(Unedited)
…
A long convoy numbering up to ten armored vehicles is currently surrounded by a huge number of beasts. Inside one of the vehicles is a middle-aged man with silver hair at the side of his head and also silver mustache. He looks composed even though the people around him are in a panic.
The rapid shooting of rifles echoed inside the armored vehicle, but the middle-aged man still sits unmoved by what is happening around him.
Outside of the vehicle, there would be fireball and wind blades that would fly out of the armored vehicle which is evidence that there are powerful mages among the people inside the convoy.
This is the convoy of the mayor of Kor City which is being besieged by the rampaging beast. Some of the vehicles have already received damage in this confrontation. And around them lies a huge number of carcasses filled with bullet holes, while others are either burnt to a crisp or cut in half.
"Requesting backup from the checkpoint. Please send us some reinforcement. We are running out of ammo… please respond." A guard shouted in the intercoms.
'This is northern checkpoint squad. We are preparing to deploy, please hold on for a couple of minutes, the soldiers are coming out, over…'
"Please be quick!… We are in our last leg here!"
The chaos caused by the beast which seems to be endlessly flowing from the broken gate of the northern city border is already increasing, hence the pressure on the convoy is also growing. They couldn't even advance as there are many beasts that have already blocked their way.
Inside one of the vehicles is a young woman holding a semi-automatic rifle on one hand and on her other hand she is tossing fist-sized fireballs. Her string fighting prowess is a great welcome to the group of espers which is a task in protecting the convoy.
She is Jenny Mae Lee, Curt Nilfiem's girlfriend.
In this mission, there are 6 espers that were sent to protect the mayor, and this is her new assignment. Unknown to other espers in the college, Jenny Mae is already working for the city at a very young age. She was scouted by the vice-leader of the Greenhoundz, one of the top 5 esper mercenary team in Kor city.
Most mercenary teams in every city consist of both esper and ordinary people. These mercenary teams are responsible for hunting beasts outside of the barrier dome. They are one of the lifeblood that is keeping the city safe from beast attacks and also protecting the barrier itself from being destroyed.
Right at this moment, in Jenny Mae's team, two of them are wounded and only four are able to fight. The reason for this is that the two sacrificed themselves just to open the northern gate. And now they are heavily wounded and incapable of fighting.
"Mam, we need to push back these bastards if we wanted to break through this encirclement!" shouted one of the espers to their leader who is a woman in her 30's.
The elegant looking woman is currently using her esper magic to freeze those beasts that dared enter her periphery.
"Ok, Firebraid and Coldface. Go to the front and clear the path… we will assist you. Go now!" shouted the woman which seems to be the leader of the team.
With a nod of their heads, Jenny Mae, who has the code name of Firebraid, and a young man in his late 20's, immediately jumps out of the armored vehicle and ran towards the front of the convoy while shooting down any beast that blocks their path.
The pungent smell of blood permeated the air as the corpses of the beast are already pilling up into a small hill surrounding the convoy.
"Mam, I… I can't hold keep my barrier up any longer than a minute…" suddenly a petite young esper said as her complexion is getting paler.
With worry in her eyes, the team leader showed a bit of hesitation as she didn't know what to do anymore. Once the small barrier surrounding the convoy, even with the hail of bullets, they would be swamped by the tide of beasts and would surely perish in this place.
…
While this is happening, Curt is standing in front of a middle-aged man wearing a military uniform. The room is filled with thick cigarette smoke as the atmosphere inside it is tense. Everyone inside the room is worried and he can sense their anxiety and helplessness.
"You that person who made these trinkets, right?" the man on the side suddenly asked Curt.
The man showed Curt two rings which he immediately recognizes.
"Haste rings? Yes, I am the one who made them…"
"Good, we wanted to request something from you… can you make a few more of these now? We desperately needed it… in fact, we have already sent some people in the city to purchase more of the rings… but they have never come back yet. We needed it now as soon as possible. It's an emergency." The man said.
