Soul of the Warrior

Chapter 224: Cat and Mouse

"Stop!" The faint sound of the archer reached Reivyn's ears as he and Teilon dashed down the alleyway. His voice was muffled by distance and the buildings between them.

Like I'm going to stop and let myself get captured, Reivyn mentally rolled his eyes. These guys are just as zealous as the Deathsworn if just in a different way. What could they possibly say to convince me and others to join them willingly?

Religion was a completely voluntary thing that brought tangible benefits to the believers. One could join the ranks of a religion and receive numerous opportunities such as exclusive Classes and Skills, much less the support of a nearly Realm-wide organization. There were smaller religions that only existed within some local areas, but some were just as expansive as the Adventurer's Guild. The Church of Light was one such organization.

Speaking of, I still have that token in my pouch that needs to be appraised. I just haven't had the time, and I've let it slip from my mind. I can get that taken care of once I get back to Willowan. Maybe I'll send a letter to Josn and see what he's been up to while I'm at it.

A Realm-wide organization like the Church of Light would obviously have communication abilities between Regions. Wouldn't be much of an expansive unit if they were all completely independent of each other.

Reivyn felt his Danger Sense ping, and he reached over and grabbed Teilon by the collar to yank him to the side of the alley. They ducked down and an arrow passed overhead, slamming through the wall at the end of the alley. A huge hole appeared in the building, and Reivyn could see people scrambling for cover inside before he was in range with his Divine Sense.

The commotion caused panic in everyone inside the surrounding buildings that Reivyn could sense, and they were all running to exit the buildings on the other side. With their enhanced Stats, it only took another couple of seconds for Reivyn and Teilon to reach the end of the alley. They quickly turned to their right, moving in the direction further into the city, at the fork and kept running.

Clothes were hung on lines between the buildings above their heads, and trash and other obstacles were on the ground. Reivyn just barreled through everything, and if something was too large to just charge through, he would quickly slide to the side while Teilon just phased through it.

With Teilon's ability to just run straight through everything, he easily kept up with Reivyn. His Class also probably heavily focused on Dexterity. He might even have more Dexterity than Reivyn depending on his Level. Reivyn hadn't scanned his friend with Sense Threat. He could just ask, but now wasn't the time.

"I wouldn't say just like old times," Reivyn chuckled. "We don't have a stolen pie, for one thing."

"I can fix that," Teilon said, eyeing an open window to one side. Sadly, there were no pies sitting on the sill cooling.

"Maybe some other time," Reivyn said, careening around another corner. "I know you used to work on unlocking and Leveling the Cooking Skill. How about you whip one up and show me what you got when we get out of here."

"That's not as fun, though."

"Sure it is. At least for me. I just sit back and then there's a whole pie to eat. What's not fun about that?"

"Which one of us is the glutton, again?"

"Come on, stop this useless struggle!" The archer's voice reached them from above.

The tops of the buildings they were within range of Reivyn's Divine Sense, but his range was a three-dimensional sphere. Reivyn looked up and back and saw the archer jumping from roof to roof, catching up to them from above.

Reivyn threw his hand out, timing it so that a Plasma Beam intersected with the archer's path as he flew through the air in one of his jumps. The archer activated a Mana Shield Skill and effortlessly blocked the impromptu Spell. Reivyn hadn't accumulated enough Mana to bypass the man's defenses, but he wasn't going to run like a scared rabbit without retaliating at all.

Reivyn and Teilon turned another corner, closing in on an exit to a larger street on the other side of the blocks of buildings. Reivyn's Danger Sense pinged again, and he grabbed Teilon to pull both of them to the ground. A flash of light passed overhead, and Teilon took the opportunity to roll into the wall next to them, disappearing from visual sight.

Reivyn sprung up to his feet and saw the cloaked man with the scimitar standing before him. Lines crossed through the building he was standing next to, indicating where his sword has slashed right through the building like butter.

The cloaked swordsman performed an overhead slash, and Reivyn danced to the side. The man's scimitar sunk into the ground easily, but it didn't get stuck and hinder him. He simply pulled it back up and assumed a ready stance.

