"HE HAS THE PRINCESS!" Rian screamed, his voice cutting through the panic as he bolted for the main gates, pointing dramatically toward the rooftops. "ANYONE WHO CAN USE MAGIC, FOLLOW ME! WE MUST SAVE THE PRINCESS! DO YOUR DUTY TO THE ROYAL FAMILY , CHASE THAT FIEND AND RESCUE OUR PRINCESS!"
Rian shouted at the top of his lungs while sprinting towards the main gate, hoping at least one or two foolish nobles would be dumb enough to follow after him to gain glory for saving the princess, making his own escape less obvious.
But nothing happened.
No one moved.
Instead, everyone watched in silence as Rian sprinted through the garden.
Of course, he thought, completely expecting the noble's reaction. But no matter, he was only using this as an excuse anyway. There are always several political nuances to consider when dealing with nobles and considering their reaction. There was a good chance that the princess wasn't that influential; many nobles might have been secretly supporting the other prince and princesses as well.
Just as he was thinking of shifting his strategy, he heard two male voices shouting from behind.
"FOR THE PRINCESS!"
"WAIT FOR US!"
Rian looked back, only to see the figures of two young men, about his age, running after him, looking both scared and excited.
Yes! The idiots! Rian rejoiced while holding himself back from smiling. With these two behind him, it was going to become way too easy to move past the guards.
He soon got to the main gate looking at a group of guards was already there, blocking the way.
"My Lords… stop! You can't leave! The perimeter has been closed off!" one of the guards spoke.
"Forget your perimeter!" Rian screamed with anger while pushing at the guard's metal chest. "If you were doing your job, that man never would have reached the princess in the first place! Don't get in our way!"
Behind him, his two new friends yelled as well, and together they pushed past the surprised guard and out into the street.
"This way!" Rian yelled to the two nobles behind him and started running toward the sound of yelling in the distance. There, he saw a group of guards already circling around the mansion to make sure the kidnapper didn't escape with the princess.
Then all of a sudden, the air around them twisted, and in front of everyone's eyes. The kidnapper, Kaelen, vanished from the mansion's roof and appeared on the roof of one of the nearby buildings far ahead.
Witnessing this scene, all of the guards were taken aback for a second before they all rushed forward, some of them even climbing over the building's roof.
However, the one who was the most taken aback was Rian himself. Looking at that guy using space magic, his mind froze for a second. Since when did someone from their shitty academy have space affinity?
Space affinity was one of the rarest affinities out there. Even if Rian didn't know much about the guy, there was no way he wouldn't have heard about someone in their school possessing a space affinity.
Was this guy hiding his strengths? Rian questioned while himself rushing towards the building as well. Whatever it was, he would figure that out later; right now, the important thing was for him to get out of here.
Just as he was busy going through all these thoughts, Kaelan and the princess's figures vanished once again, appearing on the top of a different house, about a hundred metres away from their original position.
"There! He teleported that way!" Rian shouted while running and pointing to another building. "Go, go, go!"
As everyone was busy running, one of the noble boys behind him, a guy with big sleeves, stuck out his chest and tried to speak. "I should lead! I am…"
"Are you two mages?" Rian interrupted the guy, still running.
"… Yes, I am an Adept!" the one with big sleeves said proudly, not pursuing the fact that he had been so rudely interrupted.
"An Adept, that's great?" Rian answered truthfully while sighing in relief. An Adept from Taurenth, if judged from the standard of his world, was someone who had barely stepped on the fifth stage of 1-star cultivation, meaning it was going to be easier for Rian to lose him.
They turned a corner and almost ran into another group of soldiers chasing after Kaelan. Their leader, or the person with the highest level of cultivation, was a gruff-looking bald man in his late thirties, who was busy giving orders.
About 3-Star cultivation from Aelthar's standards, Rian inwardly evaluated the gruff-looking man as he held up his hand and shouted. "You three, stop right there. I don't know who told you, you could be the hero today, but this is serious business. I will not stand the three of you interfering with saving the princess!"
"We're here to help save the Princess!" the noble with big sleeves yelled.
The bald man's eyes narrowed, his 3-Star aura pressing down on them for a brief, suffocating moment. "I will not have noble pups getting themselves killed on my watch. You will return to the manor…"
A scout suddenly screamed, cutting him off. "SIR! He's teleported! He's on the commerce street!"
The captain's head snapped toward the new location. In that single second of redirected focus, Rian saw his chance.
"He's getting away! WITH ME!" Rian yelled to his two followers, and he bolted. The captain roared after them, but his priority was the teleporting target. "YOU IDIOTS! FINE! GET YOURSELVES KILLED! Squads 2 and 3, with me! MOVE!"