The Runesmith
chapter-459

“Sir.”

“Speak forthwith.”

“We found some men, they are still alive.”

"Lead me thither, perchance they can clarify this perplexing circumstance."

Alphonse's voice dripped with disappointment as he surveyed the unfolding situation. As one of the Knight Commanders serving under Lord Theodore Valerian, he understood the necessity of less-than-honorable undertakings if they furthered his lord's ambitions. On this day, his task was to ensure the secrecy and profitability of their underground slave trade partner in this city.

Though he harbored no fondness for the merchant involved, he recognized the significance

of this off-the-books income the operation generated. In the cutthroat struggle for succession among the heirs, money was a vital weapon, and not all of it could be acquired through legitimate means or sponsors. Alexander Valerian, the current Duke, remained silent until concrete evidence emerged and understood that every move was part of the ongoing war for power. He had gone through the same process and all his children had heard rumors of some of his undertakings, some involving outright assassination.

Alphonse followed the subordinate who was holding up a lantern. The area was now aglow with hand lanterns held by the mercenaries hired by the merchant leader, with his own men nearby on standby. He couldn't entirely rely on this man to keep things quiet. The young lady from the rival merchant group was meant to have been dealt with the day prior, but she had somehow survived and even managed to escape from this very location. To his knowledge, a powerful tier 3 mage had appeared in the city, prompting him to intervene personally.

As they approached the fallen men, Alphonse scrutinized them with a trained eye. The three thugs were battered and bruised, but still conscious. Their clothes were singed and evidence of the magic was hanging in the air. It seemed plausible that this mage had been hired by someone, considering his previous interventions to save the young lady from the rival merchants. However, it was also conceivable that he belonged to a rival faction, aiming to disrupt their operation - an angle Alphonse needed to investigate further.

"Pray, do clarify what events have unfolded in this vicinity?"

The Knight Commander ordered but before any of the men could answer, something caught his eye. It was only thanks to his senses he was made aware of a disturbance, a strange round object covered in glowing runes. His instincts screamed danger, and without hesitation, he darted in the opposite direction while pushing the mercenaries out of his way.

“Huh?”

“W-what?”

The men were surprised but almost instantly after, multiple explosions rocked the entire area. The force of the explosions sent shockwaves rippling through the ground, knocking down anyone and anything in their path. Debris flew through the air as flames erupted from the detonation points, casting an eerie glow over the chaos. Alphonse, propelled by instinct and years of combat experience, managed to evade the worst of the blasts and jumped to a safe distance as the fiery blasts engulfed the area where he had just stood.

As the smoke cleared and the echoes of the explosions faded, Alphonse rose to his feet, his eyes scanning the surroundings. His armor was scorched, and his cloak singed in several places but otherwise, he remained unharmed. The aftermath was quite devastating, with the ground having collapsed and the building he was just in reduced to rubble. The noise effectively woke up all the nearby residents and quite a few of the mercenaries had been killed or injured.

“Sir Alphonse, are you injured?”

"I am unharmed.”

An armored man with the Valerian emblem arrived soon after, he was his second in command and only answered to his orders.

“Sir, should we check for survivors?”

"Leave them be. Our immediate concern lies elsewhere. The perpetrator of this act cannot have ventured far. We seek a mage garbed in dark garbs, likely endeavoring to flee the city. Secure the city perimeter. Permit no one to depart!"

The Knight Commander issued his order, displaying his indifference towards the mercenaries. Quickly, he donned his helmet, distinguished by a blue comb atop, then pivoted on his heel.

“Yes, Sir! As you command.”

His subordinate saluted once more before darting off towards the other knights. Many of them lingered outside in the streets, ready to assemble at a moment's notice. The city was in turmoil, with shouts and cries echoing through the streets as residents and guards alike scrambled to make sense of the explosions. The one responsible for this disaster, however, was making his way through one of the city gates, his escape seen by some guards who could only watch.

*****

‘There goes my cover, but at least I’ve managed to leave the city and it should take them a while to assemble their forces to pursue me but when they do… they will eventually catch up…’

Roland breathed a sigh of relief as they passed through the city gates and entered the open road beyond. The chaos and confusion of the explosions had likely diverted attention away from their escape, at least for the time being. However, they were not out of danger yet and the way this wagon was moving was concerning.

