Marcus' eyes widened.
"What did you say?!" He asked.
Leo nodded in response to that. He waved his hands, slashing through the cage. His aura could easily cut through it. He then took a step back from the carriage and pointed toward the fort.
Marcus slowly got out of the cage. He got down from the carriage and looked at where Leo was pointing at. He saw the burning fort. His expression changed from shock to happiness.
"Hahahaha! You bitch! You finally died! I'm free!" He started laughing loudly. After laughing for a little, he turned to Leo.
"Do you know who it is that killed her?" He asked him.
Leo shook his head. "Why didn't you ask if it was me?" He asked.
Marcus shook his head. "You just used Aura. Based on the strength of the slash, you are a 1st Circle Aura Knight. Maybe a 2nd Circle one, but that's pushing it. She had 2 2nd Circle Mages along with her. There is no way you could have killed her," he said.
Leo was impressed. He already knew that Marcus was an Aura Knight. But unlike himself, Marcus was only a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. That was why he was surprised that he could completely see through the strength that Leo had displayed.
"Don't be too surprised. You aren't the only genius. I was going to be attending my city's Aura Knight Academy on a full scholarship if I wasn't being an idiot. I took a dumb Mercenary Mission and somehow got caught by a few slave traders. Then the bitch bought me. After that, my entire life disappeared." He said.
"Nice. It was some mage who killed him. I'm not sure who though." He said.
Marcus nodded. "Well, thanks for getting me out though. I would have been able to, but your timing gives me a head start. Now I have to make a run for it." He said.
"Why do you have to run?" He asked.
"If that girl's family finds me, they will ask me questions. And they won't be asking politely. I'd rather not stay in plain sight." He said.
"Why don't you come to Eldridge? It's a huge city so they will find it hard to find you there. And that's if they search for you specifically in the huge city." Leo asked him.
Marcus thought about it. After thinking for a minute, he nodded." Yes, but I am going to need your help for the first week till I get back my Mercenary Card. After that, I can pay you back too." He said.
Leo nodded. "What's your age?" He asked.
Marcus sighed. "I'm 15. But I'll turn 16 in half a year." He said with a little regret.
"You won't be able to join the Aura Academy next year then. Why don't you try to join the one at Eldridge this season?" Leo asked him.
Marcus shook his head. "I can't afford it. It will probably cost me around half a million Starcoins." He said.
Leo offered a suggestion. "I can pay for the first year. After that, you're on your own though."
Marcus looked at Leo with shock. "Are you a noble in disguise? How do you have that much money?" He asked.
"Don't ask so many questions to someone who is helping you." He said in response.
Marcus nodded. "Yes, I'll take your deal. I will pay you back quickly, I promise."
"Fine then, we have to run now. I want to quickly get out of here and go back to Eldridge. I was planning on taking the horses here." Leo said.
Marcus nodded. They quickly took a horse from the stable, took the saddle, and mounted it onto the horse. They got onto the horse and then rode away from the front.
As they were riding forward, Leo realized that he hadn't dealt with all of the bandits. There were a few of them in the front, and both of them were going to encounter them in a few seconds at the speed they were going at.
Leo looked to his side and saw that Marcus was warming his fists. He had also noticed the bandits. Unlike normal Aura Knights that he had encountered, Leo noticed that Marcus had an incredibly good perception. This made him doubt something.
Was perception something that people were born with, and not something that was based on whether they trained in magic or aura? It would make sense. Even Daphne had a better perception that the other Aura Knights that he had seen.
Maybe nobles were blessed compared to commoners. But Leo didn't want to accept that. He decided to get to the bottom of it when he was actually capable of figuring out the answer to that.
As his brain thought about all this, they got to where the bandits were. Marcus halted his horse and jumped off onto one of the bandits. As he was flying through the air, he pulled his fist back.
When he got close enough to the bandit, he released his fist with incredible energy. His fist had a yellow aura surrounding it. When it contacted the surprised bandit, it released a thunderous explosion, releasing a few lightning sparks.
Leo, on the other hand, didn't even get off his horse. He just held onto the horse with his left hand and bent to his right. As he was closing on the bandit, he slashed with his dagger at him, leaving behind a shadowy trail.
The two immediately dealt with two bandits in a few seconds. After killing the bandit, Marcus jumped back onto his horse and made it speed up to catch up to Leo who was speeding away. He caught up in half a minute, but at this point, they came across another set of bandits. This time, there were more of them.
Leo sighed and was ready for the second round. Marcus, on the other hand, was very excited. He leaped from his horse and bashed in the face of the nearest bandit. The bandit dropped to the ground while Marcus looked around for his next target.
Leo saw that he was taking care of the brunt of the work, so he just stayed back, letting him have his fun. He was clearly venting from being imprisoned for a long time and needed to release his energy by doing something that pumped up his adrenaline.
In a few minutes, the 6 bandits that were separating them and the end of the forest were dead. Leo was relatively clean from the entire incident even though he had done a lot during the day. This was not because he was very neat when he did the shit that he did. It was mainly because he used magic to get rid of the dirt.
On the other hand, Marcus had blood splattered on his face and clothes. Some of it touched his blonde hair, making him look like a real-life demon. When they both got back onto their horse, Leo asked him. "How long were you imprisoned for? You looked like you had a lot of pent-up feelings."
Marcus shook his head. "A long time. And having that sicko in front of me made it worse."
