The sun had set by the time Gareth left the village with his armed guards. They traveled on foot while Gareth was sitting in his carriage pulled by two bulls. It was very slow.
There were only a handful of horses in the hands of Nobility that were bought from the Belmount sub-continent. There was no mount on this island that can be used in war or for travelling faster.
Carriages were normally pulled by domesticated bulls. But the sea shore one the south side was only 20 minute distance.
Jack had reached near the shore with the ships an hour ago. He brought the ship as near as he could to the shore. It was getting dark, so Donald ordered to make haste and board the ship. They placed the entire luggage on a wooden raft that was quickly made with the idea of Alex when they were waiting for the ship to arrive.
By the time Gareth arrived with his 100 men army, most of the family members of the new mercenary group had boarded the ship.
Alex also saw them coming so he quickly alerted Donald and Jack.
Seeing so many people coming towards them with swords and bows, frightened the villagers still remain on the shore. Donald quickly shouted seeing this "Everyone throw your luggage away and sit on the raft quickly. Ferris, Galen and Hugo push this raft with me. "
The three names which Donald has called were the 5th grade Body Tempering realm cultivators. They pushed the raft with the last 20 people on it towards the ship some 10 meters distance from the shallow region of the beach.
Alex had already boarded a ship. He saw that the people on the raft will not be able to make it on time. Gareth and his army will soon reach at the firing distance of their bow.
Alex then quickly tied a rope that he found on the ship at the end of an arrow. He took out the bow that was behind his back and aimed at the raft.
Thud! The arrow lodged itself on one end of the raft.
"Guys quickly pull this rope." Alex shouted loudly.
Everyone understood his meaning so they quickly pulled the rope to bring the raft closer to them quickly.
Gareth was able to see all this happening under the shine of moonlight. "Go and stop them before they get away" he shouted to his bodyguard running beside him.
Alex saw that a figure suddenly started to run faster than his companions towards Donald.
He had already shortened the distance between them quickly.
Donald turned his head behind and also saw this. He took his hand off the wooden raft and go to intercept the man closing onto them. He wanted to give them some time to make an escape.
Gareth bodyguard also saw this. His lips quickly formed a sneer "Hump, a weakling like you dare to offend Jordan Family. Die!" he pulled out his sword from his sheath as he shouted but just then he felt a cold chill run down his spine.
By instinct he placed his sword in front of his face. Just then he felt a huge force coming from the object that his sword has just blocked. He was forced to stop in his track and look at the person who had fired that arrow.
From this distance he could only see a silhouette of that person standing on the ship. He had a very young face, not only that he could also see a Bow with inscription markings in his hand.
'Graded weapon!' he thought.
He saw Alex placing another arrow on the graded bow. He placed his sword in front of him to defend but then he almost shitted his pants when he saw Alex aiming elsewhere with a big smile on his face.
He almost knew what that young boy was thinking because the direction that he aimed was towards his Young Master that he needed to protect.
He quickly retreated while shouting "Young Master duck now."
But he was too late; the arrow has already pierced Gareth shoulder. That huge force pushed him back and almost got him impaled by the sword of his guard running behind him.
"Quick cover young master!" the bodyguard shouted as he quickly made his way to his young master to protect him.
This window of time that Alex had opened was enough for the raft to reach the ship. Everyone quickly started to climb the ship with help of the rope.
Alex had intentionally not killed Gareth because if he had killed him then that bodyguard would have turned back to have revenge. He seems to be someone above 7th grade maybe 8th or even 9th grade of Body Tempering Realm.
Alex shot three more arrows till everyone climbed onto the ship.
Donald gave Alex a look then ordered "Let's get out of here quickly."
"Uncle let's take the ship down south for some distance and then turn the ship eastward." Alex suggested. Donald also quickly understood his meaning so he did just that.
The other 7 ships which had already filled with people waiting at a distance also followed after Donald's ship.
Gareth was seriously injured so they went back to the village to treat his injury. Butler Jon was filled with fear but he still had to inform the Lord of Jordan family. He sent a letter explaining all the events that happened today as clearly as possible and sent the letter in the hands of a messenger.
…
In three hours Alex and other reached near their destination. The only problem now was finding that cliff shrouded by big mangroves under the light of moonlight which seemed very difficult.
"I think we should wait till sunrise" Fitch said.
"Alright, go and sleep then. Some of us will stay on a look out for the night." Jack said.
Donald was standing with Alex as they looked over the dark forest that looked like a monster threatening to engulf everything.
"Quite a day we had huh Alex." Donald said.
"Quite a day indeed Uncle Donald, no wait Chief Donald, leader of the new mercenary group"
"Hahaha don't tease me now, all of this might not have happened if not for you." Donald laughed as he looked at Alex.
He suddenly said out of the blue "Alex, what do think of my daughter Anna."
"She has become a fine young lady." Alex said without thinking but soon came out of his trance knowing that the girl he spoke about was the daughter of this man.
"I..I mean..that she is growing well..no not growing well…she she.." Alex was embarrassed a little as tried to explain what he really meant but was only making it worse.
"hahahhahah Finally something you are not good at. Don't fret, I know what you mean. You are right; even now it feels like yesterday when my cute little angel had just learned to walk. I still remember those days crystal clear."
He paused for some time and then continued.
"You know whenever I came in front of any Demon beast or had near death experience, my family faces always flashed through my mind. Whether it was Hank or Julie I didn't worry about them much because I knew they could take care of themselves but whenever Anna's face flashed in my mind, my hand would always starts trembling. In that moment, I only felt worried about her future. What will happen to her if I died, who will she marry, will that guy be good enough for her, what if he hurts my daughter, things like that?"
"But you know before when I prepared myself to fight that guy coming to stop us. I knew he was way stronger than me, I knew that he could kill me in moments and at that time when my daughters face came to my find I didn't feel an ounce of fear, nor did my hands tremble even a little. You know why?"
Donald looked straight into his eyes and said while smiling "It's because I saw her smiling at me, waiving one of her hand happily as she stood beside you holding your hand with her other hand. That was the time I stopped fearing completely. 'She will have someone to rely on in the future' that thought echoed in my mind."
Alex didn't know what to say, he just kept on listening.