Jacob was bewildered by the assassin's taunt; he had no idea what kind of connection Elijah and the assailant had.
Elijah's face contorted when he heard the mysterious man, it was obvious he wanted to gauge his reaction; however, he hadn't expected to be chased this far.
Elijah had made sure to take less travelled roads and stayed out of the limelight.
How did they find me?.....
"How could I forget your ugly ass face? Robert, did the last beating not teach you manners? You think just because you brought your dogs with you I will be scared?"
Elijah was confident in escaping alone, after all this wasn't the first time he had clashed with these killers.
However, Jacob was far too inexperienced, Elijah couldn't risk it and instead chose to think of a different plan.
He subtly reached into his pocket and started fiddling with his spell beads.
Robert chuckled, he suspected Elijah just wanted to buy time by provoking him, but he didn't mind playing along.
He had no qualms about giving this brat some last few lines, after all, there was no way he would be saved.
With a cold gleam in his eyes, the man rebutted
"Very well, My prince since you seem to be impatient, I will give you a swift death."
Jacob had been listening closely and understood the situation. Assassins and royalty, it seemed Elijah really had a troubled past. Furthermore, he would not shame his friend for accidentally dragging him along.
Jacob's body shivered with anticipation; he had not come this far to go without a fight.
He noticed Elijah's subtle gestures and immediately understood the plan. Jacob slightly shuffled his body close to the man behind him.
To the others it seemed he had shrunk with fear, however, the two boys had already prepared a ruthless plan.
The two nodded discreetly, Elijah immediately started cussing with full force, he attempted to take their attention off his hands, which worked perfectly.
"You bastard dogs, you're all sons of bitches, are you afraid to fight me one by one? Did your mothers not feed yo-"
To the assassin's Elijah had finally lost his mind, at death's door this was to be expected. They couldn't help but snicker at his misery.
With no time to waste, Elijah summoned his sword. He did not plan to hold back. A faint aura glinted from his eyes.
As he took his stance, the assassins responded by unsheathing their swords. An eerie aura filled the streets as the battle for life and death began.
Jacob hardened his body as some mana leaked out.
Although he didn't know how to fight, as long as he could land a single hit... it would surely be devastating.
Robert stared at Elijah, waiting to exchange blows, he dare not underestimate a blademaster. Even with five assassins, a careless attitude could surely risk their lives.
Elijah had a sly grin, he knew the assassins were afraid, in the past he had already killed a few of their numbers. Today, he was gonna cut the problem from its roots.
Slight mana lined his blade, Elijah clutched his sword.
He instantly bolted forward, with an elegant swing a fierce wind shot towards his target, slicing everything in between.
Robert retaliated with a brute parry; he easily scattered the wind.
The two swords clashed; the other assassins could only watch in disbelief, unable to even react to their speed. This was the might of a C rank!
Elijah continued vigorously striking forward, forcing his opponent to block unconditionally.
His plan was simple, if he could startle the other assassins, Jacob could surely react fast enough to knock them out.
In a few seconds, the calm harbour street had turned into a battlefield, the clashing swords resonated as the sharp blades echoed with each strike.
Elijah swung with a faint ember on his blade, igniting it, he completely engulfed the surroundings with flame. All the assassins were caught off guard.
In a split second, the battlefield had now been torn to smithereens, he took full advantage and chucked 3 beads towards the ground.
"Now!"
As they shattered, a black smokescreen blinded everyone within.
Jacob had been waiting for his signal, he rushed towards the enemies. Although he too was blinded, his sense of smell helped navigate this smoke cloud.
He could sense that the nearby enemies were still clueless.
Jacob flickered towards one.. he clenched his fist; a golden aura coated his hand...!
Swinging his whole body, he struck with full force...
"Krck"
Jacob broke the assassin's ribs with one blow!
It wasn't over yet! He dashed towards another assassin; a golden aura emanated from his left fist as he punched towards the jaw...
Jacob incapacitated two enemies in a few seconds!
Robert slashed through the smoke with a howling wind and it dissipated, he was shocked to see Jacob's strength
Where had the prince found such a brute? Was this guy a beast?
Such power... he originally ignored the boy. But now, he could definitely not afford to do so. He couldn't let such a talent develop and get stronger.
Robert planned to toy with Elijah a bit and then deal the killing blow. However, due to his arrogance, not only had he lost two men but also jeopardized his own life.
