I-I need to be cautious… or… this could be our end. I thought coldly, letting nothing sound but my breathing.
About ten minutes had passed since our successful escape from the stone cell, and luckily, thanks to the heavy celebration the mercenaries had, they had not yet discovered our escape nor the corpses I left behind, something I knew would inevitably change with the passing of the few minutes we had left.
After leaving Zoe resting in a rocky crevice where she wasn't in as much danger, I said goodbye to her, agreeing that she would be in charge of freeing Mork and Ness taking advantage of the fact that there were no guards in that area, while I would cause the distraction to gain enough seconds to escape from that area.
Starting to move through the periphery of the camp, I sneaked in absolute silence among the rocks to reach the other side of the hollow, right at the opposite end of where they had the dragons chained.
Taking advantage of the darkness and the freedom of my hands, I slightly peeked my head over a boulder, analyzing the camp for the first time with my own eyes, since during the whole journey they had kept me blindfolded and without the possibility of using my abilities like Perception.
Wow... this is much bigger than I imagined. I thought, frowning upon noticing the amount of tents set up in the center of the camp.
Luckily, thanks to the party there was, there was a great silence that was only interrupted by the snores of the sleeping mercenaries and the footsteps of the only five guards making their rounds. However, while I sneaked through the shadows, I noticed that not all were combatants, because upon passing near one of the farthest tents, I heard a woman's voice and that of a child.
"Mom, I'm sleepy now… I want to go to sleep." Said tiredly a childish voice from the other side of the tent, a voice that was answered by a woman.
"I know, sweetie, but we have to wait for your father to finish his shift to give him the good news, remember that mommy just found out you will have a little brother, and I want both of us to be there to give him the good news as soon as possible."
"Yes, mommy… I know that is what's done, but… I don't think I can hold on anymore…"
"Oh, son… Look, we just wait ten more minutes, if he doesn't come by then, you can sleep and tomorrow you join our celebration."
Guard? I hope it wasn't one of those two… I said, before refocusing and continuing on my journey until reaching a blind spot at the back of the camp, out of sight of the guards.
Crouched in the darkness while my heart started to beat little by little faster, I stopped my movements for an instant, doubtful whether to use the converter Angelica had given me or not.
Ahhh… what do I do? I thought sighing, taking it out of my dimensional rune to then put it back on my wrist, just like the old times.
With the pad of my thumb, I caressed the cold surface of the crystal Angelica left me several years ago, that strange enchanted object that passively stored all the mana of the living beings that died near it.
Because of the pink color it has now... it must contain a great amount of mana from everything it absorbed. I thought, knowing that that energy would serve me greatly for a situation like this. But...
Clenching my teeth, I shook my head, remembering what it meant to spend that resource now. Determined not to use it for the moment, I kept it with me as insurance while thinking that I would only use it when I was truly in a totally desperate situation.
Discarding that idea and feeling the weight of time against me, I used Atlas again to take out of my dimensional space a couple of stones with a property I knew, a metallic cup and a leather waterskin that contained water, placing everything on the dirt floor with great care.
Making a small hole in the ground near the dry branches with my hands, I put the stones there, to then position the cup and pierce the lower part of the waterskin with Zoe's dagger.
The idea was simple and silent: the water would drip filling the cup, whose weight would end up overcoming it and making it fall on the stones that contained large amounts of pure sodium, causing a violent reaction of fire similar to a small explosion in more or less six minutes.
Leaving everything prepared, I started to move away slowly to not make noise, until a crunch of gravel behind my back made me think I had been discovered.
Turning my head slowly, I came face to face with the small silhouette of a child who had come out to urinate in the darkness.
The child, seeming to be half asleep and with squinted eyes, looked at me standing a few meters away. Rubbing an eye and turning his head to the side, confused by my presence.
"W-what's wrong...?" He asked with a sleepy voice. "Who are you?"
Feeling my breath catch for a moment, I took a breath before smiling, clinging to the calm of my core.
"Shhh… I am the new kid." I said, putting my fingers on my lips asking him to keep quiet too. "This place is occupied, so you better go urinate somewhere else."
The child, without understanding the situation much and too tired to process it, simply nodded his head and turned around, walking away at a slow pace to go behind other rocks.
Shit... I didn't think anyone would come all the way here. I thought, realizing my dependence on Perception for things like these, before quickly resuming my path towards the dragons, knowing that the time for the explosion was already ticking against me.
Passing behind the tents again, I stopped dead in my tracks upon seeing how one of the five armed guards slowly approached where I was, stopping a few meters away to watch the perimeter.
Damn it, why right now? I complained in my head, stepping back with extreme care to blend into the darkness, pressing my back against the rough canvas of one of the largest tents.
