"How long do you think they can keep this up?" Caesar asked.
They both sat at the back of the wagon, with Dan sitting beside them and Ren inching closer to the wagon.
"I've been in this same situation before, what an absolute headache." Leo thought to himself.
He was out of it, zoned out to be precise.
"I wonder if my ball of fire would have any effect…
[Leo shook his head.]
it would be a waste of aether, they're too far either way.." Leo drifted more into his thoughts.
Dan slapped Leo's face lightly multiple times to shake him out of it.
"What…Sorry?!" Leo was startled, he was finally back with them.
"Where do you always wonder off to, every single time.
That's besides the point, how long do you think we can keep this up?" Caeser asked.
"The horses are well rested, at the speed we're moving at they will be able to meet up in about an hour.
I don't know how persistent they will be though." Leo said with a doubtful look.
"Then do we fight them?" Caesar asked Leo.
"If push comes to shove them we'll have to.
It has always been an option, and they're weak enough that even those without aether could kill one.
The only problem is how you do that without incurring injuries and damage to our supplies." Leo responded.
"Never did I think I would witness a horde of snakes, what would you even call it?
Absolutely repulsive to look at." Dan said as he removed one knife from his holster.
Caesar looked at him perplexed.
"What would one knife even do, cast any pointless ideas aside." Caesar said to Dan.
"I know, I know…. But imagine if it went 'boom' at the end of the hit." Dan said with a smile on his face.
"You have a knack for being weird." Leo said to Dan.
Their wagon passed a horse that looked to have purposely slowed down, it was Heimlich.
"Any orders from the front?" Ren asked him.
"Yeah, whe are going to attack them once we get to open ground." Heimlich replied.
"And how exactly?!" Ren's voice echoed through the surroundings.
–
Time had passed; nearly fifty minutes, the path they were on was now very wide, trees were in the far distance covering the short wall that was now visible.
Heimlich and Ren at the back where pushed nearly to the butt of the wagon in front of them, the snakes were still on their tail.
Due to the grass around them becoming nearly obsolete, the snakes were now mostly visible with a magnitude that was really one to be left terrified by.
Heimlich had passed the orders Heimer gave him to everyone else, and when the time came all that was left was his signal.
–
At the front of the formation was Heimer.
"The time has never felt riper." Heimer thought to himself as he released his halo.
He summoned his giant axe and raised it up, then he looked at Gustev.
Gustev nodded at Heimer.
"Now!!!!" Heimer's voice reverberated through the land.
At his scream all the horses parted, with the exception of Rud's.
The riders of the parted horses all drew their weapons, then gradually slowed down letting the wagon and Rud's horse pass them.
They were now behind, with the snakes around them.
Multiple attacked Heimer at once, he cut them down with one swing, his horse stomped on many as he rode and slashed.
"That demon of a man." Gustev thought as he took a little glance at Heimer.
One of the snakes seemingly flew through the air and attacked him.
It chewed on his shoulder armour but couldn't bite through, he released his arm - the one on the noose - and grabbed the snake and threw it away.
"I should deal with my problems first." Gustev thought.
With one arm on the horses lead, he dragged the great sword on the ground, cutting all the snakes his blade met as his horse ran along.
[Schling!]He then swung the blade up to avoid dulling it.
Ricia mauled the snakes but her weapon was least suitable for battle against them, she did damage but not as much as she did in the battle at the wall.
Ren drew out his sword as his horse ran through the snakes, one came flying at him from his side, slithering through the air.
It hit his head as it wrapped around his helmet blocking his vision, he tried using his left arm to pull it off but that too was being wrapped by the same snake.
Another snake slithered up his horse and drilled into its eyes then through the head ending its life.
His horse tumbled to the ground, as did he, with multiple snakes wrapping around him.
[Crack!] His armour began cracking-
At the same time a horse reared up beside Ren's helpless body, cutting through the snakes that wrapped around him with precision; it was Heimlich who saved his life.
He raised him up and put him on his horse.
"You alright?!" Heimlich asked.
