Chapter 5: Escape

Count Barney's group of knights surrounded Astrid and Draco's place in the middle of the forest. Among the surrounding crowd were several men from the slave auction house.

"It's them! The man is a slave who ran away the day before the auction! The woman was the slave Count Barney bought! I can’t be wrong!" said a burly bald man from the slave auction house.

Astrid immediately jumped from her seat and grabbed one of the wooden slats from the fire. She stood up and brandished the flames at the man who was besieging fiercely.

“Get back! Do not come close!" cried Astrid, trying to look fierce.

The men set up a circle barricade and surround Astrid and Draco tightly. They moved closer and closer, shrinking the circle and distance. There was no opening for escape other than fighting them.

The men at the front drew their swords and pointed them at Draco and Astrid. While one row behind the swordsmen, a layer of troops was blocking the exit with a wide shield. In the third tier, the rest of the army were the people from the slave auction house clustered behind the armed forces with their respective weapons. Also, there were several men at the back climbing the trees and bracing with their bows.

This condition was very unfavorable for Draco and Astrid. They were surrounded! Count Barney was over-deploying this much army to search for and capture runaway slaves. Astrid could tell Count Barney's pride was at stake that he was willing to go on the quest so far. That disgusting man must be trying to show off his power!

Shit! Why did Count Barney target Astrid as his slave? Indeed, bad luck always followed her wherever she went.

Astrid's feet unconsciously stepped back slowly until her back met Draco's. The young man was standing alert while measuring the strength of the opponent.

“Shit! What bad luck! Do you have any idea for us to escape?" whispered Astrid cursing.

Astrid knew they are outnumbered. The dragon beside her was very weak and not necessarily reliable. If Draco were powerful, of course, he wouldn't be caught so easily by slave sellers. There had to be something blocking Draco's strength and making him weak.

Shit! What should they do at a time like this? Draco couldn't be caught. Astrid also didn't want to return to Count Barney's mansion. Just the thought of the count's fat hog's face made Astrid nauseous, and she wanted to vomit.

Draco counted the number of men who surrounded him. There were at least about thirty people he could count. There might be additional troops around the forest to ambush on the escape route. There was no room for escape other than fighting. However, it was clear that they were outnumbered. This fight was unbalanced, and the opponent was likely to use cunning means.

Draco looked up at the sky and tried to absorb as much energy from the forest as possible. His body was usually weak when dealing with humans. But he had just recharged his energy, so the possibility of escape was still there.

Secretly Draco concentrated on taking water from the river in the forest with the power of telekinesis. Draco carried water in liquid balls about five meters in diameter and flew it over their heads. There was enough of it that Draco put quite a lot of energy into doing this. Luckily this battle took place in the forest, so natural energy helped him perform dragon magic.

Draco aimed the water balls hovering just above the torch holder's head. The volume of the water balls Draco lifted was quite heavy, and if they were slammed into the siege troops, the chances of falling unconscious were very high.

Draco's hand touched Astrid's finger. The girl's body jolted, and she listened to communicate with Draco.

"Get rid of that fire. Try to stay close to me. We will run away. Wait for my cue. On my mark,” Draco whispered.

Astrid nodded slowly. She threw the fiery wood she was holding towards the campfire. Then, she gave up on waiting for further instructions.

“It looks like you intend to give up, don’t you, brat? Wait for Count Barney to come to get you. I think you will get punished," said one of the men carrying torches. Astrid recognized him as one of Count Barney's knights based on the uniform he wore.

Astrid wanted to reply to what the man said, but Draco squeezed her hand, giving the code to remain silent. Astrid gave up on her intentions and just stared warily at the siege.

Astrid swallowed hard, trying to contain her fear. She tried not to show any emotion. Her hand gripped Draco's tightly. They were seen in a besieged position and pressed without adequate weapons.

"Where is my beautiful slave?" Suddenly, a perverted male voice that Astrid knew very well came from behind the crowd of the knight.

Draco's body stiffened at the sound of the annoying man's voice. Why did he suddenly become annoyed? He hated hearing the way he called Astrid. No one could touch Astrid carelessly without his permission. What feeling burned Draco's chest right now? He had never felt this kind of feeling before, especially for a woman.

Count Barney's plump and bulging body burst through the crowd. His lecherous face, with saliva trickling down the corners of his lips, disgusted Astrid. Count Barney wore only a thin shirt with an open chest, exposing his fluffy fat deposits, reminding Astrid of a wild boar.

“Oh! You are there, my little cupcake,” said Count Barney, licking his lips with a lecherous expression.

Draco's eyes felt like they wanted to shoot laser flames to burn the damn fat hog. But he had to be patient, not to be reckless. Draco and Astrid were outnumbered! Hold on, Draco! Be patient!

Astrid glared ferociously at him.

"I'm not your cupcake," replied Astrid, unable to hold her mouth anymore.

