Chapter 195

195 They’re alive!

After running away from Lorenzo’s group, Bob, Lea, Luke and Risa took off to the west. The plan was to meet up with Ryu after running for a while, but Lorenzo’s group went after them in hopes of their target being with them.

Without Anne to lead the way or Ryu to lay traps behind them, it didn’t take long until they were caught by the group of pseudo dragon raiders giving them little time to prepare.

“Why the fuck did Lorenzo turn against us?”

“I don’t care about something like that, now we need to prepare a trapor something”

Luke scoffed at Risa, who had clearly lost her cool.

“I can’t dig a pitfall, all the tools are in the amarok”

The group kept running, but they couldn’t leave Lea behind. She didn’t have any wound, but her mental health was in shambles. After what Ryu did to her she was left deeply traumatized and she couldn’t even move properly.

“i don’t want to hear any excuses, just try to think on something useful or remain quiet”

The dense vegetation proved to be a hindrance to the group, but the real problem was they were leaving an obvious trail behind them which not only made it easier for their pursuers to follow, but also allowed them to run faster without so many obstacles.

.....

“Over there!”

Luke pointed at a hollow tree hidden behind some bushes. He took off his cape and placed it inside, then climbed a tree just like Ryu did before.

“What do you expect to happen?”

“Nevermind that and keep running, they’ll chase after you”

“You can’t do soemthing like this, they’ll kill you”

Bob pleaded

“It would be impossible for them to one shot me, as long as I survive the first strike I can always run away, but you can’t hide your presence or cover your tracks. Just keep running, I’ll catch on to you later”

On his mind, he looked really cool saying something like that, but in reality he was dirty, tired and his voice didn’t sound nearly as manly as he thought it did. Even so, Risa appreciated his gesture and saw the reason behind it and nudged Bob to keep runing.

“Don’t be an idiot Bob, he’s finally growing a pair and you’re trying to disrespect him like that. Just don’t let his sacrifice be in vain”

The group disappeared in the middle of the night and everything seemed to fall silent for just a second, until Luke was able to listen to the sounds of the forest. Crickets, small insects, birds, they formed a symphony that couldn’t be described with words and only a person who had been in the complete dark in a forest could understand.

It was absolutely terrifying.

Lorenzo’s group was right behind them, they didn’t rush into the chase just to tire their enemies before facing them while they were able to ride comfortably through the dense vegetation.

Pseudo dragons were a lot slower than horses, but they were one of the only mounts available at a cheap price that were able to walk through obstructed terrain with ease because they had the pathfinding skill. Forests like these were their natural habitat and they excelled in traversing them and fighting on them.

“Hey, go check that out”

Lorenzo ordered one of his goons to check the hollow tree. He wasn’t as naive as Risa and knew there was something odd with that, that’s precisely why he asked one of the supports instead of the fighters.

Luke almost clicked his tongue, but if he did so he would have given away his position. When the unarmed man came close to the tree trunk where Luke placed the piece of cloth, he had to face an impossible choice.

He knew that despite them knowing it was a trap, they wouldn’t be able to locate him. Thieves were especially good at hiding, but on a forest like this it was almost impossible. Only the reveal skill would be able to detect him with ease, but even then, they wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Luke could let the man go and remain safe, or he could ambush him and reveal his position, endangering him but buying a couple minutes for his companions.

Luke dropped on top of the oblivious man, killing him instantly.

“I knew it was you Luke”

“Shut up and fight me, Lorenzo!”

“Why would I do something like that, you’re just too stupid. We can easily leave you behind now”

Lorenzo spurred his pseudo dragon, and those on his group followed suit. Luke wasn’t able to throw weapons as good as Anne or Ryu because he didn’t have the aim skill, they were going to leave him behind and there was nothing he could do about it. Except maybe for one thing.

With his high dexterity stat climed back on the tree so quickly it would have been impossible to do for a regular person, he then jumped on the next tree and the one that followed. He moved fast, but he wasn’t a match for the fast moving reptiles, forcing him to do something he would have never dreamed he would be doing.

He jumped onto a vine, balancing his body to gather momentum while yelling at the top of his lungs making an impersonation of a character he only knew existed but never actually saw on tv.

Thanks to the impulse he took he did move fast enough, but he couldn’t really control where he was heading, the only thing he could do was let himself go at the proper time. If he let go of the vine too early, he wouldn’t be able to reach anyone. If, on the other hand, he let go too late, he would pass them over, or even worse, end up in the same place.

In the end, he didn’t need to actually make that choice, because the vine couldn’t support his weight and speed for long and it cut.

Luke was shot out like a projectile, keeping his eyes open despite the speed and fell unceremoniously on top of the last armed guard that formed Lorenzo’s party. The guard was easy enough to kill for him, it only took him one of his spare knives and a push through the man’s chest.

But he was left completely surrounded by the supports riding on their own pseudo dragons.

A flash of light broke through the dark forest as the riders commanded their beasts to breathe fire onto their target.