"Sir, Please stop them for a while."
When Noel said those words, he immediately waved his hand, gesturing everyone to retreat.
Since the serpent had decided to leave to inform Laufey, there was no one stopping them.
Obviously, Gargan and Fil wouldn't let everything go his way.
Gargan gritted his teeth while smashing the ground with his glaive.
"You won't get away!" Gargan shouted at the top of his lungs. The energy from his glaive ran through the ground, shattering it. This powerful energy seemed to be equal to Noel's Undying Fire Phoenix with the boost from the Fire Heart.
It was quite shocking that Gargan could release this degree of power without his strong hand. His speed couldn't be underestimated either.
Fil seemed to be enduring the pain as he pointed his palm at Damian. A few distortions appeared around him, trying to crush Damian.
Damian felt their strength and realized that they were indeed powerful criminals. Even he couldn't easily kill them in this situation, especially since he had to buy time for the rest to escape.
So, he stomped the ground with his sword. In that instant, both the distortion and Gargan's attack were covered in ice.
"!!!" Gargan widened his eyes in shock. He was also a Spirit Grandmaster, but to think there would be this big of a gap.
Gargan gritted his teeth and said, "You should go, Fil. I'll buy you some time."
Fil glanced at Gargan's face, understanding his intention. If they fought together, they had the chance to slip past Damian. On the one hand, going straight to the Demon Relief Squad could stop them from leaving. On the other hand, there was still Paul. With Fil's condition, Paul would have an overwhelming advantage.
That was why Gargan told him to go, not to chase after them. He wanted Fil to survive while he bought time from Damian. He might get severely injured fighting Damian, but he was still confident enough to survive.
If they could somehow regroup with Laufey, they should be able to turn the situation around. And it would be best if they could somehow surround this monstrous guy later.
With that thought in mind, Gargan stepped forth while waving his glaive.
Each swing released a powerful strike that flew toward Damian.
Damian remained calm the whole time. He received all this strike and dispersed their energy like a true master.
At the same time, he gradually positioned himself between Gargan and the Demon Relief Squad.
Little did he know, Noel was actually staring at him.
"…" Noel frowned, feeling something weird from Damian. Dimitri might have shown some of his power, but he hadn't fought anyone seriously. So, this might be the first time someone at Dimitri's level fights.
And in this fight, he found something he couldn't explain.
'What's that ability? Is his ice so powerful that it can affect the opponent's ability? Does he have a powerful spirit? At least, stronger than Heisk?' Noel frowned.
Noel hadn't seen anyone with an ice ability. When he found someone with a fire element, they were far inferior to Ardagan. That was why he never thought about this before. What if there was someone with an element stronger than his? What would he do to overcome that gap?
He had no answer, but at the same time, he felt he could get the answer by watching Damian.
But it seemed that everything didn't go according to the plan as Jonathan asked with a slightly frustrated sound. "Noel. Why do we have to run away when we are in an advantageous position? And why do I have to carry everything again? This is taking a toll on my body."
Because he was annoyed and there were no other people besides the Demon Relief Squad, who were already aware of Iadre's real identity, he called Noel by his name.
Noel's body shook because he was too focused on Damian earlier.
He realized that his decision was a bit questionable. But he had already prepared an answer for this.
"According to the information, they have someone as strong as him. So, that woman must be trying to inform that person who seems to have gone to the other path."
"If we take too long, we will be surrounded. And at that time, some of us would surely die."
"Hence, I suggested the retreat. There is also a reason for you to carry us again. It's to cover our trail. After some time, he will regroup with us and the trail will surely vanish at some point."
"I want to create a question in their mind… I want them to think about which path we will take. We might follow this path or we might stray off track just to let them pass while heading to the other city."
"This way, we will have a lot of time to reach the city. We will have better protection once we have arrived at the next destination."
"And depending on the situation, we can go to another city or wait until the reinforcement arrives. After all, even if the enemy is powerful, the city will allow us to defend against them to a certain degree. I doubt the Supreme Devil Organization would take the risk and engage in a fight against a fortified city even with demons helping them."
"…" Everyone was silent. When they heard the reason, all kinds of misunderstandings were solved. It seemed that Noel had thought this through, especially after miscalculating the enemy's strength.
Noel only wanted them to survive. So, he chose to play safe.
With Gargan and Fil being injured, they wouldn't attack a city recklessly, especially with Damian helping them.
However, Noel had one more purpose. He was pretty sure that the one chasing after them was Laufey.
Laufey should be aware of Dimitri and his strength, considering they were former comrades. But with the addition of a mysterious swordsman, Laufey would think twice about attacking him.
There were two people of Dimitri's level protecting Noel, if he wasn't careful, all his plans would fail. This was the only way to buy more time from Laufey. He hoped he could do this until he reached the Spirit Grandmaster level.
Nonetheless, they managed to escape from Laufey's attack and the second phase of the plan had just begun.
