'I could hear someone shouting in this direction.'

I kept following the tracks in the hope of meeting them before these footprints would be washed away. Luckily, the trail has become clearer because this part of the forest was very muddy.

After a few minutes of running, I can hear a bunch of voices nearby. The voice of a woman was the most audible among the voices I heard. From the sound of it, she was furious about something. This is good for me. If they are arguing, I could use this as an advantage.

It didn't take long before I saw the shadow of someone. The first one I recognized was the giant figure of the burly man. To be more accurate, there were three of the same characteristics. Despite the presence of little light, I recognized the burly guard who was with us for the whole trip. He was also carrying an unconscious Bosu on his shoulders.

On the opposite side, Yukio was standing with mud all over his body. There was tension ongoing between the two parties. I can guess what happened when I saw the situation.

After the quick observation, I entered the scene before Yukio would be surrounded.

"There you are"

That was my entrance. Pretty bad you may ask but no one seems to care to what I said since everyone was on their feet for battle.

Yukio was very happy when he saw me. I passed his sword or what he calls partner. I wasn't able to bring his go-to armor because it was heavy but having a weapon is better than none.

From a closer view, the only woman in their group seems to be their leader. She doesn't look intimidating at all. However, I could feel the most pressure in her.

"Looks like we have an intruder. Did your parents ever teach you to never barge in like that?"

She was trying to have a conversation with me but I can see her signaling the others to surround us. They dropped everything they were carrying, including Bosu, and prepared their staves.

"I assume you have killed Kazu."

"..."

"I heard from Tsuchi that you were only a Novice mage, I wonder how you did it."

"..."

I stayed silent and continued to watch the movements of Tsuchi and his companions the whole time.

Yukio was waiting for my instructions. It was strange to me that he was depending on me in situations like this. But I think it was normal for him ever since I defeated him in our duel.

There was nothing to plan here except assigned which we were going to deal with. I let Yukio handle the burly guard and the person who carried Yukio. I will handle the rest.

In a mage battle, the first person to cast their spells will usually end up having the advantage. That's why they didn't give us any chance to move after they have found their position.

They began to cast their magic simultaneously. Each one of them used projectile magic based on their element. They were well-coordinated with their actions. The only one who didn't move was their leader. She was very confident that her men could handle us alone and would support them if only things went wrong.

It was a decent plan on their part but we fight differently. They must know that we were swordsmen based on our weapon that's why they were easygoing when dealing with us however this became their downfall.

When the first mage finished casting his spell, we rushed to the people we are assigned.

None of the spells have hit us. They only targeted the location that we're standing. It was an immature mistake to not expect their enemy to move when being attacked but I guess it was normal for mages to fight magic with magic.

Since their leader doesn't have any plans to move, I rushed over to my target which cast the light magic spell.

[Blackout]

It was the only dark magic I know. This surrounds whatever I touch with darkness. It may only last a second or two yet it was already enough to get a strike in.

However, unlike my previous fight, it didn't end there. I was able to stab his vital parts but it wasn't deep enough to deal with the killing blow.

Their leader who was watching the whole time decided to act. The puddle in my foot solidifies making me lose my balance when I decided to go in for the kill. This gave my target to cast [Barrier] and moved backward.

They were some distance between us now so I checked on Yukio on his side.

His situation was not good. He got tied up between the two of them. The burly guard was casting earth magic while the other was using fire magic to attack Yukio.

In the middle of their exchange, I can see the enemy casting [Barrier] of the same kind of water element.

'So all of them are capable of water magic, huh. Maybe that's why this woman is their leader.'

The fight just got more complicated. She was capable of using the weather to her advantage. She gathered the rain to form numerous spheres of water with the weight of cannonballs when thrown. Alongside with her constant barrage of water cannonballs, she was creating bubbles to disrupt my movements.

She made sure I was occupied with her spells while his companion was busy healing himself with light magic.

"Be careful, he is fast for a swordsman. Luckily he's a dark mage so don't worry any other elements from him." She reminded him after seeing my magic.

'Oh, right. They assume I can only use dark magic. I can use this somehow.'

I was avoiding as many spells as I can. There were instances that I was forced to get hit but it wasn't anything that would affect my ability. I am waiting for the right time to strike because she was having her mana drained faster than my stamina. Although, I should worry about the other side.

Yukio was already struggling. If I waited for her mana to be completely drained, Yukio may not see the end of it. So I decided to disrupt their side and help Yukio in his battle.

"Yukio, run to the woods!"

I yelled an order to Yukio. He followed it without any questions. Seeing this, the enemy on his side began following him. Their leader noticed this and began to panic.

"Hey, idiots! Don't follow him and help me with this slippery bastard."

