Chapter 91: Encounter before the forest

The first two days on the road turned surprisingly pleasant. 

Wielding the function of arcanist mercenary, all Fen's needs were provided for by the caravan, as per the usual contract. In exchange, he was supposed to protect the carriages from any sudden attacks. Strangely enough, for as long as they travelled on the road, then this part of the journey could be even classified as leisure!

Having Arla near his side, Fen didn't even realise when those two days passed. Chatting about the most meaningless things while they were travelling on top of a cart, turning the basic ingredients provided by the caravan into proper meals during the evenings, and heating the young man up during the night…

If not for the prospect of the caravan nearing the end of the official road and entering the dangerous borderlands, Fen could consider living this kind of lifestyle for a while!

"So, it's going to begin soon?"

Cuddled to his side, Arla murmured in a soft voice. With only the stars to illuminate the inner-part of the carriage where they had their sleeping place, Fen could even see the small droplets of sweat that formed on top of the girl's head after their nightly dose of fun.

"Yeah."

Even with how pleasant the last three days were, the prospect of the hard part actually starting weighted on both of their souls.

"I will try not to be a burden…"

Shuddering as she said those words, Arla pulled herself even closer, plastering herself to Fen's chest. Even though they only had a single blanket to cover them, the young man nearly forgot what it felt like to be cold. 

Moving his hands up, Fen rested them on the girl's back, softly caressing her spine with one of his hands, while employing the other one to massage Arla's scalp.

Under the relaxing movements of her man of choice, the girl's shuddering quickly stopped as she relaxed in Fen's embrace. 

"You won't be a burden at all."

Even though the two of them only had a few days of history, Fen could already feel the need to protect this delicate being. Maybe it was her devotion to fulfilling the role of his partner, maybe it was the dedication that she presented in everything she did, but Fen could no longer say that she was completely indifferent to him. 

After everything she did during the last few days, after how hard she tried, it was now his turn to become her shield.

"Don't worry. I won't let harm come your way."

It was incredibly easy to understand what was going through this girl's head. Even with how willing she was to take the risk of travelling with Fen, it was inevitable that she would feel scared right as the danger was about to start. She was also realistic enough to understand that in a heat of the battle, it was increasingly hard to keep the track of one another. 

Her question was less about actually burdening the young man, but it was her attempt to sound off whether Fen would throw her away like some kind of burden instead. As much as the young man could understand this worry of her, seeing this lovable girl covering like that, as pleasant and soothing it was to hold her tightly while comforting her, Fen couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his heart.

"I'm sorry… To be a burden like that…"

Even after Fen's long efforts to help her relax, Arla couldn't keep herself together. Even though the young man wanted her to feel safe in his presence, her worries simply dug too deep.

"What a lovely pair of lovebirds…"

Suddenly, a voice appeared above them. As foreign as it was to the young man, he opted to remain calm. Yet, even though it was most likely some rude brat from the caravan interrupting them, all the habits the young man obtained during his escape still made him prepare for the worse.

"What the heck do you want?"

Not even bothering to turn around, Fen glued his eyes to Arla's expression while his attention instantly focused its entire self on invoking the deepest loads of his power. The change from the natural fear to an immense terror that happened in her eyes, was a clear giveaway that something just went terribly wrong.

"I just want my slave back."

Even without seeing the man's eyes, Fen could tell from how his voice oozed with the hate that this new visitor was extremely bad news.

"Then you have nothing to look here for. Get lost."

Not daring to reveal his powers so lightly before actually entering the line of the forest the caravan aimed to cross tomorrow, Fen only limited himself to grumbling angrily in response. With his entire power bursting through his veins yet completely hidden under his skin, the young man's senses allowed him to control the moves of the sudden enemy even without looking at him. 

"I didn't wait over a year in this rotten place to just give up on her like that. Are you going to give her to me, or do I have to kill you first?"

Now, the situation was turning serious. Just from the aura that changed in the entire place alone, Fen could tell that this cursed meeting would end so easily.

With his powers bursting through his veins, Fen lightly pushed the girl aside. With her insanely light yet desperate attempts to cling to his chest, the young man's heart almost broke in half. The sight of the tears forming in her eyes as she looked at him with a silent plea.

"Just give me a moment."