“Ah, you are so cute, you know. Do you want to play hide and seek with me? I think you enjoy the adrenaline game. You turn me on. It works, babe. Oh, my poor little birdy. I find you already. Now, boys, listen up! Please do not harm my sweet little cupcake. I repeat! Catch her, but do not leave any bruises or scars on her milky skin. Don't touch her! She is mine,” Count Barney ordered.

Draco felt like he wanted to mince this fat hog alive. He had to teach him a lesson. For a moment, this fat pig teased Astrid. That woman was Draco's Amicus! No one should touch her!

"Yes, sir!" replied the ambush troops in unison.

"What about the young man beside him? He is our runaway slave,” asked one of the men from the slave auction house.

“He kidnapped my cupcake. He must be punished. Kill the young man! I will pay a great reward to compensate the slave auction house and the man who killed him,” Count Barney grunted.

The man from the slave auction house grinned with greed.

“We want 1000 gold pieces. Nothing less,” the man of the slave auction house offered Count Barney.

Count Barney glanced at one of his bodyguards. The guard nodded and threw a bag of money containing gold coins.

"That is an advance of 500 gold coins. The rest will be given after the young man is killed,” said Count Barney's bodyguard handed the money bag to the man from the slave auction house.

“It's my pleasure to have business with your, Your highness, Count Barney,” replied the man from the slave auction house with a delighted grin.

Astrid stared at the bag of gold with glittering eyes. You are an asshole! If he paid such an expensive slave, he should have split the gold coins with her a little. This is the first time Astrid has seen that many coins. One gold coin was enough to buy bread for three months.

You gluttony pig, bloody Count! Astrid gritted her teeth in anger.

Astrid squinted as the man from the slave auction house put a sack of gold money into his pocket. She remembered the man's face.

“Now, now, my dear cupcake. Are you ready to go home yet?" asked Count Barney, licking his lips and staring at Astrid.

"What do you think?" Astrid asked, stalling. She squeezed Draco's hand to let him know that the situation was getting very urgent.

Draco had already made the final preparations. The water balls were already floating in the air the position of the ambush troops. He placed a lot of ball of water in the air, just above the fire.

"Get ready to get down," Draco whispered.

Astrid heard Draco's whisper and all the muscles in her body tightened. She tried to hold back her expression from being read by the other side.

"Wow, darling. My dear cute little cupcake. You look pale. Are you afraid? Don't be. I will comfort you in my arms,” said Count Barney. He ventured to step closer. Three knights accompanied him.

“Of course. Will you give me a lot of money as my compensation?" asked Astrid in a sweet made up voice.

“Anything that you desire, my cute little cupcake. I'm yours. So will you go home with me tonight?" asked Count Barney with a triumphant smile, thinking Astrid was tempted to go home for the gold coins.

Draco squeezed Astrid's hand once. That was the sign.

“As you wish, My dear Count Barney. In your worst bloody nightmare,” replied Astrid with a mocking smile.

"NOW!" shouted Draco.

Astrid immediately threw herself down and lay down while protecting herself with the robe Draco had given her.

In an instant, Draco hit the water balls that had been floating in the air. The entire torch and the bonfire went out instantly, creating a hissing sound and obscuring smoke, exactly what Draco wanted.

With swift movements, Draco attacked the conscious raid squad. He left the squad members lying unconscious on the ground and focused on slashing the still-moving raid squad.

Draco's pair of red eyes could see clearly in the dark. He scanned and attacked the still moving raid squad.

Pow! Bam! Bang!

Draco kicked one knight so that his head hit a tree trunk and fainted. He nudged a knight's head who was trying to get up from the ground. The man immediately fell and laid on the ground.

Draco ran swiftly up the tree trunk lightly. He shook off the bow that was in the archer's hand, causing his body to slip down. With one hand, the archer clung to the tree branch furiously. Draco stomped on the archer's fingers until his grip fell off the tree branch, and his body hit the ground.

Draco jumped off the tree trunk and flipped into the air beautifully. The tip of his heel struck the stubborn knight who had just stood up with an effort. Deftly, Draco grabbed and attacked the knights who were still conscious with their sharp claws. In the dark of the night, where the human knights had difficulty seeing in the dark, Draco gained an advantageous position. This battle he could win.

A knight suddenly lunged at Draco with the sword drawn in his hand. He jumped into the air and slashed Draco's front body.

Draco jumped back to avoid it. The knight thrust his sword again, but suddenly Draco vanished from before the knight. He leaped through the air and smashed his knees directly into the head of the knight who assaulted him until the knight was collapsing. Draco's silhouette was seen dancing under the moonlight.

It was useless to run away or hide from Draco because the darkness did not prevent his sensory senses from recognizing the enemy's movements. Draco picked up the bow and arrow lying far away from one of the collapsed archers and fired at the ambush force far away right in their hearts. Their bodies fell one by one.

Draco strained his ears. He could hear the breath from the ambush squad. He approached the still hiding raid squad with panting breaths. All of their breaths sounded clear in Draco's ears. They thought they were hunting two slaves. But in the dark, Draco was not prey but a fierce, merciless hunter. That very night we could confirm who the winner of this battle would be.

