My split minds raced through several plans and iterations of escape. It turned out the best option was to run. I thought I'd have a better chance of fighting now that so many of the Jesters had been eliminated. However, the paler still had a handful of his reanimated troops, and it looked like the town guard had finally arrived… Only the guards seemed to be siding with the Jesters.

I tossed the rest of my smoke and silencing runes, hoping the sheer volume would create a better window. I was out the door running before they exploded. The streets were packed with people eager to appease their growing curiosity. Although the density of the crowd impeded my progress, they added to the confusion. I was able to put a couple of buildings between me and the library before my smoke screen fell.

Fortunately, there was enough distance between me and the Jesters that I was out of the sleeper's range. That allowed me to use mana—and, more specifically, water anchors—to escape. Unfortunately, everything else seemed to be going against me.

For one, the guards had the portal on lockdown, cutting off my quick escape out of the town. They also shut down their gate, trying to close me in. If it weren't for my speed and mobility, they would've caught me. It just so happened that I excelled at moving at a quick speed, and once I made it to the ocean, they had no way of containing me.

Had I known that the Jesters and guards shut down the rest of the portals throughout Alderi, I would've stuck to the ocean. Foolishly, I tried to sneak through the portal at Free Wind City and again at Anchor Port. I didn't even make it into the gates of Anchor Port, and from there, I was blocked from reaching the ocean.

Blocking me from the ocean were the ever-prevailing Jesters at my back. There was an army of them tracking me down. The large force of assassins pushed my direction away from the ocean and into the Blue Peak Mountain Range.

The Blue Peaks got their name from their purplish-red mountaintops. Blue, the settler who was the first to climb the mountains, claimed the naming rights. She argued that she was not naming the mountains after her last name but rather after the distinct color of the peaks. Years later, it would be discovered that Blue had trouble distinguishing between specific colors due to an extremely niche use of her light mana.

The Blue Peaks were massive and were said to be the longest mountain range in all of Helm. The Peaks nearly ran from the north coast of the Lakia Kingdom all the way to the southern coasts of the Alderi Empire. The mountains created a significant barrier across Agoria, contributing to the separation of kingdom and empires.

Besides the monsters and dungeons that frequently spawned on the mountains, there wasn't much value in the Blue Peaks. Even the hard, mana-resistant rocks made from the mountains for housing were a difficult task, and only extremely wealthy hermits tended to try to live on the mountains. However, most were driven out due to the frequent appearance of spirit beasts.

The beautiful yet inhospitable mountains also served as a massive barrier between me and my home in the Bloodwoods. However, they were the only path I could take, and so I spent the next two weeks hiking, hunting, hiding, and fighting in the mountains.

I felt like a real-life fugitive. Toward the end of my run over the mountains, I would've made any highlander or mountaineer proud of my skills. I outpaced grounders with my breakneck speeds down the steep slopes. When I finally made it across the mountain range, I had left at least two dozen Jester corpses behind. A lot of blood was spilled in the back mountains… most of it mine, but I managed to come out the victor in every encounter.

I would not lose memories on a shopping trip.

Despite their heavy losses—or maybe because of them—the Jesters continued to chase me on the eastern half of Alderi. I avoided all cities and towns and kept to the woods as much as possible. It took me another week of running, hiding, and fighting before I reached the Bloodwoods.

I almost shed a tear when I saw the massive red trees on my horizon. To think they'd stand so stoically, waiting for my return. Just an honest and upright display of loyalty. My efforts doubled as I sped across the plains to reach the forest.

The assassins were hot on my trail. They had long abandoned the pretense of subtlety and openly hunted me. The open field gave the Jesters with flying skills the chance to catch me, and had it not been for my domain, they might have slowed me down enough to fight. However, I was too strong for the sages and templars that faced me one-on-one. Fortunately, they hadn't sent any mages either. This whole escape scene would've played out much differently if they had.

For a small moment, I thought I'd have an advantage once I reached the forest. That wasn't the case. The assassins doubled their efforts, pulling in larger numbers to hunt me down. I flew through the woods. The familiar grounds helped me to increase my speed, and even though they had greater numbers, I was getting away.

About two hours after entering the forest, I reached the dungeon. My pursuers, though distant, were still following my trail… or tracker. It was definitely a tracker. I didn't know how many hunted me now. My last count was a couple dozen. It very well could be double that amount. A small army of assassins.

