Law of Space and Time

On the way back to Zans, Erwin was going through all of his important subordinates in his mind. There were Sherry, Lanyon, and Georgina, who had followed him from the south, Chahan, Shiba, and Bracken, who he had recruited after arriving in Zans, and this newest group, consisting of Shane, Yuho, Chinba, and Mouth.

Among them, the most adept martial artists and magicians were still Sherry, Lanyon, and Georgina, the brothers who had been with him from day one. As for the likes of Shiba and Bracken, they were naturally capable warriors as well, seeing as they were mercenaries, but they required more experience on the battlefield.

Shane was very useful as a source of financial support, but Erwin was still yet to make a decision on what to do with Chinba, Yuho, and Mouth.

During the journey back to Zans, Erwin found Chinba to be quite an interesting person while conversing with Chinba and Yuho. He was very knowledgeable about Count Onen, Mackney, Duke Eru, and other important figures, and his knowledge of them included even things like their likes and dislikes, and their family trees. This was rather surprising to Erwin.

Theoretically speaking, it shouldn't have been strange for a traveling poet to be aware of all of this information pertaining to important figures. After all, the nature of their occupation involved interacting with and befriending all types of people from different demographics and socioeconomic classes. However, Chinba seemed to have compiled all of the information that he had heard, then applied his own observations to the information and arranged it all into a cohesive package that was very easy to digest.

For example, Chinba's assessment of Onen and Mackney was almost identical to that of Erwin. However, Erwin had actually met and interacted with these two in person, while Chinba hadn't. Hence, it was quite remarkable that his understanding of those two people was no less in-depth, and Erwin was very impressed.

This was not a quality shared by all traveling poets. For example, Yuho's understanding of important figures and human nature in general was very superficial. Of course, his knowledge of the likes and dislikes of all of the pretty female servants in the Farody Family was very exhaustive.

With that in mind, Erwin already had an idea of what he was going to do with Chinba.

Strangely enough, even though Yuho was initially only interested in Onean, after hearing Erwin's "Exploring the Mountains and Seas", he was completely enamored by Erwin's innate charisma, and on the entire way back to Zans, he was constantly searching for opportunities to speak with Erwin, even it were only about the most mundane of subjects.

Of course, at this point, he had already realized that Onean was far beyond his reach.

Only a man like Erwin would be able to capture her heart, Yuho sighed to himself.

...

The constant chatter from Yuho was making Erwin feel a little faint and sluggish, and right at this moment, an alarmed cry rang out. "Look out!"

When it came to his awareness of his surroundings, Erwin was still a little lackluster compared with a magician of Onean's caliber.

However, even a grand magic mentor like Onean was only able to react by the time a green arrow was only around 10 feet away from Erwin's chest.

This meant that the assassin who had fired the arrow was no less powerful a martial artist than Onean was a magician!

Erwin immediately reacted upon hearing Onean's warning, raising a hand to conjure up a miniature light shield in the path of the oncoming arrow.

There wasn't enough time for him to conjure up a full-sized light shield.

Despite the defensive measure that he had adopted, cold sweat was pouring down his forehead as he stared at the bright green arrow. Even though he had endured so many crises of life and death, he still couldn't face this arrow with calmness and composure.

The reason for this was because the arrow was far too fast, and Erwin had no idea how it had suddenly reached so close to him.

As soon as Onean let loose that warning cry, she also unleashed three instant-release ice spear spells in rapid succession.

However, the arrow remained completely unmoved, shattering the ice spears into countless ice crystals upon contact.

At this point, even Onean was beginning to panic.

The arrow was flying so quickly that she had no time to use any advanced spells, so she made the best decision in the situation, which was to use instant-release spells instead. However, the arrow was also too powerful to be stopped by just a few instant-release spells.

Erwin had both palms raised and outstretched in front of him, hoping that the miniature light shield would be able to keep the arrow at bay. His heart had leaped into his throat, and intense fear was washing over his body in crippling waves. Just a moment ago, it had seemed that he was at the highest point of his life, but now, it seemed that his life was about to come to an abrupt conclusion.

