Tucker held onto the wound on the side of his body, ignoring the throbbing pain, and moved further to the rendezvous spot. His legs felt like lead, but with just a few more steps, he would break through into the clearing. Pushing past the thick bushes and branches in the way, he stood at the edge of the treelines. In front of him was an open field with several dirt roads meeting at a crossroad. From here, they were several kilometers away from their Order’s teleportation device.

  This was the last checkpoint for them to regroup, and if Alex and Blaire had already passed through this area, then he would be all on his own. He focused on the marks on the dirt road and held back the painful urge to cough. By now, the cut on his head had partially clotted, and the blood that obscured his vision slightly cleared. He felt the warm trickle slide down the side of his face and pressed forward, leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing while holding his ribs.

  If it hadn’t been for Gale and Newton, he would have died to the knight’s final attack. He was beyond grateful to say the least, but Gale had without a doubt broken his ribs when he knocked him out of the way. The gut-wrenching pain and indented chest plate were enough proof.

  Using his free hand, Tucker pulled the straps on his armor and released the damaged plates it held. Each piece was designed for high mobility and protection, but right now, it only held him back. Weighing his body down and preventing him from freely breathing. The pieces of metal fell with a heavy thud, crushing the blades of grass it landed on. Leaving his torn brown collared shirt visible. He stared at the moon and cloudless sky with a heavy heart.

  Parts of him wanted to believe that Alex and Blaire hadn’t made it past the checkpoint yet, but the carriage tracks in the path said otherwise. Once they were far enough, Sally and Newton would return to the spirit world and it would only be Gale and himself left.

  “Ha… just my luck,” Tucker mumbled with his back pressed against the tree trunk. He soon fell to the ground, hitting the roots of the tree. “Looks like we’re going to have to cross back on our own.”

  His chest pocket rustled for a moment, and soon, a small reptile popped its head out and smiled while happily waving its tail. From above, Newton and Gale both descended, landing on the ground beside Tucker. The air grew cold, and the only thing to offset it was the gentle warmth of Sally’s scales.

  “It’s nice to see you guys are unharmed.”

  The three spirits stayed close to Tucker, who sat cross-legged. He rummaged through his pouch and slowly shook his head. The healing potions he brought with him were destroyed from the battle with Quincy, and he should have known better than to pack them so tightly together with the rest of the trinkets. To make things worse, because he relied so much on the potions, he didn’t bring any other medical items. No painkillers and no bandages to wrap his wounds.

  Any likelihood of his wounds suffering from an infection was low, but not zero. Right now, he needed to figure out what his next course of action was. He could try running through the open plains. It would be the fastest way to get out of the Empire but also the riskiest method. If anyone spotted him, then he would be fucked. The other option was to hide within the treeline and hope he could get as close as possible to another safe house. If it was still even there.

  “Honestly, this shit sucks.” Tucker shook his head and deeply exhaled while rising to his feet. “Gale, we’re gonna try to make our way back with Newton and Sally for as long as possible.”

  His companion nodded, agreeing with the notion. They were nearly out of spirit essence and had no way to instantly replenish their strength. If anything, he could send Gale back to the spirit realm and hope he could regenerate enough essence, but by doing so, his senses would decline. With Gale in the world, his range increased from a hundred meters to two hundred. Which proved far more useful than expected.

  Before the three could begin to move, a faint rumbling sound entered his ears. Tucker immediately took shelter in the shadows of the three and peered toward the sounds. The noise of horses galloping against the cold dirt path soon entered his ears. His eyes narrowed, closely observing the cloud of dust approach.

  A glimmer of hope flickered in his heart. The other watchmen were supposed to meet up with him at this location, but there was no telling who was coming, as their figures were too far. From a glance, he could tell it was the Empire’s carriage, but earlier, he had seen tracks already run through this area. Tracks that weren’t there when they first arrived. He kept his body low with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

  The leaves rustled in the wind as the hooves hitting the dirt path grew louder. Each step a steady rhythm that drew closer and closer. In a matter of seconds, Tucker would soon have a clear view, but for some reason, flashes of blue light flickered through the clouds of brown dust. The constant streams of light seemed to cut through the air, firing in all directions as a thunderous explosion erupted from the carriage.

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  Tucker’s eyes widened as the sight of two men riding the carriage came into view. Blaire was on the roof of the wooden object, his hands pulling on strings of azure threads as if he were weaving something in thin air. Once he was done, an assortment of frozen spears emerged from behind him and shot forth. Colliding against numerous fireballs that cross through the sky. While Alex was manning the horses and desperately pulling on to reins to steer the two panicked beasts to the best of his capabilities. The old man’s aura was wrapped around the mighty steeds as if it had engulfed the mounts in a bright scarlet flame. Empowering their flesh with power beyond the animal’s wildest imagination.

