Chapter 693: Giving Chase

"Dad, just what happened?" A girl shouted in a hurry upon seeing her family load all their valuables in a carriage that sped out of the city. "Why are we fleeing from the Clan?"

"Why else?" Her father snapped back in response, "I failed to protect a valuable object. So, unless you wish to be demoted into the lowest of branch families and serve the Clan for the rest of your life, we have to escape."

"Is that so...?" The girl sighed, muttering in disappointment, "Too bad. There was a lot left for me to do back there."

She then thought of something, watching the carriage enter a forest trail, looking back to see that none were chasing after them, asking her father, "But dad, how will we develop our powers after this? Only the Lan Clan rears the eagles. Without that, we can never grow stronger."

"Forget about using your Invoker powers for the rest of your life." The man said solemnly, "We'll have to live in hiding until we travel somewhere far away. If we cannot escape the Lan Clan's influence, we'll have to refrain from using our Invoked Spirits."

"Shit!" The girl grunted in anger, clutching her head, "I'm way too talented to avoid training. I have a shot at becoming an Ascender."

"That's life." The man sighed.

"Don't blame it on life, old man." The girl snapped at him, "It's your oversight that caused this mess in the first place. Why couldn't you just do your job properly?"

"This brat!" The man snapped back in response, "You're blaming me now? I worked nonstop just to support your growth. And now you dare to blame me?"

"Don't go back to that." The girl argued, "You always do that whenever you make a mistake. I don't have a future now. So of course, I'm pissed."

"Calm down, the both of you." The girl's mother said, keeping an eye out on things as she sighed, "You needn't worry about the eagles. As long as we escape, we can procure the eagles somehow."

"Mom, is there a way?" The girl felt hope immediately.

"Of course," Her mother nodded in response, "Even though the Lan Clan controls all the eagles, that's only in this region. It's not as if they wiped out all eagles from the world. So, we only need to head towards a place where there are still eagles left."

"Who knows, maybe we might find a better variant of them that allows us to grow further." She smiled subtly before making eye contact with the girl, "But first, we much keep a level-headed approach. Only then will we survive in this dangerous world."

"Alright..." The girl nodded in response, staring up to see her brother seated calmly, not uttering a word from the start. They were a family of four, originating from the main family line of the Lan Clan.

Her father was the grandson of the previous generation Lan Clan Head. So, they formed one of the main lines. Though, that didn't matter much in the long term, for every generation in the main family line had plenty of children.

This meant that there were too many competing siblings vying for the resources. Among them, the man that was fleeing wasn't worthy enough, gradually being pushed back until it seemed like he would be demoted to a branch family status.

If they failed to contribute anything significant, then it was a known fact that his children would indeed be demoted to branch family status. This meant that his grandchildren would only obtain Common Eagle Invoker Crystals.

And that would only continue to fall until it becomes an Inferior Eagle Invoker Crystal, creating a vicious cycle until even the head of their family would have to struggle to obtain an Inferior Eagle Invoker Crystal.

There was conflict everywhere. And despite being siblings, they had to fight for resources, as the man had been competing against more than ten siblings of his.

As he failed to capture Pilkan, his future in the Lan Clan was no more. He stared at a trunk kept secure in the carriage, one filled with valuables, enough for them to buy an estate in another city and live a comfortable life.

As he manned a treasury, before he fled, he helped himself to a sufficient extent of the Lan Clan's valuables. And, he ensured to steal those that he would have a comfortable time either selling or making use of to establish himself.

Swoosh!

The eyes of the boy, one that had been silently travelling along with them shot open as he muttered in all seriousness, "Someone's tailing us."

"What?" Everyone became alarmed as a result, staring at the back of their carriage to see a group of people chasing after them on horseback.

There were four people in total, with one at the front and two at the side, acting as escorts to the one in the centre of the formation. All four were donned in dark garbs, covering their faces, apparent that they wished to hide their identities.

"Shit! We need to hurry." The man exclaimed in shock as he instructed the coachman to drive faster, causing him to whip their horses to urge them to move faster.

Among the chasers, situated in the centre of the formation was of course Pilkan. The mission details specified a team of four, for among the family of four, three were Common Invokers while the mother was a Superior Invoker.

So, it needed a team to take care of the assassination, a reason the mission was meant for a team of four.

Of course, Pilkan didn't know anyone, for he had just joined Hitlawn. But, with his sister to take care of things, it was easy as she sent talented Invokers to team up with him.

"Boy, just observe us fight, alright?" The leader of the group, a youth in his late twenties, named Runka, said in seriousness, "We'll take care of the rest."

He was a Superior Invoker and was strong enough for Peika to make him in charge of Pilkan's safety. The fact that he had an Ascender's trust was a testament to his strength.

"I can fight too." Pilkan said, "I'm not entirely helpless, as long as they are Inferior Invokers."

"But still, we have to follow the leader's orders." Fowma, the lady travelling to his right said, winking once, "Anyway, I'll create an opportunity for you to attack. So, until then, stay put with me, alright?"