The arrow was only around two feet away from Erwin, and right at this moment, a figure positioned itself in front of him.

It was none other than Yuho!

The only reason that Yuho was able to get in the way of the arrow was because he was situated very close to Erwin.

There was no way that he was faster than the arrow, but he had reacted solely on instinct, and that allowed him to move faster than he would've otherwise been able to.

There wasn't any hesitation or delay. As soon as Onean's warning cry rang out, Yuho had already flung himself off the back of his horse to use his own body to shield Erwin.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, and a sense of absurdity welled up in Erwin's heart as he stared at Yuho's smiling face at close quarters.

We've only known each other for a few days, why is he willing to do this for me? Erwin's brows were tightly furrowed with a mixture of shock and befuddlement. Doesn't he know that this could kill him?

The green arrow pierced directly through Yuho's midsection, and his expression instantly became twisted with agony, while his eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets.

The arrow possessed such tremendous momentum that after it passed through Yuho's body, it continued to propel the body directly toward Erwin.

Even though it seemed like Yuho's efforts had been completely futile, the brief instant that he had slowed down the arrow was all the time that Erwin needed to muster up all of the magic power in his entire body to widen the space-time rift created by the miniature light shield to the size of a plate.

Finally, the arrow reached the space-time rift outside the miniature light shield alongside chunks of flesh that had flown out of Yuho's body.

Erwin's horse reared back and neighed in an alarmed manner as Yuho crashed into Erwin, sending both him and his horse tumbling to the ground.

Thankfully, the space-time rift was ultimately able to dispel the arrow's momentum, and the arrow was lost amid the space and time turbulence. Erwin immediately withdrew his magic power upon seeing this in order to avoid Yuho's body also being sucked into the space-time rift.

Onean and Chinba hurriedly dismounted from their horses to inspect the conditions of Erwin and Yuho.

Erwin wore a stunned expression, and his face was completely devoid of color. Meanwhile, Yuho laid sprawled over his body with blood still gushing out of the wound on his midsection, and he was completely unconscious.

Onean raised her hand to cast a levitation spell onto Yuho's body in order to move him aside.

After that, she examined Erwin's body in a panicked manner while Erwin laid on the ground in a shell-shocked state. Following a thorough examination, Onean was very relieved to discover that Erwin wasn't injured, and that all of the blood on his body belonged to Yuho.

Erwin was lying on the ground with a blank expression, and his mind was entirely filled with the image of Yuho's earnest smile.

He couldn't understand why Yuho had been smiling in such a perilous situation.

"Don't just lie there like an idiot!" Onean yelled as she inspected her surroundings with a cautious expression. "Go and see if he's still alive!"

Only then did Erwin return to his senses and hurriedly clambered to his feet.

"What do we do, Mr. Erwin?" Chinba's lips were trembling at the size of the massive wound on Yuho's waist.

Erwin carefully examined the gruesome wound, and a grim look quickly appeared on his face. If it were only a simple wound, then treatment of the injury would've been just as simple. However, it was clear that some type of poison had been smeared onto the arrowhead, and if the poison were to enter Yuho's organs through the bloodstream, then he was all but beyond saving.

Sure enough, the blackened wound was giving off a sharp and acrid odor. It seemed that a magic potion had been used rather than normal poison. Having been present on many occasions while Onean was brewing her magic potions, he was able to quickly discern the smell.

"How is he looking?" Onean was holding her Everlife Chinaberry Staff with her back facing Erwin. Her gaze was still focused on the direction that the arrow had come from with a wary look on her face.

"It's not looking good. Some type of magic potion has been smeared onto the arrowhead," Erwin replied with a grim expression.

"Who wants you dead so badly?" Onean asked with tightly furrowed brows.

"I don't know," Erwin replied as he inspected Yuho's wound with a complex expression.

"What do we do, Mr. Erwin?" This was the first time that Chinba had faced a situation like this, and he was at a complete loss for what to do.

However, Erwin had too many things on his mind, and his thoughts were a little scattered, so he didn't hear what Chinba had said. "What did you say?"

Chinba took a careful glance at Erwin, then repeated, "What should we do?"

