Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Lucius peeked out of from the sand that was covering him. Several dozen feet behind him, the rest of their task group were also hidden in the sand. It was the only surefire way to hide from the noses of beastmen.

Alternative ways of inhibiting their senses would also negatively affect Lucius and their three comrades from Eroa. If it didn't also risk affecting himself, Lucius would have simply done unleashed a vile concoction they carried that was made from a blend of rotten fruit and Swamp Rat meat.

He lay there under a pile of sand for several hours, unmoving and waiting for their prey. A group of wagons was scheduled to come through the small valley a little further from their position and the easiest path to it was through this flat area they hid themselves in.

When the wagons began to approach, Lucius took count of the visible personnel. There appeared to be about fifteen warriors. Each of the five wagons were being manned by people in plain clothes, but they did not seem to be true civilians, rather soldiers trying to hide what they were from onlookers.

The sight put a slight grin on his face. It seemed they were finally adapting to their attacks over the last few weeks. Supply groups were fewer and less frequent, but they brought with them larger groups of guards. This one in particular smelled like a trap, but in his mind, the best way to handle a trap was to trigger it under his own circumstances.

Soon, the caravan came within range. "[Tempestas: Lightning Charge]!"

Sand sprayed everwhere as the young man seemed to appear out of nowhere. The guards were mostly unable to react from the sudden movement. Those that did react, still weren't fast enough to track Lucius' speed.

"[Forsaken Arts: Sand Veil]!"

Using his Arts in concert with the massive amount of sand being spewed into the air by his spell, the sand became imbued with mana and began to attach itself to the caravan. From a distance, it looked like there was an isolated sand storm that had swallowed up the wagons and soldiers guarding it.

"Now!"

Kalliope's voice echoed across the battlefield and a series of arrows sailed through the air at the caravan. Several soldiers yelped as their arms and torsos turned into pincushions.

"[Flamma: Wall of Fire]!"

Marie cast a spell that formed a massive wall of flames in a partial arc behind the wagons, cutting off anyone's ability to escape without first confronting their ambushers.

"[Spear Arts: Whirlwind Strike]!"

A massive gust of wind filled the space, tossing away the sand around the caravan and dissipating Lucius' Sand Veil. Despite standing in the middle of a scorching desert, the wind bit like it came straight from the coldest day of winter.

Lucius' eyes widened. "Enchanted spear…and that man is a Master Rank."

Suddenly his excitement and confidence began to waver. Lucius could punch above his weight class and take on Intermediate Ranks and even some Advance Ranks, Master was beyond his abilities.

Quickly looking around, he caught a glimpse of a dusty, sand colored cloak ripple a little in the distance. It looked like Mia was going to make a move, so all they had to do was fight and distract the Spearman.

Of those present, Mia and her party were all Advance Ranks, and if given the opportunity, Mia would be able end the Master Ranker's life.

Kalliope, Renton, and Lynn rushed towards the battlefield. Marie and Kalliope's compatriots stayed away from the center of the fighting using long distance attacks. Marie also maintained concentration on the Wall of Fire.

"Cover!" Lucius shouted quickly as he ran up to the guards.

He slashed one who was closest to give him some space, sending a spurt of blood into the air. Lucius then stabbed the blade into the man's chest to both finish him off and have someone hold his weapon for a moment.

"[Tempestas: Thunderclap]!"

Electricity whirled around his legs before traveling up his body, then down his arms before concentrating in the palm of his hand. Using the spell was risky for him because of his own ears, but he had practiced a little regarding the directionality of the spell.

Lucius brought the two balls of energized mana in his palms together in a clapping motion. Instantly it was as though the sound was amplified thousands of times over. A cone of force, centering on his hands exploded outwards towards the enemy, sending sand, supplies, and people flying backwards.

Those that kept their footing were still not spared as they cradled the sides of their heads. Lucius smelled blood as he realized his spell worked and impaired the enemy's hearing. He stepped back and yanked his machete free from the body at his feet and swung it downward to flick off much of the blood staining the blade.

It was not a permanent solution, but it created an opening for his allies to press the attack. Quickly rushing up from behind him, Renton and Marie entered the fray. While several guards were still reeling from the spell, the quickly finished them off.

They were not worried about the small fries and only focused on taking out those standing between them and the Master Rank Spearman, who was also dripping blood from the ears on his animal-like ears.

Lucius and Kalliope locked eyes and gave each other a nod of acknowledgement as they also resumed the battle. There were a small number of Advance Rank fighters, at least four or five, in addition to the Master. With his own skills, and their impairment, they were still difficult, but doable to fight against them.

While they focused on the stronger ones, the covering team focused on their spells and arrows to take out the small fries. The onslaught from a distance made many of the enemy warriors tip wagons over to take cover behind.

One of the Advance fighters wielded two short swords in a dual-wielding fashion. It was a fighting style that Lucius had not confronted often, but of those well-versed in it, they could be a pain in the ass to deal with.

With that in mind, he chose that man first. He was about the same size as Lucius, so he did not have to worry about fighting overwhelming physical differences.

Lucius swung his weapon in a low strike, aiming for the man's leg. Metal clanged as his strike was deflected upwards. Instead of losing momentum, Lucius allowed the energy to carry his blade into the air.

The move surprised the warrior and his eyes briefly flicked up to follow the weapon. Expecting that to be the reaction, the black-haired teen planted a foot in the warrior's chest and sent him tumbling backwards.

As the man skid on his back a few feet, Lucius leapt into the air and came down with a two-handed strike. His hit was blocked by a pair of crossed swords.

"You… Won't… win this." The enemy growled. His arms were shaking from the awkward position he was in while blocking.

"[Tempestas: Lightning Field]"

The spell was normally a wide area attack, but he kept the magic contained to form a thin coating of lightning around his body as a pseudo-armor.

It did not block any physical attacks, but the results were still rather shocking. Metal was conductive, and so were people. Once the spell was activated, the warrior beneath him began to involuntarily spasm from being shocked by the spell.

It did not do enough damage to kill him outright, but it did loosen his grip enough to allow his assailant to break through the block and slice deep into his neck.

Lucius jumped back to avoid the arterial spray and glanced around. He saw Kalliope breathing heavily with the slumped body of another of the Advance Rankers laying at her feet. She had received help because he was also peppered with a few arrows.

"Next." She whispered before giving Lucius a slight grin.

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