Chapter 814. Unrelenting Chase
Jack had rushed out of the forest, but he could hear the burning soldiers' scream from inside. "Damn!" He uttered.
In his message, he said to John, "You are one ruthless bastard to think of such a cruel plan."
"There are only a few things that can be used to deal against a large number of enemies without sacrificing our own soldiers. Fire, water, poison, and disease amongst them. Fire is the most viable option for our current situation and location. I'm not even sure if poison and disease work similarly here compare to our past world."
"Well, whatever. I'm just glad you are on our side. I'm heading to the rendezvous point," Jack said.
"It takes a roundabout trip to get there, even with your steed. Everything will be over already by the time you get there," John said.
"Don't worry, that cliff is no problem for my steed."
"What are you going there for, anyway? There is no need for you to be there."
"Just as there is no need for me to be here when your players who are supposed to ignite the war fires are routed?" Jack asked.
"Good luck," John replied but quickly added, "Oh, right! Since you are going there, if possible, capture or kill Therribus. I have considered the possibility of him not being amongst the chasing army. If that's the way, we would only defeat his army here, allowing prince Alonzo to flee back to the capital. The battle for the throne will still be ongoing. But since he is also joining the chasing army, this is a good chance to finish this conflict once and for all."
"I will see what I can do," Jack replied.
Jack ran to the easternmost edge of the forest. There was a high cliff that blocked the way. The forest's eastern side ended at this high cliff.
"Hold tight!" Jack said to Red Death.
Red Death had been holding tight due to Pandora's extreme speed. She didn't understand why Jack asked her to hold tight even more. She soon found out the reason.
Pandora ran straight for the cliff. When Red Death was worried that they would crash into the cliff wall, the nightmare jumped and scaled the wall. The steed then ran sideways alongside the cliff, right on top of the burning forest.
"Your Highness! We have to get out of this forest!" Robin uttered.
"No! We stay with Alonzo. We finish this tonight!" Therribus exclaimed.
"But there are only high cliffs where we are headed. We will be trapped inside this burning forest!"
"Alonzo is heading in the same direction. They have planned the trap in this forest. They will have a way out there. We cannot let them escape!" Therribus was determined.
Robin could only follow the command. He asked the healer units to focus their healings on the important personnel, especially the crown prince. While his bows never stopped shooting at the fleeing group before them.
Jeanny, Samuel, and the one remaining soldier tried their best to intercept Robin's arrows that were coming at them. Jeanny had used a scroll of fire resistance to increase their fire resistance. It had been prepared beforehand as they were most likely to be caught within the burning forest as well.
"We almost arrive!" Jeanny motivated them.
As she did, another arrow came. The one remaining soldier that was with them parried the arrow, but suddenly a translucent claw latched onto him. He was then forcefully pulled away.
Jeanny and the others watched helplessly as the soldier fell close to Therribus' army. Several of Therribus' soldiers came upon him while the others continued their chase.
The ghostly claw that pulled the soldier away was a spell cast by a mage behind Therribus. The mage was also a knight commander, a level 70 special elite named Polom. The distance between Prince Alonzo's group and Prince Therribus' army had shortened enough that Polom's spell could reach them.
Samuel looked at the enemy behind them before turning back and saying to Prince Alonzo, "Your Highness, you must continue running. Do not stop for anything!"
Prince Alonzo looked at him with a questioning look.
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Samuel turned to Jeanny and said, "Miss Jeanny. Please make sure the prince is safe."
"Samuel, no! You mustn't!" Alonzo uttered.
"Be safe, you two! I will buy as much time as possible!" Samuel exclaimed as he jumped down from his steed and stood there amongst the burning trees and waited for the approaching army.
"Samuel...!!" Alonzo yelled.
Jeanny gripped Prince Alonzo's arm. "My prince, we have to keep going! Do not let his sacrifice be in vain," Jeanny said.
