Chapter 29: Chapter 28: The Turn

Jack quietly revised Presence of the Night, the only thing he had been practicing on the path of Nightblade. He could perform it adeptly enough, but only when he was staying still, as every movement made would break his stealthy state. Though, on the ability to hide his mana alone, it was quite a simple task for a person who had yet to awaken as himself. He could maintain that for a decent amount of time, enough to walk from his bedroom to the training field without Edward noticing. 

It was a beautiful sunny day as the blue sky was cloudless. They moved under the wiggling shade of the roadside trees and everything seemed so relaxing and peaceful. As the wind from the window caressed Jack into closing his eyes, the caravan stopped. Abraham frowned, pushing the door out. Edward and Jack followed suit.

They walked from their cart in the middle of the caravan to the front of it.

Abraham suddenly stopped, blocking Jack’s view.

“Damn it!” He cursed.

Jack leaned to the side and saw a big trench blocking the road. Its width was the size of three of his cart combined and its length gave no hope of an easy way around. There were some broken branches and monster limbs on its surface.

His eyes started looking around. The surrounding area was surprisingly unaffected. The plentiful crop fields on both sides were intact, stretching to the edge of the forest. Something was off.

“What the hell is this?” Robert asked as he rode his horse to the spot.

“A battlefield with the monster?” A mercenary responded.

Abraham rubbed his fingers together, assessing the situation.

“Boss,” Robert said. “We could try to lift the carts over this trench, but that would take a whole day. The horses wouldn’t be too happy about the extra duty either.”

“I know,” Abraham said, “the fragile cargos could be damaged too.”

Jack listened to the conversation, frowning.

“Something isn’t right at all,” Jack said.

“I know that all too well,” Abraham grumbled. “Can you all stop reminding me about the thing I’ve already known?”

Jack nodded, not annoyed by his father's angry response. The one with the most experience here was the head of the Harper household. What Jack had seen, he had as well.

“What about going through the field?” A high-ranking Herald suggested.

“If all of this was man-made, where do you think they would be waiting for us?” Abraham responded.

“Under those tall and obscuring crop and grass fields?”

Abraham turned his eyes toward the fields. It wasn’t a very long way around, but that would mean horses and wheels going on wet ground and probably getting stuck. If an ambush were indeed around, escape would be almost impossible. The time to go around on the mud wouldn’t be any faster compared to lifting the cart over the trench. His options were getting fewer.

“The forest?” Abraham whispered.

This was the last possible option besides scouting the field. Somebody was watching the caravan as they had been standing here for ten minutes and still no passenger was in sight. If they split up to scout, they would be attacked where he wasn’t. Edward was also a high ranker, but not high enough. If someone had targeted his caravan but still yet to reveal themself here, the obstacle must have been Abraham himself.

Abraham was getting more anxious by the second. He was rubbing his nails on his hand so hard that it started bleeding.

“Very well! Let's turn toward the forest and beat anyone who stands in our way. We’re no cowardly bunch!” Another Herald called out.

Abraham nodded, for he could not afford more hesitation. It was a proper road, at least, where he and his crew could coordinate themself. Time was of the essence, for the reservation of Flamemonf teleportation gate was very strict. If he were to miss this one, that would be a contract violation and the amount of compensation for that was so enormous that he had kept it from his family member. That was the main reason behind his troubled and irritated attitude lately. To earn this desperate contract, he had agreed to very harsh terms and conditions on delivery time.

“Let’s go!” Abraham shouted. “We will take the forest turn. Everybody stays on your guard, every three men for a cargo cart. Edward and I will be riding up and down the line in case of an emergency. Robert! Give me your horse and find one for Edward!”

Edward turned toward Jack. He nodded in agreement.

The caravan moved double time. Everyone was on high alert as all the writing on the wall was there. A peaceful journey was out of the question. It was just a matter of when the strike would come.

This road was far more rugged than the previous one. Ancient and massive bodies of trees stood by the roadside as the growling of monsters and beasts could be heard echoing from deep within the forest. That and the rustling sound of branches only served to make the caravan more tense and quiet.

Jack put his hand inside his pocket, touching the cube that Bastian had given him. He reckoned it would prove helpful in the upcoming situation, for if what Bastian had said was true, something that could save him from a Crusader wouldn’t be a weak item. Still, there were things he had thought of but couldn’t prepare for. No matter how rare the item might be, what if other had something similar, and what if they used it before he did.

