By now, I could see a pretty large property fence in the distance, so it was clear that we had almost reached the mansion. I couldn't quite see the mansion itself yet though, so I guess it probably just meant it was a little further away inside? How large is this property anyway? But regardless, this was a good thing.
We'll be finally able to take a proper shower as well.
Needless to say, we've been rawdogging it for the past month or so of traveling, when it came to cleaning ourselves. We weren't stinky or anything, since we did clean ourselves regularly, but the extent was mostly just boiling snow, and wiping ourselves with the warm water. Well, we probably don't smell particularly good either right now, but it's not like we'd have any way of knowing since all of us would be equally stinky right now. (hypothetically)
Once we arrived at the gates, there didn't seem to actually be anyone waiting for us to open them from inside or anything like that, but instead Markus and his men momentarily got off, and opened the gates themselves. Honestly, It may look like a safety issue if you can open them from the outside, but given how large this property is, and the fact that from what I heard, it's not even properly inhabited, it shouldn't really be an issue.
Apparently this property was of some random rich guy that got confiscated when he was arrested. As for the reason? You can take your guess on that one honestly… but if a hint is needed, let's just say that not everyone pays their taxes, whether they think it's a smart decision or not, is a different discussion though.
Once we were inside, we could actually see the mansion about a kilometer or so ahead of us, which was honestly pretty insane. The yard alone seemed to be extending at least 1-2 kilometers in each direction, with a few buildings here and there along the way as well. Horse stalls, carriage storages, and heck, I even saw some small farming ground there somewhere. Though they weren't currently used for obvious reasons. Regardless, there really was a ton of space around here.
The carriage's storage was fairly close to the gate, which probably instigated dad to make the next decision. That being, instead of dragging it all the way to the mansion, then having to bring all of these back alone, we'd all just get off at the storage and walk towards the mansion ourselves. It's not like it was too far anyway in the end. And the horses also deserved a good rest by now, they've done a great job.
The horse stalls were pretty much right next to them, so after we all got off, they began on unhooking them from the carriages, and bringing them to their spots, alongside preparing food for them.
"We'll go on ahead inside first then, Markus. Take your time with the horses, they deserve to rest before we put them on the road again."
"I understand, sir. We'll try to not take too long."
"It's fine, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Well then, we'll get going. Let's go, everyone."
We nodded, and began our walk. The twins-or rather, Nala. Seemed particularly excited as usual, as she was holding dad's hand while chatting with him. Rune didn't seem unhappy or anything, but probably due to the unfamiliar sighting, he seemed to be holding mom's hand a little tighter than usual. It was noticeable enough for me to tell even while walking behind them after all…
Though the little man's reaction makes more sense than his sister's…
Well, I guess it depends on each individual. I personally wasn't really feeling particularly excited or nervous though. Fancy buildings aren't really anything special to me, since I was rich in my past life as well, but it is also still pretty fun to see the differences in architecture at least? Or something like that, I don't know. It doesn't really feel out of place, but neither stagnant, I guess? Once again, the main thing I'm looking forward to is just taking a nice long bath in all honesty.
Looking at Aldric and Lysanna who were walking next to me, it didn't really seem like either one of them was particularly nervous either, and it clearly wasn't the case for our parents. I guess Rune was the only one in the end, huh? Poor little man. But honestly, being alert from having to stay at an unknown place isn't a bad trait. If anything, you could make the argument that we are too relaxed, and not wary enough like him.
As I've already said probably too many times, this place was huge after all. And given the lack of security due to this being a ghost property if not for our quick tap in, it wouldn't be shocking if someone with bad intentions managed to get inside. But on the other hand, I'm pretty sure it's not even public knowledge that we're here to begin with. If anyone really was plotting to jump us, it would take enough effort for me to not even be mad, but impressed instead honestly.
It's all just mindless yapping in the end though. I highly doubt that anything will actually happen-…
…seriously?
Almost instantly, as if stepping into a programmed trap, a barrier formed around us, the moment we took a step further. Did I jinx it…? Honestly, this was so sudden that it didn't even click in my head right away. However, when too many people for me to bother to count began walking inside, it finally got to me.
