There was no way this group was the rearguard. It was far too quick and from the wrong direction for it to be them. The dust trails being kicked up were erratic and not at all like the organized discipline of warhorses. The Karthian army wasn’t very plausible either.

They had to be bandits. Elric’s forefinger and thumb flew to his mouth to whistle a warning. Jack and the other knights came scaling up the hill moments later.

Each looked off in the direction pointed at by Elric. Each had a nervous expression on their face.

“Looks like bandits.” Jack stated, his guess was the same as Elric.

“What should we do?” Elric asked. He wasn’t a soldier by profession—he had only been a grocer just half a year ago! It never occurred to him that he’d be thrown into such a situation in his life!

“We’ll have to try and notify the main forces.” Jack nodded at two knights. Saluting at his gaze, the two knights ran to their horses and prepare to depart.

“You’ll go with them.” 

“What about you?”

“We can’t have everyone retreating. Somebody’s got to stall for time.” Jack replied as he ran back down the hill.

He didn’t need to be told twice. Whirling around, Elric ran with another knight down the slope. The two knights were already mounted and back with four horses. Rather than the horse in front of him, Elric’s eyes were focused on Jack.

“I’m staying. Having a magus will better the odds.”

“Are you 

trying

 to throw your life away? You’re not a knight, don’t fight battles you don’t need to.” 

“Of course not, but I’m not letting a comrade behind.” Came Elric’s resolute reply.

Jack stared at Elric as if to check his resolve. It took a moment before he looked away and nodded. The two knights took off at once, each in two different trajectories to avoid detection. The two would move in a circular fashion before meeting together again later.

The rest of the knights readied their weapons and horses. The time for battle was near. Applying the camouflage techniques he learned from Charle, Elric managed to hide the group well enough to avoid detection at a glance.

Magic was also applied to each of the knights’ chestplate. It was a piece of magic Elric learned from one of Crazy’s spellbooks, one capable of distorting light to produce illusions. It wasn’t much help offensively, but it’d confuse the enemy well enough.

The dust trail was getting closer to the campsite now. Elric could see groups of three and five ride toward the forest. It seemed they managed to avoid detection so far.

The knights and Elric retreated away from the bandits. Escape was only possible the longer they managed to avoid detection.

All was fine so far.  The bandits had yet to find them and the edge of the forest was already in sight. Already Elric was starting to smile when the air suddenly grew heavy. The wind screeched as it cut into the nearest knight. Sliced in two, the knight fell to the ground alongside the two horses he had been holding in a pile of blood and gore.

Elric whipped his head up toward the sky. To his horror, two magi met his gaze.

A second blade of wind careened toward the group, but failed to connect when they withdrew. Instead, it flew into the forest and fell multiple trees in its path. Branches and leaves were displaced as the trees fell, one of which squishing an unfortunate horse against the ground.

Bandits came popping out from the shrubbage, and all at once, the forest became a battlefield filled with the sounds of weapons being drawn.

Elric was already in the middle of preparing the only spell he could when the knights began fighting. It wasn’t a spell he fully understood, but was there any better time than now to use it? 

There wasn’t. It was time to take a risk.

He signaled to Jack as he muttered the incantation. Neither side talked about signals before, so Elric could only hope that Jack would catch on what he was planning to do. But luckily, it seemed Jack understood. Disguising a command to the other knights with a warcry, Jack readied his horse.

The magi weren’t attacking them again, presumably because they wanted to conserve their mana. What point was using it if the knights weren’t in plain view? Cutting down more trees for a chance to kill them wasn’t worth the mana expenditure. Besides, the bandits were already fighting, all they had to do was wait. Some of the bandits were already getting closing in on them from all sides. If not for their fear of being hit by the magi, the bandits would’ve charged in a long time ago.

The incantation was finished. Muttering the last word, Elric casted Chaos Crystal Wall around the knights.

“Charge!” Came the command before Jack came charging out from the forest.

Multiple blades of wind rained from the sky at their charge. Aimed at the knights or their horses, the spells were either sucked into the barrier or hit the trees instead.

It was never Elric’s intention to compete against the two magi in a battle of magic. One or two magi wasn’t too big of a concern. Their spells could easily be absorbed by Elric’s spell. It caused no small amount of discomfort for Elric when the pain hit, but he was well prepared for it. Managing to remain conscious and upright on his horse, Elric rode away with Jack on his left and another knight on his right just in case he fell earlier.

He turned his head back. Dozens more magi were flying through the air now; some magi were even starting to show up from other parts of the forest.

“There’s more magi!” A knight cried out.

“No way this is your regular bandit group.” Jack snarled.

Indeed, it seemed implausible that a group of bandits would have so many magi with them. Magi were a rare commodity to a kingdom. They’d be respected no matter which kingdom they were in, so why become a bandit? Being a magus was prestigious and a position enviable to all. Many kingdoms had even a monthly stipend for their magi. Victor had actually made use of that money to fund his current lifestyle.

Being able to employ multiple magi in an attack like this was most definitely the work of the army.

An army disguised as a group of bandits. More explicitly, the Karthian army. This was a situation far more dire than expected.

Bandits were a predictable bunch. Escape was both possible and plausible if they had luck on their side. As long as they could widen the distance, Elric was sure the bandits would stop chasing them. Between an easy meal or a drawn-out chase, bandits would always choose the easier option. 

But not the army. Now that their cover was blown, the Karthian army would stop at nothing to kill them all to avoid anyone knowing the truth. The army pretending to be brigands? It was an underhanded tactic no kingdom would want to be known for.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place then. The knights couldn’t attack the pursuing soldiers behind them for fear of the deadly magi in the air, and neither could they afford to scatter and flee. Their only hope was to wait for night to fall faster.