Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Gorgon - Chapter Forty Seven

The reptiles dropped like flies.

"Bam, did you see that?" The Fire Witch asked with a satisfied grin on her face. She took them out effortlessly, waiting for my praise. She had to hold on to the sides of our carriage though, we still traveled at neck-breaking speeds. "I'm back in the game, Bullhead."

"About damn time you are!" I yelled, handling the reins. The raptors got tired and wanted to veer off to the side, I struggled to keep them on the road. Avalon still rode next to us.

"Can you slow them down a bit?" He asked, pointing forward into the distance. "The scouts reported that there is a deep canyon ahead. The only bridge across is the one we are heading towards, if we reached it before they caught up to us, it would provide defendable terrain."

"Defend? I thought we were to cut across the lizard's land, not to make a stand..." Ember complained, then changing topic, she threw that crimson crystal at me. I could barely catch it with my hands busy. It didn't help that the stone was surprisingly hot. "I couldn't figure out what it does after all. It did try to take control of my mind though. Maybe it has a domination spell on it or something telepathy-related..."

The way she announced it casually almost made me drop it.

"Are you kidding?" I asked, holding it as far away as I possibly could. Maybe the lizards were following this all along... But then, they attacked us before we got our hand on their crystal. "Are you all right at least? Can't lose our last spellcaster when they are this close..."

"I'm better than ever. These things can only work on the weak-minded." She claimed confidently. As she held on for dear life, it didn't make her too convincing, but we couldn't afford to slow down.

"Then do something about these reptiles," Avalon demanded. "We won't make it if they keep coming like that. The canyon is still ten miles ahead, but it's a hundred yards across and a hundred feet deep."

"Their numerical advantage won't matter on the bridge," I added, trying to run some calculations in my head. "We'd get at least a day if we managed to block it... They'd have to descend the cliffs, ferry over the small river, then climb back up on the other side..."

"Why bother? I can just burn it down for you..." Ember offered with a devilish grin. She was so young and had a cute face, but those eyes scared me. The flames dancing in them were way too intense. "We'll just take a different route on our way back."

"I wouldn't mind it this time, but it's a stone bridge and a massive one at that." I shook my head. I couldn't take out the maps but clearly remembered the markings. "It will still for a millennium."

"Oh, you wanna bet, Bullhead?" She challenged me. I didn't even feel like correcting her about my name anymore. "I have just the spell for that."

"Do as you see fit, just ensure we can reach it," Avalon warned her. The pavement was in a pretty bad shape, and the solid wheels jumped over them occasionally. We didn't include any dampening, these vehicles were as crude as it gets. And with the lizardmen hot on our tails, we couldn't afford delays or mistakes. "They are doing something."

They indeed were. Without a warning, dark clouds gathered over our heads. Considering we were cutting through arid highlands in the late summer heat, they appeared from thin air. A moment later, heavy rain started to pour down. The broken pavement of the imperial road became slippery in no time flat. I was worried, we'd collide with the others...

"Change the formation, travel in a zig-zag pattern, and leave a large enough gap to maneuver." I gave out the order and waved Avalon to ride ahead. "I think we should let the others overtake us and fight from the end of the convoy. Send back the archers to provide us cover too."