"Say, my dear father. Isn't this actually a pretty inconvenient situation?"
"Hmm. It appears so, my dear son. After all, I doubt that we'd be able to walk out of the barrier as easily as they came in."
"It's pretty unlikely indeed. On the other hand, I also didn't really bring my arrows and bow with me, so I'm personally unarmed besides my magic."
Aldric added. To which me and dad nodded, not taking our eyes off of the people surrounding us slowly.
"And we also have 3 little kiddos who can't fight whatsoever to worry about, huh?"
"Yep, this is a pretty inconvenient situation for sure."
Maybe we weren't taking it as seriously as we should've, but honestly it's probably better to play it off smoothly than panicking, which would also scare the little ones, causing more trouble in the end. From the density of their mana, it was pretty clear that a good chunk of these people were recruits, or at least on that level. Dad alone would be able to take on realistically maybe 5 or so at the same time, but their numbers outmatch his max output.
Aldric is unarmed, so he can't really help too much either. Lysanna has their own daughter to look after, and it's best if we also let her handle the twins at the same time, to leave mom free with us. I think we all mutually agreed on that thought, since after a few glances at each other, dad and mom told the twins to go with her.
Besides the 40 ish fellas that seemed to actually be an issue, the rest ranged from normal citizens to mid ranking adventurers at most. I guess even a goblin would get confident enough to jump a horde of wolves, if he's surrounded by orcs. It's that kind of logic most likely. Their strong ones seemed to all be directly in front of us, which made sense. Assuming they were recruits, they'd be smart enough to properly assume Maia's parents are at least strong enough to need to face them head first, right off the bat.
The weaklings were the ones actually surrounding us, which made things a lot easier. These people don't really seem to care if the weak ones die either honestly, otherwise they wouldn't be here to begin with after all. So after a short few moments, me and dad both unsheathed our swords, as he began talking. I stayed behind him with mom and Aldric on each of my side, while he took the front.
"Could this not have waited at least until tomorrow? We're pretty tired from constantly being on the road, you know?"
The leader of the other party was also standing in front of the rest, who were in a rectangular position behind him.
"That's exactly why we had to do it now. We have no way of knowing when that monster of a daughter of yours will decide to visit you after all. For all we know, she may have come tomorrow morning. We just knew she wouldn't be here now, so we took the opportunity."
"Well, I guess that makes sense. I'll give you credits for the plan, since it's fairly well executed. A large mostly empty property, and enough recruits to overwhelm us even assuming we aren't total weaklings… you've done your homework properly."
"Of course, we had to. After all, regardless of the outcome here, we're going to die. She's going to find out without a doubt that it was us, and our death is already certain. At the very least, we wanted to give ourselves the better chance at taking you out with us."
"You hate us quite a lot, huh?"
Before he replied though, they all started unsheathing their blades.
"If anything, it's weird that everyone else just accepts it. Why would we trust some filthy treasoners, just because their daughter was nitpicked as the Commander's plaything?"
"Is that so?"
The twins clung on to Lysanna, who was behind all of us. I glanced at them just to check on how they were doing, but it only ended up firing me up with enough motivation to start taking this seriously. After all, they weren't crying yet, but they were too close to it, for my liking.
As me, dad and Aldric started glowing, due to mom's overall status enhancement given on us, the ramble began. From the way it felt at least, this was most likely a complete doubling enhancement. Meaning, if dad was supposedly 10 recruits worth of strength before this, he'd be 20 now. This was more than helpful, since not only it meant that I could be more helpful, but also that Aldric could hold up even without his bow.
We separated, as the strong fellas began charging towards dad and Aldric, while me and mom began taking care of the weaker ones, and guarding Lysanna at the same time. Managing to distance ourselves from the rest, we were practically surrounded by them, which only made it easier for me.
I charged at the ones right in front of me, also further enhancing my speed at the same time. An arrow, fireball and rock were coming at me from my left, right and front, but I managed to catch the arrow first with my free left hand, and throw it forward. The rock had been broken, and before he could fire another one, I had already reached my first target.
