Rhea's amber eyes fixated on Ralph who was currently speaking with a brown-haired woman in the distance.
She could see how the woman was shedding tears of happiness and continuously bowing to him, expressing her gratitude.
Without removing her sight from them, the tomboy asked.
"So, this is a test?"
Péréz, who stood next to her shrugged and replied casually.
"Apparently, Adrian was skeptical about this, but he said the fact that Gizel doesn't stop them, then that must be it."
"Well, I have to agree with Adrian."
Sylvia responded and continued.
"We're being watched, aren't we? If there is an unknown entity who gets near to us, they should have stopped them."
Sylvina reckoned and the duo nodded their heads in agreement.
Shifting their attention sideways, Adrian came into view.
Next to him, there was an unconscious man whose body was deeply embedded into the earth; leaving only his bald head that shone brightly under the sun.
Adrian was seen darting back and forth between the man's Telesphere and his.
The intensity of his focus was palpable.
It was clear to anyone watching that he was determined to find the bandit's hideout.
"Hmm…"
Adrian skimmed through the contents of the bandit's Magical Sphere.
Afterward, Adrian deftly moved a few knives, a pouch of gold coins, and some jewelry into his own Magical Sphere.
Because it would be foolish of him to leave such valuable loot behind.
Although some might argue that it was unethical for a Prince to take spoils from a defeated enemy, Adrian didn't give a damn.
After all, there was no written rule that forbade it in this survival test.
"Tsk."
With a cluck of his tongue, Adrian tossed the now-empty Telesphere onto the ground.
There was nothing else of value left and he had no use for it anymore.
"How is it? Have you located their hideout?"
Adrian glanced at the voice and his teammates approached him.
"I have."
In truth, he had found it a while ago; it was a piece of cake.
Ralph nodded and suggested.
"Then, should we begin our mission?"
"Sure."
With that, the boys turned to face the girls and Adrian reminded them.
"If we don't return after sunset, that means we have failed."
The plan was simple: the boys would rescue the woman's family, while the girls stayed behind with her to watch their horses.
They opted to travel on foot, since riding horses would make too much noise that could give away their position.
Also, it would be funny if their horses were stolen or died while they were fighting.
Considering Gizel's eccentric personality, Adrian had no idea what games he wanted to play.
And it would be wise to let them stay behind for a backup plan—in case their mission failed.
Better to be safe rather than sorry.
Adrian pointed at the bald man below and resumed.
"If the bandit wakes up, just knock him up."
"Okay, I got it."
"I understand."
The trio bid them farewell and the girls wished them luck.
With that, they hastily hopped onto the closest tree branch and commenced to move.
The reason for this was to reduce the likelihood of encountering another bandit on their way.
Moving swiftly from branch to branch, they made their way through the dense forest.
And after running for more than twenty minutes, they caught the scenery of a fort made of logs in the distance.
—Tap! —Tap! —Tap!
They stopped in their tracks and hid behind a large tree, peering through the leaves at the fort.
Nestled deep in the jungle, the bandit hideout was surrounded by a high wooden palisade and guarded by several armed men.
The air was filled with the sounds of men talking and laughing.
The scent of smoke from the campfire and cooking food wafted through the surroundings.
Carefully observing the fort, Adrian noticed that it was newly built.
As expected of the Academy, they made everything look so real, huh?
From their vantage point, they could see the bandits moving in and out of the hut.
Some sharpened their swords while others cooked over open fires.
Shortly, Adrian's eyes fell on a large iron cage containing many people in the middle of the fort.
He also saw two people in the cage that matched the description given by the woman they had previously helped.
"What now?"
Péréz whispered, barely audible.
After a brief silence, Adrian turned to Ralph and opened his mouth.
"Can you stop it?"
"Huh?"
Ralph tilted his head; he didn't know what Adrian was referring to.
"If that cage moves at incredible speed towards you, can you stop it?"
Ralph turned to the large cage that contained more than 20 people inside and his mind drifted; hesitation masked his face.
Adrian chose Ralph because he had a high physical defense and his Earth Elemental Affinity was higher than Péréz.
In other words, he was the most suitable person for the task.
Returning his vision, Ralph gave him a sneer.
"Are we playing a guessing game, now?"
Péréz who saw it immediately made a disgusted face and jokingly mock him.
"Oh, my, Ian. Look who's talking right now!"
The group let out a chuckle; Ralph literally said, 'Are you doubting my ability?'
It was not every day you could see Ralph acting cocky like that—which was funny.
Subsequently subsiding their moment of levity, Adrian's face turned serious, and began to outline their plan.
"First, I want you to go to this location."
Adrian pinned the location on his Telesphere's map and sent it to Ralph.
"The cage is heavy, so make sure to put good use of your Earth Elemental and if you succeed, bring the cage somewhere safe."
Ralph nodded his head in understanding and asked.
"How about you?"
"We'll stay here in case of any pursuers."
"I see. Then, I'll get going."
Ralph said as he prepared to leave.
"Good luck."
"Good luck to you too."
With that, the black-haired boy set off to get to his respective place.
