Pick Me Up!
Chapter 59: Mission Type, Escort (3) (2)

“Eolka, create a wall of flames. Prevent the enemies from approaching.”

“Got it.”

“The descent order: Edis, Aaron, me, Eolka, and lastly, Jenna.”

Most of the soldiers in the square had entered the temple.

If we were to return the way we came, we’d encounter numerous soldiers. The sound of soldiers climbing the stairs was faintly audible.

“I’ll go down first.”

Edis held onto the rope and started descending.

The remaining soldiers in the square noticed the rope and started running towards us.

【Ignite.】

Swoosh!

Flames erupted from Eolka’s fingertips, blocking the soldiers in the square. Eolka pointed to the entrance of the terrace with her other hand. This time, a line of flames shot up in a straight line, blocking the entrance. Two soldiers who were exiting the garden were engulfed in flames, turning into charred remains.

“Sorcerer! Kill the sorcerer first!”

Arrows flew from beyond the wall of flames. I kicked a large table on the terrace with my foot, knocking it over to the side. The arrow thudded into the table.

Next was Aaron.

Aaron took a deep breath, then started descending on the rope.

Below was a chaotic scene.

People were stumbling and rushing out of the square due to the sudden fire and disaster. It was fortunate. The absence of unnecessary obstacles was better. Edis, who had descended first, swung her dagger and shot arrows, guarding the descent point. Aaron soon joined her ranks.

I gestured to the girl.

“Next is us. Come.”

“Are you referring to me?”

“Who else would I be talking about?”

I grinned and hugged the girl.

“Hold on tight. Don’t let go.”

“A-Ah, got it.”

The distance to the ground was about 15 meters.

For an untrained civilian, this was a challenging height to descend. The five of us were accustomed to this method through obstacle courses at the training camp. Even Eloka, a magician, had learned this method.

I tightly grasped the leather gloves and held onto the rope.

The girl clung to me with fearful eyes. After a swift kick to the railing, I utilized the momentum to start descending.

Ping!

An arrow flew from somewhere and pierced through a few strands of the girl’s silver hair.

“Ah!”

The girl screamed as if she were swallowing her voice and clung to me.

Holding onto the rope with my right hand and embracing the girl with my left, I swiftly descended. Just before reaching the ground, I kicked off the wall to slow down. I landed safely.

“It’s over. You can let go.”

The girl hurriedly moved away from me.

I scanned the area nearby. The civilians had mostly evacuated, and soldiers were steadily filling the surroundings. Although we had the wall of flames, it couldn’t cover all directions.

I shouted upwards, “Hurry!”

A soldier screamed with an eerie howl and swung his sword at me.

I parried with my sword and thrust it aside, piercing through his heart.

Edis and Aaron were struggling by my side. I joined their ranks, taking care of the approaching soldiers one by one.

[Aaron (★★) has entered a bleeding state. His health decreases at regular intervals.]

[Aaron (★★) has entered a poisoned state. His health decreases at regular intervals.]

A status change message for the hero appeared, visible only to me.

‘…’

It’s not the right time yet.

I ignored it and swung my sword.

After a while, Eolka descended using the rope, and lastly, Jenna followed suit, jumping down.

“Phew, thought I’d be left behind.”

Eolka and Jenna took off the gloves they had in their hands and threw them away. They had looted them from the assassin’s body.

With this, the target was secured, and our party members were unharmed.

Now, if we could just leave the field, we would receive a clear judgment.

Soldiers were pouring out from the other side of the square and the entrance of the temple. I looked at the girl and said, “Run to the left. If you don’t want to die.”

The girl started running frantically.

We drew a formation around the girl and ran away from the soldiers.

A soldier chasing us from behind shouted, “Don’t let them escape! Chase the witch and her followers!”

“A witch, you say?”

“Seems like they’re talking about you.”

“That can’t be…”

The girl’s face turned ashen.

A group of soldiers burst out from the passageway leading to the left side of the square.

A knight in heavy armor raised his halberd high.

“You won’t get awa—”

Jenna’s arrow pierced through the gap in the knight’s armor as he was speaking.

I struck the swaying knight’s head with my shield. Edis passed by and deeply slashed his throat.

“Kill them!”

“Kill them all!”

Soldiers appeared blocking the road.

There were at least 30 of them. If we wasted time on them, we would soon be surrounded by the soldiers behind us.

“This way.”

Edis signaled to turn to the side. There was a winding alleyway. We followed Edis in.

“Where is this road leading to?”

“I checked it from the rooftop. If we follow it, we should reach the outskirts of the city.”

Soldiers streamed out from the entrance of the alley.

When Eolka signaled with her hand, one side of the partly collapsed wall crumbled, blocking the entrance. The soldiers roared from the outside, but they wouldn’t be able to get in for a while.

After walking the alley for a while, a small open space emerged.

Edis briefly turned to look at the girl behind her and then sat down on a brick.

“Let’s take a short rest.”

I nodded.

The girl was panting heavily. She hesitated for a moment before sitting down on the dirt floor. The idea of resting seemed terrifying to her.

“How can things turn out like this…”

The girl mumbled to herself with a confused expression.

I took out a potion and took a sip. Even without any injuries, the potion itself had a healing effect. A slight vitality surged through my body.

“Rest for five minutes, then we move.”

The blocked passage that Eloka created wouldn’t last much longer. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

This place would soon be discovered. Getting surrounded here would be harder to escape from than being trapped on the main road.

“…”

Originally, the plan was to rest here and then burst out into the streets to escape in one go.

Even if we were surrounded during that process the plan is to have Eolka use her Tier 3 Fire Magic, and we could temporarily break through the encirclement. Then we would guide the target to the escape route.

Through training, Eolka had reached a point where she could use the maximum charge of her fire magic without fainting.

That way, we could achieve the clear condition for the escort mission.

“Aaron.”

“Yes.”

“Are you injured?”

“…I guess you noticed.”

Aaron tilted his head.

A dagger was lodged in Aaron’s side. The seeping blood was violet.

It seemed he had been attacked by the scattered assassins among the soldiers.

‘Poisoned.’

This was a status abnormality that couldn’t be recovered with a low-level health potion.

——————— –

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