Rhyme took a dozen punches or so on his face before he jumped back. He wiped his lip then he appeared to be talking to himself.
No. He wasn't talking to himself…
He was casting a spell!
A mage!
Aeon was the first one to notice, so he was the first person who rushed forward. This action of his was rather instinctive. He didn't know the motive behind Rhyme's spell casting, and he didn't know who his target was.
But just to be sure, it was better to stop him.
As Aeon took his first step, he saw Rhyme looking straight at him which actually surprised him. He was able to capture Aeon's swift movements the moment he acted?
Aeon smiled.
Nice!
Aeon dashed forth, still confident about stopping the rogue mage. He moved left and right to avoid being locked onto. He didn't know what the people behind him were doing, but he knew that they should have already caught up with the situation.
Aeon didn't wield his swords. They sat comfortably by his waists. All he needed were his fists!
He pulled his right arm back, ready to punch.
However, at that moment, unexpectedly, magic swept past him.
Green light traveled gently underground, only making the grass sway towards Aeon.
He wasn't the target!
He was too late to stop the spell.
Everything happened in less than two seconds.
The casting was too fast.
Aeon was full of praise. But that didn't mean that his own attack would be stopping anytime soon. Who knows if the stranger would cast another spell? He didn't need to worry about the others anyway. They could take care of themselves for sure. His fist came crashing towards Rhyme's face. Behind him, he could hear the earth shift.
Rhyme, on the other hand, still had his arms outstretched in front of him. It was his last gesture when he released his spell. It seemed apparent that he was going to be hit and thrown down the hill once more, being unable to block or dodge. After all, Aeon was already upon him.
But the next moment, this outcome was immediately forgotten.
From the ground beside Rhyme's feet, four pillars of earth shot towards Aeon, accurately aimed at his ankles and wrists. With a clack, Aeon's movements were immediately halted by the earth's shackles. An expression of shock was painted on his face.
Rhyme stood straight triumphantly. He approached Aeon and flicked his nose.
"Sorry, buddy. Too slow."
Rhyme laughed.
Aeon felt speechless. He was too slow? Inwardly, he laughed at himself. He hadn't been called slow in a long time. And he hadn't been slow in a long time either.
Well, that was on him. He underestimated the mage and held back.
"Haha, ya," Aeon responded with a grin. Then, his muscles bulged as he tugged on the shackles. The earth constricting his movements crumbled, shocking Rhyme who was literally standing right next to him.
Aeon swung his right fist once more. He stared straight at Rhyme's eyes.
Rhyme quickly responded by attempting to jump back. But before he could even bend his knees, he was already able to determine that he won't be able to avoid it.
The fist…
It was too fast!
Rhyme's eyes locked onto Aeon's. To him, the man's stare held a message.
Too cocky…
The fist headed straight towards Rhyme's abdomen.
However, just when it was about to hit, someone behind Aeon yelled.
"Stop!"
It was Leona's voice. The fist immediately stopped.
Rhyme completed his backward jump. He wasn't hit!
Fuck! That punch was so terrifying!
Rhyme was thankful that someone stopped the aggressive brute. If not, it could have been lights out for him.
Aeon was confused, but he still stopped. When he turned around, he saw the three collectively sigh. However, it was not a sigh of relief. But one of helplessness. He was about to ask what's up when he saw the surroundings.
The pit they dug was gone. The rocks… they were moved back into place. Generally, everything was fixed. Only then plants that they uprooted weren't returned. Those couldn't be patched up using earth magic.
It turns out, Rhyme didn't attack any of them. He just restored the area.
But damn. They were back to square one.
Aeon also sighed.
Rhyme straightened his shirt and pants. He saw how the people reacted and felt that he'd done well. He didn't cast any spells afterward and simply said, "I'll let you off with a warning since you're just kids. But I would still need your last names to record this offense."
He then pulled out a small notebook from his bottom and started writing down notes.
Rhyme was obviously not a patrol or a guard. But he did seem like a lawful citizen of the empire who genuinely cared for it. Him doing his community service should be out of goodwill.
