NOVEL NEXT Chapter 61: Family.
Chapter 61: Family.
At night, a family has been running through the woods for several days, but the pursuer is still behind them.
"We rest here today." A middle-aged man with broken arms sits on the ground, exhausted.
"Yes, Father." The man who had been carrying a boy and girl put them down on the ground and rested.
"How are your legs?" The middle-aged man asked his wife. "
"It will be fine, after some rest."
"How long can we reach the border?" The middle-aged man asked his oldest son.
"Around a month if we are lucky."
"How much food do we have left?"
"A few more days."
"I am sorry for not listening."
"I understand that if Jason manages to become a mage, our lives will become better." The man spoke, and when they found out his brother had the talent to become a mage, they were all happy. However, when he only had a dark elemental affinity, the whole family was in denial. In the end, to pay the debt, they sold him to a slave trader.
While they are resting, far from them, a group of humans holding torches are searching for them.
"Damn it, we had been sleeping outside for several days. Where are they?"
"Be patient; if we return empty-handed, the boss will beat us."
"Once I get them, I will kill them."
"You can do anything you want, but don’t harm the girl."
"I know."
-
Tiger fang bandit lair was one of the notorious bandit groups that had caused chaos in the surrounding area. The reason they are still alive is because their lair is hidden, and every time the army comes, they will hide. Because of that, the mercenary guild received a mission to wipe out the bandit group. However, until today, no one succeeded.
On the trees and wooden rooftops, many undead birds are watching the scene.
"Who are you? How dare you come here?" A burly man with a scarred face spoke. Today, an intruder barged into his stronghold. The large wooden gate can be seen burning.
Right now, the bandits are surrounding the Horn Bear mercenary.
"We came here to hunt you guys," Levi said without any worry.
Without wasting time, Clara sprinted toward the bandits.
"Die!" The bandit swings his sword at her neck.
What happens next? Clara dodged the attack, and her hand turned into a claw, piercing the bandit's body. When the bandit collapsed to the ground, his body had already become shriveled like a mummy.
"Bastard die!" The other bandits swung their weapons at her, however, before the attack hit. They collapsed to the ground. A green needle can be seen at their neck. Otis walks calmly while evading an attack and throwing needles.
"Fire the arrow!"
"RAWR!" Ben sprinted toward the archers, and the arrows couldn’t even pierce through his tough skin. When the horn bear gets near, the archers can’t fight back and die after being mauled by the large horn bear.
Levi walked and burned anyone who got closer by casting a fireball spell.
"What are you doing? Kill him!" The bandit leader had become anxious; he didn’t want to die. Although he is an adept warrior, right now he has no confidence to fight.
The other bandits don’t dare to move; if they attack, they will die.
Jason hasn’t moved from his place since entering the bandit's lair. While the bandits are focusing on others. He pointed his hand at the bandit leader, and one of the undead birds from the tree branch flew toward the bandit leader.
The bandit leader can’t even react in time.
"BOOM!" The undead bird hit the bandit’s leader's chest and exploded. This is one of the spells that Levi created for the undead bird bomb; it had the same concept as a corpse explosion, but the damage was weaker. Without the right spell, it will take time to decipher or create a new one.
The bandit leader is hurt, but it’s not a life-threatening injury. However, the blood doesn’t stop flowing because of the dark element's corroding property. He quickly used his mana to destroy the dark element, and soon the bleeding stopped.
"Who are you?" The bandit leader shouted.
"Horn bear mercenary." Levi begins to exchange sword clashes with the bandit leader. The nearby bandits try to sneak attack him, but their heads or limbs get cut off instead.
The bandit leader infused his sword with mana and tried to overpower Levi, but nothing changed. Levi also does the same and takes time to deal with the bandit leader.
After a while, Levi beheaded the bandit leader and stored his head inside spatial storage.
Seeing that their leader is dead. The other bandits became scared and fled. However, the undead birds in the sky prevented them from escaping, and some of them even exploded.