As he left, the duo continued to observe the fort.
"So, we're going to fight all of those bandits with just the two of us?
Péréz asked curiously and Adrian looked at him incredulously.
"Who said we're going to fight them?"
There were around thirty bandits outside, not including the ones inside the hut.
Two 9-year-old brats fought against a dozen bulky bandits?
Was Péréz a madman?
It looked like a suicide mission in his eyes.
Well, if he used his magic it would be easy for him to wipe them out, but Adrian couldn't guarantee whether they were alive or not.
Since this was only a simulation, better did it moderately.
"So, do you want to fight them?"
"What? Of course not!"
Péréz exclaimed and looking at his bewildered face, it turned out he was in his right mind.
"Good, because I'm either."
After a few minutes of waiting, Adrian Telesphere rang and he received it.
// I'm in position. //
Adrian looked at his Telesphere's screen, or specifically, he was staring at Ralph's position on the map.
"Are you ready?"
Currently, Ralph was 500 meters away from the bandit's fort.
Soon, a long deep breath was heard from the other side followed by a confident voice.
// Alright, I'm ready. //
"Then, I will start the plan."
// Okay. //
Adrian ended the call.
His cerulean eyes stared at the bandit's fort in front of him and chanted his spell inwardly.
.
.
.
The bandits were gathered around the open fire, their faces illuminated by the dancing flames.
They laughed and threw some crude jokes at each other whilst grilling a wild boar.
Tired of their merriment, they reached for their tankards of ale to quench their thirst.
"Cheers!"
One of them stood up and raised his cup in the air, beckoning the others to do the same.
"Cheers!"
The rest of them immediately followed his action.
Unfortunately due to the bandits' high spirits, their ale spilled into the fire, evoking it to flare up and ignite their clothes.
"Waaa!!"
"Aargh!!"
Panic erupted and they immediately threw themselves to the ground; frantically rolling on the dirt to extinguish the fire.
"Arrggghh!! Help!!"
"Aarrrgghhh!!"
The situation was chaotic and tense, the once joyous atmosphere replaced with chaos and fear.
The prisoners, who had been watching from their cells, were frozen.
Amidst the commotion, a thick mist stretched out rapidly, covering the entire fort within seconds.
The uproar that was happening suddenly silenced as it engulfed them, leaving only the wailing of the injured.
Since they didn't find it hard to breathe, they realized that this wasn't smoke coming from the fire, but a dense fog.
Nevertheless, due to how thick the mist was, visibility became almost non-existent.
"What the–"
They scanned the area but saw nothing; struggling to see through the haze.
"What is happening?!"
A bandit shouted, his voice filled with anxiety.
Before anyone could answer his question, the ground beneath them suddenly shook with great force.
Causing some of the bandits to stumble and fall, while the prisoners screamed in terror.
"Waaa!! Help!!"
"Uwaaa!!"
Péréz's hazel eyes widened in shock as he witnessed the unbelievable scene unfolding before him.
A cage, supported by a massive earth block was slowly emerging from the thick fog.
Resulting in the prisoners inside screaming in hysteria and confusion; they had no idea of what was happening.
—Szz —Szz —Szz
Shortly, the fog that shrouded the area was now illuminated by streaks of lightning, followed by the wailing of the bandits inside.
Only then Péréz realized that Adrian's fog was not meant to obscure the bandits' vision, but to allow lightning to travel through it and paralyze them!
Péréz couldn't help but cluck his tongue in amazement, Adrian's brain was truly something else.
Just how the hell did he come up with such a clever solution in those little minutes?
That was just… crazy.
However, the show was not over yet.
—Drrtt —Drrtt —Drrtt
The ground trembled and a massive earthen wall rose from the earth, taking the shape of a towering slide.
Deafening screams echoed through the air the moment the prisoner's cage glided downward.
Péréz's eyes followed the cage when it rushed past them, hurtling towards Ralph in the unseen distance.
'So, that's what he meant by 'stopping it', huh?'
Péréz peeked at the boy next to him from the corner of his eyes.
He knew Adrian was gifted in magic, but he had never seen anything like this in his life.
The sheer power and control that Adrian displayed were beyond his wildest imagination.
Nonetheless, his amazement was short-lived.
Out of the blue Adrian shoved him sideways, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the branch.
"What the—"
—Boom!
His words were cut off by a loud crash.
Gaining control of his body, Péréz rolled his body in the air and landed on a new branch.
His hazel eyes looked up and saw that the tree that they used to hide was now broken and shattered.
"How dare you interfere with my business."
A deep, rumbling voice in an irritated tone cut through the air.
Turning towards the sound, they saw a silhouette of a big, muscular man walking leisurely inside the mist.
"Tsk."
Adrian clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Just when he thought they could save the prisoner without any trouble, reality had always had its own agenda.
Regardless of who that man was, the fact that he was unaffected by his magic meant that he was not an ordinary man.
And Adrian knew that they were in for a tough battle.
====
A/N:
Adrian Magic Circle was formed in the air / on top of the bandit fort.
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