Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Pursuit (3)
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It took a little time to exit the city gate. People and carriages kept coming in intermittently, so they had to wait until things quieted down. But as night drew near and the number of travelers dwindled, the carriage was finally able to roll out of the city.
Even after leaving the gate, they couldn't dispel the magic right away. If the carriage suddenly lurched forward, the guards in the watchtower would get suspicious.
Old man Richer had released the soundproofing spell a bit early, but Tae-jin still had to endure the invisibility magic for a long while.
Finally, more than ten minutes after the carriage had passed through the gate, Tae-jin was able to drop the spell.
"Hoo."
Using the mana cell and invisibility magic at the same time for the first time left him with a strange sensation. It felt like the mana, split apart like the miracle of Moses, was rushing back toward him.
Of course, it was just the mana that had enveloped the entire carriage dispersing as the control lifted.
The moment the magic ended, a stinging pain enveloped Tae-jin.
"Not bad at all. You're pretty skilled at adjusting the mana density inside the cell. Made things easier for me too."
"Old man, give me some medicine quick. You have more left, right?"
Richer pulled a pouch from his pocket, split the pills inside in half, put them in a new pouch, and handed it to Tae-jin.
But the number of pills he received was so few that he could count them with one hand.
"Unless the pain is unbearable, just tough it out. We're running low, and I don't know when we can get more."
"Ugh, damn it."
His whole body ached like he'd been beaten, but it wasn't bad enough to pop a pill right then. Tae-jin gritted his teeth and bore the pain. The surroundings were shrouded in darkness, and he let out occasional groans.
"Well, at least we made it out."
"We got lucky. But we don't know when those agents might catch up. No telling how much time until their shift change."
"So they could come after us right now?"
"Not that soon. Back when I was on the front lines, sentries changed shifts about four times a day, so probably similar for intel agents."
The intensity of focus would be different, so maybe the agents rotated more frequently than sentries.
But there was no need to voice that. The fact that they had to hurry didn't change. Talking about it would just make them more anxious without any benefit.
The carriage jolted, intensifying the pain throughout his body.
The carriage's speed was nothing like usual. Normally, the horses plodded along at a leisurely pace—about twice the speed of a walking person.
But now they were moving at least twice as fast. The horses were quicker, but Tae-jin's impatience grew even more.
"Uncle Pavilion, can they go any faster? Is the carriage holding them back?"
"They could go twice as fast as this. But at that speed, the horses would collapse before long. This is the fastest we can go while maintaining pace."
A wind swept across the nighttime field. The night breeze was refreshingly cool. It should help cool the horses' heated bodies. They hadn't started snorting heavily yet, so their condition was still good.
Tae-jin gazed out the window as if sightseeing, and Richer was doing the same, looking relaxed. Just watching him, you could tell what he was thinking.
"Thinking about escaping across the Great Plains?"
"Yeah. Feels similar to that day. The grass isn't as tall this time, though."
A face popped into Tae-jin's mind. Hong-cheol.
Hong-cheol had broken through the tightening encirclement of soldiers. Had he made it through okay? Hopefully he hadn't ended up in a military tribunal or something.
This wasn't the time for such thoughts. Tae-jin shook his head to clear them.
"Yeah. Similar time of day, and the tension of not knowing when pursuers might show up."
"Unfortunately, the part where the pursuers will catch up soon feels familiar too."
He wanted to brush it off as bad omens, but he couldn't deny it.
Then, in an instant, the surroundings lit up. Fireworks shot into the sky from behind the carriage. Not just one—two or three at once, followed by more.
They didn't explode with a bang, so it wasn't some romantic fireworks display. Besides, in this continent, only the Kaiso Kingdom really knew how to use gunpowder effectively.
Those were almost certainly magical flares for tracking.
Richer stretched and spoke up.
"One difference, though. The military didn't bother with sirens or flares, but the Empire sends up flares. Guess they're coming after us hard."
"No chance they don't know where we're headed?"
"They can follow the carriage tracks alone. Firing flares means a fairly high-ranking mage is with the pursuers."
"Why's that?"
"In a situation like this, flares are for mediocre mages. They light them up once a scouting specialist has their search magic ready. To cover a wider area."
Tae-jin's mouth went dry.
"How long until the pursuers catch up?"
"Who knows. Can't say for sure. But how fast they come doesn't matter."
"Something more important?"
"Yeah. How strong the mages and knights are. We can handle the small fry easy enough."
