Sacred Brother

It will be a lonely night.

Millodas, who was watching Seledia leave the house on her own, couldn't help but have this thought cross his mind.

He had mixed feelings watching the Preel carrying Seledia walking away from Tegralle.

This convocation letter from the Adventurer Guild was sudden but didn't let them any other option. He knew that if she had a choice, she wouldn't choose to let her daughters out of her sight.

It wasn't possible to know how long the meeting would take, but Millodas was sure that with her mount, it would take her around two days to get back.

Two days couldn't be considered a long period, but this wasn't the case for someone who hadn't left her house for four years.

Usually, Millodas was the one doing the errands in Shaisal, such as collecting the letters from Aten, while Seledia was the one constantly watching over their daughters.

With her as a guardian, Millodas didn't have to worry about the security of his daughters. However, with the situation reversed, he wasn't so confident.

He knew that his strength couldn't match Seledia's.

However, he didn't let her see his apprehension.

Even if he wasn't as strong as her, he was still confident enough in his strength to watch over their daughters for a few days especially since he dispatched some of his men to protect his house until she came back.

More importantly, Seledia needed to leave the house.

Constantly looking after their daughters with fear, while desperately waiting for news from Sillath, has changed her over the years.

She wasn't the bright woman with a fiery temper but a kind nature that he met all these years ago.

Millodas knew that he wasn't the same either.

The pain and fear of Sillath's kidnapping were too much to bear for them and cast a strong shadow over their hearts.

Millodas wasn't sure what they would have become if not for their daughters brightening their lives and giving them a reason to persist longer. He didn't know if he would see his son ever again, but he knew that he couldn't let anything happen to his daughters.

Therefore, he hid his fears behind his usual carefree smile and reassured her before saying goodbye.

He only returned to his house when her figure was completely gone from the horizon.

Millodas had trouble sleeping that night with these feelings constantly disturbing him, but after turning over and over in his bed too wide for him alone, he finally forced his eyes to close and his mind to shut.

He spent a lonely but dreamless night until the quietness of the night suddenly broke apart.

A mighty roar woke him up abruptly.

In his muffled and half-awake state, his first thought was that a deviant was attacking the town.

However, the roar of the beast didn't just resound in his ears but also seemed to shake his very soul.

Despair, fear, unwillingness, anger.

All these feelings threatened to submerge him until the powerful roar abruptly stopped without any prior notice.

The night regained its apparent calmness until Millodas finally came out of his torpor.

He jumped out of his bed in haste. He didn't take the time to put any protective gear above his ordinary thin black shirt and pants. However, before rushing out of the room, he took the time to take his sword along with an ordinary-looking rock the size of a fist from his drawer that he put in his pocket.

The house was large but it took him less than ten seconds to reach the base of the stairs leading to the rooms of Gaya and his daughters.

At the same time, he heard the sound of broken glass coming from upstairs.

He rushed ahead only to discern at the end of the dark corridor two shadows jumping through the window.

He felt his heart skip a beat when his worst fear suddenly came true.

However, this fear was almost immediately buried by his rage.

With a roar of anger, Millodas unsheathed his sword while rushing after them.

He quickly jumped out of the window, but he didn't even have time to wonder where the two shadows had gone when he heard the sound of fighting and clashing steel resonating to his right.

He immediately rushed out, only to see the men he dispatched around his house fighting the mysterious intruders.

Even if they were at a slight advantage as they outnumbered the intruders two to one, the movements of these two men were clearly a level higher. After being taught for several years personally by Millodas, these men acquired good fighting abilities but they still lacked experience against other humans in a real situation.

They were trained to face deviants and protect the town from this threat after all.

However, despite their obvious disadvantage in terms of skills and experience, they still managed to delay and even push back the two men. Millodas didn't have to wonder for long before he noticed that these men were fighting while carrying something.

He quickly analyzed the situation while running to join the fray.

While getting closer, he finally realized that the closest intruder from his position was fighting while carrying Sellysse and Llynadia under one of his arms.

For Millodas, it was as if his fears torturing him for four years were coming true before his own eyes.

His anger erupted like a volcano while releasing his mana at the time. His speed suddenly increased dramatically as he triggered his magic.

"Careful!!!"

The voice of the kidnapper carrying Gaya resonated among the clashing of weapons to warn his partner.

