A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

Chapter 196: The Slave Caravan (2)

*BANG!!!*

All sounds that the gang of three yelled out as the blast sent them flying with their shields barely capable of staving off the impact of the attack, were drowned out by the sound of rushing water that was followed by louder sounds of rocks shattering and slamming all over.

Henry's shield held against the large rocks that smashed against it but it didn't root him to the ground so he was forced back many feet away still encased in the blue oval.

The horses reared on their hind legs and let out sounds of distress. They looked quite ready to bolt with all the debris flying at them as well as the powerful sound of water-blast impact.

"Stay!" Henry ordered them before they could get away. They let out a few snorts and scratched at the ground uneasily but they remained in place.

"Ugh," Andor groaned. His shield had held but its protection had not been wide enough to stop him from getting struck by rocks.

Louis stirred on the ground as well. His lightning shield had worked quite well. It shattered any piece of rock before they could make contact with his body. Of course, this only applied to the ones that came at him directly but it was good protection nonetheless.

"Are you alright?" Henry asked them as he stood to his feet. With their cover blown, there was no need to be lying down on the ground.

"I'll live," Louis answered.

"I'm fine," Andor grunted as the two stood by Henry's side and looked down into the ridge with him.

The Mage had her eyes narrowed at them and she hadn't dropped her hand. Mana exuded from her fingers in blue streaks and congealed into a spell circle.

"There's more," Henry said with his grip tightening around 'Cudgel' which he hadn't let go of throughout the violet displacement by the water blast,

"Get on your horses!"

Both Louis and Andor immediately obeyed and had just gotten their horses to ride away when jets of water arrived. Firing blast after blast that shattered more rock formations and sent rocks flying about.

"-Nyx!-" Henry called in his head.

"-I'm here-" Nyx answered and with a powerful *Neigh!*, she leaped out of Henry's shadow where she had hidden to remain out of sight and close enough to act for moments such as this.

Henry grabbed her reins and pulled himself into her saddle barely a second after she was on the surface and then the ground began to shake.

*Rumble!*

Henry's eyes widened as he realized the Mage's plan had gone beyond just unleashing rocky debris on them; The jets of water had continued the damage that had started with the water-blast attack and the entire top part of the rocky formations the group had made their hiding spot was starting to crumble.

It caused a landslide that made the ground too shaky for travel. Louis and Andor had already been carried relatively to safety by their horses so Nyx and Henry were the only ones really in danger.

With confident huffs, Nyx's body became shrouded in the shadowy mist of <Shadow Dash> and her movements seemed to get lighter. She practically floated across the cracking ground as she carried Henry past the damaged area and began to climb down into the Ridge to meet the cause of their troubles.

She caught up with Louis and Andor's horses and got past them easily even though she had now deactivated <Shadow Dash>.

"I'll take the lead," Henry said with his eyes narrowed within the eyeholes of his Mask, even though his leadership was never really in question.

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•••

—Down in the Ridge—

"Is that it, Kayla?" Asked a Mercenary fighter who had a hand tight around the reins of his horse with his eyes on the landslide of rocks and sand that had fallen into the ridge and caused an eruption of dust.

"They're not dead, Orson," the Mage called Kayla, said, and she sounded exasperated like the answer to the question she was just asked should have been obvious.

Orson snorted like he hadn't quite liked her tone and his voice when he spoke next sounded closer to a grumble.

"So what now?" He asked as he looked back at the grounded carriages whose horses had skittered away already.

"We wait," Kayla said and her eyes dropped to glare through the thick cloud of dust a few feet away from them,

"We wait and we get ready. They're coming."

A few seconds later, the sounds of horse hooves could be heard. Kayla's eyes twitched as she stretched out a hand and conjured a shield just in time to intercept a few fired shots.

"I was ready to avoid that," Orson said with that grumble still in his tone.

This was the second time Kayla had protected him from bullets and while the last one would have surely hit some part of his body because he had foolishly let down his guard, he was far more confident about avoiding the ones she just blocked. He believed he was more alert now.

And then he saw the horse. Despite the cloud of dust, the blackness of its coat shone through but the most attention was directed to the rider. A Hat-wearing masked man who had a Repeater pointed and promptly fired a few more shots. All of which were blocked by Kayla's shield which stretched wider to cover more ground.

Henry wasn't disappointed. He didn't have time for that. A magic circle had appeared in front of Kayla and she was firing jets of water at him at such high speeds, it was like being barraged by a Gatling gun.

Nyx activated <Shadow Dash> and leaped to the side. The jets were mostly fired in a singular direction so avoiding them was relatively easy and by the time Kayla was attempting to better her aim at them, Nyx came at the three independent Riders from the side. She put Henry well behind Kayla's shield and he wasted no time raising 'Cudgel' and pulling its trigger.

The shot caught the Fighter unawares and by the time his eyes opened wide in horror, the Mana-infused bullet from the Repeater had torn a hole through his chest and flew out the other end.

The Fighter slumped onto the back of his horse just as it took off from the sound of a gunshot so close. The galloping knocked the Fighter out of the Horse's saddle but by the time he hit the ground, his heart was already no longer beating.

[Kill-Reward: 300 Exp]

As the familiar alert sounded in his head, Henry was already pointing his gun at the second man in the trio of individual riders of the Slave Caravan.

Orson was prepared. The sequence of his colleague's death had lasted a few seconds at most but even without that time to get ready, he was already alert.

He had his sword drawn and made a wide arch with it to unleash his Mana surge in a wave that struck toward Henry. Nyx leaped out of the way but Orson had already directed his horse to ride closer. The movement was so fast and smooth that it caught Henry slightly by surprise.

His eyes widened when the enemy's sword blade came at his chest in a deadly stab. He leaned to the side to avoid it. He succeeded but a fist came at him next. His gun moved faster though and he had it pointed at the Fighter's face and pulled the trigger before the fist could even get close enough to make contact.

*Bang!*

The sound of the shot was loud but it had missed. Orson possessed such impressive control of his body that he pulled back from his attempted punch and used his arm to parry the gun aside so the shot went awry.

Orson went a step further by expertly twisting his arm around the Repeater until he had a hold on it and was either forcing it out of Henry's hold or trying to turn the muzzle at him.

The Fighter's intention was not entirely clear but Henry wanted none of it. In an instant, he had 'Violent Retort' in his other hand, and with a quick cock of its hammers, he pointed and fired the two mana-infused slugs in its barrels. But just as the bright flashes appeared on both muzzles, the Fighter was gone.

Orson urged his horse to move away at the same he let go of 'Cudgel' and got out of the range of the enemy's second weapon fire.

"Well done, thief," he said and he did sound impressed, "Crude weaponry but sound techniques hinged heavily on concealed carry. Impressive."

It would never not sound wrong to Henry to hear guns get called 'crude' by people holding swords. It seemed silly but he moved past it as that was hardly a pressing concern.

"I'm Orson, by the way," the Fighter said.

"I don't care," Henry answered, already raising both 'Cudgel' and 'Violent Retort'. The blue glow of <Reload> hazed over the barrels of the two weapons right before he cocked them both and pulled their triggers.