Chapter 156 156 – Retreat

“You have to hurry, Kimi.” Raymund tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

“I will try, my lord.” Kimi got off Yua’s back when they reached the roof. “I don’t have to hold back my voice and music anymore. I think this will be easier.”

“Let’s go then.” Yua massaged her shoulder. Then, the elf stuck the tip of the lute onto the kunoichi’s back and started playing it.

The sound of the rapid notes of the lute was muffled by the accelerating footsteps. Elise, Lynn, and Rupert, who were still on the street, saw that people in colorful clothes were approaching them from two opposite directions.

“Shit!” Rupert got up with difficulty from losing a lot of blood.

“We’re screwed!” Lynn was forced to back away from Zak, who was laughing with satisfaction.

Rupert’s younger brother shouted. “Don’t worry, they just want to dress you up!”

Elise also looked nervous, seeing so many people. However, her hands did not tremble, and she was already prepared for her next move in case Yua was too late to activate the illusion skill. It’s not that she doesn’t trust her two comrades. Elise was sure that the two friends would succeed. It’s just, her experience as a warrior made her even more alert..

Lynn and Rupert gathered with the female warrior, facing the opposite direction. Those people are getting closer. They were screaming like crazy. Some waved various clothes in the air.

And the music from Kimi’s lute gets faster, more intense, and more complicated.

“We can only hope that someone will continue our crusade.” Rupert sighed in resignation, lowered his club, and closed his eyes. “Damn. I really love this town.”

“What?” Lynn was not responding to the man’s words but was wondering what had happened to those people.

Rupert opened his eyes again and gaped in disbelief. The people were no longer running toward them. But, they were screaming hysterically, jumping up and down, and looking like they were pushing something invisible from their bodies.

Those who weren’t affected by Yua’s illusion skills wouldn’t see the black snakes running through the townspeople’s bodies.

“This is our chance.” Elise ran with her dog. She intended to pass through the crowd at Raymund’s orders.

Lynn and Rupert exchanged glances for a moment, then followed the female warrior. Meanwhile, Kimi and Yua started to retreat. The petite elf was still playing her lute, and Yua remained focused on maintaining the illusion.

“Yua, your nose is bleeding.” Raymund hissed as he noticed the red liquid begin to pour from the kunoichi’s nostrils.

“Maybe this happened because the mana capacity in her is small,” Kimi explained. “And this method forcibly magnifies it.”

“I can hold on, sir.” The kunoichi insisted even though her head felt like it had been hit by a thousand stones. “If I take this off now, we won’t be able to escape.”

Raymund responded, “Elise and the others have managed to escape. Can you hold on to that illusion for a while so you two can escape too, Yua?”

“Probably a minute or so, my lord,” Kimi spoke while still playing her musical instrument. “It doesn’t depend on Yua, but on me. Yua, you focus on keeping the illusion. Once I release this lute, it means I’ve succeeded.”

“Are you able to take Kimi away as far as possible in that amount of time, Yua?” The god asked again.

The kunoichi nodded, trying to endure the headache that was getting unbearable.

And finally, Kimi strummed the last note on her lute, then pulled the instrument. Yua turned around, lifted the petite elf’s body, and jumped.

***

Yua staggered and was out of breath while walking in the forest. Her body had to be held by Kimi so as not to fall. Elise, who saw that, approached them immediately and carried the kunoichi. The female warrior brought her friend near Rupert, who was lying on a mat.

“Let me help.” Kimi stood near Lynn, who was bandaging the orange-haired man’s wounds. The petite elf played her lute and hummed. Then, Rupert and Yua’s bodies emitted a faint white light. “Sorry, I can only do this much. My mana has been depleted.”

“Ah, this is very helpful. Thank you.” Lynn noticed Rupert’s wounds were half-closed.

“Holy shit.” Yua, also lying on the mat, held her forehead while Elise wiped the blood from the woman’s nose with a cloth. “I feel like I just had a major racing accident.”

“I don’t think you can use that skill too often and on a large scale, Yua,” Raymund commented. “Perhaps giving the illusion to one person is still okay.”

“We only managed to bring a small number of supplies from our base.” Lynn looked at some of the bags on the ground. “Should we take some more?”

“I think that’s enough,” Rupert answered. “It would be very risky if we went back there again. The townspeople will definitely check that place out.”

Lynn continued to bandage the wounds on her partner’s body. “Aah… We’ve already lost everything. I don’t know what else we should do.”

The big braided woman’s voice was so heavy it was clear she was holding back tears.

“If Megan and Greyson leaked everything to the townspeople, why didn’t they raid our base?” Lynn asked, more to divert the conversation than curious.

“Maybe it’s to show loyalty to the town’s people.” Rupert straightened himself. “We’d better go now. Our group has some excellent trackers.”

Lynn shook her head. “You are injured, and Yua is also in a very bad state.”

Mona suddenly moved to a location, sniffed the air for a moment, then growled and lowered her body.

“What happened?” Yua frowned.

“I don’t know.” Elise hissed, pulling her sword from her back. “Maybe someone is coming here.”

“We have to go.” Rupert got to his feet with a grimace.

Lynn drew her knife. “At the very least, let’s check who they are first.”

“Ah….” Through his magic pond, Raymund had already checked who was coming. He did order Ciel to keep an eye on the surroundings. “Three people are walking near where you guys are…. They brought Megan.”