Reivyn drew his sword and enforced it with his Eternal Affinity. He selected the Affinity for its durability, assessing that the man had supreme cutting abilities. Reivyn engaged the man in swordplay, searching for a way to trip him up and slip past him. Every strike from the man sent shivers through Reivyn's Mana and drained his points significantly.

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The cloaked man had a surprised expression on his face at the start of their exchange, but it quickly morphed into one of concentration. Reivyn heard the man mutter under his breath.

"Everything cuts."

That sounds familiar, a thought flickered through Reivyn's mind. Sounds like my mantra. His Swords Skill is high enough to have achieved Transcendence. Maybe his ability is to cut anything and everything.

Reivyn's conjecture was spot on as he witnessed the man easily slash through obstacles that would normally stop one's swing. Reivyn danced around the man trying to use the environment as an extra way to parry the man's wild swings. Normally one would be more composed in their strikes, especially with a high Skill Level, but the man's Transcendent ability allowed him to be more wanton. He didn't have to worry about rebounding off of the walls and risk losing his balance as his sword just passed right through it.

The man's ability to be more unrestrained in his style put pressure on Reivyn's own Weapons Master Skill. The cloaked man wasn't better than him with the technicals of swordplay, but he was able to put more force into his attacks in the enclosed environment without opening himself up. The speed he moved had Reivyn on the back foot, looking for an opportunity to counter attack.

If I can just steer the confrontation in a way to get a chance to strike back, my own Transcendent Skill should come into play.

Reivyn was concentrating on the sword fight, but thinking of the mantra, he had a slight epiphany. Why was he relegating himself to waiting for an opportunity to strike back with his sword? With his mindset shift, lines and patterns appeared on the man, and after a wild swing that ended with both their bodies twisted in a way that they couldn't easily bring their swords to bear quickly, Reivyn abandoned thoughts on striking with his sword and simply slammed the man with his shoulder.

His Danger Sense pinged once more as the swordsman lost his balance getting thrown into the wall and Reivyn turned his over-extension into a roll. He sprang to his feet and continued to dive forward and to the side of the off-balance swordsman as an arrow pierced into the ground where he had just stood exposed to the archer.

Reivyn used the wall to arrest his momentum and sprang up with his back now in the direction he wanted to go. All he needed to do was disengage from the swordsman, and the chase could continue.

The swordsman regained his balance and took one step forward, both hands holding the scimitar at the ready in front of himself. Hand suddenly sprang out of the wall behind him, and Reivyn could see that a Danger Sense Skill was activated and warning the swordsman of the danger, so he thrust forward with his sword at the man's face to keep his focus centered on Reivyn.

Teilon's upper body appeared out of the wall, and in one swift motion as the man parried Reivyn's strike while slightly leaning back to avoid the sword that was strangely not thrown off-course by the parry, Teilon grabbed the man's head, tilting it back, as his dagger drew a line of blood across his throat.

The scimitar collapsed to the ground as the man clutched his throat, surprise and pain reflected in his eyes. Reivyn didn't hesitate and adjusted the trajectory of his sword down to stab straight into the man's heart.

A throat-slash and heart-stab combo would have done tens of thousands of points of damage to the man. With a high enough Vitality Stat, he would be able to survive the initial blow, but without someone administering emergency healing to him, the blood loss and hole in his heart would steadily shave off his Health in massive percentages every second.

The man collapsed in a pool of blood as Teilon stepped over his body. The man clutched his throat as he writhed on the ground, his black cloak steadily turning red as he bled out. Reivyn and Teilon shared a look before resuming their sprint down the alley. Reivyn saw the archer enter his Divine Sense as he jumped to the ground, but he only witnessed him reach into a pouch under his cloak as he took a knee next to the swordsman before they sprinted beyond his ability to see him.

They rushed out of the alley into a busy street of people. Reivyn was surprised there were still so many people out and about considering the commotion at the gates, but it made sense when he thought about it for a second.

