Chương 10: Ambush III
"Kids, are you two Leon and Lith? Sons of Raaz and Elina?" asked the horseman in the lead. He was a middle-aged man with brown hair and eyes, a perfectly trimmed mustache, and a straight posture that identified him as a military figure.
"Boss, they seem to be. Only the Leon kid has rainbow-colored eyes," one of the men said.
The middle-aged man looked at Leon and then said, "I will give you two a chance. Go back and pretend to be sick or something. This way, you two will live."
Seeing the man point his sword at him, only one word formed in Leon's mind: 'Cute.'
For him, the terrorist was more of a dangerous-looking guy than this middle-aged man.
"What if we don't?" Lith seemed to want to say something, but Leon beat him to it.
Lith cursed his lips as he glanced at Leon. 'Well, at least try to stall time, see if there are hidden enemies too.'
The five men lowered their hands to the weapons hanging from their belts, the reins held tight, ready to charge.
"Last chance, kids. Turn back now. I know you have such a pretty house and such a beautiful mom. Not to mention two gorgeous sisters ripe for the taking. It would be really sad if something bad happened to them."
Lith released such a powerful killing intent aura that the horses took a step back. The hair on the horsemen's necks suddenly stood up.
But, it was still nothing compared to what Leon unleashed. From him, such killing intent materialized that it started to take form. The five horsemen, including Lith, saw a monster behind Leon.
'Solus, is it me or is there something behind Leon?' Lith asked Solus mentally while gulping hard.
[You are not imagining it. There is, and it's a manifestation of mana. His anger seems to control mana to manifest into a monstrous figure. I can't even fathom just how much talent one needs to follow that literally. It seems if you are blessed by light, your brother is blessed by mana,] Solus, the living artifact, told him, that Lith picked one day from Woods said.
Lith nodded as he kept looking. He watched as Leon raised his hand and waved, causing four of the five horsemen to be sliced into pieces.
'Damn, those were wind blades, but their number was so great that I can't even fathom if I could still be alive after that,' Lith thought.
[Yes, not to mention his wind blades are at least ten times more powerful than yours,] Solus noted.
'Thanks for the encouragement,' Lith sneered in response.
The leader of the knights now had pissed his pants while sitting on his horse. He understood that he no longer stood a chance against this rainbow-eyed monster.
"W-wait, please don't kill me! I was only following orders," he pleaded.
Hearing him, Lith frowned and looked at Leon, waiting for his response.
'I wonder what he will do now,' Lith thought as he waited, crossing his arms.
[You are cruel, you know,] Solus's voice sounded in his mind.
Lith shook his head and replied, 'I just want to see what decision he will make now.'
Leon looked at the horseman and said, "You now have two choices: either tell me who sent you, or I will make you spill it after heavy torture."
Hearing his bone-chilling voice, even Lith felt scared.
The horseman nodded like a chicken pecking for rice and began to blabber the truth.
He told them everything. After being humiliated during the spring festival, Ricker Trahan had reconsidered Nana's worth. He had understood how lacking his preparation was and had become determined to become her only apprentice.
After taking the matter to his father, Baronet Trahan explained to his stupid son the enormity of his mistake. Nana held a huge grudge against nobles, and since they had started off in the worst possible way, begging or bribing her would be useless.
The only option was to remove the competitor from the picture, hoping that Nana would be willing to replace two pupils with another more reliable one.
The reason why they ambushed Lith and Leon was the same that prevented Baronet Trahan from coercing Nana to do his bidding. He could not afford to make her angry; otherwise, the whole Trahan household would be wiped out.
Despite Nana's fallen status in the mage association stripping her of most of her privileges and authority, she was still a member nonetheless.
In the County of Lustria, she held authority equal if not superior to that of Count Lark himself. That meant she was free to execute lesser nobles like them on a whim. Nana would not even need to justify herself for such an action, just explain her reasons to the association by writing a letter. A mere formality.
That was why Baronet Trahan sent his personal guard on an undercover mission. He had stressed countless times the importance of not creating a fuss. Nana should never come to suspect anything.
Their orders were to make Lith and Leon drop out of their apprenticeship by intimidating and threatening them. If none of the above worked, their job was to make them disappear without leaving any trace.
"Anything that can identify you lot?" Leon asked while Lith began to think of the benefits of being a mage.
'If I become a mage more powerful than Nana, will I also have power equivalent to that of a Duke or even above?' he thought while the horseman gave Leon a whistle with his master's household insignia.
Leon took the whistle, and then he killed him too, by piercing a frost bolt into his head.
As Leon stood there silently, he began to plan his next move. 'Now, how should I act innocent in Lith's eyes?'
Lith, on the other hand, looked at Leon, who kept staring at the corpse. He went to him and patted his shoulder, which resulted in...
Ughhhh...
Leon puked all the meal he had that morning. Lith stepped back while Leon started to sob.
"I k-killed them all, arghhhh," he screamed while holding his head.
Lith quickly went near him and delivered a chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out.
"I guess he did all that in a fit of rage. Now that he is calmed down, he can no longer take this," Lith said as he looked at the unconscious Leon.
[Not his fault, he is not you. Though I have to say, his possessiveness over his family rivals yours,] Solus noted.
