"Go in, pick her up and take her away."
"Fool." Gretta's laughter broke out from inside the room. She sat up from her seat and looked out. "I don't want you to pick me up," she said.
Shan sneered in annoyance, "You think I'm willing to let you go? I just wanted to see if you were really still breathing or not, now that I've seen it I can rest easier."
"Do you think this is a theater stage?" Mat said flatly.
"You started it, idiot." Shan said lightly.
Mat snorted in disgust at Shan's words.
Mat attacked Shan with the guard's spear. He was above Shan, but it doesn't matter if someone uses a tool or not.
Mat's principle was, as long as it would make things easier, then do it quickly. He was neither Leon nor Rhys who relied too much on their own basic skills, if there was a more advantageous way, to hell with the rules.
Shan moved away and dodged Mat's attack. He brought Mat further away from the room.
Rather than fighting back, Shan defended Mat's attacks more often. The man's movements were very fast and didn't give Shan a chance to attack him.
Several times Mat's spearhead would hit Shan, fortunately Shan was nimble enough to dodge.
As Mat and Shan got further away, the guard who lived there would close the door to the room again. The orders he got were to guard Gretta from anyone who wanted to see her, and no word of Gretta escaping.
"Don't rush to close it." Luke appeared from behind him with a firm grip on the guard's shoulders. As soon as the guard turned around, Luke punched him in the face and gripped his neck tightly.
As the guard lifted up slightly, Luke dug his claws into the guard's chest and pierced his back. A gush of blood filled the doorway and blocked some of the light from entering it.
Luke dropped the dying body in his grasp and stared coldly into the dark room.
"I guess my destiny is to invade my own kingdom for this creature that is not native to Orlin." Luke walked slowly toward Gretta. He released the bonds that bound Gretta.
"Thank you," Gretta said finding her hands and feet free.
"Don't say that, I hate it." Luke extended his hand to help Gretta stand up.
Gretta took Luke's hand, they exited the place together. They had to get out of the palace quickly, because there was not a single safe place there. Mat's troops must have gone around the entire palace to hunt down all of Leon's minions.
"Use this, use it to reduce the burden on your team." Luke handed Gretta a bow. The bow looked beautiful and luxurious, with Rena's name engraved on the body.
"You may be a woman, but I know you're not that weak," Luke continued holding Gretta's shoulder.
Gretta nodded, she ran after Luke's footsteps. The wounds from the stinging in the hands of her feet felt invulnerable for a moment even though the wounds were still intact there.
Shan who was unbalanced was already battered, he had claw wounds around his body, but was still trying to hold on to Mat so as not to interfere with Luke's progress.
"Leg muscle," Luke whispered to Gretta. They were hiding behind the wall watching Shan and Mat from a distance.
Gretta, who was ready to take aim, released her arrow and it hit Mat's thigh.
"One more time," Luke said again. The first arrow was of no use to Mat. He just pulled it out and broke it.
"He already knows we're here."
"That's getting better," Luke continued in response to Gretta's doubts.
Gretta took aim again at the same spot, Mat who was slightly distracted because the first arrow made him lose focus on Shan. That was Shan's chance to stand back up and attack Mat. At the same time, Gretta's arrow had already shot and hit the same spot again.
Mat winced slightly this time, the wounded part was again showered with new arrows that were so sharp that it made him slightly injured.
That was Shan's chance to get out of there, Gretta and Luke followed. Mat was still chasing after them, but at least it was slower because the wound was still in the leg muscle which made it a little difficult to run.
"You take Gretta, I'll check on Leon." Luke handed Gretta to Shan and left.
Leon noticed Luke's arrival there, and so did Rhys. Leon was overwhelmed by Rhys because of the man's drastic development, he had fallen several times when he was attacked. The man's state was chaotic now.
Luke ran after Rhys, helping to keep the man away from Leon. For him, Luke's arrival was timely, otherwise Leon's body might have been split in half between head and body parts.
With his bare hands Luke faced Rhys, although he was quite old but his skills could not be doubted. Luke attacked without stopping and pausing, he had to overwhelm Rhys until Leon could stand on his own feet.
"Luke," Leon called with half his voice. Without him saying what he wanted to say, Luke already understood what he meant.
"You should rest now, Your Highness," Luke said pulling Rhys to the center pillar of the hall and cornering him there. The one punch he had the chance to deliver went straight into Rhys' face. A punch so powerful that it cracked the pillar behind Rhys.
Staggering slightly, Rhys fell to the floor as Luke released him. And that was their chance.
Outside the palace, Shan was already lying on the ground unconscious without Gretta by his side. Not far away, there was Colin who brought Gretta back to the palace along with his troops.
Mat stood not far away, with the same spear in his hand as he prepared to throw it at Shan who was already dying.
"Shit!" Luke realized it and immediately grabbed Shan's body and moved her. Behind them the clomping of feet could be heard loudly groaning. There was no other choice but to leave that place right now.
"Hey, idiot. Run with all your might, starting from now!" Luke shouted at Leon who was shuffling along behind him.
Luke ran with Shan on his shoulders and Leon followed close behind. While running, Luke continued to swear with every footstep.
"Stupid kids!" he swore.