Astrid crept closer to the body of one of the knights accompanying Count Barney. She took off the knight's scabbard and wrapped the rope of the scabbard around her thin back. Then, she took the sword in the man's hand and placed it in the scabbard on her back.

Astrid saw Count Barney's fat body lying unconscious in the grass. She saw that those fat fingers were filled with jewels ring. Astrid tried to pry the rings off Count Barney's fingers and place them in the robe's inner pocket.

"Go die, you nasty little bastard! You trash count!" whispered Astrid, punching Count Barney in the face with satisfaction, making sure the perverted human remained unconscious. It looked like some of Count Barney's teeth broke because of Astrid's fist just now.

After venting her anger on Count Barney, Astrid crept between the man who was passed out on the ground. She then crawled around, looking for the man from the slave auction house. She drew the bow and arrow which had slipped from the archer's body and fell on the ground. She hurriedly placed the quiver on her back and draped the bow over one shoulder.

Astrid crept in the dark hastily as she groped for the man from the slave auction house. The man was lying unconscious with his legs stretched out and his mouth open.

Astrid immediately took the opportunity to feel the man's trouser pocket to find the pouch containing the gold coins that had been handed over to him. She hurriedly took the money bag and put it in the pocket inside the robe.

Suddenly, a burly arm pulled her body with great force backward. Gosh, Astrid off guard! Her luck was running out at that moment. She couldn’t imagine what kind of torture she had to endure, considering that she wouldn't die easily.

"What are you doing?" Draco snapped irritably.

"Gosh! It’s you! Don't surprise me!" Astrid snapped, no less annoyed.

“I'm busy fighting, and you are busy groping men's bodies. Are you crazy and can't control your lust, human? How shameless!” Draco snapped sarcastically.

Astrid was shocked at Draco's accusation.

"What?" asked Astrid, incredulous in her ears.

“You perverted woman. I didn't expect you to be busy satisfying your lust in the middle of a battle,” Draco insulted in a sarcastic tone.

"What are you saying? Perverted woman?" Astrid asked, confused. She's getting upset.

"Yes, you pervert!" Draco said again.

"Lust? Feeling a man's body? Jeez! You misunderstand! I don't…” Astrid protested in a shrill voice with exasperation.

But Draco quickly interrupted Astrid's words.

“Get on my back quickly. Our time is running out. We have to run right away!” said Draco as he turned around, crouched down, and gave his back to Astrid.

Suddenly an arrow shot straight at Draco's back. He immediately turned around, caught the arrow, and threw it back until it pierced the heart of the archer who tried his last luck pretending to be a corpse. The archer's body fell lying motionless on the ground, this time for good.

"Gosh, that was close!" exclaimed Astrid in surprise.

"It's because you were loud and noisy," Draco said irritably.

"I'm sorry," said Astrid, admitting her mistake. She closed her mouth tightly as she glanced left and right.

Draco looked around. His pair of red eyes scanned the littered bodies, making sure no one was faking death or fainting from the enemy side. His body moved slowly to make sure there was no other danger threatening them. After making sure the situation was relatively safe for them, Draco sighed and stared at Astrid in frustration.

"What do you want me to do?" Astrid stammered, trying to make sense of Draco's thinking.

"Have your ears turned deaf?" Draco asked irritably.

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Astrid snapped irritably.

"Stand up and hold my neck tight. We have to go right now,” Draco snapped impatiently.

Astrid jumped onto Draco's back without further prompting and wrapped her hand tightly around Draco's neck.

"Ready? Hold on tight! I don't care if you fall!" exclaimed Draco, stamping his feet and leaping into the air elegantly.

What? What do you want to do? Kyaaaaaaaa!” cried Astrid in surprise because of the pounding wind pressure that hit her body.

Draco's body floated beautifully in the air. Within seconds, Draco's body enlarged and transformed into a red-eyed black dragon that flew in the night under the moonlight.

Astrid's mouth fell open wide to find herself flying on a dragon! She was too shocked and speechless!

Meanwhile, Draco kept his worries tight for himself only. He had to fly immediately before his strength was drained away. They could hit the ground and fall to pieces if Draco failed to get to where he was going. Right now, his condition was so bad that at any moment, Draco could lose consciousness.

Draco was determined to get Astrid to a safe place for her own sake. He wanted to make sure Astrid was away from the annoyance of annoying rotten, perverted men. Astrid was his. Draco didn't want to share Astrid with any man. Ugh, Draco's consciousness was running low. He had to reach his destination immediately. He had to be strong to protect Astrid. Why did he want to protect this human so badly? Was this a side effect of a magic contract? Draco didn't know the exact answer to his question. However, at this moment, he was moving on his instinct.

Hurry, he had to hurry! Draco almost lost consciousness! They could fall, hitting the ground from a height if Draco passed out. Just a little more Draco! For Astrid!

Astrid didn't know about Draco's condition. Without needing to know a thing, Astrid was quite afraid of heights already! Poor Astrid!