Chapter 211 - How It Feels To Be The Loser (20)

While the three girls were fighting the berserk Minotaur Warrior and some of the Middle Class Demons they had been chasing on the southwest, Robert and Jake, who were following behind Deacon on the east, started to feel there was something off with "Basil."

They had been running for minutes already, and they hadn't engaged in battle with the gigantic Silencer or the Demons following closely behind them.

It isn't that the Demons were civil enough to not attack them; they hadn't stopped moving for even a single second to have a battle. They were too busy catching up to Deacon, and the gigantic Silencer that were quite far ahead of them.

"The Silencer is absolutely chasing for Basil; not the other way around. But, why does Basil insist to keep running instead of facing it? If Deacon has this kind of speed, he should be agile enough to defeat this Silencer by himself."

Robert, who was moving right beside the running Jake, looked at him in surprise at his muttering. "So, that Monster is called Silencer ... You know quite a lot, Mr. Jake."

Jake laughed amiably. "I've met quite a lot of people, so I have heard about it." Turning his head to Robert, he stared at Robert with a knowing look upon noticing the gaze Robert was giving him. "I get that look quite a lot: 'So this guy is smart?!'"

"Eh—ah, I-I am sorry! I didn't have any intention to offend you."

"Ha-ha-ha! It's alright." Jake waved his hand nonchalantly. "I can understand it. It's not everyday you can see a smart giant, after all!" He was proud of himself, judging by the tone he was speaking.

Robert smiled rather helplessly, then nodded his head at Jake briefly. "There is this stereotype about muscular men being not very bright, after all. Sadly, it happens most of the time..." Robert blinked his eyes, then realized he was chatting in the middle of a mission.

"This is not the time for that!" Speeding up his Transportation Artefact, he turned his gaze at Deacon—at "Basil" who was on top of Deacon, then mused to himself. "Mr. Pacifer is leading us somewhere."

He had actually realized the fact since a few minutes ago, but he had always denied it due to Basil's personality. "Is he searching for a suitable field to engage in battle. That is so unlike him."

From what he saw, Basil didn't like doing useless things, and choosing a particular place just to fight the gigantic Silencer and a couple of dozen Middle Class Demons was one of them; the entirety of Raneil Barony had practically turned into a battlefield, after all.

"Where actually is he leading us to, and what is the point of doing so?"

He stared at Basil's back intently, and the more he stared at Basil, the weirder Basil looked in his eyes. "Mr. Pacifer is really peaceful ... It feels like he is sleeping. He is not even exuding the overwhelming Mana Pressure from that time."

In Robert's eyes, Basil didn't show any sign of someone who was prepared for battle. His Mana was too calm that he wouldn't be surprised if Basil wouldn't be able to fight the Silencer back the moment it attacked him.

Although he had seen what kind of an individual Basil was—someone who could keep calm in times of danger—he knew how to differentiate between being extremely calm and completely detached.

Basil seemed detached; he felt like Basil wasn't even there in the very first place. This is the reason why he couldn't read the current Basil well: he couldn't see someone who wasn't even present in front of him.

'But, there is no way that what we are currently seeing is not Mr. Pacifer, right?' Another possibility came up, and of course, he treated it as nothing more than one of his silly thoughts.

"I am just reading too much into his behavior; this presence ahead of us indeed belongs to Mr. Pacifer ... Mana signature can never lie." Robert sighed lightly to himself. "Still, I can't shake this incongruous feeling in my chest."

"Haha! Are you Mages really like to overthink?"

"Y-Yes? N-No, we are just very cautious in nature."

Robert was once again slightly flustered by Jake's sudden comment. He had moved slightly ahead of Jake to avoid another conversation happen between them, but Jake could easily keep up with him, thus allowing the two to have a conversation once again.

"Is that so? You seem like you are overthinking about this whole matter. Basil's behavior is slightly peculiar indeed, but he's our friend. Just trust him."

"That's what I am doing." Robert slightly smiled at Jake. 'I didn't notice his presence, because he is covered in Qi. His presence is completely masked with it.'

It was a well known fact that a Mage couldn't normally detect the activation of Qi, and a Knight couldn't notice the utilization of Mana.

Due to that reason, many of the High Class Mages decided to learn the Knight Principle just so they could prepare themselves better, if a conflict were to ensue between the two sides, and vice versa for the Knights.

This is the reason why many people were surprised that Basil had already practiced the two Principles at such a young age, despite not having enough experience in Magic. Practicing one Principle was already a labour, let alone two at the same time.

