I Just Inherited The Arcane Emperor's Legacy

Chapter 241 Running

As he said that, the people on the horses started to go to the carriages and unhook the horses from them. Damian was no longer looking at them and was only concerned with Leo.

"From here, you need to rush forward at full speed. You cannot stop. You will be joined by me and everyone on a horse." He said.

Once the horses were separated from the carriages, they slowly rolled to a stop. Meanwhile, a group of guards took over the reins of the horses that were just separated.

Once they did that, they started charging forward. Damian saw this and beckoned his own horse to do the same. Leo smiled and did what he saw the person in front of him do.

He looked back as he did that, noticing the expressions of the people left behind. In total, there were 9 horses and around 30 men. A lot of people had to stay behind and remain as bait.

As he stared at them, he saw that they weren't waiting for their deaths. All of them were fleeing into the forest to make sure that they weren't so obviously in the way.

"So, what tracks do we need to make?" Leo asked.

"None. Artificial tracks are more likely to be noticed by them than natural ones. By keeping it real, they are more believable. So we just need to ride forward," he said.

"Well, what's your plan for when you encounter them?" Leo asked.

"How far away are they?"

"Around 2 minutes away if we are stationary. But we aren't. They are still approaching faster than we are running away, so I wouldn't be very complacent. Now they are half a kilometer away."

Damian frowned when he heard that. Since they moved quickly, they had a little bit of a head start. But it still wasn't enough to give them enough room to make plans.

"Fine. In around two minutes, there should be a path that splits between the capital and the district of the Elkhounds. We will split into two there," he said.

Leo looked forward with his perception and noticed that there was indeed a forked pathway. It would probably help them to throw off the people behind him, or at least make them separated from each other.

Either way, it wouldn't make a difference to him. There wasn't anyone among the people chasing who could actually hurt him.

As they rode against the wind, he noticed the calm expression on the girl whom Nefrati said was the supposed target. This surprised him, given her young age and the lack of power in her.

If it was anyone who was in her situation, he would expect them to get scared for their life. After all, she would know that the people chasing them were after her, and she wouldn't be able to defend herself if she was left alone.

But her calm unbothered expression spoke a different story. As he stared at her face, her eyes met his. When they did, he realized that it wasn't that she was calm, but that she was apathetic. She seemed to be emotionless even though this was happening to her.

"We are splitting up now! Leo, Jennifer, and Rylie are coming with me. Everyone else, go toward Elkhound," Damian said.

Leo saw a coordinated change in the group as the people in the back slowed down, allowing Leo and everyone else to speed up while they would stop the attackers in case they already got near them.

As the small group of four rode forward, they came to an intersection. There were two paths in front of them, both identical. The only difference was shown by a sign to the side.

"Capital - Left. Elkhound - Right."

Damian steered to the left and the rest followed him. As they did that, Leo looked back to see where the pursuers were. They were now only 200 meters behind them and a hundred and fifty meters away from the second group. He looked back straight and shook his head, hoping for the best.

A minute later, a group of ten black-clad people stopped at the intersection that led to both the capital and the Elkhound territory. The horses skidded to a stop as the people looked at the person in the front.

In front of the entire group, a large horse shakily took a step back, turning to face the rest. The person riding on its back was looking at them with his cold eyes, the only visible part of his body.

"Four of you will head toward Elkhound and the rest will come with me toward the capital." He said.

"Are you sure? Why aren't we splitting both ways equally?" A person in the back asked.

He was far from the person in the front, but a single stare toward him created a chill that went down his spine.

"He's new. Don't mind him," the person right in front of him said while positioning himself between the two.

"No one questions the mission leader." He said to the person who asked the question.

"Anyone else has something to contribute?" The leader in the front asked. His question was followed by a silence.

"Good. Split up based on strength. The weaker four rush toward the Elkhound." He said.

He turned his horse back toward the intersection and beckoned it to go forward. The people in the front followed him while the ones in the back stayed back. As the leader's group raced forward, the rest slowly picked up their pace and headed toward Elkhound.

"Why are we heading toward them with a lesser force?" The same person who asked the question asked it again. He was answered by the person who defended him.

"Are you retarded?"

His question made the person quiet down.

"Even if you have valid questions, don't ask the leader. He always has a good reason for doing what he does. The reason we split toward this route is because we know five people went down this side.

We were able to read their tracks for so long and we sensed them as we got closer. But this is away from capital which means the target cannot have gone this way. But we are still going to make sure there aren't any loose ends."

"So we ignored all the people who escaped into the forest because of this?"

"Yes."

The group rode forward, slowly inching toward the group in the front. They were now 500 meters behind because they had to slow down for the conversation. However, they didn't seem worried at all since they were given the less important task.

They inched closer little by little, closing down the gap. What was initially 500 meters went down to 400. 400 became 300. They thought they needed to keep riding for a while before they caught up.

However, the group caught up within another two minutes. What they saw made everyone frown behind their masks. All the horses didn't have any riders on them. They were chasing horses running forward without an owner all this time.

"They must have jumped off while the horse rode forward. We can find them on the way back." The person who answered the previous questions said. He seemed to be in charge of the smaller group.

"But why would they do that? Why not just ride forward trying to get away? That's what normal people being pursued do," the person in the back said. It was the same one who had asked all the previous questions.

"It's because we aren't dealing with a normal caravan. They are complete professionals who are very experienced with escorting. I understand now how our initial team failed. However, it seemed that the force shrunk, based on the people we were chasing. What do you think?"

The sudden question shot his way caught him off guard.

"I... I don't know. Maybe because-"

"You still aren't taking the hint, are you? I don't know why you are a part of this organization. I already told you not to talk to your mission leader and saved you one time. We don't give second chances."

As he said that a quick sharp blade emerged from his ring. The person in the back saw this and quickly realized he had screwed up.

"I'm so sorry! I will not speak a word again!" He said while slowly backing away.

"I agree. You will not speak a word again."

The blade shot toward the person, piercing through his throat. Blood started oozing out of the small hole that was left behind. The body slowly leaned to the side before falling off the horse.

The person who killed him didn't bother going back for the blade. He just rode his horse toward the dead body. He took a look before looking around him.

Look for any tracks of people rolling on the ground. If they fall down while riding that fast, they will create unnoticeable marks. Ride!"