Chapter 210
They felt dozens of killing glares on their necks . The feeling made Kieran squint .
Seeing the defending troops in front of them rushing towards them, he pressed down on his saddle with his right hand and lifted himself up . Then he threw himself towards the rushing crowd and unleashed double kicks on them . After a half-moon kick and a series of heavy cracking sounds, at least a dozen defending troops were kicked off and fell backwards, dragging the rest down with them like bowling pins .
Within a breath, a path had been carved out before the trio .
"Come on!"
Lawless, who was riding past Kieran, extended his hand to grab Kieran’s right hand .
Kieran did a flip in mid-air and landed on the saddle again safely .
Lawless rushed the horses with a big shout, and the horses sprinted even faster .
"Arrows! Let them loose!" the defending troops attracted by the small commotion shouted loudly at the archers .
Arrows poured down like heavy rain .
Lawless did not have the slightest intention of slowing down though . He wielded the long sword in his hand, blocking the incoming arrows as much as he could . Arrows were cut down left and right amid his frenzied wielding, the sword flashing around as shadows formed an alternative barrier, blocking the trio from the arrows .
Most of the arrows were blocked off .
He had an advanced skill!
Kieran’s quick glance told him that Lawless was using a skill that surpassed common skills .
Its level could not be that high though, otherwise he would have blocked off every single arrow, not just most of them .
He had still lightened Kieran and Hanses’ burden though .
A couple of arrows that slid past were easily blocked by the duo .
Kieran had grabbed a long spear on the way and Hanses was using a standard-issue sword Lawless had given him earlier .
Unlike Lawless, Kieran and Hanses relied on their sight and judgement to block off the arrows . Although it was not as effective, it was enough under the circumstances .
The three horses sprinted through the rain of arrows .
Kieran even jumped off his horse to clear some obstacles a couple of times .
It didn’t matter if it was defending troops or rebels . Kieran kicked every single one of them off .
Lawless took full advantage of the sword in his hand and formed the best shield hey could muster up, leading the three of them to the castle gate after a bumpy ride .
The castle gate was shut tight though, and there were dozens of defending archers on top of it, ready to rain down more arrows on them . The trio shared the same frowning expression .
The castle was in chaos, yet there were still soldiers that held their positions, despite everything .
There were only two possible explanations .
One, defending the castle was a cowardly excuse to avoid fighting the rebels .
Two, those men never panicked or lost their head in a chaotic situation .
Kieran leaned towards the latter after seeing the archers’ calm, steady faces .
This was no reason for them to give up on escaping from the castle though .
"Cover me! I’ll go open the gate!" Kieran shouted before jumping off his horse once again and sprinting towards the castle gate .
As soon as Kieran started running, Lawless jumped up on his horse and started blocking all the arrows targeting Kieran, making a safe path for him towards the castle gate .
The gate was formed by two major structures .
One of them was a traditional gate mechanism formed by two pieces, each piece three meters wide and almost as tall as four grown men .
It would require the strength of at least three grown men to push it open .
Despite his injuries though, Kieran could still open it .
He opened one of the gates easily .
Meanwhile, Hanses dragged the horses over and hid in the hole below the gate .
After opening one side of the gate, Kieran realized the next obstacle they needed to overcome . There was a hanging bridge .
The bridge was controlled by a millstone-sized metal capstan . A metal handle as long as a grown man's arm was jammed in the middle of the capstan, locking the bridge firmly into place .
Kieran walked over to the capstan quickly .
If he wanted to roll up the hanging bridge, it would cost him a lot of time and energy, but pulling it down was a simple task .
All he needed to do was pull the rough metal handle down .
Just as Kieran was a few steps away from the capstan and the metal handle though, a familiar ear-piercing whistling sound was heard .
Kieran quickly rolled to the side .
A refined metal arrow landed at the spot he had just occupied, forming a tiny crater on the ground .
Half the arrow was plunged deep inside the ground, but its tail was still trembling .
The Bestowed Squad!
Kieran took a glance at the arrow before turning around to look .
Captain Jorque was rushing towards him, the magic bow in his hand already reloaded with another arrow and the string pulled into a full moon .
The arrowed was fired like a comet, heading straight for Kieran .
Kieran clenched his spear in his right hand, his eyes locked on the incoming arrow, trying to predict its trajectory .