He had brought along four helpers to make sure Elijah couldn't escape, these four lowlifes could barely hold their own against a good fighter.
This was evident, he had now lost two of them and two remained.
Jacob and Elijah were now on the attacking front, they couldn't let the enemy regain their morale and momentum.
A sharp pressure exerted as countless moves were exchanged between the two swordsmen.
Elijah was occupied with holding down Robert. It was the only way they could have won the fight.
Robert's underlings were busy fighting Jacob, they were unable to match his strength and could not approach him at all.
The battle had a very delicate balance, either side could have overwhelmed the other.
Jacob was truly mesmerized by the skills he saw, he never thought Elijah to be that strong a swordsman. He knew about his magic and yet respect filled his heart.
Elijah had surely worked hard to reach this level.
He too desired to fight for himself. Every day, he aspired to be stronger to achieve his ideals. With such a fight in front of him. He had given it his all.
Jacob could see every move Elijah made, a fight between two C-ranks had proven quite beneficial towards his insights.
He was so drawn in that he had temporarily forgotten about the remaining assassins.
Of course, this was but for a moment, as an experienced hunter, Jacob's instincts were more than enough to substitute for battle techniques.
With his agility, he could easily avoid any fatal strikes.
The two underlings had no choice but to go in close-combat, a fatal mistake...
Jacob completely outclassed them in brawling, as one assassin kicked his stomach, the other simply struck behind his back
A pincer attack!
However, it was quickly proven useless.
Jacob's body hardened; the strike unable to even penetrate his skin!
He swiftly grabbed the sword applying enough force to shatter the blade...
His actions had completely spooked the attackers... This guy simply wasn't human! Who the hell could break a sword like that?
The assassins felt helpless, in front of this brute's onslaught of attacks, the two novice warriors couldn't even lift a finger.
Jacob had treated them as his hunt, striking them blow for blow.
His punches had immobilized their body.
They could feel their bones shiver and their muscles scream every time they got attacked.
At last, the two were just paralyzed with pain and could barely breath
On the other hand, Elijah and Robert were still exchanging blows cautiously, neither wanted to risk too much.
However, after seeing that his underlings had failed, Robert seethed with rage.
As a swordsman he had no special skills or talent, he was just an average mage. But he had been promised a huge fortune for Elijah's death.
That was the only reason he had even risked his life, to begin with.
Seeing that all his escape routes were cut off, Robert had gone crazy.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Elijah to turn the tables. Especially the other kid had also helped in destroying his plan.
Robert could foresee his death, now that he had failed a few times, even if he was to survive, he doubted Elijah would let him live in peace.
Despair built up within him, as his pent-up anger flowed through his veins, Robert could only see red.
A desperate mage was akin to a demon.
Robert was no exception, his mana surged wildly, his body had already given in to his emotions.
A crazy glimmer flashed from his eyes...
Elijah could instantly tell what had happened... This guy had lost all his sanity!
"Jacob! Be careful, he's run amok!"
The warning was far too late, like a furious Ox, Robert had charged towards him, disregarding any other.
Jacob was flustered, even wild beasts couldn't be this agitated. He tried to block but an enormous strength completely blew him away.
Elijah stepped up to block his frantic rush
[Enchant: Unbreakable]
His sword glittered with aura, as he used it to block the maniac. He couldn't let Robert run wild for long.
The crazed mage finally stopped by Elijah, picked him up and threw him into a building nearby...
Coughing blood, Elijah limped by the wall as he struggled to get up....
He had already spent too much energy trying to restrain the enemy's attacks.
If this battle went on for longer, Robert would definitely kill both of them.
Due to him running wild, his magic had multiplied at least twice his former power. This was not a fool-proof plan.
Any mage who went amok would ultimately experience a fate far worse than death. It was a losing gamble only taken by those truly in the pits of despair.
Jacob slowly crept up; his vision turned hazy, he had taken considerable damage, it was the first time he had felt fear in his life. He could feel his body shivering, and yet he decided to rush back into the fight.
Now that Robert had lost all reasoning, Jacob could definitely take an advantage of the situation.
With no cunning moves to dodge his blows, Jacob's punches were devastating.
He immediately kept punching with full force, this was his only choice to somehow knock the opponent out.