I don't really want to have a bloodbath in front of the twins though.So I guess you guys are lucky after all.
I had 2 people close to each other in front of me, of which only the center one actually had a weapon. The other one was the mage that threw the rock at me, so it wouldn't be too hard to deal with him at close range. Of course though, even as his sword swung at me, and I deflected it, the others weren't just going to stand still and watch.
The mage Stebbed back, and made the ground beneath my feet risen, which forced me to take a large step aside. At the same time, mom shouted.
"Behind you, sweetie!"
Well, I expected this much.
But thankfully, this barrier didn't really seem to have any actual effects other than blocking us from exiting, so I could still use mana sensing for my surroundings. Without turning around, I simply made a few small blasts behind me, to remotely take care of the spells and arrows that were fired at me. Once I had secured a self defense method, I was more confident in my actual attack pursuit.
His blade swung downwards once again, but instead of deflecting it, I quickly dashed to my side, only slightly enough to have an opening, and swung mine upwards faster, and at an angle steep enough to actually slice through his blade. Honestly I'm not really sure of how much stronger he was than me, but regardless of that, what I was 100% sure of, is that I was absolutely superior when it came to swordsmanship.
I kicked him in his stomach afterwards, which resulted in him successfully hitting the ground, since the shock from his blade getting cut was more than enough of a distraction. After that, I quickly sprinted towards the mage from earlier, who tried sending a few rocks towards me from more than 1 direction, but with my remote mana protection and by slicing off some directly with my sword, I quickly reached him.
Taking him out was a lot easier as well honestly. One clean sword handle hit to hide chin, and he went straight to sleep.
It shouldn't be an issue taking care of them, If this is their skill level. The only thing I'm worried about is…
I glanced back at dad and Aldric, and while they were holding up to some extent, it was clear that a 2v40 or something would end up with the 2 of them starting to get pushed back eventually. Aldric had picked up a bow from one of the people that got taken out already so he did have a weapon now, but it didn't make too much of a difference since most of them had blades anyway. The dominant range was closed up, which put him at a pretty large disadvantage.
Mom was handling anyone that was close to her and Lysanna, while I cleared the rest of the weaklings, but it was still looking pretty bad for us. Around a minute or so later, I had finally managed to take out everyone that was within my strength range. However, when I looked at dad and Aldric's situation again, it was a lot worse than I expected.
Aldric's bow had just been cut in half by one of them, and he was forced to step back. At the same time, dad who was visibly exhausted by now did the same.
"…you two are a lot stronger than we expected."
"…I'll take that as a compliment…"
"However."
"We may not have expected a monster like your daughter, but we were cautious enough to group at least 40 or so recruits among us. Which was clearly more than enough to bring you two to the edge."
"It seems to be that way… I've even got the bow I took cut in half. If I tried to take another one in my current state, I'd probably get cut down before I could even reach for it."
"That's most likely how it would play out. But for an archer, you've shown way more stamina than expected. You're worthy of being by that monster's side."
"Ha…haha. Have we stood so low as for criminals to decide whether I'm worthy or not of being by your side, Bartholomew?"
"What are you talking about…"
He sighed.
"Of course not. Just take it as a compliment. Either way, the longer this chit chat goes on for, the more we can rest up."
Though he said that in a fairly relaxed tone, he didn't flinch once, nor did he take his eyes off of them. He was honestly as alert as one can be, so I'm not really sure if he was really getting any more stamina from that.
"Cael."
Mana communication at this timing… you can probably guess where it was going.
"Isolde, Lysanna."
"What's up… dad."
"This is not going to end well. You guys need to run away."
"Even then though, this barrier…"
"Isolde, try to enhance Cael's mana density as much as you can. Even if it's just a short boost."
"Wait, dad! Are you?-"
"You're going to make a hole in this thing, for you guys to escape.You have the best mana control out of us after all. "
"Don't be ridiculous, it was some recruits who made this, you know?! Even if mom is an S rank booster, can she even boost my mana enough to make a hole-"
"She can, Cael."