She tried to call his men back but they weren't able to hear her. I took this opportunity to follow them chasing Yukio.

I am much faster than anyone here present. I was able to see their back before someone was behind me. This was a great position to ambush them since they're busy chasing Yukio not noticing the death behind them.

One quick step it all took for me to touch and cast [Blackout] to the person who was falling behind. He stumbled due to the sudden blindness he had. This is in turn to an easy kill.

"Turn back!"

When the burly guard just realized what happened to his companion, I shouted again to Yukio. He knows what to do and swung his sword as soon as he turned his back.

Caught between us both, he can't dodge Yukio's sword incoming at his neck. He had no time to cast any spells to protect himself.

*Thud*

The burly guard's headless body fell to the ground.

Yukio, still out of breath, was having trouble standing while I was checking the bodies and wiped the blood off my sword. I noticed that he just let the blood on his sword dry up. That explains why the condition of it was not the best.

"Yukio, use this cloth to clean your sword. It may not do the trick completely but it would help maintain the sharpness of your sword for a longer period."

I cut a portion of the burly man's robe and gave it to Yukio. He obligated to wiping the remains on his sword.

"Silva, you're done with your side?" Yukio asked after doing what I told him to do.

"No. I saw you getting beat up so I decided to help. Besides, my side is getting stalemate"

"Appreciate the help but this means that they could escape with Bosu."

"That is most unlikely. I saw their leader chasing me when I rushed to your side. I doubt that they are the type that will leave their companions behind. They should be here soon. Speaking of the devil."

As soon as I said that, the remaining members of their group showed up. Their leader who was having a hard time catching up seems to have low stamina. On the other hand, the light mage that I injured has healed partially although it may have taken a toll on his mana.

They saw the lifeless bodies on the scene. I could see sadness and anger in the eyes of the light mage when he saw his companions. Meanwhile, their leader was emotionless about what happened.

"How could you... YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!!"

The light mage lost all the reason of thought and blindly charged over us. For a mage of his kind, this was simply suicide.

Nevertheless, it doesn't look like his leader would stop him anytime soon. Instead, she let him alone while she was planning to escape. She created a mist out of the rain and ran in the opposite direction.

"Go and handle him alone. I will go and chase their leader."

Yukio nodded and prepare to receive the enemy.

I got ignored completely when I ran past the light mage who was targeting Yukio. It seems like he can't think properly anymore and wants only revenge. This was good for me since I can focus on pursuing their leader.

She wasn't able to run far away from where we were. When she saw I was getting closer to her, she stops running and decided to confront me.

"Let's make a deal."

"?"

"I'll give you half- no three-fourths of the profit over the flowers if you leave me alone."

This girl was either smart or dumb when she proposed that deal. I know she was just using the time to plan how she will approach me. I can see her clenching the staff that was barely visible with her attire. However, I still entertain replying to her deal.

"You know I can take all profits if I kill you here right."

[Bubble Sphere] - [Hydro assault] - [Haunting Wind]

She cast different spells simultaneously. There was even a wind magic mix with her spells.

The same thing happened last time. Numerous bubbles and water cannonballs formed within the area. But this time, it was on a larger scale. She was going all-in for this attack.

I tried to destroy the water formations formed near me before she was able to barrage with those. When I hit it with my sword, my hand went numb because of the unexpected change in the state of the liquid.

'That explains why she cast [Haunting Wind]. It is my first time to see a combination of spells. Teacher Tesuo has told me the concept of such but never showed me.'

All water formation near me has turned to ice. Even the rain has fallen upon me like little pebbles at the sky. It shouldn't have turned into a solid-state within a matter of seconds yet her water magic seems to amplify the properties of it.

I was a step late to realize all of this. Every ice block has locked on to me before I can move to a safer distance. I was bombarded by it. I had no choice but to deflect it in another way.

There was only one thing I could think of that could stop this ice barrage.

[Fireball]

I covered myself with all the fireballs I can cast. It was for the purpose that the ice would melt before hitting me.

It didn't disappoint me as it did how I imagine it to be. Better in fact since the reaction has created a mist that hides what happened. I sneak in a fireball before the mist dissipates.

"Hahaha. You think I would share those flowers with you. In your dreams. With those idiots dead, I can have everything for myself."

She was sure that I was done for because there was no activity within the mist her magic created. She didn't even think about why there was a mist in the first place.

Her carelessness became the reason of my counterattack. My fireball connected and burned the upper part of her torso. She screamed in pain and I took this opportunity to rush over and finish it once and for all. There was no more resistance as she was crying over the pain dealt with by my magic.

The fight was finally done as the rain have also stopped.