Seeing his expression, Curt didn't hesitate as he knew that these soldiers are the ones responsible for the protection of the city. If they fail or they fall, then the city would follow.
With a nod of his head, he took out a small leather pouch inside the side pocket of his huge backpack.
"There are 30 plus rings inside this pouch, you can have it… just…"
Everyone inside the room suddenly had their eyes lit up as they glance at the pouch. Everyone has experienced the effect of the ring for themselves. They knew how miraculous its effect is which is very useful for them as soldiers.
Having 5 times faster reflexes is something they needed in confronting a large number of beast outside.
"Don't worry we will compensate you for this trouble." The man immediately cut Curt's words and he reached out and took the pouch.
"Then… good luck… I will take my leave, sir."
"Thank you…"
Curt's figure walked out of the room after giving them the pouch. But right now he is feeling a bit uncomfortable. It's like a dangerous premonition inside his heart that he could not explain. And this is the reason why he didn't hesitate to give them the haste rings.
As he walked out, he was stopped by a young woman sitting in the corner and handed him a check. When he looks at it, he saw 30,000 credits which are ten times the supposed price of the rings.
But he has no time to be amazed and just accepted the check with a big thank you.
Curt walked towards the road back to the city, but he didn't truly return. As soon as he saw a corner, he suddenly turns and then took another path towards the inner city wall.
With quick movements, he is able to reach the wall in the far right corner of the gate. Then with a stomp of his feet, his figure scales up the wall which is around 15 meters tall. On his hand is a talisman which would make him stick to the wall with ease.
Then when he reaches the top which is filled with sharp metal spikes, Curt suddenly jumps in the air and then somersaulted backward. With a spread of his hands, he controlled the air around him and pushes his body to glide forward avoiding the spikes as his figure slowly descended to the other side of the wall.
From that height, he can already see what is happening on the road.
The long convoy is being besieged by a large number of beasts. If he is not wrong they would be numbering up to thousands. Then with his already enhanced eyesight, he saw a flashing figure walking towards the front of the convoy.
When he saw her, his heart skipped a beat. He could not believe that she would be in that place and in a very dangerous situation at that.
Curt felt a sense of urgency to help, but he also didn't want to expose himself. However, he could not be reserved anymore at this time. He knew that if he hesitated more he would surely lose her again in this lifetime and that he could not accept.
And so with that strong determination to protect the woman which made his heartbeat twice in this lifetime and in some lifetime somewhere, he urges a strong amount of LEP energy in his body and manipulated the air around him.
His figure flew towards the location of the convoy at a faster speed. He is like an arrow being released from a bowstring. Though he could not fly, he can only guide the air for him to glide towards the ground with style.
He immediately took out a mask from his side pants pocket which he would always use in harvesting a special kind of plant. The mask is the ones he created just in case he encounters some plants with poisonous spores.
"I need to attract these beasts attention…" he thought as he forces the LEP energy in his body to cover the harvesting knife and sickle on both of his hands.
This made the two knives glow along with his figure. A large amount of LEP he is exerting has already attracted a lot of creature's attention and most of them have suddenly stopped attacking the convoy. For these beasts, the reason why they would attack humans and other beast is because of the LEP accumulated inside the bodies.
And now the glowing man in the air which is rapidly descending towards them is the most delicious delicacy. So how could they not be attracted?
At this moment, even the people inside the convoy are also attracted by this scene as they took look at the glowing figure.
Jenny Mae who was fighting desperately in the front also turns her gaze towards the direction of that figure. In truth, right now, she is already at her limits. She thought that she could push back a large number of beasts. But she never expected them to be so tenacious that it would only take a second after she opened a path that the beast would immediately jump and block it once again.
And right now, she can't even conjure a fist-size fireball as all of her esper energy has been spent. And her vision is slowly fading.
"Firebraid!" shouted Coldface as he noticed her slowly staggering.
Suddenly he noticed a beast that has suddenly broken through the already weakening barrier. Its large maw is directed towards the young woman who seems to have lost her strength to fight.