you can after this. Syorin, jump!”

And thus Syorin jumped onto the tunnel. Kakashi pressed the button. He and Four quickly pulled Syorin up, and then they sprinted as fast as they could, heading toward the castle.

“After them!” The soldiers shouted, jumping into the tunnel.

“Move faster!”

“Hop on me!”

Four carried Kakashi, and Syorin carried Neila. With the two slowest people in the group no longer becoming a hindrance, they could run faster. This also gave Neila a chance to look into her jacket’s pocket, looking for anything that might slow the soldiers down.

“Ah, oil!”

Why do you have oil!? That was what everyone probably thought about at that point. Neila took the glass bottle and slammed it to the ground. It shattered into a million pieces, the slippery oil spreading throughout the floor. One of the soldiers tried running through, but slipped and fell straight on the glass. It probably wouldn't kill him, but the shout proved just how painful they were. The others were significantly slowed down.

They managed to pass the obstacle. It stopped them for just a few seconds, but those few seconds gave Kakashi and the girls valuable time to increase their distance.

Realizing this, the soldiers began attacking with magic. Spells struck various sides of the tunnel, knocking dust around and causing the surface to shake.

“Neila, don’t you have anything else!?” Astill shouted. She turned her upper body around and held her wand. Darkness converged on the diamond, and then he sent numerous dark spells flying straight at the soldiers. The soldiers used their swords to deflect the incoming attacks, kicking a cloud of dust as the spells smashed into the surroundings.

It didn’t slow them down, however. If anything, they began catching up.

“Let me check my bag!” Neila brought her bag forward.

“Whoa!” Syorin leaned her head to the side as the bag blocked her vision.

“Not this… not this… Ah!”

A spell narrowly avoided Neila, zipping past and hitting the tunnel’s roof.

“If this place collapses, then we’ll all die!” Astill shouted, but the soldiers didn’t listen. They continued firing, as if they didn’t care if they died.

The party weaved left and right. The tunnel grew narrower, and the shots closer. One shot even went right between Syorin’s legs, forcing Astill to jump to avoid the attack.

“Maybe this will work!” Neila pulled out the chicken costume and threw it. Magic attacks pierced through the costume, drilling holes into it, but the sleeves flew and tangled around the soldier standing in the front. The soldier collapsed and fell, while the other two narrowly avoided him.

“... This is not good!” Four shouted, prompting everyone to look forward. A thick steel door blocked their way. She readied her scythe and swung horizontally, but the door refused to budge. The entire party stopped, and Kakashi pressed the button.