I stayed crouching, completely motionless. One minute. Two minutes. Three. The cold influence of my demonic core kept my shallow breathing at bay, but my human nature and memories screamed at me that time was running out.
Reaching the fourth minute, lactic acid began to accumulate in my calves, creating a sensation of tiredness that transformed into trembling thanks to the help of the recent burns I suffered because of Eris.
Time is running out. There must be less than two minutes left for the water to touch the sodium and… everything starts. I thought, feeling a slight discomfort throbbing in my forehead. The guard was still there, static, looking towards the darkness of the desert while occasionally checking the center of the camp.
In an almost imperceptible attempt to ease the tension, I shifted the weight of my body to my left leg to avoid a cramp, creating what could be my end.
–CRACK–
A damn dry branch, hidden under the dust, snapped under my sole, breaking the silence that enveloped the night.
Shit, this is bad. I thought, focusing on the guard to see if he had noticed the sound or not.
Turning and seeing the tense guard, I knew my mistake had been fatal.
Bringing his hand to the hilt of his sword, he turned his head directly towards my position, starting to walk towards the shadow of the tent to investigate the noise that shortened the distance with heavy strides.
He's coming here… What do I do? Do I move? Or do I kill him? I thought coldly, raising Zoe's dagger, ready to slit his throat before he could shout.
No, I can't attack him, since his guard is up and he might be one of legend rank. I thought rapidly, discarding the idea only for a similar one to cross my mind. And what if I just use one of the three compressed stone cannons with myAtlasrune?
Thoughtful and just two seconds away from him having the angle to discover me, I hesitated, undecided on what to do while holding Zoe's dagger.
Ah… I guess I have no choice. I thought sighing, seeing how the guard raised his sword one second away from seeing me.
Turning my face towards the rough canvas I had at my side, I focused the dense energy of my demonic mana heart to use Immaterial again, passing through the fabric wall of the tent next to me.
As soon as I recovered my solidity, the strong and familiar stench of alcohol hit my face, almost making me cough. This place…
Crouched on the dirt floor and with Zoe's dagger gripped in my hand, I carefully analyzed the interior of the tent I had entered, finding myself in the darkness with five deeply asleep mercenaries.
Taking advantage of the little light filtering from the outside, I saw how some were lying on their dirty sleeping bags in the center, while the others rested at the edges of the tent, surrounded by empty bottles and snoring loudly in their deep intoxication.
Phew… thank goodness.
Being a little calmer inside the dark and stinky tent, I took a moment to organize my ideas, knowing that my distraction wouldn't take long to explode at any moment.
If Zoe is already waiting near Mork and Ness, taking care of removing those damn mana chains from them, my duty is to ensure no one follows us through the air once we escape. I thought quickly, reviewing my plan while looking at the five vulnerable men lying on the ground.
The best thing will be to take advantage ofImmaterialand the few offensive abilities this core allows me to use, killing as many as I can right now to reduce their numbers. I concluded coldly, making a decision that my demonic part backed without hesitation.
Knowing that I had very few seconds left before the sodium and the water did their job, I let out a subtle smile, approaching the drunk mercenaries with extreme care, keeping my presence and my steps completely hidden in the gloom.
I would like to include the guy outside in the party, but I guess it won't be possible if I want to do it right… oh well, I will have to settle for these five. I thought grimly, stopping next to the nearest mercenary and extending the palm of my left hand inches from his face. At least I will make you pay for the burns you gave me, bastards.
Almost instantly, a loud crash broke the tranquility of the early morning, resounding in the distance to alert the entire camp that they were being attacked from a specific point.
The sudden explosion made the mercenaries inside the tent open their eyes wide, waking up startled and completely disoriented by the chaos.
"Surprise." I whispered coldly to the man I had at my feet, before completely releasing my Atlas rune.
Without giving them time to react, I released the Deflagration spell I had stored since my fight with Zoe, unleashing a violent and expansive flare that flooded the interior of the tent in a fraction of a second, incinerating everything inside while the inferno was barely contained momentarily by the thick fabrics that stretched violently.
Being in the middle of the explosion, I saw how the structure collapsed, followed by a small mushroom that rose to the sky. With Immaterial active, I noticed how the debris passed through my body as if they were nothing more than simple illusions.
Refocusing, I moved quickly to exit the inferno I had just created while leaving the burning canvases behind.
Exiting, I ran towards the darkness of the wasteland towards rock formations, formations that I started to pass through without problems to use them as camouflage while I ran towards Zoe.
I hope at least one of those five was Legend Rank. I thought, quickly moving away from the place.