บท 181: Pursuit
Translator: Cinder Translations
...
Even after dark, the streets of Niceport were bustling. As a commercial city, it boasted a vibrant nightlife uncommon in this era.
It wasn't until after 9 PM that pedestrians gradually dispersed and returned home.
A group emerged from the back door of a church, heading straight from the main street towards the north gate.
The group consisted of a horse-drawn carriage pulled by two horses and thirty knights. Among them, ten were fully armed in heavy armor, while the other twenty, though dressed in plain clothes, also carried weapons like swords.
They quickly reached the north gate, where they were halted by guards.
The lead knight grew tense. Could it be that their mission had been compromised?
He maintained composure on the surface. "What's the matter? As far as I recall, the north gate allows passage at night."
"Sir Knight," the guard recognized them as representatives of the church, his attitude becoming exceedingly deferential.
"A noble from the Duchy of Eaton has been kidnapped within the city. We've been ordered to inspect passing vehicles and chests."
The knight's face twisted in anger. "Ridiculous! Do you think we, the Holy Order, would engage in such deeds?"
"No, no, of course not! I dare not think so, but this is a directive from above, and we have no choice."
The knight bristled. "You..."
"What's going on?"
Another guard, still groggy, approached.
"Captain, the church's men won't let us inspect!"
At the mention of 'church,' the junior captain jolted awake, suddenly alert.
The knight regarded the junior captain with disdain.
"There's an envoy from the Holy City in the carriage, urgently needing to reach an outside church tonight. The envoy is resting after a strenuous day, and any disturbance to this esteemed person would be... regrettable!"
The threat in his tone was evident. The junior captain promptly slapped the guard across the face.
"Are you blind?! The procession of the esteemed Holy Knights isn't for your inspection!"
The guard looked resentful but quickly apologized.
The junior captain ingratiated himself. "Please, sir knights, forgive the inconvenience. This man is new and still learning."
Then he shouted to his subordinates, "Let them pass! Let them pass!"
The knight gave him a 'wise choice' look and said no more, urging his horse forward, followed by the carriage and its retinue.
The junior captain pulled the guard aside into a corner to reprimand him.
"Are you out of your mind? Daring to inspect the church's vehicles? If they labeled you as a 'suspicious sorcerer,' we'd all be in trouble."
The guard looked crestfallen. "Captain, should we let them act so arrogantly?"
"Heh, don't worry. I've heard some rumors... supposedly from the Council..."
The junior captain and the guard murmured quietly to each other.
...
The church's procession quickly left the urban area of Niceport, heading towards a region where the road was unlit and trees began to dominate.
"Captain, is what we're doing right? Doesn't it contradict the teachings of the Lord of Light?"
In the quiet surroundings, a young knight of the church couldn't contain his doubts.
"To secretly imprison a noble girl... it doesn't seem like the righteous path."
The leader of the group, the knight addressed as captain, sighed.
"I don't know if what we're doing is right. But the church raised me. If not for them, I might have starved on the streets at age ten."
"So, any command from the church, I execute without hesitation."
The questioning knight fell silent, lost in thought.
The procession continued into a dense forest, illuminating the path with torches.
Apart from the sound of horseshoes and the rattling of the carriage, the night remained eerily quiet.
Suddenly, a series of whooshing sounds pierced the air, as if something was speeding towards them in the darkness.
One knight in heavy armor felt a tremendous force slam into him, nearly knocking him off his horse.
In an instant, he realized their group was under attack.
But the initial assault wasn't aimed at them—it was directed at the horses beneath the knights.
The sound of crossbow bolts piercing flesh resounded repeatedly. Many warhorses were hit and went berserk, carrying their knights wildly through the dark night!
The knights immediately rolled off their horses and scrambled back toward the carriage.
The captain bellowed, "Ambush! Close in on the carriage!"
"Who dares attack a church procession?"
A voice responded in the darkness, "If you want to pass this road, leave your money behind!"
The captain cursed inwardly, "The city guards, useless lot! Bandits so close to the city!"
A second volley of bolts came immediately, this time aimed at the people. Five church members were hit and fell to the ground.
Several knights hurled their torches into the surroundings, illuminating figures in the nearby woods.
"To the west! To the east too! Xius, take your men west. Hoen, stay with your men to guard the carriage. The rest, follow me!"
The captain quickly gave orders, and the knights split into three groups.
These church knights received combat training from a young age but lacked formal military education. They fought with fervor, believing they were invincible under the protection of the Lord of Light.
Lying in ambush by the roadside were the Eaton guards, assembled by the Grand Duchess, all dressed in black attire and armed with powerful bows and crossbows.
Due to the darkness, however, their accuracy with the crossbows was significantly reduced, not achieving the anticipated effectiveness.
Seeing the church knights charging toward them, the guards drew their weapons and engaged in close combat.
They couldn't show too much interest in the carriage; otherwise, the other side might take Princess Fanny as a hostage. Hence, they pretended to be highway robbers.
The Eaton guards who set the ambush numbered 35, elite guards who could serve the Grand Duke and Duchess. With their numerical advantage, they gradually gained the upper hand.
After a fierce battle lasting over ten minutes, half of the charging church knights were casualties. The knight captain shouted, "Hoen, keep them engaged. The rest, retreat!"
The knights remaining behind and the carriage driver whipped the horses northward. They couldn't care less whether there were more ambushes ahead.
Just as they silently prayed there wouldn't be a second wave of ambushes, they faced a cruel reality.
Another group of about ten people intercepted them. With so few of them, including only six in total with the carriage driver, the attackers no longer bothered with stealth.
"Church lackeys!"
The leader on the other side cursed them angrily. He clasped his hands together, and suddenly, a white light flickered and crackled between his palms, as if lightning was brewing.