However, it was too late.

The kidnapper who was fighting two guards with a single arm didn't even have the time to turn his head when he felt all the hair on his body rise in alarm.

He immediately let go of the girls to dodge, but it was too late.

Millodas cut his head off with a single strike of his sword. He only felt a cold sensation near his neck before losing consciousness forever.

"Stay near my daughters!"

He briefly turned his attention to his men, now without an opponent, before rushing toward the last kidnapper who was still fighting. This man didn't hesitate after seeing the man who easily killed his comrade rushing toward him. He immediately let go of Gaya to free his hand of this burden. Then, he skillfully avoided the sword strikes coming from his right and left before turning his hand toward Millodas, who was running at top speed behind him.

"Earthball"

A large ball of earth left his hand at an astonishing speed, but Millodas simply sidestepped a little while continuing to run forward.

"Shit"

Seeing that his surprise attack didn't bear any fruit, the man began to grow desperate.

He kicked away his opponents while trying to get away from this situation.

Without Gaya as a burden, the two guards couldn't slow him down anymore.

Seeing his men falling on the ground while the kidnapper was quickly widening the distance made Millodas' anger burst once more.

"Don't even think of running away!" He snorted coldly.

With a wave of his hand, several long earth spikes were shot at high speed toward the back of the opponent.

The kidnapper skillfully changed his trajectory several times to avoid the attacks, but after avoiding all the incoming blows, he suddenly lost his footing. The man glared at his right foot in panic only to see that the hard soil suddenly became incredibly soft at the exact spot where he put his foot down.

Millodas was still several feet behind him, but his cunning use of magic made him want to curse his bad luck. He tried to adjust his footing, but before he could resume his run, a long sword dazzled by the rays of the moon arrived in front of his face.

He ducked his head to avoid only to meet Millodas' knee at full speed under his chin.

*Bam*

Several of his teeth shattered under the impact, but before he could truly feel the pain or regain his spirit, a sharp pain along with a warm sensation spread from his defenseless back. The earth spikes, that he avoided previously, came back under the influence of Millodas's magic and directly hit his back tainting his dark clothes with fresh blood.

The vision of the man began to blur while Millodas looked at him coldly with his sword by his side.

Despair and unwillingness seized his heart before Millodas raised his sword one more time.

A silent strike from the deadly sword ended the fight.

Before he could even begin to beg for his life, the corpse of the man fell on the ground with his head rolling by his side.

The night finally regained its previous calmness.

After killing the last opponent, Millodas shifted his focus toward the three unconscious girls.

He heaved a sigh of relief after confirming that they were only unconscious.

However, before he could give other instructions to his loyal men, several screams resonated from the town.

Millodas quickly realized what was going on, but he didn't panic and turned his face toward his four subordinates who gathered around him after the end of the battle.

"We're under attack. Hebrel, Loder, go to the barracks to gather the men. Don't forget that the priority isn't to engage the enemy. Give priority to evacuate the civilians."

"Yes, sir"

"On it"

The two men quickly rushed toward the town.

"Edil, go see how many people are attacking the town. Remember, stay out of their sight. Then rush straight to the barracks to pass them the information."

"Roger." answered the thinnest looking man before rushing out even faster than the previous men.

Millodas finally turned his head toward the last of his men still by his side. His name was Idlan and his fighting and leadership skills were only second to those of Millodas.

"They're here for my daughters. I need to get them out of here and put them to safety first. When they realize they aren't in the town, they will probably stop their attack and focus on tracking me. Can you help me? I can't fight if I have to carry the three of them together"

Millodas could see that his subordinate had many questions on his mind. It was natural not to understand what was happening. However, contrary to Millodas' expectation, Idlan didn't ask any unnecessary question and took Gaya in his arms.

"Yes, Captain. Let's go."

Millodas nodded to thank him.

While carrying his daughters, Millodas ran alongside him out of the town.

Several large explosions could be heard from the town which was getting further and further away every second.

Millodas bit his lips in frustration hearing that sound of devastation.

"Damn you, father!"

This was his town.

These screams came from the people living with him.

Millodas wanted to immediately rush back to save them especially since he knew the identity of the culprit. More than the shame he constantly felt after Sillath's kidnapping by his own father, this time he felt responsible.

