Chapter 255 Getaway
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
While Assistant Dirk shouted with all his might, General Toms pulled out his contact crystal. He could only mumble a few words before putting it away and continuing to writhe in pain.
"Close the camp! No one leaves, or they'll be killed on the spot!" Dirk's orders continued to ring out through camp, restoring a margin of order.
All soldiers froze, including two of the many who had already started running toward the manor walls.
"Captains, gather your men and make a headcount. After that, everyone must line up in front of the gate for further orders."
With Dirk's orders made clear, everyone started to calm down and do as they were told.
Both Daliea and Jack started walking back, but another unexpected warning was screamed into their minds by Rydel, 'Run! Use your beasts if needed, just get out of there!'
Jack was too curious not to ask, 'But why--'
'General Toms and Assistant Dirk are here!' rebutted Rydel. 'For now, Toms can't act but we need to get away no matter what!'
'But we need to delay--'
'We've done the best we can. Now let's go!'
Since Jack wavered, Daliea acted in a way that would force Jack to follow along. While Jack argued with Rydel, she released her Flame Tiger, immediately giving away her status as a spy.
'Daliea, what--'
'It's too late to change course now, so let's leave!' stated Daliea as she watched countless soldiers rush toward her.
"I've no time for you! World of Shadows!"
None of the charging soldiers were ready for the sudden darkness that consumed them. The orb filled with dark mist expanded, even including a portion of the wall.
Many attacks were launched toward the portion of the wall within the orb, but Daliea had the Flame Tiger counter attack from within the orb. While the flames dashed out toward the low-level soldiers, Daliea made her escape.
Jack, on the other hand, sighed in regret. He had hoped to guarantee the success of their mission with this last push. But now there was still a chance at failure. And since they had already attacked twice, the third would be far more difficult with only a slight chance of success.
However, Jack knew that now was the only chance for him to get away and reunite with the party.
"Feather Walk," under his breath, Jack mumbled to himself in order to quicken his pace.
The hero sudden gained sped off toward the wall near the gate, but he still caught the attention of some of the soldiers.
He looked back and saw something he didn't expect. From the back tent emerged two men, one hunched over while being supported by the other. Only the one who was fully aware looked back to Jack with a vein building from his forehead.
Many arrows and long-range attacks had already tried to hit Jack, all of which failed. But that furious man retrieved a sword for his one free hand and launched an attack of his own. With one swing of his blade, the man generated a razor-sharp wave of energy heading straight for the running Jack.
Jack sidestepped to the best of his ability, narrowly avoiding the attack. But he quickly noticed that a second wave had followed the first, hiding in the trail the first wave had left behind, and the second attack was perfectly on target.
Unable to evade the cutting wave, Jack activated his Sudden Death skill, suddenly reappearing a couple of meters away and still running.
Dirk was surprised to see Jack manage to avoid the attack, but that didn't stop him from launching another set of attacks. Yet just as he lifted his sword a second time, Dirk hesitated and jumped back with the general.
As he withdrew his attack, Dirk managed to dodge a few arrows that had seemingly come out of nowhere.
Now on guard, Dirk looked around the walls. He knew that his enemy was well concealed and wouldn't dare stay in the same spot after attacking and was most likely attacking while on the move. And considering the vulnerable general beside him, Dirk understood that though catching a spy was of the utmost importance, keeping the general alive was even more so.
Since Dirk didn't attempt another attack on Jack, no more arrows were targeting him or the general. Dirk quickly understand that the other side had no more intentions to fight at the moment.
So far three spies had been exposed and all three of them proved to be very capable, and Dirk assumed that any of the three could at least keep up with him based on their performance in escaping. Since it was likely that there were more of them yet to be revealed, if they were hell-bent on killing the general, they would all attack them now and force Dirk away from the weakened Toms.
But instead, they ran. It was something that Dirk would have no choice but to accept given the current circumstances.
Once Jack had slipped away over the wall, Dirk returned to giving orders, "Captains, make a headcount of your men and line them up in front of the gate. Guards, follow the culprits but make no attempts to subdue. Just keep tabs on their location."
"Dirk… Thank you," mumbled Toms, still trying his best to control himself from spasming.
"General, what should I do about the arrow?"
