Chapter 111 Fighting Dirty (2/2)

”We need to get in position,” he said ”There will be others soon Do you remember what to do?”

”Hide until they pass me, and don't attack if there are more than three novices,” Snowcloud said In a quiet voice, she added, ”And don't let any of them escape”

Arran nodded ”Remember, you can't show them any mercy It's a favor they won't return” And if she wavered, he thought, she wouldn't be the only one who paid the price

They took up the positions they had agreed on earlier, Snowcloud in the brush along the footpath, and Arran between some shrubs on a small hill two hundred paces away froonbone bow Lord Jiang had given hih to draw it fully at the tih force to shatter even the thickest oak

A single arrow should be enough to kill even a powerful novice, provided they were distracted And unlike ic attacks, the arrows could only barely be Sensed

Now, all he could do ait If his plan had worked, their enemies' numbers would soon be halved And if it hadn't… well, best not to think about that

He didn't have to wait long

Just a few roup of some two dozen men and women appeared in the distance Arran could feel his heart pound in his chest as they approached — everything would depend on the next few seconds

Yet a roup, there were two robed figures, a es The plan had worked

Arran waited impatiently as they came closer When they reached the brush that held Snowcloud he felt aThe trap had been set, and now, all he had to do ait for Snowcloud to ee

But she didn't

Ten paces, twenty paces, thirty… Arran cursed under his breath when Snowcloud didn't appear, even as the group er and they would be halfway to Arran

Finally, when Arran was already beginning to think of ways to escape, Snowcloud stepped onto the road She raised her hand, and at the sa within it, the two roup turned around as one

At once, he loosed an arrow At this distance it struck al the robed woman in the back with such force that it tore her body in two

A second arrow followed a fraction of a second later, but already the robed h two of the round

Before Arran could fire another arrow, ahis way, and he had no choice but to drop the bow and throw up a Force shi+eld The fireball hit the shi+eld with such force that it threw Arran off his feet, but the shi+eld held up, and he was unharot to his feet in an instant, and already, he could Sense that the robed hters were running toward Arran

And still, Snowcloud had done nothing

Arran cursed loudly as he rolled to the side, only just avoiding the impact of a second fireball Fortunately, his opponent wasn't too strong, but he could not let this continue

He drew his sword and dashed forward, his blade cutting through four of the s in rapid succession as he prepared to attack the robed e of Fire Essence from Snowcloud's direction A htning burst forth froe

The man was still turned toward Arran, and the attack struck hi bursting from his face as he died instantly

But it didn't stop there The lightning lashed out again, and again, ripping through the bandits like a scythe through wheat Before the robedbandits were dead

Arran let out a deep sigh The fight had been far closer than it should have been — Snowcloud's hesitation had nearly cost him his life, and it was only his opponent's weakness that had saved hier, he knew the battle would have ended differently

He approached Snowcloud, anger building inside of him as he realized how close they had coe, she turned toward him, and her appearance almost caused hi, eyes filled with tears As Arran approached her she gave hi down

At this, Arran hesitated If he exploded now, he feared it ht break her spirit With another battle still ahead, that was soet easier?” she asked after some moments, her voice soft and unsteady

Arran could not answer her question In truth, killing had never been hard for him Even if hundreds of people had fallen to his hands, he hadn't lost a single night's sleep over any of them He would have preferred for theuilt for their deaths Yet he could not tell Snowcloud that — if he did, he knew she would think him a ed her For several ainst his chest, until finally, she looked up at him with red eyes

”I suppose we should prepare for the last ones,” she said quietly, clearly trying to put on a brave front

”We should,” Arran answered