However, he couldn't go back.

He was a father before anything else. Those men were clearly here for his daughters. He had to put these girls to safety first before anything else.

Moreover, Millodas was confident that those men would quickly leave the town if their target wasn't there. He would only be playing their game if he turned heels toward the town now.

With these thoughts in mind, Millodas steeled his determination and accelerated.

"Captain, where are we going?" Shouted Idlan while frantically trying to follow Millodas.

"Remember, the hiding place I showed you last year? We're heading there." Millodas answered briefly.

Idlan quickly nodded in understanding as if he was awaiting this answer.

He was Millodas' most trusted subordinate. Because of that, apart from himself, the mayor and Seledia, he was the only one knowing the location of the hideout created outside of the town in case of something like that happening.

"We have to hurry up. When they realize that their target is no longer in the town, they'll come after us. We won't be able to outrun them if we don't hurry before then"

Before Millodas could give other instructions, a loud and regular noise caught his attention.

Idlan and Millodas' faces almost immediately dropped when they noticed that their pursuers were much closer than they initially thought.

The sound of the hooves furiously chasing them and drawing closer with each second couldn't be missed.

In the darkness of the night, it was hard to discern the figures of the riders chasing after them, but judging by the thunder-like noise coming from their direction, there were more than just one or two.

Moreover, they weren't riding the commonly seen Preels.

Their mounts didn't have the usual green scales on their legs or the fangs protruding out of their mouths. They had the same deep-black mane in common but these mounts were clearly a lot more majestic and faster than the robust Preels.

Their most distinguishable features in the darkness of the night were the large hooves, emitting a fragrant and vivid blue color along with their deep-blue eyes shining like a furious flame burning away the darkness.

These famous racial traits were enough for Millodas to guess the nature of the creatures chasing after them.

"They are riding 'Lovrax'. We won't be able to reach the hiding place in time. I will hold them back, you go to the hideout and don't come out under any pretext."

"You can't. They will kill you. I will fight with you so that…"

"Idlan!!!" Millodas interrupted him with a strong voice before he could finish his sentence.

Idlan swallowed the words in his mouth and turn his head toward Millodas who was holding out his unconscious daughters to him as he ran.

"I entrust my daughters to you !"

With the darkness of the night only bathed by the pale moonlight, Idlan wasn't able to see Millodas' expression. However, his voice was enough.

Millodas and Seledia were everyone's benefactor in the town. They saved this town and taught them how to defend it with their own strength.

Idlan became a guard of Tegralle to learn from Millodas.

To learn from the man he respected the most in his life.

Therefore, he didn't try to argue with him anymore when he sensed the determination in his voice.

He reached out his arms to carry the two small girls along with Gaya before answering with the strongest voice he could muster.

"I will wait for you!"

Immediately after entrusting his daughters, Millodas stopped in his tracks to face the riders behind them.

He took out his sword while gathering his mana and focusing his mind.

The thunderous sound of the mounts running at full speed toward him broke the fragile peace of the night.

"He's here."

"Get him!"

Several fireballs flew toward him at full speed, but Millodas didn't move one inch from his spot as if he was rooted in place.

The first two magic hit the ground and scorched the earth just before him, but the following three were much more accurate.

Finally, just before the threatening fireballs hit him, Millodas moved.

He slightly bent his knee before activating his magic.

"Earth blessing"

Gathering the strength of the earth in his legs to power up his own strength.

It was one of the magic he developed after gaining understanding about the concept of vitality of the earth element.

The magic only took a single breath to activate.

As soon as he felt his strength soar from his feet, Millodas abruptly jumped while releasing this pent-up power just like an arrow released from a bow.

With the earth breaking under his feet along with the whistling sound of the air around him, Millodas soared and avoided the attacks crashing where he was standing a second before.

The five riders, who were already gathering their mana for their next attack while controlling their Lovrax, didn't immediately notice that Millodas was gone from his previous spot.

It wasn't that his speed was too fast, but the darkness of the night along with the disturbing strong lights from the fireballs didn't allow their eyes to follow his movements.

However, the scream of one of their comrades made them quickly realize what happened.

Millodas used the speed of his projection to reach one of the riders who didn't have any time to avoid or counter.

