641 The Fate of those Who Fled, A Battle Above the Philippine Sea (1/2)

”How in the world...”

Berrak was speechless.

Although Berrak was not confident of fighting the enemy, he was sure that he could escape, albeit with a few sacrifices. The ability of his pet, Baku, was not just turning day into a pitch-black night. It was capable of dulling the senses of everything engulfed by that darkness, erasing any chances of being tailed.

Berrak never expected that the enemy could still follow them. The enemy even brought his mount into the fray.

One more thing. Berrak learned what offense that Liden did to deserve his death. To say that he and his men would play with that thing's wife? Really? Liden and his men were courting death. That was, without a doubt.

When Berrak saw Mark for the first time earlier, he psychologically disabled the manliness of that group of men after they lustfully whistled at his wife. And Liden had the guts to say that to the very same person.

There was nothing that they could do now. Liden did the act, and the older brother supported the other instead of apologizing. Both of them were marked for death and dragged him in.

”Damn it.”

Berrak cursed.

He had been into many dangerous situations and almost lost his life several times. This time, however, was the first time he felt the most hopeless.

What could they do now? Berrak racked the deepest parts of his brain. Could they escape? Not. There was no way. His flying serpent, Baku, could use that ability as much as its energy could handle. However, there was no way that it would work on the same opponent twice in a row.

Could he offer something in exchange for the lives of these two arrogant idiots? Maybe treasure? Maybe a pet?

Unfortunately, when it came to treasures, he had none. Berrak had been a noman all his life. The only time he stayed in one place was when he was still a child learning things from his master. Since his master vanished, he had been moving around, putting the things he learned into practice.

Searching for astray spiritual and demonic creatures was not easy at all. It was even harder to find clues about their whereabouts. Berrak would spend months to years to find one, and taming it was not a piece of cake either and sometimes life-threatening. There were even times that he had to abandon the thought of taming creatures that he found just because they were too strong for him.

Living as a nomad disabled him from being able to amass any kind of wealth. Even if he found some valuable things in his endeavors, he would end up selling the items to fund his worldwide journey.

That was why Berrak was dirt poor. It was just a few years ago that he settled down in this country. It was after he almost died after chasing a

There was no way he would choose that end.

Berrak was out of any options. Maybe the last thing he could do was plead. Nevertheless, he was more convinced that they would die here.

”Is there no way that you will let these two go?”

Berrak shouted in a respectful voice.

”You...”

General Seguerra was rendered speechless. He never expected that his trump card was actually this useless. He had magical abilities and these fascinating summons. Yet, he could not or even dare do anything against the enemy.

Of course, that gesture from the Marines General did not escape Berrak's attention. With a sigh, he yelled.

”Shut up!”

Of course, General Seguerra was not happy being constantly scolded like this. A person like him that climbed up the ranks of the Military was now reduced to this. Unfortunately, he could not do anything but flinch. His position as a Marines General had no use in these circumstances. At least, he knew that much.

On the other hand, Liden had no ability to speak or complain anymore. Mark's sudden appearance behind them took a toll on his mind. He started to reach his limit in enduring the pain of his broken arms.

Actually, Berrak was not expecting anything as he asked that. In any case, if there was no hope at all, he did not mind making a last-ditch effort. Although he might die in the end, in the least, he fought.

Berrak stared at the enemy. Although he had Baku, a flying serpent with fish-like characteristics, the black dragon in front of him appeared to be far more intimidating despite being smaller. Despite the current situation, he could not help but feel a bit of envy.

To Berrak's question, Mark replied with another.

”I'm curious. Why is someone like you so keen on protecting lowlives like them?”

Berrak was surprised at that question. He thought that he would be faced with an answer that was filled with hostility. However, what he received was something filled with curiosity instead.

***

Mark, on the other hand, observed Berrak and his pet named Baku. He could tell that this guy, although not innocent, was not a bad person. It was why Mark was confused as to why Berrak was protecting those two.

Berrak stared at Mark and answered.

”Because of a promise. That's why I can't back down here.”

”A promise? Then, you will protect them even if you die?”

Mark asked another.

”I don't really want to die here.” Berrak bitterly smiled. ”But even if I have to.”

After those words, Berrak tapped Baku's back and jumped off.

With another surge of energy, the surroundings went black once more.

Unlike before, it was shorter this time. However, by the time the surroundings returned to normal, the flying serpent was gone together with General Seguerra and Liden. All that was left was Berrak, riding on top of a Thunderbird, and two more flying creatures. One was wasp about the size of a motorcycle, while the other was unexpectedly a black-colored pegasus.

”You actually stayed behind.”

Mark said.

”As if would have any other choice,” Berrak replied before glancing at his summons. ”Espa, Greos, Trua, this might be our last fight together. Go all out!”

With those commands, the three creatures flew in different directions. By their movements, it seemed that Berrak wanted to surround Mark and Chaflar at the center.

This way, not only that Mark would not be able to chase after Baku but would have to be wary of attacks coming from different directions.

Mark watched the three flying creatures as they surrounded him and Chaflar without any intervention.

And finally, they started to attack after reaching their positions in almost an instant.

With flaps of their wings, the Thunderbird, Trua, and the Pegasus, Greos, sent bolts of lightning towards Mark and Chaflar. Different from the two, the Wasp called Espa buzzed its wings, creating sound distortions in the air.

The three attacks flew towards Mark at the same time. Furthermore, Berrak started to chant, making the space around slow down. It was not some sort of time magic, but he was compressing the space using magical energy.

In order to not die here, Berrak was betting on his abilities, even the ones that he was not really good at using.