Although the silver emissary was alright for the moment, the same could not be said for the bronze emissaries who were not as cautious as he was.
Many of them inhaled the herbal smoke in ignorance, which went into their hearts and lungs, which then quickly affected their bodies. In just a few seconds, these people were numb all over, their bones softened and they lost their strength.
Shina's face turned dark all of a sudden, she was also a victim. But as she was still far away, the herbal smog was not too potent on her. Luckily they were far away. Kiel was no alchemist. So he really didn't have an antidote. If they fell down now. He could not save the...
However, Tia and the girls still stirred their energy to quickly circulate the meagre amount of mana still within them to counter the smoke after seeing the situations of the emissaries. But at the same time they still had a hostile look in their eyes mixed with a little confusion.
A thin figure showed up from the branches above them. With an indifferent face, that person abruptly flew down from the tree and stood calmly by stunned Tia.
"Yo! How have you been?"
"It's you?" Astonishment took over Tia's moon-like face. She couldn't believe it was Kiel who flew down from the above.
Squeezing her eyes tightly in the bright flash while gazing at Kiel carefully, Tia was even more surprised. It was the little kid again who seemed to be saving her. But recalling the slight numbness and the sudden flash still blinding everyone, she was genuinely surprised. How on earth did he do that?!
Even Ruyu, Lea Shina was surprised by the sudden arrival of an individual. Although their eyes were blinded by the bright flash of light, their other senses were still in high alert. They were ready to take action, but hearing a familiar voice filled them with unknown security enough to calm them down despite the urgency of the situation.
"Little sister now that I have saved you again, how about you call me Big brother once. I vow to etch it deep in my heart forever." Kiel smiled with a cheeky grin while handing four handmade face masks to her.
Seeing his gesture, Tia grabbed the masks to distribute them to her group slowly without asking what he did. She knew it was a crucial time, but hearing the cheeky words of the little boy, she couldn't help but have an itch to straightway pummel his cute face with all her strength.
However, she knew how much of a bind she was in just now, so she forcefully suppressed the sudden itch. But most of all it was like she had become dependable on someone for the first time without even realising.
Kiel then added, "The shadow element has been subdued by the light flash and the effect of the numbness will last for some time now, which should be enough food for you all. Even I didn't expect my baby to function so well!... Surprisingly the flash is long-lasting. Maybe it's because of the light-gem?..."
At the end of his speech, he began muttering like an idiot, which made even Tia uncomfortable. However, Kiel was quick to come back. "Well… You should know what to do next, right?"
An unknown red light contrastingly flashed across his blue eyes as he pointed towards his finger towards the opposite direction to let them know to run now.
"Got it." Tia understood what Kiel said. She took a deep breath of the fragrance smell emitted by that face mask and could not help but associate the smell with the little boy near her.
For a moment her heart seemed to really jump out, but considering the situation, she calmed down just as quick and passed the others to Ruyu near her, "Quick!"
The Silver Emissary was busy adjusting his eyes to the sudden light and defending against the effects of numbness. But after hearing their conversation, he shouted with a rigid face, "Move! Grab those things! If they escape, none of you will survive!"
After shouting out, he forcibly stirred his internal mana and dashed towards Shina again. However, due to the effects of the light element in the persisting flash countering his shadow element, he could not employ his shadow bind again for the moment. After all, the light was his counter element.
Usually a flash for five seconds. However, due to the sudden chemical mix, it seems to last even longer. It really was out of Kiel's expectation. However seeing its effect, filled him with the motivation to explore the world more. However, we will keep it for a later date.
As soon as those bronze emissaries realized the situation, they began to sluggishly besiege Ruyu and Lea again, despite the numbness in their bodies and impaired vision.
Before Lea and Ruyu could even wear their masks to become comfortable, they were already surrounded by numerous attacks.
Lea's face turned pale, and she just missed the most opportune moment to put on her mask and had to give up on it. Instead, she concentrated and began to confront those emissaries' deadly attacks.
Even Kiel had not expected them to act this quickly despite his brilliant flash. So even he was stumped for a moment.
Shina was also facing the same situation even worse. She didn't even get her face mask. Under the fierce attacks of those bronze emissaries, she couldn't even shift from her spot. And although they were at a distance from the flash, they were still affected by the smoke a little and could only rely on their internal mana to expel it out which proved rather futile due to their mana deficiency.
Tia wore her mask, but seeing the situation of the other girls, she became very anxious and didn't know what to do.
Helplessly, Tia turned to Kiel. Her beautiful eyes were obviously asking for his help. Even she could not figure out when such an independent girl like her started to rely on someone other than her.
Everybody else was affected by the sudden numbness due to the smoke, and though they were mages and it was a simple paralysis herbal concoction but as it relied on elemental magic, it still would take them quite some time to actually force the unwanted elements out from their body, which was proving more efficient than necessary.
And even more importantly, their party was at a disadvantage due to their injuries. So at the moment even though Kiel was low-ranked, he became quite important.
Seeing Tia's pleading eyes, Kiel smiled and asked as it was natural, "So now call me big brother?"
"Bi-big brother." Tia could only bite her lips and utter those words. she could literally feel her face reddening due to the embarrassment.
But she could not understand why she was feeling such indignation to say it. Did it actually matter if she did? Wasn't it harmless addressing? So why the harsh feelings?
"Well done!"
Kiel nodded and imprinted the moment in his mind. Under Tia's gaze, he darted out instantly! Just kidding. He was not a hot-headed fool. Kiel first cooled down and opened his magnetic vision. He knew attacking head-on was a foolish idea. If they could just escape from here and restore their energy, judging from the actions of the girls, he knew they could handle the assassins. So his priority was to run away.
Switching on his magnetic vision Kiel could easily see the positions of everyone despite the bright flash still there. More likely by the various magnetic fields, he could locate everyone.
"Shina to your right, two people are going to attack. Ruyu one is behind you. Blast him off! Lea to your left."
Although all the girls were a little dumbfounded by the situation, they were still in a bind without any way to respond to attacks although the bright light stalled the enemy, it blocked them too. So although they wanted to complain, they still followed his orders straight away.
"Wind Dagger"
Shincasted her wind dagger spell which summoned a very sharp dagger made from wind and let it go towards her right. And in this situation which impaired everyone's vision, it displayed its wonders. The wind dagger broke into those emissaries and made many cold streaks in the air.
In no time, one of the bronze Emissaries got a deep gash in his neck and fell to the ground on his back.
The dagger's movements were sharp as it travelled swiftly among those emissaries, leaving scars on them.
"Kuaahhh..." Another one fell down due to the dagger as it finally vanished due to the depletion of mana.
Ruyu and Lea were also not to be messed around. Even if they were in a worse condition, due to their battle experiences, and the enemies level lower than them, they also quickly took out the enemies.
"Uh... " Tia combed a piece of stray hair behind her ear with her hand. Astonishment flashed through her eyes, and a weird expression was on her face: "I just... I just wanted him to put on the masks... "