A Hero With/Out Time

Chapter 28: My Hero (Part 2)

The moment we hit the ground we split apart. Taylor vanished amongst the trees and I ran straight. There was only a few hundred meters of forest before the edge and in that distance we had a lot of stalling to do. By the time I reached it the battle had already begun. Two distinct fights were taking place. Ronalt and Earnest versus Lara, and Caius against the remaining knights. Unlike the ordinary knights their armour was gilded in gold and even Caius was having a hard time fending them all off. Further away several rows of rank and file soldiers approached us and to my surprise, behind them General Elroy. The cocky bastard grinned holding a metallic object covered in spikes. Well it saved us finding him.

I drew my bow and fired at Lara. The arrow whizzed past her ear as she bent her head, a cold glare piercing my eyes. She was quickly blocked by Ronalt. His large shield held firmly before him angling away each of her blows. With Earnest by his side Lara didn't have time to cast large magic attacks and was forced to use smaller spells unable to break through Ronalt's firm defence. I continued to support them pestering Lara until finally she changed her target to me. The moment her feet launched my way an explosion upheaved from the earth covering her entirely. Even an experienced knight would have been taken out but I had no doubts she was fine and moved to the next point as Earnest and Ronalt followed. I glanced once at Caius who continued to lead the knights in circles.

When the debris settled Lara stood steadily, a few scratched on her armour but her skin untouched and as if nothing had happened she pursued me. Ronalt blocked her path colliding against her. The force pressed him back as he dug his heels into the earth. A flash from behind erupted as Earnest drew his blade. His renowned instant kill. Unlike Caius or I who had used tricks to evade them Lara took them all and repelled them, matching each of the phantom strikes with her own. Earnest didn't falter, immediately pulling away as Ronalt took her up again. Once more they drew into a tenuous stalemate, slowly leading Lara into the forest.

I hooked around the tree and headed back towards Caius. He was within the forest grounds now. While it gave him less room to avoid the knights, their formation broke due to the foliage and uneven terrain. The soldiers reached the forest's edge and with an order from General Elroy began to encircle him. I activated the next trap. Smoke poured onto them and despite the efforts of their magicians the thick cloud remained. I drew an arrow and levelled my bow, lighting the bag tied to it. My aim was true as the arrow flew into the dense disruption. A second passed before another explosion shattered the earth and cleared the smoke. It hadn't been as effective as I wanted. The General had sacrificed his men to defend the majority. His eyes caught mine. A hail of crossbow shots flew towards me as I dived behind a nearby tree.

"Come on," I breathed out opened a vial on my waist letting the liquid flow into the earth. Ahead of me I could make out Ronalt and Earnest, one a steel wall, the other a blade and between them Lara shrouded in pure white.

Ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! I sprinted away from my cover. The sound of crossbows firing was instant. The first volley missed as I charged my mana. The beating pain in my chest sparing me from a much more painful piercing one. The soldiers gave chase and moments after passing where I had been the ground burst into flames. The fluid I had spread hours earlier, triggered by the one I had just placed. Their screams of panic and pain caused me to sweat but there wasn't any time to mind it.

A strained groan broke through the trees signalled first by the screech of tearing metal. I drew my bow and fired just as Lara broke past Ronalt's defence. Her continuous blows had finally caused the shield to fail. My arrow broke between them causing her to step back. Earnest quickly picked up the slack repelling her from Ronalt as he backed away.

"Catch!" I ran past and threw him a potion. He drank it within a second of grabbing it. The healing fluid cracking his broken arm back into place. "Caius stage three!" Behind us a veil of flame and to my front, Ardent lying in wait. I could only hope my yell reached him. How much more could he take? With the wall of flame, we had cut him from us and left him to fight the Empire alone. How many times would he die? This was still just the beginning.