RSTUM 99 (Patreon)

99: Medjay

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we welcome you to the secret festival at our branch in the City of the Sun, Heliopolis.

Our performers shall enter the stage to perform the renowned martial display, "Dance of the Hawks and the Cobra."

Shady stood in the middle of the stage with a single weapon in hand while Nadia and the rest of the team surrounded him.

"Ready to get your ass kicked?" Nadia asked.

"Isn't this supposed to be scripted?" Shady asked back.

"Believe me, it is for your own sake." She replied with a grin, "Alright, go for it, Ibrahim."

The Cobra knew the sharp talon was coming from behind him so he had to defend by sacrificing his footing and falling to the side. Two Hawks would come from the back and dig their talons in as they drag him but the Cobra bites one with his venom and drops the other by breaking his neck.

The Hawks don't like what they see and they come in a unit. The Cobra can no longer remain in place and had to be faster, be deadlier. He launched himself at a Hawk and restrained him with a grapple and a venomous bite. This left the other Hawks distressed and trying to corner the Cobra once again.

As ferocious as the Cobra can be, numbers were against it and the Hawks had the advantage of their wings. Nothing could he do except…

***

"Surrender!" Said the commander of the Medjay force as all the agents surrounded their target.

Leon was holding the rope dart which was going around his neck and just by roughly reading 

< Classes switched: Warrior & Rogue! >

Leon jumped backward, kicking the agent that tied his neck with a double kick. He reinforced his kick with the "Power Attack" which caused the agent to stagger but that wasn't effective enough as it was surprising.

Leon cut the rope with his dagger but found two agents coming towards him with two sword attacks left and right. He retreated one more time and threw a Molotov Cocktail at them which was swiftly intercepted with a sword strike.

It still spilled down and caused a fire to break.

"Bastard!"

The agent who was almost hit by the fire got enraged and used the "Leap Attack" as he seemed to be willing to cut Leon down but he didn't expect that just a second before he hits Leon, he would strike nothing.

Leon disappeared with the "Shadow Cloak" spell and appeared at the side of the Medjay Captain while attempting to strike him with his dagger. The captain, who was the caravan's leader, was awfully swift and held Leon's hand before the dagger would strike his neck.

"Very impressive! Using the Dark Arts as well? We were really short of information." The captain said as he looked at Leon with cold eyes before kicking him down.

Leon landed a few meters away while holding his side from the immense pain. The Medjay agents were still cornering him.

"Read!"

Leon didn't shy out and Read the stats of his enemies.

————————————————————

[ Abigor ] < Lv.?? Human Spellblade >

Talent: A

Skills: (Polearms) (Intimidation) (Unarmed) (Wrestling) (Athletics) (Stealth)

Magic: (Light) (Arcane) (Combat)

Titles: (#########) (Killer)

————————————————————

[ Mirrikh ] < Lv.36 Human Gladiator >

Talent: C+

Skills: (Blades) (Archery) (Athletics) (Stealth)

Magic: (Light) (Air) (Arcane) (Combat)

Titles: (#########)

————————————————————

[ Aasep ] < Lv.31 Human Striker >

Talent: B

Skills: (Unarmed) (Marksman) (Athletics) (Riding) (Acrobatics)

Magic: (Light) (Earth) (Arcane) (Combat)

Titles: (#########)

————————————————————

The levels and the stats of those people were way above anything Leon has. They were trained killers and skilled in various sets of skills. Especially their Leader, the one called Abigor, was someone like Vadim whom Leon couldn't read his level. They even had some of their titles blurred which means something wasn't right with them.

[A/N: just a reminder that blurred titles mean that the person is blocking something in their status. Titles reflect some of the person's job titles like "Black Cobra", or their achievement like "Killer" or "World-Class Thief". Other titles would be stigmas like "Loser" or "Fool". The method to hide something from one's status is to use a Token that is imbued with some form of Magic that can hide certain things like the Token of the Spider which Leon received from Karmina.

Those who were Read felt the slight discomfort that comes from this spell and immediately checked their surroundings but they didn't think it was Leon.

"Something doesn't feel right." The Medjay captain said then looked at Leon, "End him quickly!"

Two agents came from the back to subdue Leon by holding his arms but as they attempted to grab him, Leon used his "Storage" spell to his advantage. He hid his dagger in storage and as the agent on his right grabbed him, he made it come back and stabbed the agent at point blank which wasn't all that lethal. As he managed to free his right, he stored the dagger away and took out the knight's large axe which he looted as he flung it at the other agent from where he couldn't see.