It really hasn't been all that long since the cloaked figures entered the city after us. Reivyn glanced at his System clock. It's been less than five minutes, and we've run pretty far from the initial confrontation location. Word hasn't had time to get here to warn them of the danger.

"Enemy attack!" Reivyn shouted, infusing his voice with Commanding Shout. "Get of the streets and get to safety!"

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Reivyn felt his Heroic Bearing and Heroic Aura interact with his Commanding Shout. Normally, people would think he was a lunatic trying to cause trouble, but with the synergy of his Skills, his words were seen as instantly credibly by the lower-Level civilians in the vicinity.

Reivyn's Heroic Aura also helped to keep the people relatively calm. People didn't begin screaming and rushing about like chickens with their heads cut off. Everyone simply picked up their pace and began running toward a safe location they knew of.

The street quickly cleared of pedestrians in front of Reivyn and Teilon as they sprinted toward the inner city. Platoons of soldiers could be seen in the distance rushing toward their location. City guards were attached to the military units, guiding them in the right direction.

Word must have spread among the defenders about the cloaked figures taking off after us, at least.

Reivyn could see that the roads were clear beyond where the soldiers were coming from, so he surmised they had been spreading word for everyone to seek shelter, as well.

"Good, looks like we'll have a clear shot to the inner city this way," Reivyn said as they picked up the pace. "Good job with that Sneak Attack. The timing was perfect."

"Remember those exact words when we're retelling it to Kimberly," Teilon said.

"Sure thing buddy," Reivyn glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye, his mouth turning up in a sideways smile.

"I see that twinkle in your eye," Teilon accused. "You don't have to say anything other than, 'at the perfect time, Teilon struck a successful Sneak Attack, saving my life and allowing us to escape our pursuers.' You know, just the honest truth."

Reivyn rolled his eyes.

The two sprinted through the streets passed the soldiers running toward danger. Reivyn nodded to their commander with respect in his eyes, and the man's back straightened under Reivyn's gaze. Reivyn cracked a smile as they ran past.

It was a straight shot to the gate leading to the inner city, and Reivyn could see a wall of pikes formed up in front of the closed gate. Archers and Mages stood on the wall, ready to rain death and destruction down on anyone trying to force their way into the inner city. Reivyn felt the eyes of the defenders concentrate on him and Teilon as they neared the heavily defended choke-point.

The two slowed to a jog as Reivyn pulled out his contract. The Imperial Seal adorned the front of it, and he hoped it would be enough to prove his affiliation to allow them access to the inner city. The teleport circle was beyond these walls, and their plans could run into a significant road block if they didn't let them pass.

"Halt!" A commanding voice hollered from the line of pikes.

Reivyn and Teilon stopped in place. Reivyn held forth the contract.

"I'm with the Imperial Army," he said, waving it up and down. "We need access to the inner city."

A man with captain's insignia stepped forward and accepted the paper. He glanced at the Imperial Seal on the front and raised his eyes to meet Reivyn's.

"How do we know you're not with the insurgents?" The man asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"The seal on the document is legitimate. I know you can tell," Reivyn answered. "Also, the invaders are pretty distinctive in appearance. They're all wearing heavy black cloaks over powerful armor. We put one down, possibly killing him, back in that alley," Reivyn jerked his head in the location they had come from. "There's two of them back there, still. The other three chased after my other companions in the opposite direction. Two men and a woman. They'll need access to the inner city, as well, when they get here."

"And I'm just supposed to let everyone pass through this military check-point, willy-nilly?" The captain questioned, unconvinced. "We'll verify the authenticity of these papers after the crises is over."

The captain rolled up the contract and held it in his hand in a manner indicating he wasn't going to be giving it back any time soon. Reivyn sighed.

"Did you see the Imperial Bodyguards come through here moments ago? They were escorting the princess of an ally Empire. We're part of her entourage, and we stayed back to buy them time to get to the teleport circle in the inner city. They can't leave without us. Are you going to be responsible for the diplomatic incident caused by keeping an allied princess held captive in the city? Do you think your career can survive such a mistake?"