Should they just comply?
Aeon looked back at Rhyme. Although he was slightly irritated being called a kid by someone their age, he couldn't deny that they were in the wrong. But giving their last names… if the guy finds out they're not from the Lefa Empire, then that would make their offense even bigger. He had to think of something.
Aeon smoothed out his pants when he suddenly felt a piece of paper crumple inside his pocket. At that moment, his eyes shone with delight.
Come to think of it, wasn't this guy an Earth mage?
Aeon had an idea.
"Uh, bro… We're really sorry about the damage we've done. We were simply looking for something," Aeon pulled out a piece of paper from inside his pocket and hurriedly unrolled it. "We actually found this old map and think that there's treasure buried somewhere here. But man, it's really hard to find."
"Yip yap, yip yap," Rhyme said as he gestured with his fingers, "I asked for last names, not for excu—did you say treasure?"
Aeon lifted the old map and said, "Yeah, treasure."
His face looked completely innocent.
Believable.
….
The two's conversation was clearly heard by the others.
Because of what Aeon said, Leona burned with rage. Although he wasn't telling the truth about what they were doing and was indeed coming up with an excuse, he actually showed a random person their map! This could be enough to compromise their whole mission! The sight of the labels they couldn't understand could instantly give it away.
Her fists were clenched as she prepared to walk over towards Aeon.
However, the next moment, a thin, white hand blocked her from moving straight forward. Leona was surprised and glared at Korona.
Korona, who had always been intimidated by Leona, pulled back her hand immediately. But she still tried to stop Leona again using her words. "L-Let's just wait and see what happens first. I… We think Aeon's on to something."
Leona did not want to agree with the Florentinian, but when she turned towards Aeon and Rhyme, she realized that their conversation had gone way deeper already. If she suddenly butted in right now, she might say something wrong. She could only click her tongue and wait.
Was Aeon really on to something?
The conversation between the stranger and Aeon ended with a handshake.
The two walked over towards the others.
"Alright," Rhyme rubbed his hands together, "where should I start checking?"
"Over there," Aeon replied while pointing at a huge rock. "Suri, can you take him to the pit we dug earlier."
Suri nodded and guided Rhyme.
Leona stood there, dumbfounded.
Aeon was about to follow Rhyme and Suri when a hand suddenly pulled him back.
"What's happening?" Leona asked Aeon who was hanging on her grip.
Aeon smiled and said, "I got him to help!"
Aeon's reply received an exaggerated eye roll. "I meant how did you make him help us?"
Aeon looked at Suri and Rhyme who were walking away. Then he smiled sinisterly. "I told him we're looking for a treasure and that we'll split it with him if he helps."
Leona cocked an eyebrow. She wanted to yell, but because she wasn't dense and could read the situation, she lowered her voice to say, "But there is no fucking treasure!"
"I know, I know. That's why we'll knock him out when he finds what we're looking for," Aeon said as he punched his left palm.
Leona didn't know what to think. Her gaze became unstable and her face flushed. "What? Do you think we're hoodlums?"
Aeon shrugged. As long as they could finish their business.
They needed an Earth mage.
Now, they got one.
….
Lucian felt burned out reading through the reports.
Although he knew that the enemy numbers couldn't compare to theirs, their attacks were really frustrating. The enemies didn't advance to kill and breakthrough anymore after suffering heavy losses on the first day. They started gathering intel.
Jump in, analyze, study, evaluate, then go back.
They were taking advantage of the fact that no one would pursue them outside the mist.
This wasn't really a problem. If their set up was easy to figure out, then it wouldn't be so fearsome.
The issue lay in the invaders' persistence.
Meredith's forces had to stay alert the entire time while the opponents could remain carefree. This kind of pressure was slowly grinding on them.
Lucian shook his head. He was relieved that they were still on the safer side. But he was worried that his men would falter under the pressure.
At that moment, another report came in. The messenger who went in had an extremely pale face.
Lucian hurriedly opened the scroll.
After reading the first sentence, he immediately felt dread.
Someone broke through the mist.
….