Freedom Jumper-Chapter 173: Patience is Key

BOOM!

Coming from the sky, Elijah dive-bombed the plateau at a shocking speed, shattering everything unfortunate enough to be clinging to it into sparse amounts of dismembered flesh and bone.

At the moment of impact, Elijah heard the deathly screams be cut short. Rocks and dirt were thrown up into the air around Elijah's impact — curving the lips of his face into a smile.

Clots of blood were seen flying through the air simply because of the amount of destruction Elijah had caused to the plateau.

"Dammit Elijah!" Niko was forced to hide himself under the carriage in fear that a large rock would strike his head.

However, he knew very well that there were no more invaders present. Nothing could've survived that attack...

"Fractured bones and torn skin..." Elijah was not in pain, but only because of the adrenaline he had produced. It seemed during the moments before the impact, he had lost his focus. What he already knows is that focus can remove the self-damaging factor that occurs once all the mana is used up in a specific area. If his fist for example, punches the ground at full force, but his fist continues moving forward after all the mana in his arm had already been released, then he would endure a hefty amount of injuries.

A cold sensation of water flooded his senses, and soaked his ankles and shins. Soon after, memories of Finn being shot were recalled, which prompted him to take immediate action.

"FINN! BECKETT! BANKS!" Elijah's voice echoed out of the hole he had created, and also brought color to his surroundings.

Mangled bodies and dark metal weapons scattered themselves inside the hole. One piece had caught Elijah's eye. A large straight knife with a numerous number of curved points – including the shape of the blade that curved gently into an arc. Of course, on the dark metal of the blade was a runic symbol similar to a complicated array of flames.

Runic symbols were not something Elijah had done any research on. With the confirmation of his classes, he would most likely choose a runic symbol related course next semester.

That's only if the academy allows him to. The path of a Paladin was strict but fruitful. One solely focus on the idea of becoming a warrior, while they also were required to take knowledge classes beneficial to them.

Elijah assumed it would be useful to understand the functions of the various runic symbols, so it must be feasible.

Following his careful scan of the surroundings, he crouched and retrieved a curved, medium-sized knife of dark metal, which he then stowed in the spatial bracelet around his ankle.

"ELIJAH!!"

Niko had already thrown himself out from under the safety of the carriage — followed by Joffrey, Kithus, Ronny, Owen, and two resource gatherers.

"I'm here! Is everyone okay..." Elijah appeared from the settling cloud of dust.

Joffrey transitioned into a fit while being incapable of understanding what had just happened. "We shouldn't be thinking about us! We have to find the others!"

Thankfully, his words were full of emotion, and sent everyone into the action of searching.

Cough cough... Multiple times over, the group had begun coughing and later covered their mouths with their shirts.

Once Elijah had expressed his success in finding the trio — or at least what he assumed to be the trio — everyone flocked towards him to begin digging at the earthen barrier.

Moans and grunts were heard from inside, as well as the sight of blood. As expected, the dirt and rock barrier of a red core mage was not able to fully protect them...

Upon hearing the words, "help" from all three of them, Elijah began to use his mana to heal them — at least reducing the pain of almost being squished like a bug.

The sight of water allowed their hearts to still, and their breaths to stabilize.

"Thank you, Elijah." Beckett was gracious towards Elijah, even taking his hand to help himself up.

Just by Finn's face, he was relieved. "Ah... that feels much better."

"Never thought I would almost be squished like a bug! Did any of you see what caused it?" Banks asked while brushing dust and dirt off his black and silver clothing.

Elijah grimaced in his own stupidity. "No, it was so sudden it makes me think a runic device exploded on top of the plateau by accident."

Although, one could argue that the outcome would've been worse.

"Hahaha! So you're telling me the invaders screwed up so badly they blew themselves up!!" Banks clutched his thigh, trying to push through the pain.

Thereafter, the carriage was loaded with all the gear the caravan had found at the top of the plateau. Swords, pistols, rifles, throwing knives, a communication amulet, and a few grenades. All of which were enhanced by the specialty of runes, and made from a dark metal, leather, and other niche metals.

Finn was staring at the different rifles and pistols, while Banks was inspecting a sword. "If I am right, this metal is very special and can only be made in the north. By the Frostfire kingdom... I really hope we don't have to turn these weapons in as they are extremely durable and work well with the harsh realities of the elements."

The harsh reality Banks was referring to was the life of steel when combined with a magical rune. With each use, the metal gets worn down far more than if it were to not to possess a magical rune. Heat is especially damaging to a blade, while freezing temperatures can cause many metals to randomly crack when used.

Elijah thought about his knife he had quickly put into his spatial storage. Ideally, he would love to grab a sword for Niko, but the time just isn't right. Already, his emotions were soiled from regret...

The journey back was not the smoothest journey. Three more groups of beasts showed themselves, especially in the Crosstree Jungle. Considering how much mana Elijah had left, he was not someone who could help, and resorted to focusing on healing everyone.

Because of this action, Elijah became worried about his own life. Without any substantial mana, there was not a single way for him to protect himself — besides his Icebreaker and other runic items.

By the end of their journey, the first day of the eighth fortnight had officially come to a close.

Streets were by no means packed with people, but there were messes from the prior night as a celebration for the seventh fortnight.

Elijah was very quickly beginning to realize that the Kingdom of Gion was a place that took every moment to celebrate or host a party. Gatherings were so popular that if you didn't actively go out at the end of the fortnight, you were considered abnormal and part of the minority.

Likely, this was brought about by the ignorance normal people held of the state of the world — when such a state was preordained by the King and the government.

Atleast there were no mindspells active within Gion...

Enida walked outside to greet the carriage. She was given notice by the personnel coordinator at the outpost that a party of ten would be returning. Enida also received a glimpse — in the form of words — of the challenges and injuries causing not everyone to return at the same time.

"I am just glad more of you did not die. Please, come inside. We will go over compensation."

As Enida was showing the group of 10 a dark and aged parchment paper detailing the mission, she proceeded to change her trajectory considering the events. "From what Joffrey had already described, the first day was successful in clearing three groups and caves, which resulted in over 30 beast cores. Therefore, at minimum, you will each receive 300 Genny."

"Now, because of the invasion and the efforts you all made in a successful victory, the guild is rewarding you with 800 Genny. Please note that this is a non negotiable sum... More of a way to reimburse you for what you would've made."

Of course the truth wouldn't be revealed... Elijah had his fists tightened while standing around a desk meant for only three people.

"What I suggest you do is to take a break... I can't imagine what you saw, but trust me, you do not want those fears showing up in the midst of a battle..." Enida was beginning to stand up, staring into the eyes of Elijah.

"Whoops. I almost forgot. Any adventurer below the age of 18 is barred from leaving the walls without supervision. This is to protect your life, and is also part of the State of Emergency Act that went into place this morning."

"What?" Banks was shocked, even when it didn't affect him. However, he was only curious about the reason. "What happened?"

Sigh... "The Kingdom is officially in a State of Emergency. Over the past fortnight, or maybe even longer, there have been a series of murders that we were just given light of. Also, another invasion happened during an entrance test for the academy. Although it didn't result in many lives being lost, it is enough for the Kingdom to realize that we have to focus on our defenses."

The words Enida spoke continued to repeat in Elijah's mind over and over again. Somehow, something similar to Astraea is now happening within this kingdom. And from Enida's tone of speech, the war had just begun to escalate.

A war that had been going on for thousands of years!