Chapter 279 - The Snow chase

In the middle of a snowy night, a girl could be seen running down a thick snowy path surrounded by trees. Each step would be imprinted on the ground as she ran with the best of her abilities. 

Long ashy blue hair, braided along the back with sharp sweet violet eyes. She wore a winter cloak on top of a robe, indicating that she was a magician. 

Every few seconds, she would turn back as if making sure that whatever she was running for, wouldn't catch up. 

The temperature was freezing, and she could barely breathe. She felt like stopping. Her legs felt like they could shatter at any second. Yet she kept going. 

Her bones were filled with dread, and with each passing step, they began to succ.u.mb to the cold. She was slowing down. 

"There she is!!" 

"Get her!!!" 

Voices of men resonated throughout the forest as it indicated that they were following her. Upon seeing this, the girl began wondering about her next move. 

'Do I fight them...? No... It's too risky... Should I go for an ambush...?' She asked herself 

But that too wouldn't work. The number was most definitely high. Why was she being chased? How strong were they? What will happen to me if I get caught? Such questions flew past the girl's mind as she quickly began to look around. Searching for a clue on how to beat them. 

'My legs can't handle anymore... How the hell can they chase someone for nearly an hour...?! I should have stayed home today...' 

As she began to contemplate on her decision of choosing to do a quest instead of resting. Her eyes caught a glimpse of something. Something which could save her. 

Suddenly, her legs got caught on themselves and she went diving down, sliding her face across the snow as she did so. 

It hurt, but she held it in. There were stones and sharp pebbles on the ground, but luckily she had only slightly bruised her leg. 

The sounds of those who were chasing her, got closer and closer. As she noticed this, she tightly clenched her fist. 

Her hands began to tremble, not only due to fear but due to how cold the snow itself was. But she hadn't lost hope. 

"Looks like I have no choice but to fight..." She muttered as she took in a deep breath. 

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"You said she was around here, didn't you?" One of the guy asked as he looked around. 

Snow and trees, that was all he could see. No sounds except for the howling winds which resembled whispers of the dead. 

"This is where the trail ends." Said another as he looked down at the tracks. 

The snowstorm's rampage was still strong so the footprints were fresh. The strange part of it was how it just suddenly ended, there weren't any attempts to hide it. It was as if the girl had suddenly disappeared out of thin air. 

"Did we lose her?" Asked the third guy as he looked around. 

"No... She's here." Said the second guy who was looking down at the tracks. 

"How can you be sure? We don't have time to waste!" Replied the third guy 

"Quiet." Said the guy who stood in between them all. 

As he said this, they all shut their mouth. It was easy to tell, from the way they were acting that he, was the leader. 

Big and tall. They all wore snow robes covering their body and their head, making it harder to tell them apart. But in terms of size and bloodl.u.s.t. The one in the middle stood out. 

The leader carried a big, heavy long sword which had mana flowing out of it. Any magician would be able to tell just by looking, that it was a magic sword. Bald with an intense glare being emitted from his brown eyes. 

He was a magic swordsman and a strong one at it, this was obvious as he was leading the group of all those strong men. 

"That guy... He's Laurence. Laurence the tracker." Said the leader 

The mood around them quickly shifted to a positive one as they all turned to the tracker. He was neither tall nor short, yet he had the calmest and most confident eyes out of all of them. 

Short brown hair which was trimmed down on the sides. A sharp gaze and a seemingly sturdy frame, which seemed strong despite there being a winter robe covering it. 

"Laurence, will you be able to find her?" Asked the leader with great expectation. 

"Of course, but she's a crafty one and you've already failed to catch her the first time, so the payment will be double." 

"Double...?" The leader asked nervously. 

"That's right. If you agree to it, I'll find her right now." Said Laurance. 

"F-Fine..." Said the leader after giving it a quick thought. 

Hearing this a smirk was formed on Laurence's face as he said 

"Good. Well then, as promised I'll give you her location." Said Laurence 

"You already found her?!" Asked on of the other members. 

"Yeah. She's right over there." Said the Laurence as he pointed to the right. 

As he did so, everyone moved their head towards where he was pointing and in that instant. 

*Slash* 

"GAH!" 

He shook around and began to tremble on the floor or as he grabbed on to the part where his neck was cut. However it was too late, he couldn't stop the blood and eventually the guy died. 

Seeing this, a smile was formed on the leader's face as he muttered. "Found you..." 

The girl then finished her chant before running around them in between the trees as she muttered. 

"Advanced wind magic... Cutting Gale." 

Razor sharp wind blades flowed past the trees, all aiming at the 3 who stood in the middle. Without moving a muscle, they watched as the attacks made their way towards them. 

She was expecting to take down at least another with the attack, but right as it reached them. The razor sharp wind blades were suddenly deflected by the leader as he swung his sword. 

Following that, the trees in front of her which she was using to avoid and block their attacks, was cut, despite him not having touched it. 

The instant she saw this, she ducked and right after she did, she felt a wind blow by the top of her head. She got up and looked back only to see that all the trees around her had been cut. 

As they slowly fell over, she nervously turned to them only to be hit by an immense amount of bloodl.u.s.t. Her bones were now finally feeling it. The fear. 

"Whoa... I nearly killed you there, I have to be careful with the product now, damaged goods are worth less." Said the guy before letting out a small laugh. 

She took a step back and was about to turn to run, but right when she did, she noticed the fifth guy who she hadn't seen, standing behind her. 

He had a spell activated and pointed straight at her. It was a harden fire lance. A mixture of the earth and fire element. 

Five of them were formed and aimed at her. It was certainly an overkill spell, just one of them would have been enough. 

She was outnumbered and lacked the power. If she fought back she'd end up in a much worse state. For now the best option would be to surrender and think of a way to escape after. 

"I surrender." She said as she dropped to her knees. 

Seeing this a wide smile was formed on the leader's face as he licked his lips and muttered. "We got her... She's a special one too... Young and talented in magic... This month's profits are much higher than I had expected!" 

He had a truly Joyful expression as he made his way towards her and as she saw this. She could feel her heart beat running faster and faster as the adrenaline began to disappear. 

They all expect for Laurance approached her. Laurence just stood at the back and watched. 

"Smart choice... Because of that, we promise not to hurt you... a lot..." He muttered with a grin on his face. 

The girl kept her head hung down as the man reached out to her. She was being awfully quiet, but he took it as a sign of her surrendering. 

"You're going to have to go to sleep for me, I'll make it painless." Said the man as he placed his hand on her shoulder. 

But the instant he did, the girl quickly raised her head as the words came out of her mouth. 

"Saint-Class Wind Magic: Extreme Gale!!" She shouted