Ambush

"Well, well, well. Would you look at that? That kid mage might be worth more than the she elf." A hideous man smirked from atop a boulder.

Hearing this, all the twin horns got into stance and prepared to protect Alice and Artha. Everyone here could sense this person was at the dark red stage, so he must have backup if he wanted to try and attack a full party of mages.

Mana covered everyone tightly. As they glared at the mage. Suddenly, a bulky man wielding an axe stepped forward and stood next to the lanky mage. His eyes studied everyone here as he licked his lips.

"Pretty catch boys. Leave only the girls and the kid alive. Try not to scar them too much. Damaged goods will sell for less." The bulky mage smirked.

Hearing this, Artha's body trembled with anger. She felt anger building up within her heart. It was a feeling she hadn't felt towards anyone for a long, long time. Artha realized that after living for a while in the safety of Ashber, she forgot that the world had trash like him.

Mana fluctuated around Artha as she fought to keep herself from jumping up there. A dozen or so archers appeared atop the boulders as a few melee fighters moved around the boulders with smirks.

"Five mages and the rest are non mages!" Reynolds suddenly roared.

Artha quickly saw her father changed back into his former adventurer days when he led the twin horns. He quickly roared out a formation name and the twin horns moved into place. It was a purely defensive formation to protect Artha and Alice.

Jasmine and Helen moved to Artha's left, which had the most mages. Adam moved towards their back, which had the most enemies, Angela stood next to the Leywins, and Reynolds and Durden stood in front of the leaders.

Angela prepared a wind barrier as arrows shot towards the twin horns. While Angela kept up the wind barrier, Durden conjured a stone wall that protected everyone from the arrows while also attacking some of the non mages.

Jasmine lunged forward at a water whip user, Adam fought against three non mages at the back, Reynolds fought the two leaders, Helen kept offering support by firing arrows, and the two conjurers, Durden and Angela, kept on defending.

Angela began chanting, and a few moments later, she finished her spell. Waving her wand, blades of wind moved according to her will, striking some of the archers. Using the wind blades as cover, Jasmine moved deftly and slashed at a few non mages, killing them before returning to fight the enraged whip user.

Artha looked around and saw a carriage in the back. Augmenting her eyes, she peeked between the covers. Her blood boiled in anger as she saw a little girl inside the carriage, tied up and, unfortunately, conscious.

She stretched out her hand, and a magnificent short sword made of crystalline ice formed in her hands. Despite this being a simple spell, she knew her core was almost entirely empty and backlash would hit her soon.

Backlash was a phenomenon that occurred when a mage went beyond their limits. It was usually very dangerous and painful, so Artha knew that at her current core stage, she wouldn't be able to do anything more than create a simple blade.

"Artha!" Alice shouted as Artha ran off.

Artha ran with mana augmentation, avoiding any of the battles ongoing. Suddenly, she heard the wind whistle, so she spun around and brought up a wooden sword, which was a gift from her father.

Using the wooden sword, Artha blocked the attack of one of the archers, who let out a gasp at the shocking scene. However, he did not live long as an arrow from Helen pierced his head.

Reaching the carriage, Artha opened it and swiftly pulled the girl out. The little girl had no time to react as Artha ran back towards Alice with her in tow. Once she got back, she let go of the little girl's hands.

Alice saw the little girl with pointed ears, so she brought up the cloth used to shut her up and used it to cover her eyes. After ensuring Artha was okay, Alice scolded her for running away like that.

Suddenly, Reynolds came crashing down into the carriage next to the three girls.

"Dad!" "Reynolds!"

Calling out to him, Artha rushed over and kneeled next to him, with Alice following shortly behind. Artha, who was worried about the outcome of this battle now, easily saw the panic written on Alice's face.

"Don't worry about me." Reynolds coughed out. "If you use a healing spell now, they'll know what you are, then they'll try to capture you. They'll be willing to sacrifice a lot if they know."

Alice hesitated for a few moments, but eventually she kneeled down and began chanting. Listening to her chants, Artha could hear her mother stammering. She knew her mother was worried about Reynolds, but it looked like she feared using her magic.

Turning to Artha, Reynolds stopped trying to persuade his wife. "Art, after the healing spell activates, they'll try to capture your mother at all costs. After I'm healed enough, I'll engage the leaders again. I think I can beat them, but not when I have to worry about you two."

"No! I can fight, dad!" Artha protested.

"LISTEN TO ME, ARTHA LEYWIN!" Reynolds roared. Hearing her father with this tone shocked Artha, who could only close her mouth in surprise.

"I know you can fight. That's why you have to protect your mother and baby sibling." Reynolds stated.

"Okay, I'll protect mom." Artha nodded.

At this time, Alice finished her spell and a green light enveloped Reynolds for a few moments before eventually disappearing alongside most of his injuries. One of the leaders studied the battlefield and saw Reynolds standing up without a scratch.

"Sonova- One of them is a healer! Don't let her get away!" The bulky leader roared.

Artha quickly grabbed Alice and the little girl's arms before running. Augmenting herself with mana, Artha rushed towards the area Adam was fighting in. Hearing an air whistle, Artha acted on instinct and spun around and let go of the little girl before blocking an arrow with her ice sword.

Spinning around, Artha grabbed the little girl's arm and continued running. During this time, Artha couldn't help but feel uneasy. She began to recall all the mages before her eyes widened.

"Damien! Forget the plan! Don't let them live!"