Alonzo gritted his teeth. He cursed his own helplessness and his royal line. All this fighting, all this loss of lives, was it all worth it? If he surrendered to Therribus, could he have prevented all this? But then, he would be betraying everyone's hope in him. He looked ahead. He would survive, and he would become the king! So that everyone who had fallen could rest in peace.
Samuel didn't glance back. He heard the horse galloping sounds behind him. The sounds didn't slow down and were getting further.
'Good,' he said in his mind and tightened the grip on his twin tomahawk axes.
Samuel uttered a battle cry. His body bulged up and grew larger. Thin translucent light covered both his axes. He used Jump assault just as the approaching Robin shot an arrow at him. His super jump brought his body shooting past the incoming arrow. Samuel's jump assault brought him directly to Therribus.
A level 60 special elite knight carrying a shield came before Therribus. His shield clashed with Samuel's axes.
Samuel landed on the ground just as several claws came out of the ground, with him at the center. It was the Entrapping Mana Claws cast by Polom.
Samuel's body spun at high speed before the claws hit him. This spinning attack broke the incoming claws while producing a very wide tornado. The skill was similar to Berserker's Punishing Cyclone but was much stronger and affected a very wide area. Therribus' advancing army was halted as a result.
When Samuel's tornado attack ended, an arrow struck his side. It slowed his movement as Polom cast another spell. Several claws with chains came and bound Samuel's body.
Samuel used Berserker's Cry of Rage, eliminating all movement restrictions before continuing to attempt an assault on Prince Therribus. He didn't think it was possible to defeat Therribus with so many soldiers protecting him. His intention of gunning on Therribus was so this pursuing army couldn't advance. As long as the crown prince was stuck here, the army would also stay and focus on protecting Therribus. Thus, buying Prince Alonzo time.
However, Samuel was not only alone but his level was also not as high as the high-level officers surrounding Therribus. His attempt was valiant but did not last long. He was soon overpowered.
"I see the end of the forest already!" Jeanny exclaimed. The trees were getting sparser and so was the fire.
Alonzo and she finally came out of the forest and into a large clearing surrounded by high cliffs. This was the only spot on the eastern side of the forest that was not directly blocked by the cliff. It had a half-circle clearing before the cliffs.
When John asked Dogs of War to scout the surrounding area. He learned about this terrain and adjusted his plan to allow this place as the site of the final confrontation.
At first glance, it was a dead end. In front of them were high cliffs, and behind them was the burning forest. There was only a limited area in this clearing where they were safe from the fire. However, if Therribus' army came out from behind, there would be nowhere else to flee, unless they had a flying spell or flying tool. The mage soldier that helped them fly down the fort's wall had been killed during the chase.
At this time, a sound called from above the cliff. "Jeanny, here!"
Bowler was up there atop the cliffs. With him were the guild armies and members of Dogs of War that had defended John and the others from White Death's force. This was the place where John had sent them after they beat back White Death. Bowler threw a couple of ropes down.
"Hurry!" Bowler urged. He could hear the sounds of a large force approaching from inside the burning forest.
Jeanny and Alonzo immediately came over and took the ropes. They started climbing.
When the two climbed only a quarter of the ropes, an arrow shot out from the forest. It carried with it crescent-shaped wind energy. This crescent energy slammed onto the cliff, where the two ropes were hanging. The ropes were cut by the impact. Both Jeanny and Alonzo fell back to the ground.
Therribus' army soon emerged from the burning forest. The crown prince looked at the guild armies and players atop the cliffs.
"So, this is your plan," Therribus said to Alonzo. "You lure me here into a kill zone. Trapping me in between a cliff and a burning forest, then bombard me with attacks from up there. This is a good plan, but only if you have managed to climb up. With you down here, they won't be able to throw attacks recklessly."
Therribus gave the order, "Catch Alonzo! Kill the outworlder."
When Therribus' soldiers started moving forward to carry out the order, they heard the sounds of a horse galloping. Strangely, it didn't come from the back. The sounds came from the side. They turned and saw an astonishing sight.
A flaming horse was galloping sideways on the cliff wall. Two riders were clinging to it. They were approaching at an incredible speed.