"Hot in the Desert-3"

Sigmund stopped sucking his Master's blood and murmured, "We have enemies, and there are more than ten of them."

"Can we handle them?" Ivory worriedly asked as they stood up. Realizing what these people might have been up to, she looked at her Servant, "The relic… They must be after the relic!"

"You brought your broken weapon, right?" He looked back at her and reached for the cloak to cover her exposed skin.

"Of course," Ivory then placed her hands at her side. Her magic staff, which was sliced into two, had been attached to her cloth belt all along. She took them and held them firmly in her hands.

"Good. Don't let go of that."

"But Sigmund, how-."

Seeing that the silhouettes had moved, the Vampire carried his Master in his arms. "Let's head to the relic room first!"

Holding his Master tightly, Sigmund dashed inside the house, and using more mana, he fused it with the wind to push his body forward and make him run faster.

They reached the relic room found in the middle part of the first floor. Sigmund locked the door before carefully placing Ivory down, "Whatever happens, do not let go of your magic staff. It's broken, but it is still made from enchanted wood. Concentrate your mana in both sticks and look at the enemy before throwing the mana to them-"

"Sigmund!!! I'm so nervous!!!" Ivory's hands trembled. During the past weeks, they have only learned a few things about actual combats, and the Educators only focused on teaching them the basic theories and how to build their stamina. "What if I miss? What if I destroy the house? Oh no…"

He held onto her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "Hey, dimwit. You wouldn't summon me if there's nothing special about you and your mana, so don't think too negatively," he patted her head, "Think about why we were brought here in Hunter Town. Set your eyes on our goal: to protect the relic."

Ivory nodded, her eyes filled with determination. She clenched the sticks she was holding. 'This is the staff that reacted and glowed with my mana during the academy event, so I should try to do it.'

Soon, Sigmund heard that the footsteps were slowly approaching. The people easily barged into the room after breaking the door, then from the shadows came forward fourteen people dressed in tight ninja clothes and had cloaks that covered their faces and only their eyes were seen.

"If you don't want to get hurt, hand over the relic, outsiders," one of them stepped forward and said, "It has nothing to do with you."

"We'll never hand it over," Sigmund told them in a cold tone. "Leave, before I kill you all."

The thieves looked at each other and laughed, "How will you kill us? You're outnumbered. And it seems like..." he looked at Ivory who was hiding behind Sigmund, "You're the only one who can fight."

The Vampire's eyes glowed as he uttered incantations, and the cold wind outside instantly entered the house, and a bubble barrier appeared afterwards. He took the relic and shoved it into Ivory's arms, then pushed her inside the barrier, "Stay inside and guard the relic. I will make sure they can't come in."

He then dashed outside of the room and closed the door while the moving wind served as a barrier in front of the door to prevent the thieves from entering the room. One of the thieves came close to the door and when he attempted to touch it, the tip of his fingers was cut!

Sigmund smirked, "Go ahead and try."

The man, who seemed like the leader of the group, ordered them, "Everyone, keep on targeting him! If his mana gets drained, the wind barrier will dissipate!" As if at war, the thieves yelled, raising their weapons.

It was fortunate enough that the Vampire had heightened hearing, so even if he couldn't see what was behind him, he could avoid them. But because he needed the majority of his mana to make the wind current strong and protect his Master, who was inside the relic room, he couldn't use most of his mana or else he would pass out!

The combat was tiring for a battle of one versus fourteen. Five men charged at him with their swords, then another five men attacked him, this time using flails. After that, the four thieves positioned behind him would throw poisoned daggers at him. The cycle continued for a long while.

Losing so much mana, Sigmund struggled to hold them off. He wanted to use Earth Elemental Magic using the sands, but he would also pass out if he did that as he had used the majority of his mana. He was already breathing hard until he fell on his knees.

"You said you're going to kill us, right?" the leader laughed, "Stand up, we're not yet done!"

The wind barrier slowly dissipated, and Sigmund turned his head to the relic room. "Shit…" Sigmund's voice was faint and passed out.

Ivory was shocked when the bubble barrier popped, and together with the golden relic, they were dropped to the ground. The thieves broke the door and barged into the room as soon as it happened.

Ivory shrieked, "Sigmund! Sigmund!!!"

"Is he your Servant?" one of the thieves said. "I admit, he held on for so long that we almost gave up. But he was protecting you and the relic, so he couldn't fight to the fullest and is already unconscious."

"No way…" she worriedly uttered. She placed the relic behind her and pointed the wooden sticks to them, "I will… I will use my magic on you!"

Seeing that she had been trembling, they just laughed it out.

"What a cute little Master you are," the leader snickered as he looked at her from head to toe. "You look fine. You'll pass as an eatery server. I guess we'll just take you with the relic if you don't want to let it go!"

Ivory tried what Sigmund told her to do. As soon as she saw some of the thieves taking a step forward, she concentrated her mana onto one stick. She stared at the leader's head and waved her magic staff towards him, but nothing happened!

The thieves all laughed at her.

"Okay, stop playing with your little sticks," he turned to his comrades. "Take this helpless woman with us, and make sure that the relic is safe!"