Chapter 228

Chapter 228

I stare down at the city below, wondering how my teammates are fairing against a potential ambush.

Remembering back to when we showed the guards in the middle of town our bounty to clear the break, Issac slipped him a second piece of paper.

I grit my teeth and curse under my breath again.

"How could I have been so careless..."

Well... trusting is a better word.

How could I have been so trusting of a grunt that would turn his back on his own town's people for some gold? Of course, he'd turn his back on me once he got a better offer!

I swallow hard, rolling my eyes, then tighten the grip on my blade for reassurance while staring down the mountain trail that leads back to the town.

"Think..."

It's been a little over 2 hours. Even if the 3 of them ran the whole, there's a low chance they've defeated the entire break already. I still have time to scope out the center of town and prepare for what happens next.

Thinking back to what the guards that attacked me said, they were the only ones that knew of my whereabouts and hidden abilities. Hidden in a much more private setting, they were going to cash out on my bounty alone.

My teammates will re-appear in a much more populated area, it'll be much harder to keep a secret, so I can only assume they have a lot more guards on the job.

No one else has to die...

If I can just get us out of the city quickly and quietly that would be the best-case scenario here.

I'm sure, given enough time, they'll figure out where their missing guards went. However, our immediate concern is to escape this city, all 4 of us have a bounty on our heads.

I begin walking down the mountain at a quick pace while re-activating conceal and throwing on a new generic villager disguise while covering my face with my long red robe just to make sure no one identifies me.

It takes nearly half an hour to get down the mountain. The sun has risen higher in the sky, making its hot rays much stronger, pulling moisture from my skin with every step.

The city is still invisible to me too, the odd magic barrier shields any visuals from making it through. Maybe that's it?

I walk up to the invisible magical wall. Using my All-Seeing Eye it appears as a rainbow-pink-tinted wavering wall of light-imbued magic.

In the silence of the desert, I look over both my shoulders but see no one to my left right, or back. There isn't even anyone from the village past the wall looking at me. It is a more unpopulated portion of town with residential buildings facing away from the open desert.

I slowly bring my finger forward and tap the wall of glimmering transparent magic 2 times.

To my surprise, it sends rippling waves all throughout the barrier and actually stops my finger from pushing through it.

"Well.. this is unexpected..."

It's been just over 3 hours now, so my teammates still have plenty of time before our decided meeting time, but I would have guessed that they beat this break by now.

My breathing slows, and my eyes grow sharp as I continue to watch the box from all angles and wait.

Finally... I feel something.

The strong magic within the portal ceases to spin and I feel an intense wave of familiar earth and ice magic hit my mind's eye seeping through the heavily shielded metal box.

One of the guards takes out a glowing silver contraption from his pocket and yells out with a fearful tone to the guard next to them.

"They're here! Get into positions!"

Just like before, moments prior to when I cut through the magic box up on the mountainside, I hear one of the nearby guards counting down.

"3...."

The 4 guards scatter, running away from the box while yelling at villagers in the crowd to stay back.

One of the other guards continues to yell.

"It's a break! Get back! Everybody get back! The containment is failing!"

My eyes dart back and forth while I watch everything go down in real-time. The men are clearly lying, they're collapsing the box from the outside.

At least they're getting the innocent citizens away, that's good...

The surrounding 8 guards begin to walk closer from all sides.

"2..."

The villagers and merchants all around me start to scream and smaller children in the streets cry in fear, but I run forward, making my way straight at the metal box.

I pass one of the guards on my way through, locking eyes with him for a moment to see that it's the same one that Issac handed the small piece of paper off to this morning.

I get a surprised look from him, but pay it no mind. I'm still in full disguise.

"1..."

I lunge forward, then the countdown hits its final number.

"0..."

There's a loud bang, and everything glows bright white.