A Spear and Spike

Chapter 10: A Spear and Spike

"I would go through that all over again, no matter how many times I need to. If the end result is you."

— Spike

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Year 1212, 23rd day of the 7th month – Umber Mansion, Hayton~

[Casper]

.

I have been staying inside the Umber Mansion for the last two days. Doing my best to stay hidden from sight.

And it was kind of fun.

This reminded me of my rat days.

I giggled as I thought back to how my life was back then.

'I am glad that Axel found me. Or I might have never received such warmth.' I thought to myself.

I was here mainly to keep an eye on Lady Ursula. The Lady who kept pulling my cheeks before…

'It truly was a nightmare…' I sighed in my heart.

But this was an order from our Lord. We need to keep this Lady safe. And I didn't understand at first, but it appears that Spike took a liking to this Lady. And he said that he wants to stay with her.

'I still don't understand why he keeps looking away when he talks about her. But oh well.'

I had a job to do and I won't slack off.

'My lord has been entrusting more work to me. This shows that I have grown. He trusts me more!' The thought made me smile.

.

Around the evening a carriage parked in front of the Mansion. I have already taken note of everyone in the Mansion, including the workers, and also the horses and carriages.

So, I knew that this wasn't an Umber family carriage.

'It appears to be a guest. But the carriage sure looks familiar.' I thought as I observed the carriage.

From inside, a fat man walked out and was greeted heartily by Heir Umber. They appeared to be acquainted.

I felt something wasn't right, so I started shadowing the pair.

And they went to the study of the Mansion, where they started chatting about a lot of different topics but mostly small talk.

But after a while, the fat man took out a sack, and gave it to Heir Umber.

'The sack seems to be coins. But why is he giving a noble heir coins?'

My inner worries were answered almost immediately.

As I heard the fat man say, "Friend, keep this little gift from me. In return, I would like to ask for a small favor."

The Heir Umber opened the sack and his eyes dazzled from the sight of gold. He put on a sly grin and asked, "Do tell, Lord Jarkas, how could I be of service to you? What is this small 'favor' you speak of?"

The man named Jarkas smiled casually and said, "I just want to take that sister-in-law of yours. And before you try to act, I already know that you do not care about that lady. What I gave you is just the first installment. Get me, Ursula Evenwood and I will give you more."

Heir Umber gulped, then asked with a smile, "May I know what you are planning to do with my, dear little sister-in-law?"

Jarkas narrowed his eyes, and simply replied with, "None of your concern! You want money, you will get money! In return, I want the woman."

.

I then heard the two talk about how to get the girl out and kidnap her. I was getting angry and wanted to kill both of these men, but I remembered that Axel said, 'Don't attack, they are an noble heir, it can cause a big issue.'

So I refrained from attacking but I noticed someone peeping.

It was that Lady's elder sister.

I didn't know what to do now, so I rushed back to Axel.

.

Outside the Umber Mansion in a secluded spot~

.

I found Axel and Spike after a bit of searching. It wasn't hard at all.

Axel was surprised to see me, but Spike narrowed his eyes.

Spike quickly spoke, "Why are you here, Casper? Is Ursula alright? Did something happen?"

'Oh now I get it, he was worried about the Lady.' I thought and replied, "She is fine. For now."

Spike seemed to get scared hearing me say that and shouted, "What do you mean for no-"

But Axel quickly calmed him down.

He then looked at me and told me to explain the situation, which I did in great detail. He seemed angry too.

I knew that kidnapping was bad, but something feels weird. I still don't understand why they get angry like that.

I was pondering on the issue as Axel told me to go back.

I was ordered to search the whole mansion, and look for any escape routes. I nodded and went to fulfill my duties.

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[Axel]

.

I looked at the horrified and angry young man and sighed.

'This guy really fell hard… It's almost nonsensical… But I need to control him, or he might end up dead sooner or later.'

I looked directly at Spike and said, "Spike! Get a hold on yourself. Are you going to protect you Lady while being a mess?"

That got his attention, and he stood straight after taking a deep breath.

He looked at me and firmly shook his head looking more resolute.

I smiled at this and nodded in approval. Then grabbed his shoulders and told him what I thought was important for him to know.

"I know how you feel Spike. I really do. I know that right now, you only have one thing on your mind.

And that is to go straight to Ursula and take her out of that hell-hole.

I know that you would have directly gone to kill those scoundrels with your spear if I didn't stop you.

But you need to act with a calm head. I know that it is hard when the person in question is someone you love. But this is the time you need to be most reliable!"

Spike thought over my words and asked, "My Lord, do you have someone you love as well?"

That was a real hard question. I haven't admitted to anyone. Not even Lucian…

But if I look back, there was no denying my affection.

So I nodded and looked directly at Spike's eyes and said, "Yes, I do. I think many of you might have noticed already. But I can't take my eyes of Celine. I am still not sure if it's love… But like you, I want to protect her. And I would fight for her honor as well. Though I am pretty sure she can fight her own battles."

We both laughed after my last sentence. That was a jest to lighten up the gloomy air. And it seemed to work.

Spike finally smiled and said, "Oh, I feel you, my lord. But yes, you are right. I need to be the most reliable in these kinds of situations.