It wasn’t until Jack saw a small cube rolling from a nearby bush to his cart that he realized how vulnerable he was.

Jack didn’t even have a chance to open his lips.

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An arrow shot from between the tree lines through the air and hit the stone cube. It cracked, unleashing a thunderous explosion. An energy wave of lightning curves spread out in a circle.

Abraham growled. He and his mount were unaffected by the shock as a barrier was shielding them, the source of which was from the wedding ring on his finger.

Jack wasn’t as lucky. The energy wave passed through him, leaving behind a terrible convulsion on his body. It lay him low, trembling on the cart floor, coughing out saliva everywhere, and choking his nose. His breathing was getting more difficult, his mana flow disrupted and his head throbbing with pain. He tried to regain his consciousness and remanipulate his mana, but every time he channeled it, the aftershock of the explosion made him cower again.

Edward was slightly affected. His legs trembled as his ride stumbled to the ground, his eyes staring at Jack’s cart.

The mercenaries were suffering from the same shock. The horses all fell to the ground, flipping the carts and goods in the process. Their squealing only served to add more dreadfulness to the chaos.

A massive body dashed out from the wood and went straight for Abraham, his hands holding a massive wooden club. The rest of the bandit gang followed suit, crying out in excitement for the smooth beginning of the job.

Weapon clashed. Abraham had drawn out his sword from his personal space inventory. It was one meter long, its edges fiery red. He swung it at the bandit leader.

Rat ran for Jack’s cart, opened the door, and grabbed him. He gave the boy a spat on the face while dragging him to the ground.

He picked Jack up, hanging upside down like a rug.

“I got the kid, boss.”

The chunky one laughed out loud, drew his strength, and pushed Abraham back. The rest of his man was dealing with the Heralds of the Harper’s caravan. Their number was fewer, only around ten bodies, so they only managed to capture some eight high-ranking Heralds. The rest was lying lifeless on the ground, some without their heads, some with a slit on their throats, and some with their guts inside out.

The leader rubbed his crew-cut head, straightened his bulky posture, wiped off some of the dust on his clothing, bowed down, and mockingly greeted Abraham.

“Good morning, my lord,” he said.

“Good morning, scum,” Abraham said through his greeted teeth.

“Haha, that was a compliment. I wasn’t expecting so few insults. Right, boys?”

The gang laughed in approval. Rat was making this screeching sound that pierced through Jack’s eardrum. He had already had enough headaches but was still trying to open his eyes and witnessed the incident. 

“What a waste,” the bandit leader mockingly said, “you could have saved us a lot of time and money, do you know that? Only if you have chosen not to go into the woods, I wouldn’t have to use that Crusader rank stun grenade. That thing cost a fortune, you know?”

Abraham didn’t respond. He tightened his sword and rein as thoughts flashed through his mind. So stupid! Abraham cursed himself. He had been too confident in himself and the retinue.

“Ah, ah,” the bandit leader raised his hands up, signaling. “Don’t do anything stupid, or you’ll be sending your son to the afterlife!”

He glanced at Rat and one second later, a knife was at Jack’s throat.

Abraham’s eyes grew red, his veins popping on his forehead, his jaws puffing. He let his rage known through his aura as some of the bandits were finding it hard to breathe.

The leader unleashed his own aura on Abraham. In this contest, however, the head of the Harper household had the upper hand. The longer this went, the more unexpected the bandit reckoned might happen.

“Hey,” Rat called out, “the kid, remember?”

Abraham glanced at Rat.

For a moment, his eyes were emotionless and his face was as calm as it could be with the appearance of a hardened veteran. 

For a moment, Jack saw how his adopted father was willing to sacrifice him. 

Then, looking at Jack’s fearless eyes, as if he knew what his father wanted to unleash, a wave of guilt drowned the head of the Harper’s household. Abraham stopped his aura, letting the bandit rush forward and knock him out with his club.

A flash of pain had streaked through Jack’s heart, but every muscle on his face was numb. Thankfully so, the paralysis effect of the orb had stopped Jack from showing his emotion, 

He felt one last disappointment as his consciousness faded away.

Edward was gone.

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