"What should we do?" Erwin repeated as he looked at Chinba with furrowed brows as if he were looking at an idiot. "What do you think we should do? We find a way to treat Yuho, of course!"

Chinba nodded sheepishly in response.

"You have to remember that if you're going to follow me, this will be a common occurrence. If you want to achieve something significant, the process is going to be one that's both perilous and arduous. The path to greatness is often paved with human lives," Erwin said as he looked at Chinba with a serious expression. "I won't demand that all of you do what Yuho just did for me, but you do have to be prepared to face life-and-death situations at any moment. Having said that, it's alright to be scared. I'm also not immune to fear. Do you think I wasn't scared when I saw that arrow flying at me? Look at my hand. Even now, I'm still shaking."

Chinba cast his gaze toward Erwin's trembling hand in silence.

Only then did he realize that following Erwin wasn't just a matter of verbally pledging his loyalty to Erwin. This was not some fun adventure. Instead, it was a perilous journey with very real consequences.

"Are you carrying any magic potions with you?" Erwin asked as he made his way over to Onean's side, then gently patted her on the arm, indicating that she could lower her staff. "An assassin won't attack again if they fail the first time. Now that we're aware of their existence and have set up defenses, they've most likely already fled the scene."

At this point, Erwin had finally recovered his composure.

Onean thought carefully about what Erwin had said and decided that he was right. Thus, she finally turned her gaze away from the direction that the arrow had come from, then made her way over to Yuho's side. After a careful examination, her brows furrowed tightly with concern.

She then pulled a small vial of magic potion out of a silken bag that was strapped to her waist. "This magic potion can only temporarily prevent the condition of the wound from worsening. As for the poison that's entered his body, I'll have to take care of that over time once we return to Zans. That is, if he can last until then."

Thankfully for Yuho, the circumstances were relatively fortunate for him. If Christine hadn't made it out of the desert to reunite with Erwin, Onean wouldn't have been able to retrieve the magic potion that had been left on the airship. That small vial of magic potion was one of the vials that Onean had left on the airship, and it was truly a lifesaver. In particular, that batch of magic potions had been brewed from ingredients taken from magic beasts in the Terarody Mountain Ranges, so they had to be quite effective.

Erwin quickly inspected the surrounding area, then turned to Chinba as he instructed, "We're still around 50 kilometers away from Zans right now. Take my horse and ride to Zans, then search for the man by the name of Sherry in the barracks of the United Church Freedom Army. Tell him that I've been ambushed and get him to come to me as quickly as possible. He'll recognize my horse. Go!"

Chinba didn't dare to delay, and he immediately jumped onto the back of Erwin's horse before speeding off toward Zans.

"Where was the arrow fired from?" Erwin asked as he turned to Onean.

"It was from that hill. Looking at it from here, the hill has to be at least 250 meters away," Onean replied as she pointed at a hill that was situated in the north.

"How could they have fired that arrow so stealthily yet with such power from so far away?" Erwin asked with tightly furrowed brows. "If you hadn't cried out, I wouldn't have detected it at all."

"Haven't you always felt like there are no powerful warriors in the north? Looks like you almost paid the price for your arrogance," Onean remarked in an indifferent voice.

"How powerful a martial artist would it take to fire off such an attack?" Erwin murmured to himself as he gnashed his teeth together.

"We'll only exactly how powerful they are after facing them in a direct battle, but it's clear that the assassin is an extremely skilled archer," Onean said as she turned to Erwin.

"It most likely has something to do with their martial techniques," Erwin said with slightly narrowed eyes after a moment of contemplation. He was thinking back to that night when he had been scolded by Professor Hawk.

Onean nodded in response. She was also of the opinion that this assassin had to possess unique martial techniques.

"Who do you think is behind this?" Onean asked as she turned to Erwin.

