Anfey dashed along the road next to the mountain. He looked very dirty and his robes were bloodied and worn. Only his boots were still good as new. The boots were made from the skin of a manticore and were virtually indestructible.
He had already spent three days fighting with the griffin knights and the guardian knights. He didn't have time to stop and sleep or eat for three days. There were very few people in the world who could have managed what he was doing.
Luckily for him, the Heart of Nature aided him in his endeavor. Because of the Heart of Nature, he was able to be more in sync with nature and use nature's energy to support himself. Despite having the support of nature's energy, he was still not in the best shape. He was tired, but he was still awake enough to keep his mind working.
The griffin knights were tougher than he had expected, which was why he hadn't fought all of them head on. He resorted to ambushing them once in a while, then running before he could be surrounded. Another tactic he employed was keeping his distance and firing arrows or using magic. The griffins knights were very frustrated with him but couldn't do anything because they could not find him.
Even though there were a lot of guardian knights and griffin knights and the few Anfey killed would not make a difference in the long run, it was still causing fear and frustration among the knights. Seeing their friends and companions dying was wearing down on the knights' nerves. They were exasperated and were desperately trying to find Anfey.
Behind Anfey, a dozen dark specks appeared in the sky. In the middle of the formation flew Nahada, one of the commanders. Nahada had had a tough three days. At first, when he heard that Anfey was attacking the knights, he was very excited. Griffins were used to flying for a long time without losing speed. No human could compete with the griffins when it comes to stamina and speed. Even a swordsman could not keep using his combat power for too long.
He spent a whole day chasing Anfey to no avail. At the end of the day, his griffin only ate a small dinner and fell asleep, clearly exhausted. During the night, Anfey ambushed their campsite. Nahada's men saw and reported everything to him. This planted a seed of doubt in Nahada's heart.
On the second day, his attitude clearly changed. He stopped encouraging his soldiers and remained mostly quiet.
On the third day, he was very angry. One of his cousins died to protect him, and he was very angry. He clenched his teeth and was clearly trying to keep his temper in check.
Anfey jumped off of a boulder and turned left sharply.
"He's going back!" Nahada's deputy called. "Send the signal!"
The speed of a magic signal was much faster than Anfey, but the guardian knights ahead did not stop. They kept pressing on with their journey and did not even look up. The guardian knights were all well-trained soldiers, but they had seen too many warnings in the past three days, and they had become numb to the warnings.
Anfey rounded the hill and appeared. His speed increased, avoiding all the arrows from the griffin knights. He chased after the guardian knights, a storm of elements appearing around him.
"Allow me!" one of the guardian knights called when he spotted Anfey.
Several hundred knights left the main team. The knights turned around and rode towards Anfey. The knights had been avoiding direct conflict with Anfey for the past few days, but one of the leaders of the knights, Menkin, could not take this taunting any longer. He was one of the best knights in the world, but Anfey's reputation preceded him. He didn't believe in all the rumors, but he still couldn't risk his own knights in a hopeless fight. Now he was only retaliating because of how frustrated he was being treated like prey.
Anfey was clearly faster than the griffins. A little over a minute later, he had already reached the guardian knights. He did not know anything about the guardian knights, but he could see Menkin's combat power and knew he was a golden knight. As he approached the knights, Anfey waved his hands and summoned four firebirds.
The firebirds were very fast. This was Anfey's way of testing the knights' speed and the strength of their combat power. Only the best and the fastest could get out of the firebirds' way in time.
The firebirds flew through the knights, turning a few into balls of fire. Anfey stopped where he was and turned around sharply, doubling back. He had three wounds on him because he had underestimated his opponents. He knew that he could have very well died on the first day if he hadn't spent time practicing teleportation.
Anfey knew that he was powerful, but still not powerful enough to face so many guardian knights and griffin knights at the same time. He had been trying to delay the knights without actually engaging them.
Menkin didn't care about the dying knights. His eyes were red and he increased his speed. He was much faster than his men.
By the time Anfey was ready to use magic, Menkin was already very close. He whispered a spell, and by the time he used another spell, Menkin had drawn even closer.
Nahada's eyes widened. If he could stall Anfey for even just a moment, Menkin would catch up to him. He turned and waved his arms, then gripped the reins of his griffin and dove towards the ground. The other griffin knights fell into formation behind him and began their descent.
Anfey's speed picked up again. The griffin knights' arrows all missed their mark and hit the ground. Anfey jumped towards the first griffin knight without a moment of hesitation.
Nahada's eyes widened. He saw Anfey drawing the magic sword again and remembered the serial lightning it could summon. He had lost more than a dozen knights to that sword and he couldn't risk it again.
"Split up!" he called to the other knights. The griffins all began to flap their wings, trying to get back into the sky. The knights around him lost their formation. Some griffins were flying upwards, some were flying to the sides, trying to keep the distance between themselves and the other knights.
Surprisingly, nothing happened. Anfey passed by under the knights without using the sword. He did not want to engage the knights because he wanted to fight the leader of the griffin knights, not just the regular ones.