With a thunder like noise, Millodas' foot crashed against his thorax, breaking several of his ribs at the same time.

The impact, which was enough to break his bones, was also enough to knock him off his Lovrax.

Seeing their comrade falling backward along with Millodas while screaming made the four men stop their mounts by reflex. They stopped and quickly turned back to assist their friend.

However, they were still one step too late.

As soon as Millodas touched the ground, he stabbed his sword into the heart of his opponent.

The man didn't have any chance to react or counter before feeling the cold blade firmly embedded in his body.

"Bastard!"

"Rody!!!"

The furious shout of the men resonated in the ears of Millodas making him change his focus.

He quickly pulled out his sword and began to run toward the men who were rushing with their mount and their swords ready to strike. At that distance, they didn't have the time to release another magic to deal with him.

They weren't Saint mages after all.

However, Millodas was one.

"Earth Lance!"

He abruptly put his hand on the ground, just in front of the closest rider. Immediately after, a short lance made of solid earth sprouted from the ground.

*Bam*

The sound of the impact was enough for the three other men to go pale with fright, but they quickly reacted and ignored the Lovrax that violently impaled itself before being projected in the air along with its rider.

The remaining men launched their attacks at Millodas who still had one hand on the ground.

However Millodas, as calm as ever, simply gathered his momentum from the earth just like before.

Their swords were only one step away from his body when he once again jumped to avoid the blows.

The three riding men were furiously trying to hit Millodas with their magic or their swords, but no matter how much they tried, they couldn't touch him.

Except for his extremely short burst of speed, his movements weren't fast enough to allow him to avoid all of their blows. However, the three men finally realized why they were at a disadvantage against him.

He was skillfully moving close to the Lovrax while staying out of range of their swords. With this kind of movement, they couldn't run rampant with their magic either as they would simply hit each other.

After several minutes of fighting, the three men finally came to a silent understanding.

They stopped their previous strategy of overpowering him with the speed of their mount and simply got down.

Seeing the three of them giving up on their mount made Millodas coldly snorted.

"Fight on foot if you don't know how to fight while riding. Took you long enough to understand that."

Millodas coldly ridiculed them.

Instead of growing angry, the three assailants didn't speak anymore and simply surrounded Millodas. Their respective mount stayed several feet behind them without moving.

Millodas expression was much more serious than before.

He was successful in his previous attacks because those men clearly weren't skilled enough to adjust their position and speed while riding against someone who had much more experience than them.

However, the atmosphere those three emanated on the ground with their weapon in hand was in another league.

They were clearly much more used to fighting on foot than on a mount.

Millodas was ready to attack when a noise behind him attracted his attention.

Several men running toward them could be heard.

His face sank after understanding that reinforcement was coming.

----------------------------------------------

While Millodas was fighting to hold back the pursuers, Idlan was running as fast as he could with Gaya under his right arm and Millodas' daughters under the other.

He ignored the furious shouts, the screams of pain and the clashing of steel coming from behind him and simply rushed forward as fast as he could toward the hideout.

He ignored the noise coming from Millodas' battle and focused his senses on his surroundings. No other noise except the whistling sound of the wind and some small nocturne animals could be heard. His heart relaxed slightly when he realized that there was no longer any other pursuer.

He was currently running near the border of the vast forest near Tegralle while carefully looking around, afraid of going past the hideout.

His eyes were fighting against the darkness of the night to observe the forest on his right when a slight rumbling sound appeared ahead.

His heart skipped a beat, but he didn't panic and simply scanned his surroundings to discover the source of this noise. However, he still felt all the hair on his body rise when he discovered the origin of this noise.

The rumbling sound became stronger but was quickly covered by a loud laughter sounding atrociously out of place in this peaceful and silent night.

The figure of a man slowly emerged from the ground several feet ahead of Idlan who immediately stopped in his tracks.

The figure slowly stretched while becoming taller and wider.

From short to tall.

From tall to imposing.

The figure of a muscular man with a large grin on his brutish-looking face made all the blood drain from Idlan's face.

"Why are you here? How could you…" His voice dropped as if losing the strength to oppose his presence.

Not everyone knew who this man was but Millodas already described him to Idlan.

As if cursing his fate, Idlan's voice finally became stronger while shouting the name circling in his head and crushing his determination.

"Vated!"