"He's using a storage item!" The agents panicked as two of their mates were now injured.

Leon counted 10 agents including the Leader and so he had to be very careful since all of them are stronger, faster, and more durable than him. He wanted to take one of them hostage but he was hit by a Wind spell which pushed him away towards the gatehouse of the fortified wall.

The remaining Medjay agents rushed him as he was down but he used the "Shadow Cloak" once again and rushed like the wind towards the contraption right above the gate and just before they hit him, he used a "Power Attack" to cut the chains of that contraption with the axe.

The Medjay caught Leon and one of them stabbed him in the leg with a khopesh causing a very serious injury. Leon gathered the Wind around his hand and decided to go for an Air Magic attack.

< Classes switched: Wizard & Hunter >

As the magic power of the Wizard and the accuracy of the Hunter enforced his condition, Leon clasped his hands together and let his Mana run wild.

"Vacuum Blast!"

The spell formed somewhere between most of the Medjay agents and it expanded all of a sudden before suddenly imploding on a very powerful scale. Some of those agents who specialized in Air or Fire lost their focus on their spells and the ones closest to the spell's center lost their footing and fell.

Leon collected the axe quickly and wanted to hit the other chain but he was instantly restrained by something.

He could see a rope-like spell that extended from the hand of the Medjay Captain and tied his right hand tight.

"Shit!"

"You're all permitted to use Light Magic. Restrain him!" The Captain spoke.

"Lasso of Light!"

"Lasso of Light!"

"Lasso of Light!"

Three other agents cast "Lasso of Light" at Leon whose right arm, torso, right leg, and left leg were all restrained. The remaining agents were going for the kill but at the last moment, Leon returned the axe into storage and took out his left arm. He then swung it with a "Power Attack" and threw it at the next chain.

< Classes switched: Warrior & Rogue >

*THUD*

With both the power of the Warrior and the swiftness of the Rogue, the gatehouse's second chain was also broken and the drawbridge went down with a loud thud. This, however, barely made the Medjay agents stagger but it was all that Leon needed at the moment.

< You have learned "Mighty Throw" >

One of them tried to restrain Leon's left arm but Leon immediately threw something else. A bottle of Molotov Cocktail flew from his hands towards the agents but rather than being aimed at them, it was thrown farther and higher than their reach. They didn't pay it any heed at first and proceeded to slay Leon but just at that moment, many screams echoed from the directions of the Pilgrims.

< Classes switched: Wizard and Rogue >

Leon wasn't just going to wait. As some of the Medjay almost got distracted by the fire coming from the direction of the pilgrims, he decided to pour the last bit of his Mana into one last spell.

"LIGHTNING STRIKE!"

*CRACK*

Not only Vacuum but he used the other elemental variation of Fire, Lightning. This spell wasn't just destructive against mages but also against warriors which made it way more fearsome. Once the electricity-conductive metals were struck by this spell the lightning strike traveled like a chaining strike of Lightning and hit multiple agents at once, especially those who were casting the spell "Lasso of Light".

Three of the Light casters were immediately stunned by the power of the lightning and the only one who was out of the attack's reach was the Medjay captain, who immediately tried to drag Leon with his Lasso of Light.

< Classes switched: Sentinel & Hunter >

Resisting with all his might, Leon let out a cry of struggle and took out the item he needed the most from his storage. The highly-powered hand ballista, the Goodnight!

*Click* *SWOOSH*

It took a split second for Leon to aim and shoot. His target was the Medjay Captain who was more busy dragging than evading.

"ARGH!"

The hit was direct and the captain lost control of his spell and was blown backward like crazy. He seemed to have cast a reactive spell which negated the projectile damage but he looked in a bad shape.

That's why Leon always keeps this hand ballista, along with a few other crossbows, all ready and loaded inside the storage. Leon immediately threw himself off the fortified wall towards the drawbridge away from all the Medjay agents.

He timed his escape right. It was foolish to stay and fight all those ridiculously high-leveled agents by himself. Also, that Molotov Cocktail he just threw off was all part of his plan to let every animal in the fort get spooked by the fire, rush towards the gate, and among them was Diesel.

Leon landed right on Diesel's back as some horses and wagons started to crash and jam the gate. Immediately, all those animals that managed to escape created a stampede and were all rushing now toward the other side.

"NO!" The Medjay captain shouted, "After him! He can't live! Use your wings!"