I understand that now. So don't worry my lord, I will do my best to save her. I will break any walls that come in my way. And I believe our Lord has already predicted this. So there should be no worries if we use a bit of force."

He really seemed calmer now.

'Good, this way things will be better. But I doubt that he will be able to keep calm when he sees the actual scene…

Spike has grown a lot stronger since traveling with us. But he still has a long way to go. He isn't even half as strong as Casper. I need to make sure he returns alive, if he ever needs to fight in this coming rescue,' I thought to myself.

I then looked at Spike again and nodded, "Let's prepare and wait for Casper's alert."

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Year 1212, 24th day of the 7th month – Outside of Hayton~

[Spike]

.

Casper has already notified us about Ursula's escape through the cellar.

I really sighed in relief when I heard him. I thanked all the ancestors for this stroke of good luck.

And Axel suggested that we should wait for Ursula here and escort her back to the castle when we can.

I was pretty sure that she would be hungry and scared after she reaches the exit.

And we started to wait.

It was already midnight and the moon was obscure in the sky. When we heard walking and murmuring sound coming from the direction of the CIty Gate.

Axel order me to hide with him. Which I complied obediently. There were many scenarios going through my head.

I had many theories, but I held all of them back. As I saw Axel's face becoming more and more solemn.

And after waiting a while, we saw those men.

There were five of them. Where the two looked like nobles and the rest looked like guards.

'I know these two are the scoundrels in question… But why they only have 3 guards?'

As I was thinking unimportant things, Axel nudged me and said , "It appears that our target are here, a good thing they snuck out of the city. So they couldn't bring too many guards. But be careful, they are still Journeymen Level.

[A/N: I know I should make the Ranking system known already xDD But i really want the readers to figure them out themselves as they keep reading.]

I solemnly nodded.

Axel still told me to wait as he was waiting to gather evidence.

It didn't take too long when we saw two silhouettes coming near the shed, the men were inside of.

There were alarms ringing inside my head. But I bit into my hand to keep sane. I could see everything from here. I could listen too.

I saw the fat man starting to speak with Ursula, as he started spouting vulgarities.

Ursula seemed lost and finally asked, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

The fat man laughed and said, "I wanted to have you normally and maybe even make you my proper wife. But bitch you made this way too hard. And as for why I am after you. I want the artifact your grandmother left behind."

Ursula seemed disgusted. She took out something from her hair.

It was a hair pin and threw it directly at the fat man.

"Is this all you wanted? You did all this just for that? Take it! I don't need such a trinket. I can't believe I had to go through all that for such a thing…"

The fat man and everyone else, including us were stupefied.

The fat man laughed and said, "Well, that was anticlimactic. I should have just asked you for it. You probably have no use for this anyways."

"YES YOU SHOULD HAVE! And can I please go now? I had enough with this… Filth." Ursula spoke angrily. Her emotions were justified. Being chased for such small trinket? That was ridiculous.

But the fat man shook his head, "Sorry dear, but no can do. You have already seen your brother-in-law here, and I kind of have promised to let these dogs get a taste of you. So better luck next time. AHHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Everything went blank….

All I could see was darkness….

Something inside me snapped.

I started moving without knowing.

My spear was on my hand.

I could feel Axel following me.

But all I had my eyes on were the backs.

Backs of 5 men.

I felt stronger, faster, lighter.

I knew that I reached a new level. I was no longer a Journeyman, but now an Intermediate Spearman. But I didn't care.

I only wanted to.

*Bluishhk... Splichhh*

I thrust my spear in quick succession, impaling two of the men in seconds. They died an unknown and horrifying death.

But after my sudden attack the other three noticed me and took their fighting poses.

My mind wasn't working properly. All I wanted, was blood.

As about to attack the vile fat man, the other guard got in the way and Heir Umber also took part in defending.

I had to pause and parry their attacks when a small fireball hit my left arm.

"Arghh!" I groaned in pain.

But at least the pain woke me up. I looked around to see the magician casting one more spell while the other two attacking me from two sides.

I might get seriously injured by them.

But then I noticed Ursula's face and I wanted to try again.

'Even if I get seriously hurt or even die. I will punish that orc!" As I was struggling to get up and parry the attack.

*Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh*

Three knives suddenly appeared out of nowhere and impaled the Heir Umber's two legs and hitting the guard's left eye socket.

Killing the guard directly and making the noble kneel.

'Casper!!' I thought. But I couldn't find him anywhere.

Then I noticed that the magician was struggling a bit to cast magic.

'That feels like Axel's aura. He is helping me without showing himself.' I felt warm in the heart.

But I knew that I had something to do first.

I walked and looked straight at the fat man.

He wanted to say something, but I kicked him right on his jaw, breaking it with a crack.

I looked down at him and said, "You don't deserve to plea."

I pulled back my spear and said one last thing, "Better luck next time."

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[A/N: Sorry for the late releases… I really am trying. Just too much work on hand and I literally didn't have internet for a whole day…. Bummer, but I will try to upload as much as I can till 18 feb as that's when my thesis work ends,

And if you want to talk about the story! Here is the link to the new discord: ht tps://discord .gg/DZpzQbdWKg]