  They haven’t left yet.

  His heart wildly hammered in his chest once he realized that they were about to pass by him. Without wasting a second, he took several steps back into the forest. Stomaching the pain that raced through the side of his body. He had at most a couple of seconds to time his jump. A couple of seconds to make it onto the moving carriage.

  The hooves pounding against the earth grew louder. Each step sent violent tremors through the edge of the forest as the trees violently shook from the pressure. Tucker took several quick breaths, matching the steady beat of the mounts racing through the dirt path. Once they drew near, he burst out into a sprint, the wind pushing fiercely behind him.

  The torrent accelerated his speed, and as he leaped out of the forest, Blaire and Alex caught sight of his figure with widened eyes. Tucker’s figure gracefully passed over the carriage, causing their expressions to quickly shift from surprise to shock.

  “This fucking idiot!” Blaire screamed at the top of his lungs, tightly weaving the threads into a thick rope. In an instant, he made a knot at the end, forming a circular loop as fast as his hands could possibly move, and flung it at Tucker.

  The rookie reached out, his hand brushing against the threads of rope, but before it could fully escape his grasp, he clung to the end of the lasso. With all of Blaire’s might, he yanked the rope back, twisting his body as the muscles in his legs and arms exerted their full strength. Flinging Tucker back towards them and sending the rookie’s body crashing into the front of the carriage beside Alex. Their body hit the stage coach’s seat with a sickening thump that violently jolted the wagon.

  Tucker cried out in pain as his body collided with Alex. It felt like he was slammed into a steel gate at full force. Yet in his moment of agony, Sally popped her head out of his pocket and happily hopped onto Alex’s shoulder, brushing his face.

  “Good to see you made it in one piece,” Alex said without batting an eye. “If we had to make another trip around the area, we would have had to leave you.”

  Tucker leaned back against the wooden frame and tightly shut his eyes while taking short gasps of air. Seeing this, Alex motioned at Sally to retrieve a potion and apply it to the injured rookie. With haste, the salamander crawled to the back of Alex’s pouch and took out a red vial before bringing it to Tucker’s lips. In one big gulp, he downed the crimson liquid, feeling a warm sensation flow through his body before tossing the empty flask to the side.

  “I had to deal with a knight,” Tucker painfully said.

  “A fucking knight?” Alex cursed and shook his head. Their hands were already full with the mages pursuing them, but if knights were also mounting, then it would soon be doomed. "Hop into the back of the carriage and see if there’s anything inside we can use to shake off our pursuers.”

  “On it,” Tucker immediately grabbed onto the wooden handle of the window and slid it open before dragging his body through. The healing potion was slowly working its magic, but the pain still lingered.

  From the side windows, he could see Newton and Gale flying high in the sky, intercepting whatever projectiles were within their capabilities. He felt a surge of adrenaline fill his body as he rummaged through the containers. Moving boxes left and right before stumbling upon a sealed crate. Tucker's eyes widened in curiosity, but the moment he touched it, sparks flew in all directions and stung his hand. Leaving behind a faint sizzling sound as the interior of the wagon was scorched by the brief flickers of lightning.

  “What the…” Tucker felt the wagon violently jolt, bringing him back to his senses. He opened several more crates before finding several scarlet fire crystals. “What the hell do I do with this?”

  He stared at the crystals with a dumbfounded expression before suddenly getting an idea. Like the one he found in the tunnels with Alex, it was possible to scribe a magic circle on the surface of the crystal to direct the flow of mana. By doing so, he could turn each one into a miniature bomb and use it to create distance between them and their pursuers.

  It was risky, far too risky without the proper tools, but they were in a carriage owned by mages. With his dexterity, he could inscribe the circle even if they were moving. All he would need to do was endure the searing heat from the crystal. The rookie checked the carriage once more, opening the boxes in search of something. Anything that he could use to inscribe enchantments onto the crystals.

  Think, think! There has to be something I can use here.

  Tucker thought about the possible solutions while looking around. His hands brushed against the crates in the carriage. Nearly all of them were mana crystals, which made sense if they were using it to power the barrier. Nevertheless, for there to be nothing else was ridiculous! The wagon viciously jolted once more, causing Tucker to groan in pain. He could hear the wheels creak and Blaire conjure several spells above him. The crackling sound of ice breaking entered his ears, and he immediately pulled out his dagger and firmly held it in the palm of his hands.

  Fuck it.

  He etched the surface of the crystal, expecting it to flare and glow with a rigorous light. He squinted his eyes in preparation, but the moment his dagger scratched the surface. Nothing happened.

  Does anyone have a guess as to what it could be?

  Why did nothing happen when the magic crystals were scratched...

  Questions questions.

  Anyway, let me know if you see any mistakes, and as always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!