"A wizard!"
One of the church knights named Hoen shouted in shock. His four companions were also at a loss, unexpectedly encountering a wizard in the wilderness without any preparation.
"Don't panic!" Hoen shouted, "Take down that spellcaster!"
He charged ahead.
"Almighty Lord, bless us to defeat evil!"
The other four knights followed Hoen in a charge.
Once the knights had built up sufficient momentum, another person among the blockers extended both hands forward, muttering incantations, "Barrier Spell."
Instantly, the five knights were repelled as if crashing into a stone wall. Their horses were badly injured, and the knights themselves were thrown off and rendered unconscious.
"Hmph! Stupid fools who bite the bait!"
The person who had cast the spell saw the light vanish from his hands and spat at the fallen knights.
His companions rushed to the fallen knights, swiftly finishing them off one by one.
The two spellcasters discussed in low voices:
"I didn't expect the Duchy of Eaton to have learned of our plans. The church's lot can't even keep things secret. What now? Should we hand over the people directly to them?"
"No, let's stick to the original plan. Hehe, we've prepared a few surprises!"
"Alright, we'll do as you say."
They then approached the carriage. By now, there was no one at the driver's seat; the driver had fled during the chaos, perhaps hiding nearby, trembling in fear.
However, they weren't interested in the driver; they were interested in the people inside the carriage.
However, something surprising happened to them.
The two horses pulling the carriage suddenly turned around on their own and galloped toward Niceport.
"What's going on?"
"Chase them!"
Everyone hurried back to free their horses tied to nearby trees and rode towards the carriage, but by then, the carriage had already gone far ahead.
At this moment, a blue light flashed suddenly from the driver's seat of the carriage, and the figures of two women appeared.
"How long can the Featherlight Spell last?"
"Maybe half an hour!"
Upon hearing Ladia's reply, Helen felt uneasy: half an hour was too short.
Why did a second wave of pursuers appear on the road? Their target clearly seemed to be her sister. At least two of them were wizards. Could they be the same group that had kidnapped her before?
Ahead of the carriage, they encountered the Eaton guards again, now reduced to just ten men, racing along the road. It seemed they had finished their fight with the church knights.
Seeing the carriage approaching them, the guards were puzzled.
They heard a female voice shout, "Someone's chasing us from behind! Stop them!"
It was the voice of the Grand Duchess! Though the two women in the seats were masked, they couldn't be mistaken for this voice.
Without time to ask why the Grand Duchess was here, the ten guards let the carriage pass and stood in formation, blocking the road, waiting for the pursuers Helen mentioned.
After another half hour of galloping, the Featherlight Spell wore off, and the carriage's speed suddenly dropped significantly.
What made their hearts heavier was the sound of hoofbeats behind them once again.
Especially for Helen, most of the guards she had gathered were now less likely to survive, leaving her overwhelmed with guilt.
"Just a bit further and we'll reach the city gates!"
Both women rejoiced inwardly, rushing into the city district where the pursuers couldn't harm them.
However, unexpectedly, the horses pulling the carriage suddenly stumbled and almost fell, causing the carriage to lose speed abruptly.
The ground beneath them was undergoing astonishing changes; the originally firm road surface had turned into a large quagmire.
"Mud Marsh Spell! Damn it!"
"Sister, we'll have to face them head-on!"
Ladia and Helen quickly got off the carriage, gritting their teeth as they waded through the mud. Fortunately, the mud wasn't deep enough to trap them; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to move forward.
The pursuers quickly caught up.
"Haha! Didn't expect my Mud Marsh Spell, originally a lucky try, to actually hit the mark. Today must be my lucky day."
The leader among the pursuers laughed heartily.
"Two beautiful ladies, seeing how fast that carriage was running earlier, you must have used some unknown method, right? Featherlight Spell, perhaps? Or Acceleration Spell? Oh no, Acceleration Spell can only be cast on living beings, so it must be Featherlight Spell!"
Ladia spoke up, "Who are you people exactly? What is the purpose of tonight's actions?"
"In that case, let me ask you? Who are you people? Why are you trying to seize this carriage?"
"We are friends of this child; naturally, we're here to rescue her."
The pursuers laughed again, "We're here to rescue her too!"
Helen shouted angrily, "Nonsense! Tell me, did you people kidnap Fanny in the first place? Corrupt wizards!"
"Corrupt wizards? And what are you? Aren't you like us?"
"Who says we're like you!"
The leader of the pursuers shook his head, "I don't want to be enemies with you! Wizards should unite against the oppression of the church! So, I advise you, hand this little girl over to me, and I'll ensure her safety. Oh, and why not join us, join the family of wizards."
Just as Helen was about to speak, Ladia stopped her and asked, "Family of wizards? Are you some kind of secret society?"
"Secret society? You could say that, but soon it won't be a secret anymore."
"What's the name of your organization?"
The leader of the pursuers hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "The Arcane Society! Ever heard of it?"
"The Arcane Society?" Ladia was shocked. It was this organization again.
"You said to hand Fanny over to you. What do you need her for? To turn her into a wizard as well?"
The leader of the pursuers shook his head, "To tell you the truth, we did indeed kidnap the Baroness back then, but it wasn't to make her a member of the organization. She's too young for that now."
"But, if you want to know, you must submit to us. We welcome all wizards like ourselves with open arms."
He took out two scrolls from his pocket.
"Let's make an agreement, bound by magical constraints. Join us, and we promise not to harm the little girl."
Ladia and Helen exchanged glances; those two scrolls were certainly not ordinary.
"What if we refuse?"
The leader of the pursuers replied coldly, "Then you'll have to die!"
(End of the Chapter)
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