73 A Relentless Chase (2)

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As Charles brainstormed while on the run, he heard some of his fellow allies talked nearby.

"Just so you guys know –" Astolfo half panted and half shouted. "This is (pant, pant)… This is not how I imagined my day to be!!! Being lunch to an alien spawn is not on my weekend bucket list, guys!"

"Why're you worried about something like that at a time like this?!" Yan shouted back, incredulous.

"I'm too sweet for an alien spawn! I don't think I'll make for an appetizing meal!" Astolfo returned, pink brows knitted in concern.

"You're not the only one who is about to become a meal!" Yan retorted, annoyed by the pink haired retainer's panicked ramblings as they ran ahead of the pack.

"Too sweet?! More like a Macaron chock full of crap sugar if you ask me!" Arash pitched in with a laugh.

"Be quiet and keep running, you three!" Arturia ordered through gritted teeth. Then, she glanced to the two retainers near her in a brief moment. "Arash! Scáthach! Ready yourselves!"

With that said, the swordswoman lashed out with her invisible sword at an alien spawn that was beginning to be a bit too close to them for comfort and a strong gust pushed the strange, hungry spawn further back to its kin.

The spawn let out an annoyed screech as it was blown away further to the back and crashed into a few crystal trees in the process, making loud clicking noises in displeasure as it goes.

One spawn might have gotten behind, but several more were still chasing after them.

When more got closer to them, Scathach and Arash were ready to contribute in the defense by keeping the other spawns at bay and even forcing them back as they followed after their allies.

The retainers didn't let up in their pace and continued to run, only stopping in brief moments to defend or evade the assaults of their chasers.

Ignoring the peanut gallery beside him, Charles turned Arash and Scáthach, who are both assisting Arturia to make their escape smoother and easier.

"By the way, you said that Master is coming here right?" The cheeky retainer asked, controlling his breathing as he paced himself.

"Yeah, he got Kieran and Dia with him." Arash answered, letting out a grunt as he fired a group of arrows to push back a persistent spawn.

"I thought you said that the old man was with you guys? What happened?" Charles asked, recalling his friend's words when they met up with him and Arturia earlier.

"Dunno! Hup!" Arash said, jumping over a spawn's head to avoid being captured before he made his getaway while firing his arrows. "Got separated from him. Didn't see the old man when Arturia and I made a run for it." Seeing the look of concern in Charles's eyes, Arash was quick to reassure him. "Don't worry 'bout him, I'm sure the old man's fine. He's the strongest than all of us, after all."

"Hmm… for an old man, he sure is fast to disappear." Charles joked, trying to ease his concern.

"Got that right!" Arash agreed with a grin.

"How long are going to keep this up?" Scáthach cut in, annoyed by their relentless chasers.

Most of them were sweating bullets, especially Astolfo and Charles. They are tired, both physically and mentally.

With the exception of Scáthach, the six retainers were still within the boundaries of human limitations. Exhaustion and hunger were still viable for them since they had been given mortal bodies to better blend in with humans.

Switching to their servant forms had crossed their minds before, but they are afraid that they might wake up more of the Spider's spawns if they chose that route.

Doing so could possibly make things harder for them than the opposite. So, they opted to endure the chase within their mortal forms.

While Scáthach was not tired like most of them, she was still annoyed by the relentlessness of the Spider's spawns.

She, Arturia and Arash were in charge of guarding the rear, so that the remaining others can safely survey the front to make sure that they weren't being greeted by a horde of hungry alien spawns and get trap in between.

The chase had went on for quite a while and they had been managing well so far, but it was slowly beginning to get on her nerves.

"Till Master gets here." Arash said, then he smiled as a familiar static went off in their minds. "Oh, speaking of which…"

'How you are guys holding up?' Their Master's calm voice asked, causing some of the retainers to smile in relief.

'Never better, Boss.' Yan said with a sigh.

'Where are you now?' Arturia asked, straight to the point.

'Just arrived on the island. I'm with the others.' The young mage answered promptly. 'Make your way to me. We'll make our escape once we regroup.'

'Got it / Yes / Roger!' The retainers all responded in unison.

As soon as the mind link was cut off, the retainers felt a surge of magical energy in their bodies, replenishing what they had used before and energizing them further.

Their Master must have been used a spell to give them all his magical energy and some buffs, which made them feel refreshed and ready for combat.

"Aight, let's go and lose some of these bastards on the way!" Arash proposed with a grin.

The male retainers let out shouts of 'hurrahs', voicing their agreements, causing the three females in the group to shake their heads at their antics.

"Men…" Scáthach and Rider muttered in unison.

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