Clara and Otis kill the remaining bandits. Few of them tried to hide, but it was useless.
After cutting off the rest of the bandits' heads as proof, Horn Bear mercenaries enter the bandit building to loot their treasure. They also found a group of captives and returned to the nearby town.
-
Mercenary guild branch.
"Thank you for waiting; here is your mercenary card update." A male receptionist handed Levi a silver card.
"Thank you." One of the captives is the noble son; thanks to that, Levi gets an additional reward and gets enough points to raise his mercenary rank.
[Horn Bear Mercenary]
[Rank: C]
After seeing that the mission board doesn’t have any good missions, Levi leaves the mercenary guild.
Outside the guild, a member of the Horn Bear mercenary team is waiting. "Where are we going to eat?" Clara asked.
"They should have a good restaurant nearby; let's find an inn first." As usual, Levi will leave Ben at an inn. He can’t always bring a large horned bear along a town or city street.
While they are looking for an inn, Jason suddenly stops walking because he sees a familiar figure. However, the image that he remembers is different.
The people not far from Jason also had the same reaction. Jason right now looks different; he's wearing nice, clean clothes, and his face is slightly chubbier.
What happened next was a reunion between Jason and his family. They decided to find an inn first before continuing to talk.
Levi and others walk in front of Jason's family, which is not far from them.
"Jason, who is Master Levi?" Jason's father asked
"He is the one that bought me; don’t worry, I am already free and no longer a slave." Jason quickly explains. Seeing his parents' concerned face
"It's good to hear that, from your appearance, you look fine."
"Yes, as long as I obey Master Levi, everything is fine. Wait until we reach the inn; I have to buy a gift." Jason smile.
Jason's younger siblings are giggling and smiling while riding Ben.
In the inn, Jason and his family begin to recount their experience after Jason is sold as a slave.
"I am sorry; it’s all my fault. Don’t worry about the debt; I've got the money." Jason takes out a bag full of bronze, silver, and gold coins.
"How?"
Well, since we are mercenaries, we received the reward from the mission and sometimes the loot from the bandits."
Suddenly, there is a knock on the door, and Levi enters.
"Sorry for disturbing your reunion, Jason. What is your plan to stay here or to follow us to Mage Nation?"
"Can I bring my family along?"
"No, you should know why."
"I want to stay with my family." Jason is reluctant to leave his family.
"Don’t worry, I understand."
"Can you help destroy the Black Roses gang?" Jason is not naive, even if he pays the debt, according to their conversation. The leader of The Black Roses gang is interested in his little sister.
Levi is contemplating, and in the end, he shakes his head. "No." He doesn’t have any information about the Black Roses gang, and why he should risk his life for someone he barely knows. Jason is not worth enough to endanger his life.
Jason looks disappointed, but he understands. "I understand. Thank you for taking care of me." He bows his head.
"If you need anything, you can find me in my room." Levi walks out of the room; Clara and Otis are waiting outside.
"Are we going to let him go?" Otis asked.
"We are not bound by anything and can leave anytime. In the end, our lives are more important."
"I agreed," Clara said.
At night, near the inn, the pursuers manage to find them.
"They are in the inn."
"Let’s capture them."
However, before the pursuers can move, they collapse to the ground.
Coming out of the shadow are Levi and Otis.
The corpses disappear when Levi gets closer.
"Where is Clara?"
"Clara is killing the remaining pursuers." After saying that, they disappear into the darkness. On the rooftop, there are many undead birds.
-
The next day, after saying goodbye, Jason and his family leave the town. He can’t follow Levi's group with his family because he knows the world of mercenaries is dangerous.
Levi and others watch Jason leave from the town gate. The pursuers who had been tracking Jason's family were already dead. This is the most Levi can do for him. If he learns necromancy, he may be able to use Jason or transform him into a lich in the future.
Levi never thought that in the future, a group called the Black Raven Gang would control the underworld of certain kingdoms. Their leader is Jason.