Return of the Fallen Volume 4 Chapter 73
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch73
The sun had risen several hours ago. Normally the sound of a robust city would echo throughout as the day passed but today, it was eerily quiet. Citizens far and wide had already noticed something strange, something off about today. As they went about their business, they noticed an oddity. Soldiers, soldiers everywhere. Every street, every corner, at least half a dozen soldiers were spotted patrolling around or guarding various sites.
A man had been curious as to what they were doing and tried to inquire but the moment he approached them, a soldier flipped out on him and screamed at him to get lost. The man was frightened and nearly pissed himself but he did as he was told and scampered away as quickly as his feet would carry him.
Seeing this interaction between the two, seeing all the soldiers decked out and fully equipped, the citizens were not that foolish. They knew something was keeping these soldiers on edge and after the attack from the sky just recently, the citizens as well became alert.
Conversations became hushed and were kept at a minimum as everyone observed the situation. There seemed to be a pressure outside of some kind. It brought everyone’s mood down and many chose to simply stay inside their homes today.
—————————————————————————-
Kazuki and the rest had left the hotel a while ago and had wanted to get breakfast at a nearby restaurant but as soon as they stepped outside the hotel, they could tell they were both being watched and followed. In the end, the ever-watchful eyes became unbearable and so they simply grabbed something at an open stall and ate while they walked the nearly deserted city streets.
Mei tugged on her mother’s sleeve.
“Mama, where is everyone?”
“Shh, keep quiet for now.”
Mei could see the serious expression on her mother’s face and took the hint.
Degra walked next to Kazuki and whispered.
“Do you see them?”
Kazuki remained calm.
“Yes, they are literally everywhere. If they weren’t concerned with collateral damage, they might have already attacked us.”
Degra laughed.
*Hah*
“They wouldn’t dare. Not when my men are watching them as well.”
Derga motioned with his eyes and Kazuki followed his swift gaze. He saw several soldiers in one spot but a little further behind them, there were several cloaked men and women ready to strike the soldiers at a moment’s notice. This same sight appeared all over the surrounding area. No matter where one looked, you would see a group of soldiers standing around trying to appear busy, while in the background you could spot hints of cloaked individuals.
As Kazuki and his group moved, so too did all of the soldiers and Degra’s men. Like a plague of locusts, a large shadow followed after Kazuki’s group.
The soldiers tried to hide the fact that they were following but seeing as how they were out in the open and they weren’t professionals, they were beyond obvious. Still, it’s not like anyone would say anything at this point to correct them.
“Degra, I see your men but I don’t see any sign of Triska or her people.”
“And you won’t see them. I’ve already been in contact with my people as I had one more piece of business I had to take care of before we left and I’ve been informed that Triska’s already left ahead of us. An ambush lies far off down the road.”
“Do you know when they’ll pounce?”
“Can’t say for sure but it will most likely be during your meeting with that Reya lady you mentioned.”
“Degra, stop calling her a lady. I told you before she isn’t a human but a powerful Azirian instead.”
Degra nodded.
“Right. It’s still a little hard to believe that an Azirian has made it this far deep into Treia territory without notice and is as strong and intelligent as you say. At least she’s not a 4th stage Mage though. That gives us some advantage since she can’t use magic.”
“Don’t underestimate her strength. She is stronger and faster than all of us and her defense is tough. From what you’ve told me of Triska, their bodies seem to be similar when it comes to being harmed with simple blades. Also don’t forget, her regenerative abilities are monstrous as well. If we want to win, we need to do it all at once and finish her before she has time to escape.”
Degra nodded along.
“Don’t worry. With my eyes and your blue flames, we should be able to destroy her in one go. You just make sure you don’t lower your guard because as I was saying a second ago, the ambush will either happen when we engage Reya or immediately after she’s defeated. They still don’t know we know and believe our guard will be lowered.”
Kazuki looked around discretely.
“What about your men. They should already know you won’t travel outside these walls without your subordinates. How are they going to deal with them?”
“The fools will most likely go the old-fashioned way to deal with my men. Triska’s and the city lords combined, they clearly have the numerical advantage. They will try to crush my forces with the superior number but my men are not so simple. This fight will not end so easily, that I guarantee.”
Kazuki and the rest came upon the city’s main gate. Even now they had more soldiers than usual but again, they tried to make them seem busy or distracted.
Kazuki ignored their foolishness and stepped through the city gate and left Gentis city without incident.
(They really plan to just let us leave. They really are fools.)
Kazuki half expected an attack right there and then but nothing actually came.
(Are they that confident they can defeat us outside or are they worried about the destruction we would cause were we to fight inside the city? Whatever, it doesn’t matter. What matters is we are out and the next step goes smoothly.)
“Tsura, you’re up.”
The city was just barely in sight at this point when Kazuki called out to Tsura. Tsura stepped forward. The necklace around her neck was stored inside her earing and then she transformed into her Mangshi form.
Degra had already been told about this but seeing it first hand and hearing about it were two different things entirely. Tsura grew to a height of just over 10 feet tall with a wide wingspan. Her darker then night feathers seemed to suck up all the nearby light giving her a sinister feeling. Degra couldn’t help but gulp dryly at her appearance.
Mei hopped onto Tsura’s back happily. To her, this was just like a normal piggyback ride between mother and daughter. Tsura lowered one of her wings so Nunully could climb up as well. Kazuki jumped on directly behind Nunully causing her heart to flutter in excitement. Now all that was left was for Degra to climb aboard but he felt a little embarrassed. He couldn’t sit behind Kazuki because that would be off-putting for a guy like him. The other side to that though was a bit of embarrassment and awkwardness. Degra sighed inwardly before sitting down near the front. Mei wrapped her arms around him tightly and chuckled.
“You’d better hang on tight, Mama’s fast.”
Degra didn’t bother to listen to Mei as he was still trying to deal with the embarrassment of riding like this with four people. This was his mistake.
*Fwhoosh!*
Tsura flapped her wings one good time and kicked off the ground with her feet. As soon as she did, her body along with everyone on her back ascended into the sky and in the blink of an eye, they were already almost 300 feet up. Degra didn’t expect such force and nearly fell off. His legs unconsciously gripped tighter.
“Bwahahahaha. I told ya mama’s fast, just wait until she really goes for it. This isn’t even her fastest speed yet.”
Degra rolled his eyes at Mei’s bragging but inside he was now taking her words seriously. A torrent of wind began to gather beneath Tsura’s body and she flapped her wings once more.
*Shwoosh*
Snapping her neck forward her feathers spread out for a split second before they slammed together as though each individual feather was pushing off and away from the wind like mini-explosions. Degra once ore tightened his grip as his whole body felt the sudden pull forward. Tsura flew forward and her body blurred slightly as she quickly sped out of the enemy’s gazes.
The City Lord had been one of these watchers and he roared at his men.
“QUICKLY, GIVE CHASE!”
Kazuki heard this roar in the distance and he and Degra shared a knowing look.
Once Kazuki told Degra about Tsura, the two put this to good use. They both knew that the city lord would be watching them and most likely wouldn’t leave until they did. If it turned out this way then they would use Tsura’s flying speed to leave the city lord and his men in the dust. In this way, they could deal with Reya and possibly fight Triska’s people on equal footing in terms of numbers. With this simple thought, they figured they could deal with Reya, Triska, and her people before the city lord ever even showed up. After that, they could reverse everything and deal with the city lord when he made it there.
Kazuki looked forward and thought.
(so far so good.)
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