Chapter 55: A change in status (1/2)

Chapter 55: A change in status

The other wolf rider, upon seeing Han Shuo rush over wielding a longsword, forcefully widened his eyes that rested beneath his furry forehead. He roared furiously, obviously unpracticed in the common language, “Tri… tricky humans, you are… looking for death!”

The giant wolf, beneath his legs, howled and the orc wolf rider whipped out a crossbow from behind him, raised it, and shot it at Han Shuo. It whistled with an ear-piercing sound as it flew towards Han Shuo’s neck.

His magical yuan churning quickly, Han Shuo focused his concentration. That sharply whistling crossbolt suddenly seemed to slow down in his eyes, as bizarre as the slow motion scenes in the movies that Han Shuo used to watch. In stark contrast to the crossbow bolt’s speed, was Han Shuo’s strong and speedy perception.

When the crossbolt had flown to about a meter away from Han Shuo, the longsword in his hand abruptly thrust out and it landed an unerringly accurate hit on the head of the bolt. A sharp crack resounded and the crossbolt suddenly exploded into pieces.

Even after destroying the oncoming crossbow bolt, Han Shuo’s speed, although still on the back of the battlesteed, wasn’t affected at all. Before the wolf rider had the chance to fire off a second bolt, Han Shuo had already raised his longsword and rushed in front of the wolf rider.

The cold arc of a blade flared out from Han Shuo’s right hand, wielding the sword. The longsword had been solid and heavy, but it was as light and graceful as a feather in Han Shuo’s grasp.

The orc wolf rider also raised its sword, but just as the two swords were about to clash together, a smaller, brown crossbow bolt suddenly flew out from Han Shuo’s right sleeve. The crossbolt whooshed as it flew past the orc’s longsword and sank into the orc wolf rider’s neck with a soft sound.

“Trea… treachery!”

Its mouth frothing with bloody bubbles, the orc wolf rider finally spat out this word with much difficulty as the large hand, which had been holding up the longsword, suddenly lost strength. The heavy longsword brought down its fit and bulky body into falling off the huge wolf’s back. It was obvious from the looks of things that it was dead.

“A race with low intelligence indeed. Heh!” Han Shuo’s previously stern and cold expression vanished as he came to the side of the huge wolf with a face filled of traces of an evil smile. A flick of his longsword sent the bag on the huge wolf’s body flying towards the battlesteed behind him. Afterwards, the sword stabbed downwards and the giant wolf also toppled over in a pool of blood.

“Kill, kill, kill!”

At this moment, a wave of figures suddenly materialized from the corner of the northern street. More than ten wolf riders were howling loudly as they desperately chased a band of mages and warriors. Amongst the escapees were Beacher and the others from the light major of the Academy, riding on inferior battlesteeds.

“Hurry and go!” Han Shuo immediately reacted after pausing momentarily. He lifted the reins in his hand and the battlesteed trotted out with dull, hasty clops as it changed directions once more to charge towards the north.

Fanny and the others were tongue tied as they watched Han Shuo’s dog eat dog performance. Seeing Han Shuo suddenly rush out, they too understood that the situation was dire. They also urged their battlesteeds to follow behind Han Shuo, pathing their escape to the north.

Han Shuo’s crew made their way to a large canyon after half a day’s worth of frantic galloping on the back of their horses. The sides of the canyon were steep, and a vast river was at its end. Han Shuo and the others reined in their battlesteeds at the end of the canyon and gazed at the river’s azure waters, suddenly sinking into a quandary.

“This should be the Empire’s Nirolan River. We can make our way to the city of Balthazar in the southern part of the Empire after crossing the Nirolan River. Balthazar City and Zajoski City aren’t too far apart. Although it’s not as heavily fortified as Zajoski City, it’s sure to have a heavily armed guard. I think we’ll be safe as long as we can make it to Balthazar City.”