Chapter 181: Applause (1/2)

The patrol captain did not have the faintest idea what a player was, but that did not stop him from getting the gist of the situation.

Someone was stealing his duck!

“Don’t let them get away!” The patrol captain roared.

However, the floating snow and the sheer speed of the husky-powered sled prevented him from noticing that the ones who had suddenly whisked the noblewoman’s group away were those three brats he had killed before.

“Relax! As long as we slide fast enough, their arrows won’t reach us.” Simba calmed the passengers as he spurred the huskies on.

“…Not that their arrows would have great effect even if they catch up.” He added, perhaps sensing that his previous assurance was less than convincing.

Meanwhile, Zazu seized the opening to glance behind, only to find that the archers were drawing some red clay from their hip sack and applying it to their arrows.

Zazu told the others about what he saw, and the noblewoman’s face fell. She turned to check behind, and exclaimed in shock. “It’s Igni Clay; it’s used for enchantment!”

“Say what?” Simba asked distractedly while keeping the sled going.

“It’s an alchemy material, neither common nor rare and made from scraps of Illum crystals with the fire element trait. There are many uses for it in alchemy, and it’s not expensive since it’s not rare…”

“Put all that into a single sentence!”

The noblewoman appeared to be learned in alchemy and started rambling away confidently, but having no time for that, Simba promptly cut her lecture shortly and rudely.

“In short, when you paint it on the volatile metal of weapons and left it fly…”

Before she finished, one of the arrows landed on the snow beside them.

Booooooom!

That part of the snowy ground exploded, the thick snow layer vanishing with a crater blasted into the earth which should have been frozen stiff.

Soon, the snowflakes that were sent flying formed a tiny mushroom cloud overhead that slowly descended from the skies, prompting the illusion of winter’s return with all its goose-feather sized snow.

“…it explodes.”

“It’s a little late for that!” Simba cried as he struggled to calm the startled huskies as he continued driving them towards Lancaster while evading the Igni arrows.

The huskies that had been a little leisurely and even thinking about rolling about in the snow were certainly frightened by the arrows. They actually stopped drooling as well and started running as fast as they could.

Zazu and Nala were not idling on the sled idea, but trying their best to use their spells or sacred arts to shoot those arrows down.

Nonetheless, pillars of snow kept blowing up on both sides of the sled, missing it by inches. It was therefore worth rejoicing that the city watch soldiers were not believers of the God of Games or the God of the Hunt, and their arrows did not have accuracy aid like the Rangers would.

Moreover, Codo Bosra was no city of horseback riders, and the archers’ skill of shooting while riding was modest at best. They could aim better when their humpbeasts stayed still, but once those creatures start running, they could only depend on luck with the bumpiness, which meant that their accuracy was poor.

At first, Simba intended to flee all the way to Lancaster… or at least to a sentry spot nearby since those soldiers would not dare to be reckless where the guards could see.

In fact, they did not even have to get so far—they just had to reach the Lancaster troops that were tasked with culling swamp fishmen to turn the tables on those Codo Bosra soldiers!

Nonetheless, the Igni arrows messed up his plans.

Normal arrows would never have cut down their HP by much. They could just use healing potions when their HP dropped to critical levels, not to mention that Zazu and Nala could be meat shields for the others as well.

On the other hand, the Igni arrows were too powerful and there was no telling how much actual damage it could inflict. Still, by the looks of the towering pillars of snow, and their own tiny bodies at less than Level 10 in contrast, they are going straight to the Black Hut if even one arrow hits them.

“Wait, aren’t we going to Lancaster?” The noblewoman asked, noticing that Simba had steered the sled onto a different path.

“Those guys will hit us sooner or later, whether luck is on their side or not,” Simba explained. “I’m sorry, but this sled is just not tough enough—it’s over for us if they even get one hit.”

***

When they were coming to rescue the noblewoman and Gwendolyn, Simba realized how unreliable the sled was: the slightest shake would make it creak at the joints, and an entire part of the sled would be left in the snow if they accidentally run into a piece of rock.

In fact, the sled had shrunk by a fifth of its original size on its way here.