Chapter 80: Survival

Realizing that something was definitely wrong, Tristan would not take any chances as he quickly casted [Blood Seal] on the rider who had talked to Astrid. Immediately after, he dashed towards the other rider who watched all of this happening.

Seeing the latter was trying to gallop and run, Tristan swiftly took the sword out of his spatial ring and threw it towards the barbarian.

The sword did a line through the air before swiftly penetrating the back of the barbarian, sending him flying from the horse's back. The moment he reached the barbarian, Tristan was surprised to find the horse was dead as well. It looked like the sword somehow made its way to end the latter's life.

Looking at the horse's lifeless body, Tristan was annoyed as he definitely could use it for the journey. Alas, what already happened would not be able to come back.

When Tristan returned to the group, he quickly interrogated the barbarian who already fell under his control.

It was surprising to know that just this morning, hundreds of barbarian warriors were ordered to move to the northern border with hundreds more being gathered to surround the area. But what totally shocked him was the instruction given to them. 

All the barbarians, without exception, were given a strict order to kill a white-haired elf on sight

"Fuck!!" Tristan cursed loudly when the barbarians spoke this. He realized that his worry turned out to be right, and to make it even worse, he was not fast enough.

Tristan immediately tried to think of several different possibilities that could possibly help them, but he couldn't come out with one that guaranteed the safety of both him and Layla.

Looking at the one horse that was available in front of him, the best scenario that Tristan could think of would be just charging through the enemy blockade with Layla on his back. However, this plan clearly did not give him full assurance that his sister would not get hurt. After all, the plan itself smelled risky.

The whole group became worried when they saw Tristan's troubled look. The situation turned worse the moment the captured barbarians suddenly became chaotic. It seemed they somehow believed their life is in jeopardy now that the plan has failed.

In such a condition, Tristan decided to decisively take extreme measures. He looks towards his blood-sealed warrior and said.

"Leave only 3 and kill the rest."

Scrall, Astrid, and Borin immediately jumped into action the moment Tristan uttered that order. They headed towards the captured barbarians and began killing mercilessly. As this sight of carnage was unfolding, the others turn panicked while Layla screamed.

"Brother what are you doing?! Stop this madness immediately!" the young girl jumped towards Tristan and told him to stop.

It was a different matter between killing the enemy in the battlefield and killing the captured as well as defenseless ones. But at the moment, Tristan had no room for a guilty conscience. Not when their survival was at risk.

He held Layla's hand firmly and said while looking directly at her eyes, "This is necessary, sis. Trust me!"

In this kind of situation where he couldn't allow any more risk, those 28 prisoners would become an unpredictable factor to him. In short, a risk.

Tristan believed that the moment the barbarian warriors came into sight, they would be the first one to become trouble. Hence, he decided to eradicate the risk.

As for the other 3 who were lucky enough to be spared, Tristan quickly used [Blood Seal] on them and sent them in three different directions. These three would become his radar and act as a distraction for the enemy when the situation needed.

The three added would throw off the searches as best as they could and when they were killed, Tristan would know which direction was the most dangerous one and had to be avoided.

However, this could only delay his problem. It would not solve it. He needed another plan to escape this mess.

Subconsciously, Tristan casted his gaze to the horse one more time. The thought of grabbing Layla and leaving with just the two of them crossed his mind.

It was at this moment that Barry suddenly decided to speak his mind.

"Sir Tristan, I suggest we should just go back to the riverside. I know there is an abandoned fishing port about an hour away from here. I highly recommend us to go there."

Upon hearing this, Tristan immediately shifted his attention to Barry. He stared at the man in a threatening manner.

"What do you mean with that, Barry?! Tell me what you know! You are hiding something from me!"

Barry panicked when he saw how Tristan acted. Being stared at by Tristan in such a manner was definitely not a pleasant experience.

"I...I… I don't sir… I.. can't say."

Tristan's eyes narrowed when he did not hear what he wanted.

"You know that I have a way to make you speak the truth, don't you?"

Barry's expression changed as Tristan said that. Recalling the sight of the latter's victims sent chills down the man's spine.

"I-I am telling the truth, sir! The mayor ordered me not to tell you that we are in contact, but he really never said anything. The only thing I know is… I believe the reinforcement is already near."

"Then, why are you hesitating to tell this to me?!"

Seeing Tristan's expression made Barry even more panicked. He quickly waved his hand and said, "I-It's because the mayor ordered me to keep the information a secret. As for the reason, I really don't know!"

As convincing as its sound, Tristan knew better than to trust a human's heart. Right now, he could not afford not to be thorough. 

The [Blood Seal] cost him 200 Blood Essences, but it was a price that Tristan was willing to pay for the truth. And surprisingly, Barry did speak the truth. The man did not know anything else.

In his mind, Barry really believed that the mayor would arrive via the river soon, and that would be the best place for them to go.

But despite this, knowing Barry's loyalty to the mayor, he kept the Blood seal, he also let Barry take the horse and headed towards the shore in advance and look for the reinforcement immediately. If what Barry said is true then the boat will be their escape plan. 

The group followed behind and naturally, before the group left, he did not forget to extract the precious blood from the barbarians that were just killed.