Chapter 265 Escape?
Now burdened with four people on her back, Ayden wasn't able to reach her top speed, but it was fast enough to run from the decimated army behind them.
Jack, the last of the four people to have climbed onto her back, let loose a long sigh of relief. "Finally… It's over."
"Jack, don't relax yet," stated Rydel. "It's not over until we're gone and out of Limneer."
"And don't forget about Trank," Dirk added. "He and his best men weren't hidden among the army. They stayed silent and hid in order to search for you guys. If he's caught onto our trail, then we won't escape without a fight."
Seeing Dirk unsheathe his sword, Jack understood how much the former assistant feared the famed bounty hunter of Limneer. "Dirk, do you know Trank's level?"
"It should be at the cusp of lv. 39, but he's always kept it hidden. All I know is what's on his official report, but he's well-known within the criminal underworld so that record was probably falsified."
"Do you think he's on our trail?"
"Yes, he's too skilled to make it this easy."
"Is he fast enough to catch us?" Jack's relaxed expression faded.
Dirk simply nodded. "He's known for his expertise with lightning, making him inhumanly fast and powerful. If anyone could catch up to this beast, it would be him and his men."
"It would be best to remain vigilant than to accidentally fall into an enemy's hands," said Rydel. "Don't let Eliza and Keela come out yet. Let them stay hidden for now."
"I guess that might be best," Jack agreed.
'Eliza, Keela, stay hidden for now. We may have someone on our tail.'
'Okay… But what if you need support?' asked Eliza. 'Without us, you three will be much weaker in team combat.'
'That… If we're attacked, then you can come out. But until that happens, we don't want anyone finding you. It's better for them to attack us and have you come as support than for you to be attacked while we hurry to help you.'
'So, you're that worried about your wife?' thought Keela. 'Then I'll make sure she and I are safe in our hiding place.'
'Thank you, Keela. Please, Eliza, don't do anything without getting permission first,' Jack plead.
'Fine… But if my husband is in trouble, then I'm coming to save him.'
With that worry suppressed, Jack returned to his conversation with those on Ayden's back. "Daliea, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine."
Jack shook his head. "Daliea, be honest. If you're not honest with yourself, that will only make things worse if a battle breaks out."
"I've got the Flame Tiger so I can hold my own," replied the goblin girl.
"No fighting for you," Rydel added his two cents. "Daliea, you're in no condition to fight. The Flame Tiger should be your means of retreat, not your means of defense."
"He has a point. I'm not sure how strong your tiger is, but against Trank, it probably won't matter," added Dirk.
"But--"
"Daliea, if we get into a confrontation, we'll create an opening so you can flee. If not, then you'll just be a burden to the rest of us," Jack insisted, making sure that Daliea felt a sense of duty in retreating.
"Fine… I'll flee if necessary."
"Thank you." Jack bowed his head to her.
"Here he comes."
When Dirk said that, a bolt of lightning flew past Ayden, clipping a piece of her wing. Trank's figure still remained hidden within the trees below, but his presence was now unquestionable.
Ayden was already being burdened with four people on her back, so the minor damage to her wing was all the more prevalent. With each flap of her wings, she grew slower and slower. It was only a matter of time until she would be overtaken.
Rydel ran his hand through Ayden's soft feathers as he looked back with a grim expression across his face. "Jack, I don't think we've got anymore say in the matter. He's better than we estimated."
While Jack tried to imagine the possible scenarios-to-come in search of a means to escape, Rydel added, "We should call Eliza and Keela. Wouldn't it be better to fight on our terms instead of theirs?"
"... You have a point."
'Girls, come out now. We're about to fight.'
'We're on our way!' shouted Eliza, tones of gladness and anxiety mixed within her voice.
Annoyed to face a final confrontation despite their success in delaying the enemy army, Jack looked down into the trees and shouted, "Hey, Trank! How about we talk this over?"
A body covered in obscene amounts of static electricity emerged from the trees and followed them along the treetops. Trank snickered loudly, "Well, aren't you a surprise? It's not often that my prey is smart enough to speak with me. What do you propose, hm?"
"How about we buy you off?" Not bothering to fluff his words, Jack cut right to the point. "I pay you something you'd want and you let us off without any physical confrontation."
"As intriguing as that sounds, I've already been hired to slay you and your band of comrades… And I'm a man of my word."
"Wow, I didn't realize that such a twisted bounty hunter could have a sense of honor."
Trank laughed even louder, "Oh, you are a smart one! I like that. All the more fun to play and break."
"You think you'll have it easy? I can assure you, we're not like most adventurers," argued Jack.
"That's why I'm intrigued. Most adventurers wouldn't carry a mythic-tier spell on them or have a means of total invisibility at your levels," stated the bald man with a twisted grin. "I'd be too bored to bother with regular adventurers. But since you've caused so much trouble for poor, old Toms, I struggle to imagine how much fun I can have with you."
With a better understanding of the famed bounty hunter's personality, Jack struggled to come up with a better argument.
"What do you plan to do to us?" Daliea shouted as Jack was caught up in thought.
"Usually I extract all the emotions from your bodies through every means imaginable. And since you're all strong-willed, I'd like to try some group experimentation instead of my usual solo sessions," Trank admitted his true feelings without an ounce of shame, only adding to how perverse a man he was known to be.
"If you don't hurry and come down from up there, then you're beautiful roc will be too tired for escape later. Why not come down and try your luck, seeing as you're oh so confident," joked Trank.
Rydel nodded, directing Ayden to descend gradually. Once near the treetops, Rydel rubbed Ayden one last time before storing her away.
The party dropped to the ground but immediately took a defensive formation and retrieved their weapons.
Trank also dropped to the forest floor, smiling wide for the party to see. "Now, only one question remains. Whose support will arrive first? Will it be your friends or my men?"
Jack scoffed but said nothing.
"What? Are you not happy that my men couldn't find your friends first?" Trank joked. "We tried, but we inevitably failed to locate them. So once you all ran from that beautiful spell, it was clear that no more spies remained in the army. And since we couldn't wait any longer, I was forced to pursue you and have my team hurry back."
"No offense, but you're rambling is very stereotypical. Can we just start fighting, now?" Jack insisted.
"Sorry, but I want you to understand the situation from my point of view," Trank stated. "Also, if you haven't noticed, I'm quite calm even though I'm without any teammates. Don't you wonder why?"
Jack sighed, "I'd be lying if I said no."
"Then let me explain a bit," Trank continued. "I'm quite experienced in combat. In particular, I specialize in fighting groups, so much so that my team only hinders me for the most part."
"So, long story short, you sent your team to do some other task so you could fight with us all by yourself? Sounds like your pretty cocky," laughed Jack.
"Oh, I'm very cocky, I'll admit to that. But you would be too if you were in my shoes. I mean, just look at you. You easily outnumber me yet none of you have moved in the slightest. Are you that scared of me?" reasoned Trank.
"I wouldn't say scared is the right word… You'd probably understand it more as praise for your reputation," Jack mentioned, still not losing his composure.
Trank's twisted grin returned. "Oh, then I'll gladly accept your compliment. You really are smart, knowing just what to say to get me excited… I may have to share some of you with my men after I've subdued you, but I'll make sure to keep you all to myself. I'm sure you'll be the toy of a lifetime."
A chill ran down Jack's spine as the utterly perverse man called him such a thing. "Well, then what are we waiting for? Don't you want to wrap this up before your men arrive."
"Oh, I have plenty of time," Trank cackled as sparks of electricity started to gather around his body. "Show me a fun time worthy of the expectations you've set."