Reivyn heavily leaned on his Heroic Bearing and Aura Skills. He took a lecturing tone with the captain. He could see the thoughts churning in the other man's mind.

"All you have to do is infuse Mana into the seal to authenticate it," Reivyn pointed out. "You could have already done it."

The man didn't waver. Reivyn could see determination in his eyes as he remained stoic.

"I have orders not to let anyone pass until further notice. I can't let you through until the current crises is averted," The captain remained unpersuaded, crossing his arms.

Translation: I have orders to give me, specifically, a hard time, Reivyn thought.

"You know, Prince Allik signed my orders himself," Reivyn continued in a conversational tone. He stopped leaning on his Heroic Skills and switched over to using Gab and Silver Tongue. "He and I grew pretty close over the campaign. Do you think General Allik is going to care about whoever it was who gave you those orders when he finds out you were giving his friend a hard time in a dangerous situation?"

The captain once more wavered. He uncrossed his arms and opened his mouth to speak.

Suddenly, Teilon was standing next to the captain waving the contract in his face. He subtly tilted his head for Reivyn to follow him.

"We'll be sure to let the chain of command know how helpful you were, Captain," Teilon said, stepping past the man.

Reivyn fought a smile as he walked past the man who was now looking down at his empty hands with confusion. They walked up to the wall of pikes, not slowing their steps.

"Let them through," the captain's voice came from behind as they stepped within range of the pikemen.

The soldiers guarding the gate stepped aside, making a path for Reivyn and Teilon to pass through. Reivyn noticed his Notification window blinking at him, but he ignored it for now. He and Teilon nodded to the soldiers on either side as they made their way to a door set in the side of the portcullis for individuals to pass through when the gates were closed.

They stepped through the open door and Reivyn felt the accumulation of Mana and Qi in the distance. Loud booms followed the sensation, and he paused in the threshold of the door to look in the direction his father and the others would be coming from. The amount of Mana being slung about indicated the enemy Mage had taken off after them and they were still in hot pursuit of Refix and the others.

The soldiers all tensed up and looked in the direction of the explosions. A group of three people rushed out of a side street, turning to face the charge of another individual throwing his fists about in wild abandon. Refix and Vyria fended him off with their swords as continued his assault. Xudrid threw his hands up, and Reivyn could see and feel Gravity warp in the air around them, sending a flaming projectile off course, slamming into the wall.

"Those are my companions," Reivyn called out to the captain and surrounding soldiers. "The two cloaked figures are your targets. The other three can be let through."

Reivyn felt more Mana accumulate above him as the Mages on the wall prepared to launch a salvo of Spells at the enemies. Refix maneuvered the burly man into passing by as he attempted a body slam, and he and the two cultivators took the chance to turn and race toward the gate. At the separation between them and the burly cloaked man, the Mages standing above Reivyn released their Spells.

Beams, Bolts, and Arrows flew through the air as the cloaked Mage stepped out of the side street into view. The enemy Mage waved his hand and the incoming projectiles veered off to the side, bypassing them harmlessly. He quickly retaliated with his own Spell, and a thick beam of Plasma launched at the defenders.

"Shields!" The captain screamed.

The thick Beam swept across the top of the wall and looped around to include the defenders below. The Shield Skills of the defenders held for a moment before sputtering out under the intense heat of the Plasma Beam. Screams and the smell of scorched flesh reached Reivyn. He held his hand up and launched his own Beam back at the cloaked Mage.

The Cloaked Mage lifted a hand and Reivyn's Beam was splashed harmlessly against the man's Mana Shield. Groans of pain and cries for help came from the soldiers previously standing in front of the gates. Not all of them were dead, but everyone was at least injured. The captain crawled to his knees as he surveyed the destruction of his men.

"These guys are too high Level for you, Captain," Reivyn called out. "Don't get in their way and let the higher-Leveled defenders in the inner city take care of them." Reivyn turned his attention to his father, cupping his hands to shout. "Just go over the wall! Meet at the teleport circle!"