General Toms tried his best to chuckle, "Don't worry… Very soon, someone should arrive to help me."
"Oh, am I too early?"
The echo of the sudden voice startled Dirk, causing him to lift up his sword in defense.
In a flash of light and a crackle of static electricity, a lanky, bald man rushed over the wall and dashed toward the defending Dirk. "Boy, I suggest you put the blade down before I assume you want to play with me."
"Took you long enough… Now get this out of me," stated Toms, completely unafraid of the man's devilish smile.
Seeing the general's reaction, Dirk lowered his guard and laid the general down with his back up.
"Hmmm…" The man brushed some dust from his vest while he looked more closely at the shaking general. "Someone must have really wanted you dead to waste such a precious weapon."
"Just… Take it out already."
"Okay, but know that taking it out is far more painful than keeping it in," laughed the man. "It's lucky you have me, otherwise the pain would be too bearable and might even kill you."
Dirk quivered when he overheard the man. He looked at his own hand, remembering how he had almost removed the arrow out of impulse, trembling at the thought of causing the general's death.
"That's why I called you, Trank… Now get the job done!"
"Does this mean I my payment will increase?"
Toms quaked as he groaned, "Fine! Just hurry!"
"Very well."
Trank twiddled his fingers, generating a small electric current around them. It gradually grew stronger until the electricity covered the entirety of his hands.
"Remember, you asked for this," laughed Trank.
"Just hurry and… AAAAAHHHH!"
The electric current passed from Trank's hands to the arrow as he grasped it, sending the current into Toms's body.
While the general screamed, Dirk felt even more helpless.
Enjoying himself, Trank slid his right hand down the shaft of the arrow till his fingers came into contact with Toms's back. Without any hesitation, Trank sank his fingers into Toms's flesh, startling the nearby assistant to death. But then his fingers quickly reemerged, this time holding tightly to the arrowhead and yanking the arrow completely from Toms's body.
Enraged at how his superior was being treated, Dirk shouted at the shady man, "What was that for?! That's not how you--"
"Of course that's how you remove an arrow, at least that's how you remove this type of arrow," stated Trank, still smiling. "Hurry and call a medic to heal his back. After that, he should be as good as new."
"Thank you, Trank," sighed Toms. "I feel better already."
���But sir, how could you let him injure you like that? How is that the correct procedure to retrieve the arrow? Even if the arrowhead was barbed, you caused far more harm then the barbs would have," argued Dirk.
"Boy, do you know what sort of arrow this is?" asked Trank. "If not, let me explain. This isn't military-grade, it's beyond that. These are far too expensive to be used casually in war."
"Then what in Halmut's beard are they for?" questioned Dirk.
Toms spoke up in reply, "Poaching."
"What?"
"Toms is correct, this type of arrow is used for hunting game that is too powerful for a single man to handle," explained Trank. "Only veteran hunters dare purchase them, and they're only used in emergencies or for certain requests, such as high-level griffons or dragons."
"On such beasts, an arrow such as this would cause some paralysis and slow it down enough for an unlucky hunter time to escape. For hunters, this is a life-saving arrow.��� Breaking into loud, unperturbed laughter, Trank looked to Toms on the ground. "Though, this is the first time I've seen such an arrow used on a human. How was it? I'm sure the pain was excruciating."
"Beyond that," replied Toms. "I'm just glad you hurried here before I gave up fighting the pain."
Getting back to the topic, Dirk again questioned, "But how come you must remove the arrow in such a damaging way? Though the general can be healed, such a would will leave him scarred and won't be fully healed without some rest."
"That's the cruelty of the arrow's design," Trank retorted as he held the arrow up for all to see. "If you look below the arrowhead, you'll notice that the material there is different from the rest. It's reinforced glass designed to shatter if not handled properly. And if that breaks, then the arrowhead will release all of its remaining energy over the span of five seconds. They're a one-time use weapon perfect for wild beasts that might struggle and break the arrow."
"Or for torturing me to death," Toms laughed coldly as he remembered the pain he felt. "Anyways, thanks for coming. And good luck with your hunt."
"Don't worry yourself." Trank's smile grew wider and more sinister as he squatted down to pat Toms on the back. "Thanks to them showing themselves, my job just got easier."