"The temple is just one kilometer ahead of us. We have to slow down so as not to alert them," said Bowen. The chief gave an approving look to the child. Everyone started to move at a slower pace and eventually found a hiding spot on a high ground filled with trees. From there, they could hide and also get a clear view of the temple. Four rogues were seen sitting outside the abandoned temple enjoying a few bottles of alcohol. Bowen pointed out that one of them should be inside keeping watch on Renault.
"Why are we waiting here? We are plenty enough to catch five e-rankers," said Dale in a hurry.
"Wait Dale, don't let your emotions shroud your thinking. If what that kid said is true, then the person who they are waiting for should be behind all those kidnappings. When he comes, we will catch everyone red-handed," said the chief.
Dale swore silently, "I swear I will kill every one of them. I will make them regret having a head on their body."
After waiting for five minutes, they saw a thin man wearing a long brown coat, a brown fedora hat, and a face mask walking towards the temple. Just as they thought, he started conversing with the rogues. One of the rogues went inside the temple and came out after some time along with the bald rogue who carried something like a sack in his hand. He quickly untied the sack to show off their catch. Dale became enraged upon seeing his only son miserably beaten and tied up in the sack.
"Two from the left, two from the right, let's go catch them. And you kid, stay put here. Don't cause us any trouble," ordered the chief.
Bowen remembered the system's mission for him to become a reaper. As stated, he would have to find the identity of the mastermind behind the kidnappings for him to qualify as a reaper, and that mastermind would be his first kill target.
Gerald and the chief made a surprise attack on the criminal group. Gerald started with fireballs, which concentrated on the bald Rogue with a mace. The chief held a thin blade and started fighting with the rogue who held the long sword as his weapon. Herald started to fight barehanded, which surprised Bowen again. Dale was sending out lightning arcs one after another from his thin wand. He parried two rogue's attacks single-handedly. The brown-robed man with a mask activated something like a spherical shield and stood inside it. It seemed like he didn't have any will to take part in the fight.
Bowen also did not care much about the fight. All he wanted was to peel off the mask of the brown-robed man. The barn group started struggling as the fight prolonged. Gerald's magic attack frequency was becoming less. He was trying his best to dodge and defend to prevent mana depletion and to buy time for the second group to arrive. The chief seemed to have exhausted already. Only Dale and Herald were able to keep up with the rogues.
"AAAHHH!" the sword of the rogue made a bloody cut on the chief's left shoulder.
"DAD!" shouted Dale. He really wanted to help his old father, but his opponents didn't give him a chance. Everyone knew that the chief had reached his limit. They could not lose the old man in this fight.
"GAAAAA" Herald let out an ear-splitting shout. His body started to glow red.
"Herald, don't..." shouted the chief.
"Sorry, old man, you have done enough for me, at least let me repay you now," said Herald. Black fur started to grow all over his body visible to the naked eye. In a few seconds, a tall black bear man stood in the place of Herald.
[A werebear? ...he was not a werewolf but a werebear] thought Bowen.
Herald's attack and speed tripled in the blink of an eye. His attacks were so ruthless that the opponent sustained many broken bones and was soon made immobile. Herald picked up the swordsman rogue as his next opponent. The chief moved to help Dale and Gerald. Dale made a lightning saber and cut the head of one of his opponents who let his guard down. On seeing the rogues losing the fight, the brown-robed man dismissed the shield and secretly moved to the side of the temple to make a quick escape.
"Want to escape on my watch? You can never do it in this lifetime," saying this, Bowen prepared to confront the masked man himself. But the distance between him and the brown-robed man was so big that he might lose his target.
"System, impart the Art of Felenor to my familiar, make it quick" he said
...beep beep... Order accepted imparting Art of Felenor to familiar Casper....5%..30%....65%...89%..99%, 100%
**Ting**, the art of Felenor has been imparted successfully to familiar Casper. Host as obtained skills - Quick Dash and vision share from your familiar.
YES! Exclaimed Bowen
"It's time to test my new skill. With Quick Dash, here I come!" In a second, Bowen traveled a distance of 100 steps. "This is great! Huhuuuuooo!" Bowen moved faster and faster until he was right behind the brown-robed man. Without further ado, he used all his strength stat to send an upward kick with his leg forcefully. As Bowen was short, the kick squarely and comfortably landed on the masked man's crotch, followed by the breaking of two eggs. Of course, Bowen had to resort to some dirty methods as he was just a powerless 6-year-old kid now.
...Eeek... The brown-robed man bent his knees and fell flat on his face. Bowen used this chance to pull out the mask tied behind his head. He made several kicks to the side of his face in a flash. Finally, the brown man turned around to look for the culprit that had destroyed his future family.
"IT'S YOUUU!" shouted Bowen, which attracted the attention of others. The chief and Dale ran just to find a very familiar face gazing at them with fury and pain in his eyes.
Author's Rambling Corner:
Greetings, dear readers! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. Now, I have a question for you: who do you think the brown robed man is? I challenge you to guess correctly, and if at least One of you do, I'll upload the next chapter right away instead of waiting until the usual update on Thursday afternoon. So don't hesitate, head to the comment section and flood it with your answers and any feedback you may have. Thank you for reading, and happy guessing!