It looked more like a train cart than a carriage, while it was robust it was not created for speed. It required a large monster to pull it and turning would also be a problem. He assumed that whoever would be after them, would be on horseback and much faster. Eventually, they would catch up to them if they continued at this pace. Roland knew they needed to find a way to go around this problem and there were a few choices.

‘First choice, I drop off the kids somewhere and try luring away our pursuers. Probab;y not a good idea, even the weakest monster they encounter will kill them all… There is no food here either, so letting them hide somewhere and then returning is also out of the question. What else can I do…’

Roland glanced back into the wagon where ten individuals were resting. The farmer boy who asked him for help was trying to calm down his friends while also explaining to everyone that everything will be ok. The other five were of similar age as this group and for some reason had trusted him with their lives. Discarding them now would be a betrayal of that trust and Roland had already made a decision.

‘If we can’t split up, then only one choice remains, pushing through to the border.’

Some luck was on their side as this settlement that they had left wasn’t that far off from Albrook and more importantly, the lands that were Arthur’s territory. While in the past they were unable to halt Theodore’s troops from trespassing, things had changed. If they gathered all of their soldiers and he was there to lead them, then this issue could be potentially resolved. With this in mind, the runes on his helmet lit up slightly as he tried reaching the most important person for this plan to work.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

‘... Common pick up…’

He looked at a pulsating representation of his magical call not being answered and continued to wait. There were no phones in this world or culture built around them so it was possible to wait hours for someone to answer but luckily, after a few minutes he heard a familiar voice.

“Roland, I’ve heard that you were returning, are you nearby?”

It was the voice of his favorite bastard son of the Duke, Arthur Valerian. The two hadn’t really talked in a month since Roland’s departure and he just sent him some text messages or prerecorded voice lines to just confirm that he was still alive.

“Not quite, I’ll assume that if you’re using my real name, you are somewhere private.”

“Yes, I’m in my private quarters, you were lucky that I was working late, but are you sure you’re not somewhere close? I need you to go through some of the city plans.”

“I will when there is some time but first, I need you to help me, I’m in some trouble and I need you to assemble the soldiers from Albrook.”

“Assemble them? What kind of trouble are you in, Roland?”

“I’ll explain later, but for now, I need you to gather as many soldiers as you can. I’m heading towards the western border of your territory, towards Albrook.”

“From the western side? Isn’t that in Theodore’s region? … ”

Arthur paused for a moment but it didn’t take him too long to figure out why Roland mentioned the border and the soldiers.

“It is, I’ve gotten myself in some trouble.”

“It does sound… very well, I’ll gather everyone up but it could take a while. How many do you exactly need and do they have to be combat ready?”

Roland was a bit surprised that Arthur didn’t inquire about the situation more. It seemed that just asking was enough to make this young city lord move his troops.

“I’d say, everyone that’s available, the more the better, even the new trainees. When they get there, just wait at the edge and don’t cross through the border. Tell them to wait for a large carriage, one that slave traders use.”

“I see, the numbers count, and a slave carriage, that’s peculiar but I understood. I’ll send out the orders immediately. Hold tight, Roland. Help is on the way.”

“Thank you, Arthur. I owe you one.”

“You sure do my friend and I hope you know what you are doing.”

“I hope so and there is one last thing..."

Relief washed over Roland as Arthur accepted his plea for assistance. The soldiers en route from Albrook weren’t solely dispatched to aid him against his pursuers; they served more as a contingency plan. Perhaps trouble could still be averted if his adversaries were sluggish, but there was a reason behind his worries. The presence of the Valerian knight near the city gate caught him off guard, and it indicated a potential threat that could be coming.

“Alright, everyone, listen up.”

Roland's voice rang out, drawing the attention of the wagon's occupants, who quickly turned towards him. He could see the fear in some of their eyes but luckily Vico was there to calm them down, the boy seemed to trust him for some reason and this helped immensely.

“We have a long journey ahead of us, and it won’t be an easy one. But I need you all to remain calm and trust me. We’re going to make it through this together. I swear, that I won’t let any harm befall any of you. Our destination is to the east of here, near the city of Albrook.”

Some of the children didn’t fully grasp his words, but at least they weren’t crying. Roland spoke softly and slowly, hoping to reassure them and make his instructions clear. However, only time would tell if they would remain calm when trouble eventually arrived. With that, they continued their journey through the main road which proved to be a bumpy ride.