Of course, it was just, yet another, their misunderstanding. In terms of experience, Basil was just as experienced as the current Human Emperor in terms of Magic.

"Ah, look, Robert! Basil is slowing down."

"Yes. I can see it." Robert had been observing Basil even while conversing with Jake, so he had noticed it even before Jake did. "Are we going to fight in this place?" He looked around, and found that there was a forest ahead.

"That is Oster Forest!" Jake suddenly exclaimed. "It's the border between Raneil Barony and Beddington Viscountcy. We must've taken a shortcut to be able to arrive here this soon."

"Oster Forest...? Isn't it a heavily infested area?!" Robert's eyes widened in surprise, and quickly shouted at Basil. "Mr. Pacifer, we can't engage—"

Even before he could finish his sentence however, Deacon abruptly turned around, and faced the gigantic Silencer. At that moment, Robert could finally see that Basil was no longer mounting on Deacon, and bewilderment immediately assaulted him.

"Deacon is about to attack! Let's move away from the course of his attack, Robert!"

Without waiting for Robert's response, Jake grabbed Robert, and brought Robert away with him. Luckily, Robert wasn't too flustered by Basil's disappearance; he could immediately store his Transportation Artefact, thus successfully avoiding losing it.

What happened next was quite instant even for the two people's eyes to catch up. They could only see a glimpse of Deacon opening his mouth, before the ground where they had been before was obliterated along with some of the Middle Class Demons in the next moment.

Boom!

Other than the gigantic Silencer, who had somehow dodged Deacon's attack, there were still a few dozens of Middle Class Demons remained alive. However, they were all visibly flustered by Deacon's sudden attack.

"Let us move to Deacon's side!"

"Why don't you put me down first?!"

Uncaring to Robert's slightly aggressive protest, Jake ran to Deacon's side while carrying him ... Like a princess. Robert actually didn't mind being carried by someone, but not in that particular way; his pride as a man was hurt.

Upon arriving right beside Deacon, Jake put Robert down, and immediately asked, "Where did Basil go? Did he fall somewhere?!"

Not only Deacon, but Robert also looked at Jake weirdly at his second question. Fortunately, Deacon was kind enough to answer Jake. "Master is already inside the forest. He is going to distract the Low Class Monsters inside it while we are fighting these bugs."

Of course, Deacon was lying; Basil hadn't even been with him since the moment the gigantic Silencer started chasing him. In truth, he had merely disposed of the doll that contained Basil's Mana and Qi Signature to create that illusion.

"Distracting them?" Robert looked at Deacon doubtfully. "As far as I'm concerned, Monsters have a hard time on setting priorities, so no amount of commotion should be able to distract them."

Deacon snorted lightly, then contemptuously said, "Are you even a Mage? Open your eyes, and look ahead."

Robert was slightly offended by how genuine the disdain in Deacon's tone was, but he couldn't protest about it the moment he realized what Deacon was talking about. "The Silencer and these Demons ... They are chasing us—they are chasing you!"

"They are not chasing me specifically; they are chasing what Master carries with him." Opening his mouth, he shot a high pressured wind sphere at the incoming Demons to prevent them from coming closer. "I also have it with me, so I am now their main target."

"What is actually the thing they are chasing for?" Jake asked.

Deacon was slightly irked by the questions being thrown at him, but he still answered Jake while keeping an eye on the gigantic Silencer. "It's a piece of Minotaur Warrior's heart. They have a certain smell that Monsters like."

"So, that's the case. Amazing!" Robert's eyes lit up in interest. Turning his gaze to the forest behind them, he continued, "That means, Mr. Pacifer is now being chased by thousands of Low Class Monsters in there. Will he be alright?"

"He won't, if you keep staying idle!" Deacon dashed at the gigantic Silencer. The two men were slightly stunned by his word, but they also immediately charged at the Middle Class Demons afterwards.

Howl!

Deacon shot forward like a bullet at the Silencer while swinging his paw. The Silencer managed to dodge it, but not entirely; it received its first injury, and it didn't seem happy about it.

The movement of said Demon instantly got wilder in the next moment, but Deacon could still easily keep up with the Demon.

Although Deacon was focused on the fight, in truth, he couldn't help his mind from wandering.

'Monsters mark something with their scent. Other than the smell of the Minotaur Warrior's heart I bring with me, I also smelled a different scent covering the body of the people that went with Big Sister Iliana ... Master, what are you actually planning to do?'

Not even Deacon, Basil's companion, who literally had a spiritual bond with him, knew what he was actually planning to do.