Within minutes the guard mage came back with two sturdy looking destriers, one of dull grey color with a hint of darkness in its mane and the other of dirt brown hue and a tail which was an even darker shade of brown. The majestic horses were the rides of the prince and his escort respectively.

“Let’s go. We can’t afford to delay any longer. I want Zach captured no matter what.” Thundered Prince Kolt towards his escort mage and gave a slight nudge towards the side of the horse with his heels. The horse broke out into canter as he slowly advanced in the direction of the Luther family estate from where Zach was going to make his escape. The escort mage too turned his horse in the same direction by pulling on its reins and followed after Kolt by matching his pace.

Kolt had taken the explosion in a stride because he felt safe with the exaggerated number of soldiers he had brought with himself. He was of the opinion that only he could harm the others and no one else could harm him in the presence of his forces and his escort mage who could be considered to be one of the strongest mages when they were so far out of the capital. But the guests in attendance of the wedding ceremony could hardly stay calm after the sound of the loud explosion that almost blew off their ears. To top it all off, the whole hall had been filled with murky and dark grey smoke that was affecting their breathing causing them to panic. Some guests began to scream hysterically as if the end of the world had arrived and all they could do was to scream at the top of their lungs in acceptance of their fates.

Those who knew magic found some way to save themselves from the stampeded building up inside the hall for everyone wanted to exit the place first in order to run away someplace safe. For example, there was a mage who was using wind magic to keep the smoke away from him and those he was protecting but he didn’t bother expanding the range of his magic in order to restore the sanity of the others around him. An earth mage built a small cocoon that was as sturdy as a nuclear bunker all around him in the hopes that he would be safe from all harm should another similar explosion take place in their immediate vicinity.

But there weren’t only mages in that hall. Most of the people in attendance were ordinary people who could only admire magic but couldn’t wield it. As such, they could only let panic get the better of them as they rushed about like headless flies trying to look for an exit only for them to barge into walls time and time again.

Zach took advantage of the chaos and pulled out his thermal contacts in order to avoid bumping into people amidst the smoke that filled the hall. Since he had been keeping track of the two people he needed to take with him the entire time, it didn’t take long for him to find Bruce and Luna both of whom had been staying together near the back exit since they knew of the plan in advance.

Taking advantage of the chaos and the smoke clouding the vision of the guests and the hostile entities keeping an eye on them, Zach, Bruce and Luna left the place in order to rendezvous with Diana and her team who would then escort them out safely.

Zach heard the system warning him of a probable hostile intent in the vicinity when he had barely made it out. The hostile entities were advancing in their direction at a brisk pace like they were intent on cutting them off amidst their escape. 𝓫𝓭𝓸𝓋𝓁．𝓬𝓸𝓂

Zach was sure that they were probably Kolt’s men but he didn’t have enough time to throw them off his scent. They were too close to him for that.

Just when he tried to make the last ditch effort and broke into a run with Bruce and Luna in tow, they were intercepted by two ruddy warhorses that came out of nowhere right in front of them in a cool manner as they neighed and lifted their front hooves in the air before coming to a halt.

Zach was surprised not because of the appearance of the horses since he had already guessed that the enemies were either agility oriented mages or were riding some kind of transport in order to achieve such a movement speed. But what he couldn’t have guessed were the identities of the people riding the horses.

It was none other than the Prince Kolt and the guard mage who had blocked Zach’s attempt at Kolt’s life earlier.

Kolt didn’t look angry with his escape attempt at all. He knew that it was inevitable that the weak would resist when in the grasp of the strong. Kolt had Zach’s jugular in his grasp and no one, not even an animal would be capable of accepting such a thing without any resistance. Therefore he wasn’t even feeling annoyed that Zach had tried to throw their previous agreement to the dogs in his attempt to escape.

Instead it made him feel more powerful and more in control of everything. Kolt was confident that Zach was playing in the palm of his hands. Therefore, he asked Zach in a benevolent voice devoid of any ill intent, “Why are you trying to mar the rapport we have established with each other? What aren’t you satisfied with after all that I did for you? You put forward the condition that you wanted my precious brother-in-law’s life in exchange for the contract and I obliged you despite how much it hurt my heart and yet you are trying to back out of our deal. I won’t let you do that. At the same time I don’t want you to feel forced. Tell me if there is something you aren’t happy with. I can ensure that all your requirements will be fulfilled until you are satisfied. The only thing I ask in return is that you fulfill your end of the bargain especially when you already signed the agreement.” Kolt pulled out the contract and waved it in front of Zach in a provocative manner.

Zach didn’t grace his bull** with an answer. He knew how two faced hypocritical characters like Kolt could be. Therefore, he would not trust him when his life depended on it.

With the escape so close that he could almost see it, Zach wasn’t going to back down. He was looking for a means to make his escape before Kolt’s forces could surround them completely.

Zach knew that Kolt’s forces were slowly congregating towards him and Kolt as if they had been ordered to do so. While Kolt was dragging him through long conversations; he was in fact making time for his soldiers to surround Zach once again.

Unaware that Zach had already figured out his little plan, Kolt continued to seduce Zach into agreeing to stay by offering more boons.

Zach nudged both Luna and Bruce slightly with his hands as they were standing on either side of him. The motion was so subtle that even the guard mage who had lightning fast reflexes and over the top observation skills was unable to notice it.

In a voice that only the two closest to him could listen to, Zach said to Luna and Bruce, “If his army got here, we won’t have a path left to make our escape. So, we are going to do it right now. Wait for my signal and just follow suit. But keep in mind that Kolt’s guardian mage is far stronger than us. There is no need to engage him due to any reason. Avoid him like the plague and focus on escaping.”

Before Zach could make his move, Bruce muttered under his breath in a slightly grating voice as he wasn’t used to murmuring like this, “What will the signal be?”

Zach was slightly taken aback as he wasn’t expecting such a question in this situation and especially not from Bruce. But maybe the pressure of opposing the Prince had gotten to him. So, he explained in the easiest words he could muster, “You will know when the time comes.”

Bruce could only wait desperately as he didn’t want to be in this situation any longer. It was taking a toll on his heart.

Following that conversation, Zach didn’t wait at all before summoning his skeletal armor and the laser dagger which were the strongest equipment in his arsenal at the moment following the destruction of the flame gloves that boasted the greatest attack damage without any conditions whatsoever.

The skeletal armor was the same artificial skeletal armor that uncharacteristically allowed the wearer to resist three attacks unconditionally from his assailant provided the gap in strength wasn’t more than one rank. Moreover, the unnaturally high defensive skills attached to the armor provided additional defenses against specific types of enemies. For enemies like the prince who were weak in magic and relied on their physical capabilities, it could increase the physical defense considerably by compromising the magic defense while vice versa was true for enemies who specialized in dealing magic damage.

The laser dagger on the other hand was a high penetrated dagger that could be used from both sides and could be held in any type of grip as it allowed the user more flexibility and was just as effective for slashing and stabbing attacks.