Chapter 9: The Ambush

The following days were likely the most relaxed for Komer. Although the stone necklace that defined Lomening’s nature had not been found yet, it did not dampen his cheerful mood. After all, even sacred artifacts could be reforged, but things like friendship, love, and fate—once lost—could never be regained.

Eve’s words, “I am willing,” opened a crack in his long-sealed heart. Deep within, he seemed able to feel the warmth of the bright sunlight once again, changing his state of mind in a way nothing else had before. Even the presence of Vero could not bring him such a sense of freshness and tranquility. To Komer, Vero was like a clear spring—subtle, elegant, and enduring, like green waters and blue stones that never fade. What Eve brought him, however, was an indescribable warmth and serenity, with a hint of light vitality, as if she had injected life into his own existence. In Komer’s heart, even the sky over Prag seemed much clearer—blue and bright, with sunlight like water—making him feel much younger all at once.

Komer even noticed that his memories related to magic had become unusually clear due to this sudden change in mood. Things that once required intense effort to recall could now be remembered effortlessly. He realized this was because his mental strength, stimulated by some unforeseen factor, had suddenly broken through a previous limit and entered a new realm, improving both his mental power and his mental magic skills.

“Hey? He’s here, Komer! I can feel it—the elf thief is nearby!” Javier’s body stiffened suddenly as he whispered anxiously, scanning the surroundings quickly. Clearly, he had sensed that the target was in the area. Thanks to his innate abilities, he had always managed to survive among the thieves in the north. Though he had turned over a new leaf, this talent hadn’t diminished at all. If not for the large crowd around them, he could have immediately pinpointed the thief’s location.

This was the central area of the Mosonass Mausoleum district. Tourists who came to watch the magic competitions filled every corner, making it difficult to move even through the crowd. With people everywhere, although he knew the thief was within fifty meters, there were at least hundreds, if not thousands, of people in that area. How could he possibly find the thief in such a crowd?

Komer came out with Javier and Bayezid. Since there was no immediate need to worry about safety, Grace and Briarnos both needed time to rest and recover. Although their injuries had healed, they still required consolidation. Komer had prepared two special potions for them to help clear the stagnant internal energy in their bodies and accelerate their recovery to optimal condition.

Lome seemed in a poor mood. Komer vaguely guessed it was related to the change in attitude toward him by Eve and Grace. Her keen senses allowed her to detect the subtle affection between Komer, Eve, and Grace, which affected her state of mind. Her already unstable mental state was particularly vulnerable to such emotional fluctuations. However, Komer could do nothing about it, and explaining would be pointless—after all, he didn’t want to explain anything. Still, retrieving that stone necklace as soon as possible would greatly help stabilize Lome’s mental state, which was why he was eager to find it.

Javier’s words immediately made Komer nervous. This might be his only chance to retrieve the lost item. There were too many people in the Mosonas Mausoleum area—besides magic practitioners and enthusiasts from various places, there were also many tourists from across the continent. Although they didn’t understand magic, they were highly interested in these seemingly incredible abilities. Even if they couldn’t master them themselves, witnessing them would be enough material to boast about to friends and relatives upon returning.

If everyone around were ordinary tourists, Komer could use his sacred energy to enhance his senses and search. His senses could easily distinguish between ordinary people and magic practitioners. But not all those who came to the mausoleum area to watch the magic competitions were ordinary tourists—many were magic practitioners, their bodies filled with various types of magical energy. Although Komer knew the thief who stole his necklace last time likely possessed wind magic, the area was packed with skilled magic practitioners from all over the continent. The intense magical aura rendered any sense useless, leaving him reliant only on Javier’s sense of smell, sharper than that of a hound.

But Komer’s eyes never rested; his sharp, eagle-like gaze scanned the crowd inch by inch. As a highly skilled thief, one not only needed to have an approachable demeanor and style to stay hidden in the city without drawing attention but also possess exceptional escape skills and concealment methods to avoid being detected by opponents, while being able to flee danger at the fastest speed and with the most agile means when necessary. Yet this elf thief clearly did not belong to this elite class. By the time Javier’s gaze revealed a hint of surprise, Komer’s keen senses had already quickly pinpointed the target in the direction of that surprise.

The target was moving fast, almost out of the Mosonass Tomb area, but it was obvious he was now doomed. Before Komer and his group could catch up, four pursuers had already firmly closed in behind him. Bayezid simply couldn’t keep up with Komer and Javier’s speed; he could only run behind them with a red face. Although Komer gave him an acceleration spell as he overtook him, this couldn’t change the fact that the dwarf warrior fell further and further behind. At this point, Komer could no longer afford to be careless. If he missed this chance again, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

Land Leap was the most practical magic acceleration spell Komer had learned from Lomei. This spell required not only considerable light magic power but also mastery over wind magic. However, this wasn’t a difficult task for Komer. Though Land Leap was easy to learn, achieving mastery required a high level of proficiency in both light magic and wind magic.

Javier never expected Komer to be able to catch up ahead of him. In his view, only he in the entire group truly had the ability to chase thieves, and only thieves could chase other thieves. When it came to competing in speed and evasion skills in the wild, neither knights nor magicians could compare to thieves. Perhaps assassins could match thieves in speed, but their evasion techniques were far less professional and diverse. After all, the two basic skills of a thief were stealing and escaping—thieves without escape skills could only be called clumsy thieves.

Like a gentle breeze passing by, Komer’s magnificent mage robes flashed before Javier in an instant—like an angel soaring through the air, fleeting as a glimpse of a swan. Javier found himself having cast his wind magic in several places, yet he still couldn’t keep up. With each light step on the ground, he could slide forward using the power of the wind element, but this incredibly graceful and swift movement failed to bring him any closer to Komer. Watching Komer’s retreating figure, Javier felt inexplicably discouraged. This new companion was truly formidable, delivering unexpected performances whether in offensive magic or in these hybrid skills that blended magic with martial arts.

Komer hadn’t expected his performance to evoke such strong reactions in his companion. His attention was entirely focused on the elven thief fleeing ahead and the four pursuers closing in swiftly. The elven thief was unmatched in his ability to escape—darting up and down, left and right, even changing his camouflage color within the bushes. If not for the four pursuers’ equally astonishing speed and skilled tracking methods, Komer feared he would have lost track of him by now.

Now, Komer could only closely follow the four pursuers, who had spread out to form a fan-shaped encirclement, clearly determined to capture their target. The fleeing thief seemed to realize this as well, frequently looking back to assess the situation and casting small spells to disrupt the pursuers. Yet the pursuers seemed highly experienced—vines suddenly emerging from the ground or branches, or trees appearing abruptly in front of them, couldn’t slow their advance. In fact, they were even narrowing the distance between them, while Komer’s gap with them grew wider.

Had it not been for what happened later, Komer believed he would have been unable to keep up. But fate often plays tricks. The elven thief clearly wasn’t familiar with the terrain outside the Mausoleum District. Soon, the pursuers in the fan-shaped formation began to tighten their circle, as the thief had been trapped in a dead end. Ahead lay the famous Niagara Cliffs near Prag—hundreds of feet high, as if forcibly severed by divine power, standing upright here. It was also a well-known tourist attraction, but right now, the Mausoleum District of Mosonas attracted more attention from visitors. The deserted cliffs became the perfect place for an ambush.

The four pursuers clearly didn’t expect anyone behind them to be able to keep up at such a speed. In fact, Komer could no longer keep up. If they continued running for another ten minutes, Komer would only be able to watch them disappear from sight. Yet the Niagara Cliffs offered both the pursuers an opportunity and Komer a valuable chance to catch up in this pursuit.