The arrow was not just fast . It also had a quiver to it . As it gained more speed, layers of shadows formed around it, turning it from one arrow into three .
The illusion made Kieran confused and unable to guess its trajectory .
He had no idea who it was aiming at . Him? Hanses? Lawless?
"Careful!" he shouted at his teammates in warning as he rolled to the side again and hid behind his horse .
Suddenly, the arrow that had been flying towards them disappeared .
As soon as it came into contact with the war horse, it disappeared like soap bubble .
It just burst into thin air .
"An illusion? Sh*t!" Kieran was struck by panic as he realized the trick behind it .
The captain had had no intention of attacking . He had just used an illusion to delay their movement and prevent them from releasing the hanging bridge .
Kieran raised his head and saw that Captain Jorque was already before him . The mockery on his face was very clear .
"Release the bridge!" Kieran yelled at Hanses before stepping forward to face Jorque .
Someone had to stall Jorque while someone else released the bridge .
Although Kieran’s left hand was almost crippled, and his weapon was a long spear that he was not familiar with, he was still a better candidate to face the captain compared to Hanses, whose life was hanging from a thread and whose stats had dropped significantly .
Kieran swept his spear across, producing a strong wind as he looked fiercely into Jorque’s eyes . His move was full of flaws, fueling Jorque’s mockery even more .
Jorque knew that Kieran was not a spear user . He was a little faster and stronger than most people, but there was no technique in his moves at all .
He was just a boorish criminal .
Jorque felt relieved as he evaluated Kieran’s strength .
The earlier battle with the armored rhino had exhausted most of his strength and energy . If it hadn’t been for the Grand Duke’s orders, he would not have left his subordinates to stall the rhino and went after the thieves himself .
He realized his decision had been the right one though . Jorque was highly respected because of his technique, and he was used to dealing with boorish fellows .
He bent his waist to the side like a snake, avoiding Kieran’s sweep .
Not only did he dodge the attack, but as Kieran was resting after it, he threw the magical bow in his hand like a rope, forming a tangle with the bow’s body and string and catching Kieran’s spear with it .
Jorque clenched his palm and used its strength to pull himself towards Kieran, using the body of the bow . The string followed his movement, slashing towards Kieran’s spear-wielding hand .
Before the string could touch his hand, Kieran could already feel a burning sensation on his skin .
Jorque used the tensile string, turning it into a cutting line as sharp as a blade .
If it came into contact with his flesh, Kieran’s right hand would end up like his left one .
Kieran dropped his spear without hesitation and took a step back .
Jorque’s mockery was almost palpable as he watched Kieran drop his weapon .
From his point of view, Kieran's crippled left hand and the other injuries he had suffered made him a very easy target .
He was not even worth mentioning .
Jorque wanted to end it quickly, as Hanses was already close to the metal handle .
He took a step forward and turned the bow around Kieran’s neck skillfully . He was holding his strength back, so the move was not powerful enough to kill Kieran . It would be enough to knock him out though .
Jorque took out an arrow with his right hand, his gaze locked on his next target, Hanses’ palm, which was about to touch the metal handle .
"You shall not succeed!" Jorque declared, just as he always did .
The magic bow slid past Kieran’s hair a little though . Jorque was so stunned by the sudden loss of weight that he missed his target .
Jorque looked at Kieran in surprise .
He could not comprehend how Kieran, a boorish criminal without the slightest technique, could dodge his skillful attack .
Even more surprises followed .
Kieran was ready for his attack . Half-squatting down, he touched the ground with his right hand, bent his waist, and stood on his hands .
He aimed his kicks at Jorque’s chin and face, suddenly straightening up like a spring and driving hard towards his target .
Bang!
His thunderous power and lightning speed sent Jorque flying with a precise kick .
Meanwhile, the capstan made a screech . Hanses was putting all his effort into pulling down the metal handle .
When the handle was moved from its original position, the capstan started spinning swiftly .
The heavy chains rattled against each other, producing a loud noise .
Suddenly, there was a loud boom, and the hanging bridge was lowered down, making the ground in the area tremble .
Their escape path had been carved out with blood and sweat, but there was a human figure standing at the end of the hanging bridge .
The man's white mask was glinting under the moonlight like cold, hard ice .
It was the masked man!
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