"I've just gone through all of the possible candidates in my head, but none of them seem to fit the bill," Erwin replied with a shake of his head. "Even if Mackney wanted me dead, he wouldn't have commissioned the assassination at a time like this, when our collaboration has only just begun. Even if he's going to go through with this, it would be sometime in the future. As for Duke Eru or Theresa, neither of them makes sense, either. If they had such a powerful martial artist on their side, why didn't they use that assassin to snipe me off on the battlefield? It could be Lia, but I can't think of any reason why he would want to kill me. If Onen had such a powerful subordinate, then he would've used them in the battle on the Canston Plain. Why would he have saved them until now?"

Erwin had considered everyone that he could think of, but he couldn't figure out who could've possibly sent the assassin after him.

"So you're considering the possibility that Lia could try to get rid of you?" Onean asked with an amused expression.

"At the very least, I'm assuming he won't try to do that in the next few years," Erwin said with a weary expression. "It's still not the time for that yet. For now, I guess we can only assume that it was someone sent by those in Newfando."

"News of your collaboration with Mackney has most likely only just reached Newfando. How could it possibly have been them who had sent the assassin after you?" Onean asked.

"Perhaps they already wanted to send someone after me in the wake of the battle on the Canston Plain? Maybe the assassin simply couldn't find an opportunity to strike in Zans or in Tellier," Erwin replied, but even he was unconvinced by his own reasoning.

"Are you not aware of what type of person Duke Eru is? If he were sufficiently ruthless and had the resources to hire such a powerful assassin, Onen and Mackney would've already been long-dead before we got here. As for Theresa, the chances that she's behind this are slim to none," Onean said.

"Why is that?" Erwin asked with a puzzled expression.

"You're not thinking that my reasoning is that she couldn't bear to kill you because she's fallen in love with you, are you?" Onean asked with an amused expression as she pinched his cheeks with her fingers. "If you are, then you're far too narcissistic for your own good."

Erwin swatted her hands aside in a frustrated manner.

"The reason is very simple: that assassin is far more powerful than Theresa, and I don't think she would have the ability to hire an assassin of such a high caliber," Onean elaborated in a confident manner.

"Then I really don't know who it is that's trying to kill me," Erwin sighed with a weary expression.

"The truth will come out eventually," Onean said. "I'm sure that assassin won't just give up after one thwarted attempt."

"Looks like it's not wise to stay here. We should set off for Zans as well."

"I don't think he's going to survive the trip if he's going to be jostled up and down on horseback," Onean said as she took a glance at the unconscious Yuho.

"Strap him to my back, and I'll try and get my horse to travel as slowly and smoothly as possible. What else can we do?"

"You want to strap him to your back so he can block a few more arrows for you?"

"Have I done something to offend you? Why are you being so hostile? I haven't hooked up with any other girls recently, have I?"

"If I get mad at you whenever you get involved with another woman, I would've already had an aneurysm!" Onean snapped. "By the way, do you really think I don't know what you and Christine have been up to lately?"

Erwin was rather sheepish upon hearing this, and a wry smile appeared on his face as he averted his gaze.

Onean knew that Erwin had been asking Christine to investigate something behind her back, and she knew that it had to have something to do with Lana, but she didn't want to expose him.

However, Erwin was mistaken in his thinking that Onean was angry because she was jealous.

Onean's displeasure actually stemmed from the subtle yet abrupt changes that had taken place in Erwin. In particular, this feeling was further exacerbated on this trip to Tellier. It felt to her like Erwin had transformed from an innocent young man into an ambitious politician who was completely inexplicable to her, all in the span of what seemed like the blink of an eye. Even though Erwin readily shared most of his thoughts and ideas with her, she still couldn't help but be in awe of his growth.

However, his rapid growth was irreversible and also made him seem less approachable, and that was the source of Onean's displeasure.

She felt like Erwin was becoming more and more unfamiliar to her, and he was only drifting further away from her with each step that he took. However, at the same time, she knew that he had done nothing wrong. After all, both of them had heavy burdens on their backs that were forcing them to grow and mature at an accelerated pace.

Sometime in the future, Erwin would come to regret not paying more attention to Onean's thoughts and emotions, but that was a story for another time.

On the way back to Zans, no further assassination attempts were encountered, so the unconscious Yuho didn't have to worry about shielding Erwin from any further arrows.

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