"Aldric-"
"The fact that she's able to double me and Bartholomew's stats alone shows that her enhancing capabilities are well above average. She has so much less man than us, but she still manages to make an enchantment to double ours after all. Your dad's plan could work."
"…"
I didn't like it. Why was this starting to look… like a sacrifice? Me making a hole so we could escape? Stop playing with me. Why would I do that, instead of just helping them-… because I'm not strong enough to make a difference, huh? I know that much. But even then…
"Why are you two saying it like that…"
"Cael, you're a smart little man, you know?"
"…"
"Isolde, start preparing it."
I glanced at her. Her expression was just as contorted and hesitant as mine, but she reluctantly began, as her hand began glowing.
"We'll try to buy as much time as possible, so you have to go to the capital, and find Maia at the very least. They won't be able to chase you down if you reach her, and she'll come in no time to take care of them."
"…Alright."
About 10 seconds. That's as much as it took for mom to have fully prepared her enchantment.
"Are you ready, Cael?"
"…yeah."
I clenched my jaw, and gripped my sword so hard that it began hurting. I felt my whole body shaking, but I had no choice. I saw the logic behind this choice, and also knew the risks that denying it would cause. I had to do it. Tears were forming in my eyes, or rather, they were already running down my face at that point, as I began charging mana in my blade.
"Hm? Is that little guy going to try and fight us next instead of his daddy and uncle?"
"As if, you idiot. This little man wouldn't make any difference."
"Haha, I guess that's right. He also seems pretty scared about it too, look at all those tears."
"Are you ready, Isolde?"
"Let him be, will you? He's only 7 years old after all."
"And he took down most of the other weaklings, huh? I guess it was to be expected that the monster's little brother would be a little monster himself."
The twins were scared. I felt it after all, since Nala was holding both Lysanna's leg and mine, and I felt her hand shivering. At the same time, Rune had run to mom, who held him up.
"I am…"
"Who knows, maybe he'll even bypass her one day."
"That may have been the case… if only he wouldn't be dying today."
"Cael, Isolde."
"Lysanna."
"'We're leaving the little ones to you-'"
"I'm sorry for interrupting your whole hero speech…"
That voice?!
Someone had barged in our mana conversation. This wasn't actually an impossible thing, since when you actually began a mana communication transmission, you could technically "choose who had access" and in this case it was only those whose mana we recognized as familiar.
My eyes widened, and I instinctively started smiling as I stopped charging my blade with mana. Everyone else seemed just as shocked, but they all had the same smile pasted on their faces. Coincidentally, the enemy side had gotten pretty confused as to why we were suddenly all smiling. However, whether it was because of impressively high intellect, a pure lucky guess or instinct… they seemed to have quickly understood.
But before they could do anything, a blazing burst of flames raged through the top of the barrier, from behind us towards them. It was around 10 meters or so above our head, going straight through the 15 meters ish tall barrier, shattering it completely to nothingness from the outside.
Then, not even a full second later, she appeared in front of us. And while side eyeing us from behind, with that painfully contagious smile of hers, she continued.
"… But you won't be needing it any time soon."
"Y-you're late…Maia!"
"I can't deny that… but it's because we were calming down everyone else outside. Markus especially almost had a panic attack from the shock… but regardless, you're right. Sorry for the wait, Cael. You can sheathe your blade now, your beloved older sister will take care of everything."
"As you should… you gorilla."
In an instant, all of my fears, frustration and hesitation melted. They melted so quickly that I don't even precisely remember how I was feeling just a few moments ago anymore. I'm sure everyone else felt the same way too, and I can say it with the most confidence in the world. After all, her presence alone was more than enough for all of us to instantly drop our guards, and I even just straight up sat on the ground as soon as I finished my sentence. Maia's effect on us is like that of a sun. She's the one who melts our worries and problems away, like they were never there to begin with.
I honestly don't really know where we'd be without her. We may as well have been dead here if she didn't come, but I guess none of that matters anymore. After all, our son has come back, and we all felt her warmth.