Releasing all the pain that he felt when seeing Arla in this state through a deep sigh, Fen ignited his bloodline for the first time ever since leaving the Akhaz. In truth, even the small trick he played before the caravan's owner was nothing but just a trick. Only now, did the young man dabbled in the power that was bursting through his veins.

Swish.

Before even the sound generated by his turn could reach anyone's ears, Fen was already staring down at the man beside the carriage with fury filling his eyes. Raising his hand, the young man could feel the resistance, as if the air around him turned into water, slowing his movements down. 

Yet, at the pace at which he was moving, it didn't matter at all.

The sudden intruder didn't even have the time to blink when Fen's fingers sank into the soft flesh of his throat. Still reining the fires within his body, the young man only allowed for the aura generated through his inner blaze to reflect in his eyes.

"I think I told you to scram."

Using his elevated standing position on the carriage, Fen raised this unexpected enemy by his throat, closing his fingers to the point where only a small wisp of wind could enter the man's lungs.

"Did y-you… really t-think I came… alone?"

Barely able to squeeze those words through his throat, the man raised his hand and snapped a strange item he held in it.

'Fuck…'

Noticing his mistake, Fen instantly let go of the limits he placed on himself. If the entire caravan would come to danger even before entering the forest just because the girl he picked failed to inform him about this potential threat, the young man could tell how quickly the two of them would be left aside.

"Burn."

Bringing his hand up a bit before relaxing his fingers, Fen waited for the moment when the falling enemy's head levelled up with his outstretched palm. In a flash, it seemed as if all vapour in the surroundings condensed on the young man's hand, under the insane heat that erupted outwards.

Blink.

Acting up in the very last moment, a strange-looking, violet shield appeared in the path of Fen's fire, splitting it in half and pushing it aside!

"KILL!"

The erupting light of Fen's flames must've alerted the intruder's allies. Jumping out from the nearby bushes, a group of measly twenty men lit up their torches in one instant, dashing towards the lone pair of the guards.

"Kill them all!"

On the contrary, as soon as the first hint of the attack appeared, the entire camp turned alive in one instant. People were throwing their blankets away, revealing the full armour on their bodies and sharp weapons in their hands. 

Before the strange barrier could break up in front of Fen's flames, nearly all of the attackers were promptly subdued by the clearly prepared caravan members.

"Do you need any help?"

Randomly strolling through the vincity of Fen's carriage, the caravan master casually cleared out the blade of his sword from the blood with a piece of cloth cut from one of the corpses nearby. 

"That won't be necessary."

Seeing how the situation developed and how the man didn't seem to be hostile towards Fen's flames, the young man turned his eyes back to the leader of the group that prepared this ambush.

"I guess this is goodbye. Arla, do you have any last words for this bastard?"

Still keeping his hand stretched far enough to keep the enemy far away from the girl, Fen looked down at the awed face of the girl.

"N-no…"

Taking a while to shake her teared-up face, Arla promptly moved her eyes form the source of so much terror that she experienced a moment ago, to the determined and calm sight of her partner. 

Seeing the sudden burst of dedication, relief, anxiety and longing that appeared in the girl's eyes, Fen unknowingly increased the output of his power without controlling its rise even for a moment.

BOOM!

As if all the commotion caused by the fight before was nothing but a child's play, a fireball the size of a house instantly swallowed the man in front of Fen's hand, before exploding outwards in a mesmerising spectacle of fireworks!

"Ups…"

Even with how alluring the girl's eyes were at this moment, Fen was still drawn to the results of his lack of control. Instantly cutting off the supply of energy to the fire, he could only watch as the gust of wind broke apart the ashen structure that remained off the man's body.

"I guess you could consider this a proof of my capability?"

Realising the potential drawbacks of his showcase, Fen turned his eyes to the caravan's master with anxiety building up in his soul.

"I guess I made a correct choice…"

Even this strange man was clearly shocked by how much fighting power the young man could output at once. Shaking his head to get rid of the shock, the man turned his hand towards the two youngsters on the carriage with a mysterious smile.

"Let's consider this situation a favour from me. In exchange, I hope you won't betray my expectations later on."

Leaving them off with a slight smile, the caravan master clearly could read the air.

Turning his head back to the girl, Fen couldn't even follow the movement that he noticed with the corners of his eyes. Before his body could spark any reaction, Arla's face already buried itself deep in his chest, as her tears and snot smeared against the thin material of his shirt.

Just from the trembling of her body, the young man could tell how the rest of the night would go.