Richer's tone was light, but tension hung over everyone in the carriage. Right—this escape was different from before. They weren't just running. There would definitely be a fight.
Tae-jin stuck his head out the window and called out.
"Mr. Pavilion. If the horses go full speed, could we shake off any mounted pursuers?"
"No way. Horses running free without a carriage are nearly twice as fast as ours. At best, it'd just delay the inevitable."
"Hear that, Tae-jin? Get some rest while you can. We'll have to intercept them the moment they catch up."
With that, Richer closed his eyes.
The carriage interior fell silent. Only the sound of wind, hooves pounding the earth, and the jolting of the carriage filled the air.
When he woke from a brief nap, a forest loomed in the distance.
"That's the forest, right?"
"Yep. Once we cross it, we're out of the Empire's reach."
"Whose territory is it?"
"Technically, closest to the Volterio Kingdom."
"Isn't Volterio a vassal of the Empire?"
"Sure. But their influence doesn't reach the east. It's more like a battleground for barbarians and non-humans."
Among the non-humans Richer mentioned, there was probably the Moonlit Claw tribe that Garam had talked about.
As he said that, flares shot into the sky again.
This time, they were close. When Tae-jin looked back, he saw dark silhouettes chasing the carriage.
They rode individual horses without a carriage, so the distance between them was closing fast.
Even from a fair distance away as Tae-jin stared back, something whizzed by with a ping.
"Arrows incoming!"
Richer said flatly.
"Of course there are. You think they brought bows for show?"
"Damn it, how are we supposed to cast spells like this?"
"Don't sweat it. Arrows shot from horseback have pathetic accuracy. Unless you're ridiculously unlucky, you won't get hit."
As Richer spoke, a booming voice echoed from behind. No normal human throat could produce that volume. Definitely a mage.
"Stop! If you don't stop, we'll attack!"
Coming from people who were already shooting arrows.
"Tae-jin, get ready."
Richer leaned out the window, upper body first, and chanted a short incantation. Lightning shot from his fingertips, striking the shouting mage with a crackle.
The mage and his horse were hit by the bolt, stiffening without a scream before collapsing.
Crash!
"We're under attack!"
As Richer pulled his upper body back inside, more arrows rained down. Not like a movie barrage, but sporadic. Pavilion, driving the carriage, looked tense but not scared.
"That mage just now—didn't he get trampled by his own horse while it was running? He's dead, isn't he?"
Richer replied in a low voice.
"Over fifty percent chance. But forget the guilt right now."
He should've said okay.
But they weren't mindless monsters like werewolves under a full moon. The revulsion of actually killing someone delayed Tae-jin's response.
With no reply, Richer looked at him calmly.
"If we get caught here, you'll spend every moment debating suicide. Get up and cast. If you can't target people, go for the horses. Don't be stupid."
Richer leaned out again and fired another bolt. It flew true once more, sending an agent tumbling across the ground.
Right. It had to be done. Tae-jin took a deep breath and looked inside the carriage.
He saw Renata huddled and trembling. If he hesitated here, the whole group was in danger. He knew that.
Tae-jin gently patted Renata's head, then stood up.
He leaned out the window and looked back. Late spring or early summer wind battered the back of his head fiercely.
Calming his mind, he formed a simple spell. The most familiar basic fireball. Not exceptionally lethal, but sufficient.
Enough to spook fire-fearing horses and shake off pursuers.
An arrow whizzed past his side. Far enough that even stretching wouldn't reach it. More relief that it was a familiar spell he'd just cast—no panic messing up a more complex one with extra power.
Tae-jin raised his head. The nearest agent on horseback was visible, nocking a new arrow—so he'd been the shooter.
Without hesitation, he hurled the fireball. Not at the agent, but at the horse's body and legs.
Neigh!
Startled by the incoming fireball, the charging horse halted, rearing up on its hind legs. The sudden motion threw both horse and rider off balance.
"Whoa!"
The horse toppled backward. The panicked agent couldn't free his foot from the stirrup. Sideways might've been okay, but he got pinned directly under the falling horse.
Crack.
The agent's neck snapped at an impossible angle. Too far for sound to carry, but it rang clear in Tae-jin's ears. Maybe his brain filling in the vivid scene.
The fallen horse struggled back to its feet, but the agent lay limp on the ground, unmoving.
Tae-jin stared for a moment, exhaled sharply, and ducked back inside.
Not what he'd wanted, but he'd killed a man.
Yet it wasn't as shocking as he'd thought. His mind stayed calm.
The pursuit wasn't over.