The dungeon wouldn't hold them off for long. Still, it would even out the numbers, if only a little. I hid in the jungle as the first of the assassins entered the cavern. I was curious to see how they'd deal with all the crawlers. As much as I wanted to defeat my opponents, I couldn't hope for death by devouring bugs. That was just nasty, and the thought of it filled me with uneasiness.

I let the small body shakes pass, then opened fire on the bold assassins. And by open fire, I mean I turned the entire dungeon on the Jesters, using the same methods employed by Cult. Over a thousand angry monsters attacked the three dozen assassins.

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The battle was loud and chaotic. The cultivators had every advantage—except for numbers. Their power and skill were powerful equalizers. However, the beasts weren't weak and put up a fight to be proud of. Killer cats, strangling roots, and rat minions created the bulk of the initial attack wave. The second wave was all wolfbears and Gulley.

Of course, I didn't sit still during the battle. I shot arrows and killed easy targets whenever chance let me.

Together, the dungeon and I tore into the assault party. Vines grappled assassins, creating easy targets for my arrows. The ambushing cats made every shadow feel dangerous. Woflbears howled and chuckled amid the slaughter.

Thirty-six Jesters dropped to twenty. The rest fought tooth and nail.

My army of monsters and beasts was reduced to half and falling faster than the rate of the Jesters. They had every sort of cultivator and utilized their powers with expert ability. I didn't think the dungeon would defeat the elite elven assassins. It was mainly to give me some reprieve in the battle.

Though my soldiers were falling fast, the buffer they provided was instrumental. Even without access to my mana—thanks to sleepers—I still delivered death in an endless string of violence. The dungeon was another familiar place to me… probably more so than any other environment, considering all the times I fought in this place.

I used my expert knowledge to my advantage, and even though I couldn't disappear in my fog, I was still a ghost in my own right.

Trees, puddles, and the dead hid my presence. Through the battle against the Jesters, I learned that not every assassin had the ability to track my position. There were only a few, usually, the squad leaders, that knew my whereabouts at all times. Whether they were using a rune or some aura technique, I was unsure. I made the trackers a high-priority target and took shots at them whenever I could.

Nineteen. One of the silencers in the group dropped dead. It was one of the sages that had me trapped in the library. My small victory didn't last long. The Jesters had a handful of bloomers in their ranks. The life cultivators saved their mana for the stronger members of their team, and Number Nineteen was revived. To add salt to my disappointment, the sage Paler reanimated several of the fallen soldiers.

Bloody Palers. They were the worst… and bloomers, sleepers… and creepers. Sogg's breath, I'd even add smokers and grounders to the list. Puffers and dowsers—those were the only acceptable paths of cultivation.

Uhm… You seem to be forgetting about mind cultivators…

Cal, you're back from system business?

There is only so much tinkering that can be done without proper testing… and Calypso seems to have everything in hand.

The split kicked you out?

Cal tsked. No. No. Nothing of the sort.

He doesn't need you anymore.

My efforts reached a stagnating return on efforts, Cal said.

Oh, I know what that word is. It was a terrible time to get distracted. But now the mystery itched in a bad way.

So do I.

It's on the tip of my tongue. I rose from my cover—just barely enough to get a shot off—and aimed at one of the bloomers. The arrow sped toward the templar, only to get intercepted by the head of a reanimated soldier.

Why does it matter?

Just trying to be more succinct. I ducked under my cover. Damn, what is it?

Aren't you in the middle of a fight? Cal asked.

Yeah, but I'm hiding right now.

You know they can trace you?

Only when they aren't busy fighting my monsters.

Your… monsters… are dwindling fast.

Yeah… they lack proper training. Hot damn. I peeked in time to see two wolfbears getting shredded by mana. One cut by air. The other bludgeoned by stone. What is the word? My back was against the wall.

Maybe I can be of use, Cal said.

If you knew the word, you would've said it already. I took another quick peek at the battle and decided against taking another shot. Didn't want to blow my cover.

No. I mean fighting. And I certainly do know what word you're thinking of. I'm just not convinced you know the word you're thinking of. How can I be certain you are using me for your own gain?

The Beaks of Thunder is finally going to make an appearance?

Well, when you say it like that… yeah, put me in. Judging by Cal's excitement, the title I gave him a few loops ago had more weight to it than I thought.

I can't.

Oh. Right. Damn sleepers. I got a very vivid image of an octopus deflating. Wasn't sure if Cal sent the image or if that was my projection. Either way, the disappointment was evident.

Ae. Hold on. Let me create some space.

You will lose a significant advantage if you run away.

Ae. You better be worth it. Besides, my advantages were quickly diminishing. It's time to shake the battle up.

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