Chapter 003
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‘ ‘ for thoughts.
“ “ for speech.
* * for actions.
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While traveling in the caravan, Leofric didn’t get respite from his training. Labasi had made sure of that. Although his education was halted temporarily, Leofric would spend most of his waking hours meditating in the carriage they shared.
He felt bored riding at a snail’s pace all day and to him and meditation was extremely relaxing to him. His teacher encouraged this habit of course. And his father was also pleasantly surprised. He had high hopes for his son being a powerful mage. Not only would they gain a lot of face and resources from the clan, he would also get to shut up that arrogant cousin of his, who had sired twins!
Usually, siring twins wouldn’t be something to gloat about. However, his cousin was an Expert (Rank 5) magus like him, when he fathered his twin sons! On top of that, the mother was also an Expert (rank 5) magus, even if she was his mistress. Nonetheless, the Clan Elders had a lot of hope in the twins and had quickly legitimized and granted them the same rights as children born from the official wife.
The clan elders had high hopes on the potential of this pair of twins. Both parents being Expert Magi while conceiving, and birthing twins to boot! This was an unexpected windfall. They hoped to have another couple of Master (Rank 6) Magi in under a century! Once their magical potential was confirmed, Ealric was sure that the clan would divert a significant amount of resources in nurturing the twins.
He didn’t have an amicable relationship with this cousin of his, and desperately wanted his son to outshine his twins. Therefore, he was pleased at his son’s dedication in practicing meditation. His spiritual force was sure to be quite a bit above his peers!
At sunrise and sunset, Labasi would use the Intermediate (rank 3) level Earth spell “Earthen Wall” multiple times to enclose them both. Leofric would then perform 108 receptions of the five rituals to stimulate his meridians. His teacher had drilled into him to keep these rituals a secret, as they were a very potent and simple tool for tempering future warriors.
As for the physical strength building exercises, Leofric woke up before sunrise, when the caravan had halted and performed them. In the past year that Leofric had been doing this set of six exercises, he had neared 850 repetitions of the third level. This meant that Leofric had the physical strength of roughly a Novice (Rank 1) warrior as an 8 year old child!
His teacher was surprised at this progress. His student was progressing roughly 20% faster than what he had expected. Although there were exercising regimes which could rapidly increase one’s physical strength to that of an Apprentice (Rank 2) Warrior in the same amount of time, they gave lesser gains in improving speed and flexibility. Furthermore, these rapid strengthening regimes were unsuitable for children and they also limited a person’s maximum future potential.
The caravan was almost halfway through to their destination, being on the third day of its journey. It was evening, and time to break for camp as there were no settlements nearby. Leofric, his father and his teacher were all meditating in their shared carriage.
Suddenly, Labasi and Ealric opened their eyes and frowned. They exchanged a glance and Labasi interrupted Leofric’s meditative trance. He then addressed him in hushing tones with a tense gaze.
Labasi: “Be quiet and stay in the carriage. We are about to be ambushed by bandits.”
Although Leofric was wondering how his teacher knew that, he recognized the gravity of the situation and refrained from asking. He nodded silently, and waited for further instructions.
Labasi: “There are around sixty of them. Three of them are probably Expert (Rank 5) warriors, and the rest of them are Intermediate to Journeyman warriors, by my estimate.”
Ealric: *frown* “This is troubling. I could wipe out everyone else except the Experts in a single spell, but I will need some time to cast.”
Labasi: “Leofric, stay in the carriage for now. It will be troublesome if you are taken hostage, as you aren’t strong enough to participate.”
Leofric: “Yes Teacher.”
Labasi: “We will encounter them in a half a minute. Once in sight, start casting your most destructive spell. I will deal with the three Experts, while the guards buy time for you to cast. Initially you do the talking and try to stall them for some time; I will cast one more spell.”
Ealric: “Alright.”
After the affirmative from Ealric, Labasi silently chanted a spell for a few seconds. Earthen yellow glimmer surrounded him, as Earth elemental essence converged on his skin. His skin was covered with a layer of dense yellow-brown rock. This was the Expert level Earth spell “Rock Skin”! This spell greatly increased the physical defense.
