I Just Inherited The Arcane Emperor's Legacy

Far in the distance, the leader of Leo's and Mira's pursuers was observing the wreckage on the branches of the trees. He looked ahead into the vast darkness before turning around.

"We will be splitting up here. They will eventually get back onto the road, so the two of you will go ahead at full speed. We will track them through the forest. Kill anyone except the girl," he said, pointing to two of the people on horses.

He released the aura that was suppressing the horse he was in, making it let out a small neigh and raising its front legs a feet. Other than that, it didn't do anything else, staying in its place in a well-behaved manner. The other two persons about to go into the forest with their leader did the same.

As soon as control over their horses was relinquished, they all dashed into the forest without saying any words. The plan was only implied, yet the two left seemed to be well aware of what it was. They took over control of the horses left behind.

Once they had all five horses in their control, they turned their horses toward the road and tugged at the ropes, nudging them to gallop toward the capital. As they moved toward the capital, one of them broke the silence that had formed between them since they left their team.

"So, who is this leader, 7? He seems to be a lot more rigid than the others," the person on the right asked.

The man named 7 turned to him with a confused expression.

"He is one of the strongest 3rd Circle members in the organization. He never leaves witnesses, which is why he handles most of the dirty work of nobles," 7 said nonchalantly. "I am surprised you didn't hear of him. What team did you work with before, 4?"

"I was in Wind." 4 said while turning back to the front. He stayed silent after answering, no longer interested in conversing. 7 showed no signs of making small talk either.

The large horses they were on made the stone-laid road tremble slightly each time their hooves landed on the ground. They were galloping forward at speeds that 4th Circle Aura Knights could not match. On the other side of the forest, the rest of their team was also moving swiftly.

While Leo had covered a lot of distance, his trail was apparent to the leader of the team pursuing him, even in the darkness. Each time he had swung forward, he had destroyed the branches in his way with his aura. This meant he essentially built a path for the people following him.

"The girl's guardian seems to be at least a 3rd Circle Aura Knight, so we have to be careful. If he went a large distance, there is a chance that he might be a 4th Circle Aura Knight too," the leader said.

The others nodded, following him into the dark forest. The moonlight was shrouded by the densely packed trees. The only moonlight that made it through was illuminating the path in front of them.

As they kept following the path deeper and deeper, the leader noticed an upsetting trend. The amount of damage shown by the branches was steadily decreasing by a noticeable amount. The wreckage before had become slightly bent branches.

The other members looked forward and noticed this too. They looked to the leader without saying anything.

"They got better at concealing their tracks. Get ready to search the forest. We are splitting up here and moving toward the capital. Stay quiet so you don't alert them. Steer clear of any Magical Beasts. Those will alert them as well." He said this and jumped onto a tree, moving in the direction of the remaining traces.

The other two followed behind him before splitting off after a minute when they couldn't keep up with him. They all stayed in the general direction of the capital though.

Meanwhile, the two with the horses were galloping to the capital without having to deal with any of the inconveniences of tracking people in the forest. Around two hours later, they came across a sign in front of them making them slow down.

"What does it say?" 4 asked 7, who was reading it.

"This says 550. What did the other one say?" 7 asked back.

"650. Do you think they could have gotten this far?"

"Not on foot. Unless they have a mage with them. Or a 4th Circle Aura Knight, but I doubt that."

"They would need a Late-Stage 4th Circle Aura Knight to outpace an Iron Horse," 4 said. "I say we turn back. Either of those cases would mean we don't have a chance to acquire the target."

As he said that, he tugged the reins to the horse, turning it around. He didn't seem to be concerned with 7's opinion. 7 didn't mind this and followed his lead.

"We might need to circle this strip in case they enter the road from the forest," 7 warned 4.

"Yes, sure."

Fifty kilometers in front of them, Leo was starting to feel his headache a little. He let his perception go, lightening the load on his head immensely. With a sigh, he looked forward, now unaware of what was approaching him.

It was only going to be for a short time - until his mind recovered. The pressure he put on it by pushing it trying to read the words on the signs made his overused mind incredibly tired. 

"We need to get on the move again. Now that we know we are so far from the capital, I think we need to stick to the forest. We don't know when they can catch up to us if we stay on the road," Leo said to Mira.

"How long do you think we can keep running before they find us?" Mira broke the silence that had formed between them for the past hour.

He wanted to answer her, but he remained silent. While he was unbothered by five 3rd Circle Aura Knights, he knew she was probably feeling different emotions. Almost a minute of the awkward silence ensued before she talked again.

"I think you should just leave me here and-"

"We should probably leave now," Leo interrupted her before she could finish suggesting that they split up. "The longer we talk, the longer we are on the road. We need to go back into the forest and move toward the capital."

She nodded while walking toward him. At this point, she understood that if they wanted to go anywhere, she would need to cling to him while he carried her. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to go anywhere at all.

As he was just about to encircle her with a tentacle, his ears picked up the sound of hooves landing on the road. He frowned and instantly unleashed his perception, immediately becoming aware of what was around him.

Around two hundred meters away from them, five horses were making their way to him. His arm let go of Mira as he stepped in front of her. At this point, Mira could also hear the sound of the horses. She put her hand over her mouth, frightened by the misfortune it brought. Just like she said, the people after her had found them.

Now that they were right in front of each other, the two parties could see each other perfectly in the moonlight. Leo's frown no longer showed on his face. Only a calm, emotionless face remained, which showed a contrast to the defeated expression that Mira had. 

The two people on the horses, wrapped in black, towered over and looked down at them. Their horses alone were the size of Leo. 

"Well, I wanted to avoid this, but I can't. This is a better situation than I expected, though." Leo said.