The man raised his fist when the explosion tore through the structure.
⠀
The man was shaken and was trying to steady himself.
⠀
'System, analyze him!'
⠀
[Status window]
[Target name: Fred Crowley]
[Age: 42 Years]
[Status: Boss of the Crowley Gang]
[Attributes]
STR: ???
DEX: ???
INT: 16
END: ???
MP: 15/15
[Talents]
Swordsmanship: Tier D (Current Mastery: B)
⠀
"What the hell was that!?" The man now known as Fred shouted, his face twitching.
⠀
Just as he said that, a calm voice echoed across the slums from outside the base where Leo was held.
⠀
"By the order of the Grand Duke, I hereby demand your surrender for the crime of kidnapping the second young master, Leo Von Rosenhart!"
⠀
The man speaking was wearing an exquisite suit of armor engraved with a golden drake symbol and a helmet covering his face, decorated with a long golden feather. He was riding an armored horse and holding a longsword.
With a contingent of 50 mounted knights behind him, all wearing heavy suits of armor with engravings of a black drake and helmets decorated with long black feathers, the group exuded a heavy presence.
⠀
'Damn, Father must have sent some experts for them to locate me this fast!'
Leo was shocked at the thought of them finding him this fast. After all, by his estimation, it had only been 15 minutes since he woke up, and he judged he wasn't unconscious for long.
⠀
"Now, I suggest you throw down your weapons and come out quietly. Otherwise, I and the Grand Duke's personal guard here will slaughter you without mercy!" The knight's voice echoed again, now with an unnerving tone.
⠀
Leo saw Fred visibly tremble when he heard the term Grand Duke's personal guard.
⠀
'They must be famous for him to be this shaken. He looks like he gave up already,' Leo thought.
⠀
However, Fred shouted from inside the room to his men outside, "We don't surrender,"
Fred hissed, voice cracking. "Kill them. Kill them all." Fred shouted with a determined face as he lifted the mace at his side and closed the door.
⠀
"Seems like they came quick for you, brat. I will just use your life as a ransom and escape!" Fred shouted as he tried steadying his shaking legs, clearly not believing his own words.
⠀
Then they heard, "Well... it seems you are choosing death! Suit yourself." The knight in front shouted with an enraged voice, as if saying how could these trash refuse his mercy.
⠀
"Charge! Kill them all, show no mercy!"
⠀
The knights charged towards a hole in the wall they blew up earlier.
⠀
The gang members, roughly 20 of them, were waiting for them already, encircling the hole and determined not to let any knight inside the base.
⠀
As the knights dismounted and ran towards the gang members, they crashed into them. Each knight used their heavy armor to fend off the attacks, quickly racking up the number of gang members killed.
⠀
Leo could hear the sound of battle. Metal clashing against metal with a clang and swords sliding against each other.
Arcane syllables echoed, leo could only describe as sharp, structured, inhuman.
⠀
The gang members, who were already breaking under the pressure of the knights, suddenly saw a figure in robes holding a staff. The figure recited a spell, and a large ball of flames headed towards them with a bang, incinerating the remaining gang members into ash.
⠀
Fred, realizing what happened, quickly tied up the mouth of Leo, who was struggling fiercely against the ropes. He was trying not to create noise so they would not come to the basement they were in.
⠀
Leo could hear the footsteps moving with haste above him, opening door after door.
He tried to create as much noise as he could so they could find him.
⠀
But Fred pulled out a dagger and put it to Leo's throat, drawing a thin, burning line of blood.
⠀
"You best shut up, because if they find us, you are dying with me!" Fred said, now looking like he had lost all reason.
⠀
Then, BANG! The door to the basement was flung away, hitting the floor.
⠀
Standing in the door frame was the knight with the golden feather.
⠀
"You put down the dagger now or the consequences will be unimaginable!" The knight said while looking at Fred with a threatening gaze.
⠀
"You... You are Gael the Golden Knight. Why... how are you here!?" Fred shouted, as if even as he lost his reason, he saw something worse than death.
⠀
'System, analyze him.'
⠀
[Status window]
[Target name: Gael Calloway]
[Age: 29 Years]
[Status: Knight Commander of the Rosenhart Duchy]
[Attributes]
STR: ???
DEX: ???
INT: ???
END: ???
MP: ???
[Talents]
Swordsmanship: Tier S (Current Mastery: A)
⠀
Leo's breath caught.
So this is the level guarding my family.
⠀
"Oh, so you know who I am. Then you must know my reputation. I swear on my honor, if you let him go, I won't kill you and will plead for your life," Gael said while pointing at Leo.
⠀
"No... I can't trust you. I know the moment I let him go, you will cut me down," Fred said. His body was trembling in fear and his eyes were twitching, looking like he had lost all reason.
⠀
Suddenly, he reached inside his pockets and pulled out a small potion the size of a palm and drank it.
⠀
Leo, the moment he saw him, got a system alert.
⠀
Ding!
Target Fred has taken the forbidden potion of transformation. He will gain 200 points of Strength and Dex while all his other stats will fall to 1 as a side effect for 1 minute.
The moment the time ends, he will go back to his original form and die.
⠀
Leo was the first to realize Fred's transformation, as Fred's body morphed into a chimera and grew larger in size, up to 3 meters.
⠀
The basement shook as the creature filled the space, its head nearly scraping the ceiling.
Gael, who saw this, instinctively had a bad feeling and attacked immediately. He bent his knees and launched towards the chimera, leaving the large basement ground he was standing on in pieces.
There was barely room for Gael to swing his blade.
He reached the chimera in a blur and swung his sword in a downward slash towards its arm. However, it was met with a loud clang and his attack did no damage.
The chimera retaliated with a punch straight to his stomach, making him slide back.
⠀
'My attack did no damage. It is as if I hit metal. However, he transformed into this creature after drinking that ominous looking potion. There is no way it doesn't have a set time,' Gael reasoned, using his almost two decades of experience to figure out what he had to do.
⠀
'The only way to kill him is to imbue my sword with mana, but that will be too dangerous as the young master will be caught in the crossfire. I will have to buy time for the mages behind to figure out a spell that can kill him!' Gael thought while still looking forward at the chimera charging towards him.
⠀
The chimera charged.
The floor shattered beneath its weight.
Gael tightened his grip on the sword.
Thirty seconds, he calculated. I just need thirty seconds.