Chapter 15 - The Hunters Who Can Enter Rhodes
"How did they get here?" Dareen asked curiously.
Pino replied, "I don't know; they are very determined to catch you,"
"Did you have enemies before?" she asked back.
"I don't know, but Dareen..."
[Wuusshhh] his words were cut off because suddenly someone was overhead to attack him.
That person was already in the tree; a guide from above saw Dareen was about to climb up the same tree, but the bandit was hiding in a higher direction.
He who lunged was holding a dagger in his left hand, and the other was about to grip Darren's body; when he looked up, his head immediately backed away to get away.
"There he is!" shouted from below.
His group was dressed the same as the men; they waited for him to fall.
[Kreeek] Darren stood at the end of a tree branch in a state of urgency; from below, several people were shooting at him with arrows and spears.
[saatch..saaatcch]
Dareen concentrated.
"Do you want to come with us voluntarily or by force?" the person started talking to him.
"What are you looking for me for?" while looking down.
He felt sure that he had erased the traces so that no one would recognize him, mainly since Dareen had used a necklace that could change his proper form.
"We were only ordered to take you with us, nothing more," said the bandit, playing with the sword, his movements bluffing.
"You don't need to know how we found you." another scream came from below that looked like a bandit leader full of tassels of guns.
Pino flew towards the hand, transforming himself into a rapier sword; Darren grasped it and swung it forward.
It didn't take long for him to jump up and charge forward. The bandit who saw his arrival while directly holding the weapon was slightly surprised and responded by quickly fighting back.
Dareen's attacks were parried easily and didn't stop the raining arrows below.
"Tsk!" He must jump over trees behind his enemy, looking for fault and trying to keep their fight balanced.
On the other hand, the part he had been aiming for was already overrun by a group of moving people; Darren was confused and couldn't find a way out of it. Dareen kept trying to attack the opponent before him and stabbed the sword in the face.
"Damn it!" he shouted angrily, attacking Dareen back, wanting to drop him off at his comrades who had been waiting to catch him.
The footrests of the tree branches felt slippery; the segments that were too narrow made Dareen lose his balance.
When he was about to fall, he stuck the tip of his sword to make a grip so he wouldn't go down, then got up quickly, having got back up and slashed.
The attack this time was to escape, still looking for an opening to another tree that might help him get out and pass his opponent. Darren felt the Mana supply in his body being fully charged after entering the Saintess's room, focusing power all over his body to protect him, maximizing every movement and five senses.
Without warning, Pino absorbed Darren's Mana without the owner's permission; he ignored it. The sword in hand has become more robust, and the fiercer has a large cavity segment and a hook between the edges.
"Hmmm!" Dareen smiled happily. This god's pet knew how to thank him.
It then attacked the bandit without a hitch; the blade he was using broke while trying to slash, resulting in his arm being cut off and blood gushing out splatters everywhere.
"Aaarghhhh!!!"
[Brugh] screamed and fell. Finally, Dareen didn't have to jump anymore to find a detour.
"Catch him, quick!" screams echoed through the forest, blowing away the resting birds. The people below chased him faster, and some even rode horses.
"Actually, where do they get arrows from? Never run out?" Dareen said, looking down.
Having kept their pursuit past several people following him in the trees, this was the first time Dareen had used a sword to feel so easy. It didn't feel like his shoulder was hit by an arrow but bounced, the power of protecting him, so it didn't take effect, determined to become a full-fledged Mana Magic controller.
Elsewhere, people are setting up trap nets. The bandits, still chasing him, realizing Dareen is a Mana controller, prepare another trap.
Dismantling the trap they had set up earlier, adding Mana Stones filled with electricity. The pursuers thought that was placed would sting him.
"Add the sealer!" another order.
They communicated using whistles, which only pursuers could understand, hearing the strange sounds they emitted, sparking suspicion.
"Are they setting a trap?" Unaware of their plan, Darren was led into a trap, standing on a tree at the end of the ravine; there was no other way to escape.
Each tree now had two to three men waiting for him, preparing to catch him beneath them.
The others were hiding in the thickets, waiting for a chance; the fight re-started, looking for a gap where few people were guarding among the trees.
Darren leaped forward on the boulder as fast as lightning, aiming for them to float in the air freely, not forgetting the heavy weapon swerving smoothly with one slash that knocked someone down.
[Brough]
Seeing his comrade lying down, two people simultaneously ran around in opposite directions.
[Tang….Sreeek] Dareen parried the tip of the spear used by one of the opponents, [Tak] cut the neck of the wood on the iron, then ran over the remaining broken wood, kicked the enemy's chin, and fell.
At one point, the jump flips up behind the other, immobilizing by hitting the neck's nape with an iron tip. Again comrade is holding a large weapon to hit Dareen's sword hard, making the hilt slightly vibrate and almost releasing the only helper.
Darren didn't want the same defeat as yesterday's duel, directly aimed the sword by twisting the handle's body and gripping it firmly.
On the right-hand target, to surprise the opponent but not make the bandit give up holding back the pressure of putting on a severe face, Darren concentrates more Mana to coat it so that the power of the thrust scares the opponent.
The weight of the swipe attack led him to touch the end of the back, dropping what was in his hand, directly injuring his leg, and brushing aside the body that was still in pain using the blade's sharp edge.
After confronting the people in his way, Dareen leaped into another path, ahead of which he saw someone moving closer, preparing to stop him.
[Sriing… tak..tak]
The battle in the air made the balance of the two falter; Darren leaped back to prepare to counterattack, surprised by a net giving off an electric current.
[Zzzzztttt]
At the end o net, Mana stones were flowing all over the surface, the traps that had been prepared earlier shut down his movement. Darren tried to dodge. Luckily, he didn't get stung.
He didn't understand that tiny beads were hanging in every gap, suppressing the flow of his power.
"Good job!! Hahahaha!" he was happy to see him fall into the trap.
It was also a creation developed by the Moore family; only the unfinished experimental materials were stolen by magicians from outside the empire, manipulating in the name of diplomacy.
Darren tried to cut it, but they made their net of unique silver in vain, which the sword could neither slash nor damage.
Instantly trapped inside, Mana slowly stopped flowing; the sword shrank and then disappeared, returning to its original form.
The enemy that had attacked him moved closer, standing next to him on a tree branch.
"Who are you?" shouted another man who had just arrived, wielding a sword in front of Dareen, looking like their boss.
He realized he had returned. Angry eyes saw the other person in the net, kicking hard to confess until he fell to the ground.
[Bruuugh]
Feelings of weakness and helplessness made him the object of the gazes of everyone below.
"Is this the person we are looking for?" asked another bandit.
"Right, there's no one else but him and us here," he said, studying Dareen's face.
"Whatever it is, our agreement to only arrest this person as requested is complete," said the bandit chief.
"Bring him!" he ordered loudly, "Be careful because it might attack us again."
There was a commotion of people preparing to carry Dareen without removing the net wrapped around her and giving a sad look.
After the surprise attack, Dareen tried to fight back and escape from there.
Seeing that he was so determined to run away, the bandit leader ordered him to beat him; holding back the pain of curling up to protect themselves without hesitation, they hit complex objects such as swords, arrows, wood, or spears.
Feelings of annoyance and overflowing anger, bruises all over his body because he couldn't fight back. They tied his wrists using the same material used to catch him.
Dareen was forced to walk, got into a small box, refused, had to be knocked down by hitting the back unconscious and was immediately taken to the person who ordered their services.