Ren just groaned.
Lana was having a field day slicing up the snakes, but just like that very day the number advantage was starting to show.
Heimer was now the deepest into the snakes' horde, his horse's leg was tied up by the snakes as they took it to the ground.
Heimer was now culled, with tens attacking him at once.
[Slash!] Heimer spun around clockwise splitting nearly ten with that.
He manifested another axe on his other arm, this one had a longer blade.
"You're far from the largest I've fought!" Heimer screamed internally as the image of him strangling a reticulated python barehandedly flashed un his mind.
He was now cutting through them four at a time, without mercy for the beastly snakes.
Gustev was also merciless in his slaughter as well, killing any that dared be in the range of his blade.
–
"Ren are you alright?!" Heimlich asked.
"Yeah I almost croaked there, good thing you got there on time." Ren said with laughter between his words.
"It's nothing, consider it payment for back in our lieutenant days." Heimlich said to him.
"Come on, we helped each other back then Lich.
You owe me nothing, considering the fact that I even took your spot back then..." said Ren in a falling tone.
He smiled beneath his helmet whilst slashing the snakes in their horse's way, they made it hard for the horse to move as some attempted wrapping around its leg.
Heimlich stared at them emitting bloodlust, and they all cleared the way.
"Much kinder times weren't they…" Heimlich said in a light-hearted manner.
[Fwoosh!] Someone passed beside them faster than they could see.
[Fwoosh!] "They've begun." Ren said as another passed the other side.
–
After gaining some distance from the snakes, the wagons slowed down with both its riders and boarders dropping.
"They're still some headed towards us." Paul said.
The ones that broke off from the group were about five.
"I'll deal with them" Cera said as she walked past everyone else, unbelting her Rapier.
"At whose leisure?" Rud said as he pulled her back by her arm.
"Oh come on." She said annoyingly, while attempting to get free.
Rud wouldn't budge.
"You're sitting this out, same with the twins." Rud said.
"What?!" The three said in sync.
Rud loosened his grip on Cera.
"Terrible weapon choice against these foes." Rud said candidly.
Cera grit her teeth at him as they shared a stare.
"Then what about you as well!" Cera said with anger in her voice.
He raised his left arm.
"Laura, dispose of them." Rud ordered.
"..." Laura did not reply, but she understood the order.
[Step…step!] Laura's steps were gentle as she unsheathed her blade.
She walked past him and [Slash!] With a clean downwards diagonal slash she cut them all at once then sheathed her blade soon after.
But one slipped through, it went straight for Rud, biting him on his calf that wasn't protected by armour.
"His gift always makes me wonder if he could win Uncle in a fight." Caesar thought.
Its teeth broke on biting Rud's calf.
He bent down, grabbed it by the head and raised it up.
[Crack!] He squeezed his palm lightly; crushing its skull.
"Strong body; his physical abilities are heightened greatly above the normal awakened, even more than when we use aether to strengthen our body.
The trade-off is not being able to use aether; only aura.
But that itself is not even a trade-off since his aether is converted into physical prowess." Caesar thought.
Rud turned to Cera with the dead snake still in hand and its body dragging on the floor.
[Thud] He dropped it.
"Of course I won't be going as well.
That's all i had to say.." Rud said to her whilst he walked towards the wagons.
–
"Want to bet on who gets the most kills?" said Herra to Clarence.
"I thought you would be scared of them." Clarence replied.
"I was, but I've seen for myself how weak they are." Herra kept her thoughts to herself.
"Why would I be?
Come on, let's go." She said to Clarence.
They both released their halos, Clarence's was blue and Herra's green, with their Scimitars in hand.
"Five, four, Three, two-" Clarence counted down.
Herra set off before the count down was over.
"That rat?!" Clarence thought as she chased after her.
Tens of seconds later and Clarence was now in the lead as they passed Ren and Heimlich.
While they ran through the snakes, they took sweeping slashes without stopping while still avoiding the other horses skillfully, killing many each by the time they stopped.