However, to no avail. The blood rushed maniac could even overpower his brute strength.
Jacob and Elijah were now helpless in front of this wild magician, with no way to stop his rage.
"Jacob... you need to run... I will hold him back"
Elijah whimpered; he was thoroughly exhausted by the previous fights. This was the only way he could let Jacob survive.
"ARE YOU CRAZY? I am not gonna abandon you here."
Jacob was angry, he didn't want to leave a dear friend behind, but he also saw their powerless struggles as futile.
He looked towards the sky and clenched his fists, Jacob tried to muster all the power he could manage.....
If he could stop Robert for even a second... It would be enough for them to somehow escape.
If only he was stronger, he would not have to face such a terrible situation. He cursed himself for not trying to learn magic earlier...
"everything.... is my fault..."
As tears rolled down his face, he could hear Elijah's feeble whispers.... still telling him to run away...
It was the first time he had felt his chest burn from the inside, a strange clump of emotions welled up within him, a sore lump in his throat...
He could see the berserk man had basically forgotten their presence...Instead, wreaking havoc on the surroundings. But the second he moved; he would definitely get attacked.
Jacob squeezed his fists shut; a great power surged within them. He still didn't know magic; he could only struggle along with his mana.
He slowly stepped forward, any sudden movements would alert the enemy, but he did not care.
As long as he could lure the frenzied assassin away from Elijah... he couldn't care less about the consequences.
He focused all his strength within his quivering legs, his body trembled with every movement. He paid no attention to his fear.
Resolutely stepping forward, he taunted the man.... no-the beast in front of him.
It growled, noticing the boy stepping closer. The beast charged forward, a primal instinct to kill on its mind.
Jacob took a stance, he planned to wrestle.
The two forces collided, and a deep roar echoed throughout the city...
Jacob had swung with all his might, crushing the beast into a wall nearby.
But a few seconds later, it had emerged with a slight scratch on its body...
So even this wasn't enough... Jacob panted... He had punched with all his strength...
His consciousness had started to fade away, he glanced towards Elijah, still laying exhausted on the ground.
Is this as far as I go?
In two days, he had gone through a massive change in his life, making a new friend, leaving his hometown and even travelling to learn magic... Is this where it all would end?
As he had these thoughts, Jacob's legs had remained stiff, he didn't want to show weakness even for a single second.
He fainted... standing still. To him, his resolve to protect was stronger than he could ever imagine.
Elijah was barely awake as he faintly saw this scene, he was overcome with reverence. He knew how hard that resolve was...
But it was too late, because of his arrogance, Jacob was forced to risk his life and failed... They would both die for sure.
He faintly saw another silhouette approaching them...
"who?"
He could tell they were powerful....Stronger than any he had ever met.
A bright glimmer caught his eye, a signet ring on their finger, a unique design... A dragon jaded with golden flowers...
It's him.... the person who had followed them in the city.
Was this guy a saviour? Or a new threat...
He could hear what he said...
"Hmm, to think someone would run amok to kill two kids... isn't that a bit too shameless?"
His remark drew the beast closer... It could sense danger and this man made his instincts cower in fear!
It shrunk backwards, afraid of the man's power. Elijah could see this unfolding.... to force the frenzied mage back with only his words... That guy is definitely a rank A...
He saw the brief fight take place, a lilac aura pressured the beast, as the man fiddled with a dagger in his hand.
The cornered beast had ultimately given in and attacked; the man then cut off both its arms in the blink of an eye....
With not even a breath to spare, the man simply threw the dagger towards its head.
In an instant, a huge hole in its forehead had appeared....
The beasts lifeless body slumped on the ground...
A few moves were all it had taken the man to kill something capable of threatening Elijah's life!
After seeing this sight, Elijah's exhaustion took over as he slowly fainted to sleep.....
"Hmm...? It seems they're both unconscious...."
The man sighed; his job was to follow the foreign prince... not babysit him. In the end, he had only interfered because the prince's life was in danger. For him to die in their territory...
He didn't want their reputation to sully...
Regardless, he was also surprised by Jacob's resolve... as he saw his body standing straight despite having fainted... he was quite impressed....
The man signalled his allies hiding nearby, he didn't mind doing the boys a favour.
"Carry both of them to the ship, we will sail to Reneva, as for the other four, make sure you put them in the cellar in the ship and take the mage's body for evidence."