To the six remaining agents, this command meant they must give their all for this chase. Every agent has a storage item with their most essential gear and some of the most rare and battle-effective gear across all the official armies of Agartha was the Flight Gear.

Immediately, all the agents took out strange items from their storages and they wore them on their backs. They looked like cloaks but seemed rather fancy and filled with Mana. Just as the agents circulated their Mana into these white cloaks, they started to transform into wings and carried them into the air immediately.

Leon rushed across the remaining few meters of the bridge but as he looked back, his eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing as those Medjay agents turned into some sort of… biblical angels?

"Fucking hell… we didn't have that in my unit!" Leon cussed in frustration.

"LEON!"

At that time, the voice Leon wanted to hear the most just sounded as a Dwarf came falling from the sky and landed on one of the Medjay agents, smiting him with a hammer.

"Vadim!" Leon saw the Dwarf and couldn't be happier.

"KEEP GOING!" Vadim shouted, "The rest are here!"

Just as Vadim said, a lookalike to Leon fell from the sky, and with a sword strike, he cut one of the agents in half. Lance Dark was on the rescue.

"RUN, BROTHER!"

The six agents that pursued Leon were cut to four in a split second. Those four evaded Vadim and Lance Dark and desperately chased after Leon with the superior speed of their wings.

But then…

"Watch out!"

The three ladies, Archduchess Eleanor, High Elf Erielle, and Lara Dark appeared as Eleanor teleported them to the roadside. Erielle jumped over Leon and landed on the ground with a mighty thud then a stalagmite rose from the ground and skewered one of the agents.

Lara Dark cast a strong sphere of air and tried to halt the remaining three but only one was caught in her trap and was shredded to pieces. 

As for Eleanor, she tried too hard to capture the remaining two agents but one slipped away as he sensed her mana, and the other one got enclosed in a cubicle barrier.

The last agent slipped away and rushed at Leon with his spear ahead ready to kill the boy but as he felt impatient that the target would get away, he burst his Mana through his flying gear causing it to explode with a Mana combustion. This burst was all that was needed for the agent to hit his spear and crash with Leon on the ground.

"NOOOOOOO!"

With a devastated cry, Lara Dark saw her youngest brother get attacked and immediately zoomed like the wind to his location.

Diesel, Leon, and the Medjay agent were all on the ground mingled together as the Bison was struggling to move and the agent was lying on top of Leon.

"Leon! Please!"

Lara immediately rushed and moved the agent of her brother to see that a dagger was resting on the left eye socket of the agent and Leon was underneath him catching his breath.

The rest immediately rushed towards Lara who was hugging the stunned Leon. Erielle and Eleanor were quite fast as they reached him first, Lance charged like a madman towards his brother and Vadim was the last to survive.

Lara didn't let go of her brother and seemed to have had quite the shock as she saw him get attacked but now that he is safe, she calmed down gradually.

Just as the five gathered around him, Vadim noticed something and his face changed.

"Oh, boy!" He muttered, making the rest look toward where he was looking.

Leon's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat seeing Diesel, his assassin bison, lying on the ground while struggling his last breath out.

The spear, which the agent just attacked Leon with, hit Diesel instead. It went from its back all the way through its chest.

"No…" Leon's emotions were riled up as he saw his mount die like that.

He left everyone else and went to Diesel whose eyes conveyed its pain.

"I… I am sorry I dragged you into this." He said while holding the Bison's head.

Losing one's mount wasn't anything strange in combat. Still, Diesel was quite the special animal as it bonded well with Leon despite its quirky and stubborn nature.

The light faded from its eyes as it succumbed to death and Leon closed them with a long saddened exhale.

"We can't stay." Eleanor spoke, "I am sorry for your mount, Leon, but soon this place will be crawling with the Baron's Knights."

"This is your land. Will he trespass?" Vadim asked with an enraged tone.

"He's a royal agent, Leon is wanted. He has the right to oversee the borders and we are still in his jurisdiction." Eleanor replied, "I am sorry, Leon. We must leave now."

"Right." Leon replied without looking at Eleanor, "Let's get going."

He stood with a staggering and tired body. The group was ready to move but Leon lagged behind while looking at Diesel. A voice was speaking to him in his head and enticing him to do something.

The Book of the Dead was demanding a soul, promising Leon that the dead aren't truly dead if they are recorded in its pages, that this is not the last of Diesel.

"Damning Stigma!"