Lith nodded and, using darkness magic, cleaned him of all the grime. Then, taking him with him, he started running toward Nana's house.
Lith kept running until he could spot Nana's house on the distance, and when he saw a luxurious stagecoach right in front of her door, he pushed the pedal to the metal.
"Lady Nerea, I beg of you, be reasonable. Consider the bigger picture!"
Lith could not hear from that distance, and even if he could, he was too focused closing in to pay attention. Solus had no such problems. In the last year she had not acquired new abilities, but her senses had become much keener.
"A farm boy has so many things to take care of. Magic is a strict mistress that demands time and resources, all things that my dear son can provide aplenty."
"I'm sorry, dear Baronet." Nana's voice was polite but devoid of any warmth. Her hands were clutching so hard on her cane to turn white.
"A magician word is her bond. I'll wait for Lith and Leon all day, if necessary. And in my opinion raw talent and a sincere disposition are much more important foundations for a magician.
Things that your son is clearly lacking. Or do we want to pretend that his rude words and acts during the spring festival never happened? I may be old, but my memory has yet to fail me."
Ricker Trahan was pale as a ghost. So far, his father's plan didn't seem to work. They had spent the last half hour in a one-sided negotiation.
If everything failed, he knew that his father would skin him alive in case he didn't manage to enrol in the Lightning Griffon academy.
Baronet Trahan had invested countless resources to give his son all the books and teachers he could afford.
The idea of all that money and efforts, wasted because of Ricker's arrogant ignorance while dealing with the best magician in the County, was enough for the Baronet to disown Ricker.
"Ah ah ah! Now let's not be so hasty, Lady Nerea. It's normal making mistakes when we are young. The important is to learn from them and never repeat them.
I know that Ricker has quite a temper, and I apologize for his behaviour. I can assure you he is terribly sorry for what he did"
Ricker had never felt so humiliated. They kept talking about him like he was not there.
"Also please, consider that punctuality and reliability are very important when walking the path of magic. Yet I do not see this Lith and Leon anywhere near, while my son is right here.
Don't you think that maybe a farm boy cannot understand the privilege you are granting him? Life in the wilds is very hard on the youths, I honestly fear his parents had not the opportunity or the time to impart him a proper education.
I can understand your position, you gave them your word and knew them for so long. But I can't stand the idea of such an opportunity wasted on someone that cannot give you the respect you deserve.
Also, I can guarantee you that if you take Ricker as your disciple, I will reward you handsomely. Not to mention that in case he got admitted to the Lightning Griffon Academy, we will never forget your help and generosity.
I am ready to commit as of now that if my son reaches the greatness he deserves, he will do anything in his power to clear your name. What do you say?"
Nana snorted.
"I would like to say many things, but it doesn't seem to be necessary. The reason why you don't see him is because you are looking in the wrong direction. Lith is the panting little imp right behind you, as for Leon he is the unconcious guy on his shoulder"
"What in the gods name has happened to Leon? As far as I know the roads to the village are safe." Nana did not miss the panic flashing in the expression of the two nobles in front of her.
Lith shook his head and told everything, even how Leon killed them effortlessly, Nana eyes widen up in surprise as she heard Lith.
" It seems I was right, your brother is indeed blessed by Mana" Nana nodded and fhen said, ahe also checked Leon, she find him totaly unscathed expect for the back of his neck which was result of Lith kncoming him out.
Nana then turned to both nobke son and father oair, her eyes gaked at them dangerously, she looked at them. Aa if she is lookinva t dead people.
"Please, Lady Nerea, don't rush to judgement, I…" Knowing she now suspect them, Baeonwt Trahan begin to beg.
"Enough with your fake sycophancy!" Nana was bursting with rage.
"Do you want me to believe that all your talk about respect and punctuality and the attack on the boy's life happening today, at the same moment, is just a sheer coincidence? How stupid do you think I am?"
Baronet Trahan knelt down, his hands on the floor in submission.
"Please, Lady Nerea, believe in my good faith. I know nothing about it. The kid is still scared and traumatized; maybe his memory of the assault is confused. Also, he doesn't have any proof. Don't make hasty decisions before considering all the facts."
Nana frowned as she heard him. It's true there was no proof until Lith presented the whistle to her.
She didn't take much time to see the insignia on the whistle. "Great job, Lith. A true mage always remains focused even in all situations," she praised him, prompting Lith to shake his head and say it was all Leon's doing.
[Why are you spilling all the secrets?] Solus asked him.
"It's simple, being a mage brings many benefits. Not to mention, unlike me who has your support, all of the tricks Leon has learned he did himself. So, unlike me, he can keep going and be seen as a genius," Lith replied.
[Can't believe you are using your own brother,] Solus said, disappointed.
Lith scoffed and replied, "Using him? Please. Even if 10 of me were to fight him, it's still he who wins," Lith said, and Solus nodded as it was true.
As for what Nana did to Baron Teahan and his family, it was simple annihilation. Up to three generations of his family were wiped out. In Griffin Kingdom, going against a mage is a solid crime that results in severe consequences.
All Nana had to do was present the proof, which were the whistle and Lith's testimony, and overnight, a Baron family was wiped out.
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