Just seeing his father and the two cultivators still keeping out of the two cloaked figures' reach was good enough for Reivyn for now. There was no reason they had to converge with their goal so close, now. He and Teilon turned and rushed into the inner city, leaving the defending soldiers to their own devices.

It would be counter productive for them to stick around to render aid. They were the targets of the cloaked figures, so running away would actually give the defenders more of a chance to survive. Reivyn could have also warned the captain and his men not to try and engage the enemies, but they wouldn't have listened. It would have also been an insult to their determination and duty. Getting as far away from them as he could as quickly as possible was the best possible thing he could do for them under these circumstances.

Reivyn still felt a pang of guilt over how everything had gone down, but there wasn't much he could have done to change things. The cloaked figures were always going to easily overpower the lower-Leveled defenders. The way it happened might have actually reduced their casualties than if they had been able to put up more of a fight.

"You can't get away!" The archer's voice once more reached Reivyn's ears. He glanced back and saw the man flying through the air toward the top of the wall from one of the nearby buildings. "Oh, and my companion is fine, so don't worry about him. He might give you a hard time in the future as you acclimate to our society, but you did almost kill him."

Reivyn shook his head at the man's continued confidence that Reivyn would willingly join them. He didn't bother to reply to the man as he and Teilon picked up the pace and continued to rush toward the teleport circle. They could almost see it at this point.

The density of the city was much less than the outer city. There were no convenient alleyways they could duck into on their way to the teleport circle from their current location, so they were completely exposed to the archer as they raced ahead. Reivyn kept his hand on Teilon's shoulder, pushing and pulling his friend with him as he used his Danger Sense to dodge the incoming arrows. None of them were launched with lethal intent, but if they got struck by one, it could possibly mean game over to their little cat and mouse game.

"Let's sit down and talk about this," the archer called out. Reivyn could hear a trace of frustration finally entering the man's voice. "We'll just follow you into the teleport circle and keep chasing you until we catch you. Don't put more lives in danger."

Reivyn's conviction was strong enough to ignore the implication in the man's words. The archer and his companions were the ones putting lives in danger as they struck at Reivyn and his companions. Reivyn wouldn't let the man shift responsibility for his actions onto him.

Reivyn and Teilon reached the intersection leading to the square holding the massive teleport circle. They quickly turned onto the street and finally saw their destination. The Imperial Bodyguards were lined up on horseback outside the circle, and Reivyn could see several additions to their ranks. He didn't assess them with Sense Threat, but he could tell that they were at least Tier 5 with the aura of power surrounding them.

"Quite the welcome party, eh?" Teilon quipped.

"They can probably hold off one or two of the cloaked figures," Reivyn replied. "I don't know about if all four of them converge, though. That Mage can cover a wide area with his Spells."

"Look on the bright side," Teilon shrugged. "Every second they stall those crazy people is every second we can separate further from them."

Reivyn nodded his head as they booked it down the street. Very quickly they passed the waiting Bodyguards, the commander waving the new additions away from blocking their path. Refix, Vyria, and Xudrid rushed out of side street to finally join back up with them as they entered the walls surrounding the circle.

Kefira and the rest were waiting anxiously in front of the open teleportation corridor. Reivyn simply waved his arms to indicate for everyone to just start going. Oryin was among the first to run into the corridor with the other Mages, even before the head maid and her staff. Kefira waited until Reivyn got closer to join them.

Mana exploded outside the walls, and the sounds of yelling and combat entered his ears as they all rushed into the corridor. Reivyn turned to the others as they ran.

"Sounds like all four of the cloaked figures are together again. They'll get through the defenders with their combined firepower, so don't slow down." He faced Kefira. "Have you recovered enough Mana?"

"I should be good," Kefira answered. She looked a little pale, still, but Reivyn could see the determination in her eyes.

"I'll assist again," Reivyn said. "We'll need something to interrupt the space corridor without collapsing it."

"Don't worry. I've got this."