As they traveled along the winding roads, Roland kept watch for any signs of pursuit. The moon was starting to go down and the night was starting to draw to a close. However, before dawn arrived he noticed signs of trouble in the distance. There were several men on horses, with lanterns strapped to their mounts, clearly chasing after them.

‘It has to be a scouting party…’

They were quite a bit away from them but their speed was above theirs. Vico, the boy tasked with keeping the others calm, sensed that something was wrong. Roland's repeated glances into seemingly empty space did not go unnoticed.

“Sir, is everything alright?”

“... We might be in some trouble.”

“Trouble?”

Their pursuers persisted in their advance, the monstrous lizard unable to shake them off. The deteriorating condition of the road only worsened their situation and allowed the pursuers to steadily close the distance. Finally, Roland instructed the young man to take the reins while he ascended onto the wagon, with his hammer staff. Using his magic, he unleashed a homing missile spell and successfully drove them back. Their pursuit had been stalled but it was not over yet.

‘That was only the scouting party, there are a lot more coming from behind…’

It was clear that more enemies were coming and now that he was spotted, they had a proper target. The road he was going through was uneven but it was the only way for this large wagon to follow. If he attempted to stray away from this path, they would only be slower and their pursuers would catch up even faster. This left them in a predicament as it was easy for their enemies to just follow the road.

‘Can’t use the forests to lose them, we’ll just get stuck but… I can make it a lot harder for them to catch up and I don’t need to reveal my identity quite yet.’

Roland was likely a known figure among the Valerian knights, making the use of his spider golems and revealing his runic armor a risky action. However, the major advantage of utilizing runes lay in their adaptability. They could mimic nearly every spell, including divine ones or those from other schools of magic. He spent time at the institute learning various other types of magic, not only dimensional ones.

“Vico, are you alright?”

“Yes Sir, leave it to me!”

The young farmer boy was surprisingly good at keeping the monster steady. It was as if he had some former training in the past but this was not the time to ask for more questions. Roland took on his potion on top of the slaver wagon and started his plan of stalling their pursuers.

‘There are a lot of them…’

In the distance, a swarm of lanterns illuminated the night, each one marking the presence of a mounted knight.It was clear that he had been unlucky as such a large battalion of knights was nearby. Not just anyone could command such a force, so he had to assume a Knight Commander was among them. Alongside, there were likely other Tier 3 class holders present. Even for Roland, these numbers would be too much to handle so there was only one way for him and the kids to come out of this unscathed.

He raised his staff and directed it towards the ground, causing the earth beneath to soften. From within his spatial space emerged an array of runic objects: some circular, others simple scrolls or metallic implements. Quickly, they were scattered onto the softened ground, concealed from view. Once the approaching army passed over them, they would face a rude awakening.

Placing runic mines from scrap metal wasn’t his sole strategy, especially as this place was also populated by various other creatures. There was a reason merchants traveled with adventurer protection, and Roland intended to capitalize on it. With another wave of his staff, he conjured a pale ball of light that materialized and gently descended to the ground, even as the carriage pressed forward. Emitting a peculiar pulse, the pale light began to draw the attention of the monsters dwelling in these lands.

Some of the more aggressive creatures detected the monster beaconing spell emitted by the strange orb. While it didn't affect all of them, those drawn-out could serve as a brief distraction. Though natural monsters lacked the relentless drive of dungeon creatures, certain types were known to pose a threat even to fully armored charging knights.

Soon, the charging battalion reached the first roadblock and Roland could hear some explosions echoing from the distance. It was like music to his ears as he heard the continuous explosions which indicated a successful delay in their pursuers' progress. However, he couldn't afford to become complacent. He continued to lay down traps and obstacles, utilizing his knowledge of magic and the terrain to his advantage.

As the chaos ensued behind them, the sounds of hooves continued to intensify and the monster howls were dying down. His pursuers were slowly gaining on them but he was unwilling to stop. The children inside the wagon were surprisingly calm and Vico continued to steer the lizard in the right direction.

As hours passed, Roland found himself forced to resume casting. This time, he conjured delayed magic arrows that hovered in mid-air, once an enemy was in range, they would spring into action. However, their success was short-lived; the knights skillfully used their shields for defense, and even targeting their mounts failed to slow their advance. Time was clearly running out and his options were dwindling. Would they reach their territory in time or would their relentless pursuer catch up?