Combining this defense with Labasi’s rank as an Expert Warrior, he was almost assured to easily dispose the three Expert bandits. He casted Rock Skin on Ealric and Leofric. He had spent a little over half his mageforce on three casts of Expert Rank spells. He could only squeeze out two more Expert rank spells, before his mageforce was insufficient for anything above a Journeyman spell.
At his present state, he didn’t have enough mageforce to cast a Master level spell! While a Master rank spell could wipe out all the bandits he had sensed in one cast, he had refrained from attempting it. He had been practicing for three centuries and had a lot of battle experience.
The Expert bandits wouldn’t wait for him to complete a chant for several seconds while they politely waited for their annihilation. He was also cautious and wanted to ensure the safety of Leofric and Ealric. As he himself was also a Master level warrior, the hardness and defense provided by Rock Skin spell, would synergize nicely with close combat.
However, there could be a few stragglers who escaped. He wanted to ensure that the entire bandit group was annihilated. Therefore, he had come up with the present plan. He would deal with the Expert bandits, while the guards would be on the defensive and stall for time for Ealric to complete his cast. As expected, the caravan halted. Labasi and Ealric exited the Carriage.
Outside, around a hundred bandits had surrounded the caravan. They were equipped with axes, maces and quite a few of them also had bows. They were dressed in an assortment of leather armor. Although they didn’t look like they were of a high quality, they were quite sturdy. Three of these bandits stood out.
Their weapons were clearly of a high quality and they wore chainmail armor. One of them wielded a hammer, the other an axe and the last one wielded a claymore. The claymore wielding bandit sneered loudly and addressed them in a mocking tone.
Claymore Bandit: “Look what we have here, brothers. Some fat noble sheep to be shorn; or is it to be slaughtered!?”
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There was a resounding laugh from the bandits, while Labasi was wordlessly whispering the chants to a spell. The guards had formed a rough circle around their master, putting to use years of drills. Ealric, addressed the bandits.
Ealric: “There is no need for slaughter. I hope we can come to some kind of agreement without both sides losing lives.”
Hammer Bandit: “And leave witnesses? Why would we do that?”
Ealric: “Because, we are from the Wayne clan!”
Suddenly there was a look of panic in the axe wielding Expert bandit. There were also hushed whispers from among the bandits. Clearly, the mention of the Wayne Clan had unnerved a few of them. Capitalizing on the hesitation, Ealric continued stalling for time.
Ealric: “If you slaughter us, my clan will make sure to leave no stone unturned to exterminate your whole den!”
He then gradually removed a necklace and an amulet was visible. While the distance of around 10 meters was too far for an average peasant to make out any details, the trio of bandits were Experts. Their senses were sharp enough to make out the details of the amulet. The amulet was made of copper, and the heraldry of the Wayne clan was painted on it.
It was a sort of ape with grey fur. It had powerful looking arms which formed into fists. The fists of the ape were smashing within each other. The ape had blood-red eyes and its mouth was open showing its sharp fangs. In the background was the outline of a clenched fist. When the three lead bandits saw it, they hesitated a bit, but the Claymore wielding bandit regained his composure and sneered.
Claymore Bandit: “Anyone can fake heraldry of the Wayne Clan to bluff! Besides, even if you are the Wayne Clan, you have too few guards to be of much importance!”
Ealric: “How about a trade then? I have a hundred gold, take it and spare our lives.”
Claymore Bandit: “We will take everything and leave no witnesses. Brothers, Fire at will!”
A flock of arrows flew from the rear towards the caravan. The guards raised their shield in order to defend. Labasi had finished casting his spell, and a hemispherical membrane of earthen yellow light appeared around them. This was an Expert ranked spell, “Barrier”. Although the defense provided by it wasn’t too high, it was enough to block most normal arrows. Furthermore, the spell protected a small area.
Most of the guards were covered in barrier, and most of the the arrows harmlessly bounced of the barrier and their shields. Seeing the workings of the spell, the bandits changed tactics. They charged madly towards Labasi, going around the three Experts hoping to kill him before he could cast other powerful spells, with the three well-armed bandits in the lead
Ealric: “Retreat in the barrier and Defend!”
The guards obeyed and Labasi rushed outside the barrier coated in ocher yellow Qi, towards the three Expert Bandits. A few of the archer bandits tried to shoot at him, but their arrows failed to pierce his Rock Skin. The claymore wielding Expert cursed.
