Departure (2)

BOOOMMM!

A massive explosion rocked the very foundation of the Night group's base, obliterating it.

The explosion was so powerful and violent that it leveled everything in a freaking five-hundred-meter radius around the mountain.

Despite the fact that the trees in this forest were big and sturdy, all the trees around the mountain had been uprooted as if they were mere flowers, swaying in the wind.

Even the tree on which Alex stood was also uprooted, torn from the earth by the violent shockwave.

Luckily for Alex, with his high 'defense' stat he could shrug off the shockwaves from explosions like this. With a casual leap, he descended from the tree and settled in to enjoy the fireworks.

With a smirk playing on his lips he watched the base erupt in flames. The flickering flames painting mesmerizing patterns in his silver eyes, adding an otherworldly glow to his expression.

"What was that?!" Anita and Maya exclaimed simultaneously.

The convoy was swiftly traveling when they heard a sudden explosion, followed by a tremor that startled the horses and brought them to a halt, bringing the whole convoy to an abrupt stop.

The birds that were happily chirping their tunes suddenly scattered into the air, alarmed by the unexpected disturbance.

The words barely escaped the mouths of the two women before a fierce gust of wind blew in their direction, causing their hair to wildly flap in the air and their clothes to ripple like flags in a storm.

Glancing back towards the source of the explosion, their hearts raced with disbelief, and a hint of fear creeping into their expressions.

The occupants of the other carriages all wore expressions of utter disbelief mirroring those of Anita and Maya.

"W-What have I gotten myself into?" muttered a young woman with platinum blond hair, her dim amber eyes reflecting a mix of dread and curiosity as she stared at the towering mushroom cloud rising into the sky.

The young woman, named Teagan, was in one of the carriages with the captives. Despite her initial hesitation, she had eventually accepted to sign the contract and thus became a subordinate of a certain 'Alexandre Eswald'. However, right now, she was wondering if she should have stayed firm in her decision to avoid any involvement with this 'Arcane' organization.

"I knew it, those guys are psychos!" she murmured in a hoarse voice.

Even though the others captives didn't think the same as her, they were also shocked to the core. And as the realization sank in that their newfound employer might be responsible for the explosion, a collective shiver of dread coursed through their spines.

Meanwhile, Anna and Amelia observed the mushroom cloud caused by the explosion with a calm and collected attitude, showing no signs of surprise or fear. They already expected something like that to happen, so there was no reason to panic

"Woah, it's even larger than the one I triggered during the tournament," Amelia remarked.

Anna nodded, "with this, I doubt there's anything left of their base."

As she expected, the Night's base was currently being engulfed by flames originating from the explosion, and the whole process of destruction was accelerated by mountain above it.

Meanwhile, Alex stood on the sidelines, watching this scene happen with a disappointed expression, his initial grin nowhere to be seen.

"It isn't as enjoyable as I thought it would be," Alex muttered in disappointment, clicking his tongue in boredom. "Probably because of the lack of snacks. I should remember to bring some next time I travel," he mused, scratching his head.

Sighing, he turned around and left.

However, he didn't follow the same route the convoy followed, but another one.

Minutes later, Alex stood over the unconscious body of a woman.

'Despite the passage of time, she's still hanging on? Gotta hand it to her, her will to survive is pretty impressive,' Alex praised.

The one whose body he was standing above was none other than Niya. After her fight against Lilia, she had ended up in a very bad state with several of her limbs broken, yet, when Alex found her, she was still breathing. He had given her a healing smoke potion, but her wounds were too severe for Alex's smoke to heal her.

At that time he left her here, thinking that if she was still alive after he came back, then he had to take her to Amelia, but he expected her to die barely a few minutes later, yet, here she was, hours later, still breathing and refusing to kick the bucket.

Lifting her broken and bruised body up, Alex threw her over his shoulder and resumed his journey, this time, taking the route the convoy had taken.

Before long, Alex spotted a line of carriages snaking through the forest.

Just as he neared the convoy, Alex felt a strange sensation and glanced over his shoulder. After a moment, he refocused and pressed forward.

Bounding from branch to branch, he quickly closed the distance with the convoy's lead carriage. With a graceful leap, he landed directly on the coachman's seat between Anna and Amelia.

"Where to?" Anna inquired, not the least surprised by Alex sudden appearance.

"To the spot where we left our carriage. Grace will meet us there," Alex replied, gently placing Niya's body in the compartment with the aid of his smoke.

Gasp!

Anita and Maya, seated in the compartment, gasped in shock at the sight of Niya's broken and mangled body.

"W-Were you the one who did this?" Anita stuttered.

Alex chuckled and shook his head, "No, my wife did it."

'W-Wife? I thought this one was his wife,' Anita furtively glanced at Anna, 'how many wives does he have?' she wondered, feeling sad for some reason.

"Can you heal her?" Alex inquired as he turned to Amelia.

Amelia glanced at Niya's body and nodded, "Probably, but afterward, I won't be able to heal anyone else. My mana reserves are nearly depleted."

"It's okay, heal her," Alex said.

Amelia nodded and entered the compartment to begin the healing process on Niya.

"Why are you trying to get her healed? Wasn't she an enemy?" Anna asked with narrowed eyes.

"Why are you asking?"

"Just curious."

"Are you sure it's not because you are jealous~" Alex teased.

"Why would I be jealous of a mere bandit?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Haha, indeed," Alex chuckled, "To answer your question, I brought her here for-"

Alex halted his speech and glanced backward.

"We're being followed," he informed after a moment's pause. "I'll handle them, you keep moving. If anything goes wrong, use your talisman to reach me."

"Don't you need assistance? I've regained some mana; I can help—" Anna offered.

The mask covering Alex's face briefly shifted, revealing his handsome face. "You don't have to worry. I'm super strong, you know," he reassured Anna with a grin.

"Just do as I say," he murmured, planting a quick peck on her cheek before leaping from the carriage and landing gracefully on the ground.

"Ehh, where's he off to now?" Maya wondered aloud as she watched Alex leap off from the carriage.

"I don't have a clue," Anita replied absentmindedly.

Seeing the two women glance in his direction, Alex waved at them, his mask shifting to take on a smiling expression.

The two awkwardly waved back at him, and a few seconds later, he vanished from their sight.

'Hm?' Alex raised a brow as he passed the other carriages. Despite his speed, which was so fast that even an average level 5 couldn't track him when he moved, a woman with amber eyes was staring at him like she could perfectly follow his movements.

To confirm if that was the case, Alex waved a hand at her, and she quickly averted her gaze from him.

'Interesting, I will check on her later.'

Slotting this at the back of his head, Alex continued on his way, and came to a stop only when he was hundreds of meters from the convoy.

"Why are you suddenly hiding? Quickly come out, I don't have all day," Alex spoke in irritation, seemingly to no one.

However, a second after he spoke, two familiar monsters appeared: a wild boar with a back covered in spines, giving it a porcupine appearance, and a white fox with three yellow tails.

Those two monsters, along with the monkey with four arms, were the level 5 monsters who were able to keep up with Alex despite him having enhanced his speed.

"Just so you know, I can sense that there are many of you still hiding, just come out and let's get done with this," Alex said in a light tone.

Even after he spoke, no one appeared for a long time, and when it seemed that there would be no more monsters than those two, several others appeared all around.

In just a few seconds, Alex was completely surrounded by level 5 monsters, there were even more of them than the last time!

"That's more like it," Alex grinned.