[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 133 - 27: A Bloodstained Night [4]

Chapter 133: Chapter 27: A Bloodstained Night [4]

Adrenaline pulsed through Leon’s body, and he didn’t even realize that he was breathing heavily.

Coupled with the fact that he still had his hood and mask on, the air was starting to become suffocating.

Dazed, Leon watched as dark blood spurted out of multiple open wounds, and the creatures’ shrieks were so loud and grating to the ears that he had to shut his eyes momentarily and cover them with his hands.

When the roars eventually subsided into weak grunts and then finally faded away, Leon opened his eyes, and the figure now turned around to face him.

It was a tall man with broad shoulders dressed in a dark green cloak. He had mussy brown hair with bedhead sticking out, as though he had just woken up. He looked irritated and grumpy, and his sharp, intimidating features made Leon feel small compared to him.

"Who am I?" the stranger repeated Leon’s question, and he seemed more annoyed than before. He sighed. "The name’s Cliff. Cliff Roeland. Gotta give it to you though, kid. You were mighty brave to come out here and fight all by yourself."

Leon stiffened. "I can’t possibly make the villagers fight all by themselves," he said.

"Well, you looked like you were struggling." Cliff shrugged. "If you ask me though, bravery is no good if you’re not even skilled. You’re not even a Guardian. Didn’t you realize from the get-go that even top hunters can’t fight against these mutations?"

He sighed.

"Anyway, it’s been a wild day today. All that racket woke me up from my sleep. Good thing I’m here, huh?"

Leon averted his gaze and instead focused on the beastspawns. "Are they dead?"

Cliff followed his gaze. "Yeah. But it’s not over yet."

Leon looked at him.

Cliff met his eyes. "You heard it too, didn’t you? We got more company."

He then surveyed the surroundings, nodding to himself when he saw that there wasn’t a soul in sight. However, when he looked up, he saw that a few windows were open, and a few villagers were watching the entire battle with wide, fearful eyes.

"Don’t go downstairs yet!" Cliff suddenly yelled at them, narrowing his eyes. "You hear me? Don’t open your doors, and don’t go outside under any circumstances. Close your windows, otherwise the beastspawns might notice you and jump right inside!"

His warning sent the villagers running. All windows were immediately shut, and even all the lights were turned off.

Leon stared in the direction of the inn, feeling his heart sink. The injured villager was still in there, and so was Luke, probably.

As for Ardyn...

Leon looked up and saw that the second-floor windows were all closed.

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"You still want to stay?" Cliff’s voice drifted into his ears.

Leon turned to him and nodded, pulling up his mask that had dipped a little lower during the battle. "I can still fight."

Cliff shrugged. "Suit yourself, then." He eyed the sword that Leon was holding and raised an eyebrow. "That sword looks pretty fancy."

Leon tensed a little. "It’s custom-made."

"Oh really?"

Cliff was about to say something more when they suddenly heard the howls coming closer.

"Here they are," he said, stretching out his hand, which glowed a tantalizing orange color. "I’ll finish this quickly."

Leon stared at his magic, transfixed. The shade of orange was noticeable in the darkness of the night, and Cliff’s stance was normal and relaxed, as though this were merely routine. He didn’t radiate stiffness or fear in any way, which was a stark contrast to the current rapid beating of Leon’s heart.

As the beastspawns charged forward — damn, there were five of them! — Cliff lifted his other hand, and his eyes glowed a bright orange.

The next thing Leon knew, the ground beneath his feet trembled, and suddenly, thick, thorny vines erupted from the earth, whipping dangerously through the air.

Leon took a step back so he wouldn’t get caught in their grip, which was unlikely to happen since Cliff was probably controlling each one, but Leon just moved on instinct.

When the beastspawns approached rapidly, claws ready to cut through the vines, Cliff clenched his hand into a fist.

The thorny vines responded in an instant and shot out towards the creatures with incredible speed, wrapping around their legs, bodies, and necks.

The beastspawns roared and thrashed, but their struggles were in vain. As they moved, the thorns only tightened their grip and dug deeper into their skin.

However, one of the creatures managed to snap a vine with its jaw, and it was a few seconds closer to freedom. Cliff noticed this and summoned two more thorny vines, wrapping around the beast’s snout and forcing its mouth shut.

Leon couldn’t believe his eyes. Within seconds, all five beastspawns were completely immobilized. They hung suspended in the air, unable to move, and blood was continuously dripping from their wounds down to the ground.

Cliff then extended the thorns and let them pierce through the beasts’ bodies before letting them go. The creatures fell to the ground one by one, and they were motionless.

Leon stared in awe, his sword hanging limply at his side.

The entire battle had lasted in just one minute.

Cliff lowered his hands, the glow fading from his hands and eyes. "That should take care of them," he said as he turned to Leon.

Leon nodded slowly, still stunned by the effortless display of power. In turn, his fingers started twitching, as though his own magic wanted to be released as well.

"That was... incredible," he managed to say. "I’ve never seen anything like it."

Cliff shrugged. "If you’ve been fighting these things for a long time like me, you could take care of them easily, too. Especially with magic like this."

Leon hesitated. He looked down at his hands, then back up where the winding road was up ahead.

He strained his ears to hear the surroundings, but everything else was dead silent. If he dared to be optimistic, he would conclude that things were in the clear for now. That no more of those beasts would be coming.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps rang in his ears, and he turned around, gripping his sword tightly.

He instantly relaxed when he saw that it was only Luke. However, he became concerned when the older man approached them with a serious look on his face, as though he were the bearer of bad news.

"Leon," he said, and Leon instantly felt a sense of foreboding in his gut.

"What is it? What happened?"

Luke didn’t answer, but he gestured towards the inn with his head. "You should come with me."

Luke walked back to the inn at a faster pace, and Leon quickly obeyed.

Cliff trailed after them from behind, but not without casting wary glances back at the direction of the thick forest in the distance, as though something might suddenly pounce out of the underbrush.

Luke led them to where the injured villager was, and Leon’s heart sank.

The man was currently resting on the couch, and kneeling beside him was his wife, the woman who had shot the arrow earlier. She was sobbing softly, but he couldn’t seem to hear it. He was staring up at the ceiling with a dazed look, and his breathing was labored. It was hard to tell if his consciousness was still there or not.

Leon looked down and saw that the leg looked the same as before, but the injuries appeared much worse under the orange lighting of the inn. The leg was mangled and with the flesh torn, dripping blood on the wooden floor.

Leon felt the urge to vomit.

Luke took him aside and quietly explained what happened. It turned out that despite the doctor’s best efforts, the man’s condition — his name was apparently Geffroy — was rapidly deteriorating. His face was pale, and he was barely conscious, groaning softly in pain.

Leon instantly knelt beside the man, swallowing heavily from the guilt. The mask and the hood were suffocating, but he didn’t dare take them off. Especially not during this crucial moment when everyone was gathered around.

"Hang in there," he told Geffroy in the most reassuring tone that he could muster. "We’re going to get you through this, okay?"

His words were comforting, but everyone in the inn knew that there was little to no hope of saving the man. The village doctor was the only one who could save Geffroy, so if he himself said that he couldn’t do anything, then there was basically no hope.

"No. No!" Geffroy’s wife was sobbing even more than before. She clutched desperately at her husband’s hand, squeezing it. "I can’t lose him. Please! There has to be a way!"

Leon swallowed and reflexively turned towards Luke, who was watching the scene quietly.

Leon didn’t know what to do. He was no doctor, so he couldn’t do anything, either.

But Luke...

"Don’t worry," Luke suddenly said, his voice echoing in the deathly silent room. "I’ll save him."

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