A distortion formed in the middle of wilderness and ripped the space right above the ground. Slowly but surely, a rainbow-colored circle appeared from the ripped space, while a figure walked out from it. The figure slightly gasped for air due to the exhaustion the action brought to him.
This was the fifth [Spatial Gate] Emery used in his attempt to reach the border between the Lioness and Logress Kingdom's territory as soon as possible.
As much as he willed himself to be faster, his current capability only allowed him to feel the space roughly five miles around him - which in turn limited the distance he could travel to.
This also directly meant Emery would have to make several more attempts to reach his final destination: the border, which lay tens of miles from where he was before.
In order to create each [Spatial Gate] at the farthest distance possible, Emery had to place his focus on the perceived area within the range for a few minutes, pinpointed the exact location where he wanted the gate to appear and lock on it while creating another gate to transport him there. All of this required tedious effort, unbroken concentration and a considerable amount of spirit power, which obviously took quite a toll on him.
Each of these [Spatial Gate] really depleted his spirit force in a fast manner, but Emery really had to hurry. The situation surrounding Gwen could become dangerous at any moment and he didn't want to have any of that.
When Emery walked out of his sixth [Spatial Gate], he could finally feel it - the reason he was here. Hundreds of people were perceived through his ability and they were all inside the forest. Not only could he see them, he could also faintly hear the sounds of battle from where he had appeared.
Emery swiftly changed his 'Merlin' clothes and used the [Shapeshift] ability to return back to Lanzo's appearance.
Worried he was too late, Emery instantly used his battle art technique to its maximum stage as he shot to the battlefield.
[Immortal Gate - stage 4]
[Battle power increased by 16]
[Battle power 65 (50)]
It was Emery's first time to use the fourth stage since his return to Earth. At the moment, he could feel the skill was harder to maintain, probably because of the restriction affecting it.
Emery clicked his tongue when he thought of the damned restriction.
Even so, Emery had no time to curse and had to keep up with it for the moment, because he had a battle to take care of.
With an increase in battle power, Emery dashed towards the sound of battle, rushing through the woods under the cover of darkness.
The battlefield looked extremely chaotic when he arrived. The Lioness entourage was surrounded from all sides, while the knights were entangled with hordes of enemies. They fought with all they had, while doing their best to ensure the safety of their own.
Through his enhanced senses, Emery could see that several squires were already laying on the ground, unmoving. Those who had the slightest logic would know those squires already breathed their last.
Seeing the few familiar faces gradually losing their color, Emery immediately became furious.
He swiftly took out two swords, wielding one with each arm, and began rushing to the battlefield to prevent further losses.
Spllattt!! Splattt!!
Two marauders drops dead on the ground following the appearance of Emery in the battlefield. The marauders were so shocked by the sudden arrival of an unexpected person they weren't able to react to Emery's next moves.
Splattt!!
Another unsuspecting marauder got stabbed on the back by Emery's sword. He could only watch as the blade went through his chest in shock, while he could feel power leaving his body. A moment later, he fell to the ground as Emery pulled the sword out.
Emery was surprised to discover the swing of his swords became lighter with each blood that he spilled. He didn't know since when he cared much less about taking lives.
Has he really changed? Or was it just because he no longer thought of these marauders as humans, that made his swings easier?
Either way, Emery didn't think much of it anymore and he continued what he was doing, dashing towards his next target.
Spllattt!! Splattt!!
Spllattt!!
The marauders that previously attacked the Lioness entourage with ferocity became shocked as they watched Emery slaughtering their people. Some of them tried to stop him, only to be buried under his swords.
With each step that Emery took, one or two marauders would fall to the ground and bid their farewell to the world. The bloody sight frightened the other marauders who saw it, causing them to reconsider their actions.
In the midst of his streak, Emery realized the carriage was nowhere to be seen. He tried to find it amidst the chaos, but his efforts were in vain.
Emery hurried himself when he realized this fact. He swiftly dashed towards the struggling Lioness group, while also creating a path of blood in the middle of the battlefield.
With a jerk of his legs, Emery jumped towards the group.
"Lanzo!? How are you here?" asked Lucas, after Emery cut down the marauder who was entangled with him. There was a combination of shock and glee when they were seeing him.
Unfortunately, Emery didn't have time to explain even if he wanted to. He was very anxious when he saw many knights and squires already lying on the ground, some of them seriously injured while the unfortunate ones were dead. Among them, Emery saw Marcus lying on the ground bleeding from his chest, whimpering in pain.
"Lucas, where is the princess?!"
Even though Lucas was confused by Emery's anxiousness, he immediately told him what had happened.
"The carriage was taken by the attackers and Sir Yvain chased after them".
Upon hearing this, Emery didn't ask anything else and only threw him several healing pastes. Receiving Lucas's confused look, he told the latter to use it on the wounded.
Emery really wanted to go and help the princess, but he knew the situation here was extremely dire.
There were still hundreds of marauders on the battlefield, while only half of the knights and squires were able to fight. This was a 5 against 1 situation.
Emery noticed the marauders who didn't see his earlier rampage were becoming more ferocious as they saw the knights were in trouble. Therefore, if he decided to chase after the princess now, he was sure these people would be dead.
After a moment of calculation, Emery immediately jumped towards the sea of enemies.
"Arrggghhhh!!"
Spllattt!! Splattt!!
The swords in Emery's hand continuously spelled death upon the marauders. The verdant grasses were painted crimson by the rain of blood. Emery attacked the marauders at breakneck speed, as any marauder who got in his way was either dead or gravely injured.
In addition, Emery secretly used the myriad spells in his repertoire to end this fight as soon as possible. He still had a princess to catch up, after all.
With a single cast of [Whip Splash], a Tier one Water Element spell, Emery extinguished every light source in the area. The marauders were surprised when they saw the torches suddenly doused with water that came from nowhere.
When the surroundings fell into darkness, Emery continued by casting [Entangledĺ] on the marauders. Some marauders shouts as they were strangely stumbled by roots on the ground. Some who heard their companions' screams rushed over, only to be tripped by other roots.
Within minutes, the situation experienced a turnaround where the knights and squires gradually pushed the marauders back. The Lioness knights and squires watched in confusion when their opponent suddenly fell to the ground from nowhere.
In the meantime, Lucas was doing the task Emery asked him to do. He went around the battlefield, continuously grabbing the wounded under the dim light the moon provided. Subsequently, he quickly applied the paste given by Emery to the wounded.
When the Lioness knights were finally able to rebuild their defensive line, they realized there was one person weaving through the enemy group. Continuous slashes shot out from the two swords in the figure's hands, which was followed by the screams of the marauders.
They tried to discern who this mysterious figure was, only to be shocked when they realized it was their kingdom's current brightest squire, Lanzo. That night, Emery once more creates another impression to their eyes, and this time by saving their life...
A few minutes later, the marauders understood they could do nothing about this figure. They could only watch helplessly as they were cut down one by one. With the other knight also starting to fight back, they finally decided to run away.
Seeing the marauders fleeing, Emery did not give chase. He couldn't waste any more time.
"I am going to chase after the carriage!" shouted Emery, as he slashed at the last marauder nearby.
Lucas was about to give him one of the horses, but Emery had disappeared into the forest.
The man was extremely confused.
"Is he going to go after it on foot?"