Claymore Bandit: “An Earth Warrior-Magus! Let three of us kill him in melee. Brothers handle the rest.”
The three Experts charged to meet Labasi coated in the purplish Qi, while rest of the bandits charged at the defensive circle of the guards. Those equipped with bows continued pelting the barrier with their arrows which hit it n an overhead arc. While a barrier of this level was enough to stop arrows for a while, it wouldn’t last long under the combined melee and ranged onslaught of nearly the hundred bandits.
Ealric was frantically chanting his most destructive spell from behind the cover of Barrier and the defending Guards. When the battle began, Leofric inside was curious about the battle. He had heard the conversation, but couldn’t watch any of the battle.
He wanted to witness the fight, but his teacher had forbidden him from going out. So he made a peep hole between a pair of wooden planks, which formed the wall of the enclosed carriage. It took some effort, but he was able to do so with his fingers. He witnessed through the yellow translucent barrier, his teacher fighting.
Labasi was single handedly engaging the three experts. He appeared to be in difficulty barely parrying and blocking the three of them, relying on the defense of Rock Skin to tide through. He used his hardened fist to knock away a hammer blow aimed at his head, unbalancing the wielder.
Before he could capitalize on the opportunity, a claymore came swinging at his neck while the axe was aimed at his torso. Before the attacks could connect, a couple of large Earth Spikes erupted from the ground, intercepting these two attacks.
This was the Novice level spell “Earth Spikes” which every Earth mage knew. Although the Earth spikes weren’t a threat to the Experts, it was useful to control the flow of battle as Labasi could cast it instantly without any chants!
The Earth Spikes crumbled under the attacks, leaving behind a cloud of dust. In that instant, Labasi rushed into the Axe-wielding Expert and using superior speed disarmed him, snatching the axe from his hands. He then smashed the axe towards the Bandit’s head. The Expert bandit was unable to dodge in time, and his head exploded like a watermelon under the impact, killing him instantly!
By the time two of the other experts regained their bearings from the distraction of the dust, they noticed that their comrade was dead! They howled in grief and rage while they charged towards the Warrior-Magus.
Meanwhile, the yellow translucent barrier had paled quite a bit under the continuous assault and was almost extinguished. Watching the barrier almost failing, the bandits attacked with renewed vigor. In a few moments, the Barrier collapsed.
Before the Bandits could attack the defending guards, a large Eagle made of fire erupted skywards from Ealric. It was around three meters from beak to tail, and the flames making it were withering as if alive! It turned towards the circling bandits sharply, and passed through them. This was the Expert level fire-spell “Soaring Flame Eagle”!
Screams were heard and the smell of burning flesh was in the air, as majority of the bandits attacking the barrier in melee perished in moments. Witnessing this scene, the faces of the two Expert Bandits paled. The noble was actually an Expert Fire magus! They cursed their luck and wanted to retreat, but Labasi was giving them a good fight.
When Labasi noticed the three meter long Fire Eagle, he smirked. Suddenly his speed and power increased explosively. He used his fingers as a knife and stabbed the hammer wielding Expert bandit in his throat, killing him in a flash.
He the punched the incoming claymore so hard, that the weapon flew away from his hands! This was possible for a number of reasons. Labasi was a Master level warrior who was holding back, buying enough time for Ealric to cast his spell so that no bandits escaped.
With the toughening effect of Rock Skin and prowess of a Master Warrior he had enough power in his strike to force the Steel sword away from the bandit’s hands. He then lunged, smashing the bandit’s ribs. The bandit fell backwards, unable to maintain his balance and coughed up blood. Labasi finished off the bandit by stomping on his head. The bandit’s head made a sickening crunching sound, and all the Experts were dead.
In the short span of time, the three Experts of the bandits were exterminated. Most of the bandits who were attacking the barrier in melee were dead. The archers who were shooting from far, had attempted to run, but the Soaring Flame Eagle followed them with a swift speed and burnt them to a crisp. There were a few moans of pain from the bandits who hadn’t died yet. The battle had concluded, and the convoy of the Wayne clan took no casualties.
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A/N: So some bloody slaughter! When will our MC engage in it? To find out read on...
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