*SCREECH*
Luke's Griffin Brown Pudding swooped into the alley that Luke and Leo were in, taking everyone including Leo by surprise.
In the academy, one of the maneuvers that they taught all students in combat mount training was how to get out of a tough battleground with the help of one's mounts.
It was an integral part of Luke's course and hence Luke had learnt how to call for Brown Pudding and use her to escape in these exact situations.
As Brown Pudding swooped in and landed beside Luke and Leo, Luke immediately lifted Leo from his waist and tossed him onto Brown Pudding's back, before climbing on it himself, like he had rehearsed countless times before.
"Don't let them go! Attack!" The assassin party leader shouted as daggers began raining down on Brown Pudding while a few assassin's left the shadows they were hiding in and charged towards the escaping party.
"Let's go, Brown Pudding, it's time to evacuate" Luke commanded as he used his sword to deflect some of the daggers aimed towards Brown Pudding's body.
*SCREECH*
Brown Pudding screeched loudly as she dodged a few attacks on her own while being scratched by a few that Luke could not deflect.
Although she was a high level combat mount, in such a narrow alley where the opponents were attacking from cover, she could not display her prowess as an attack mount as the terrain was disadvantageous for her.
The moment she received the order to take flight, Brown Pudding began flapping her wings and trying to take off, however, before she could build enough momentum for flight, a few assassin's were already upon her.
"Definitely not happening!" Leo exclaimed, his voice echoing with determination.
In a swift motion, he began throwing a flurry of sharp daggers at the attackers, each one aimed with deadly accuracy at their most vulnerable points.
With his eyes narrowed and focused, Leo utilized his unique skill, the multi-throw technique, to its fullest extent as his hands moved in a blur, expertly launching up to ten daggers simultaneously, creating a fearsome display of precision and speed, forcing the approaching enemies to halt in their tracks and defend.
This was the first time that Luke and Leo fought together as a pair, so neither knew what to expect from one another, however, the brothers had a natural synergy that could not be replicated even within teammates who had been fighting together for years.
While Leo was impressed by Luke's mount and his mounted combat abilities, Luke was impressed by Leo's dagger throwing skills as he had never witnessed anything like it before.
If Leo threw ten daggers at once, six of them were aimed at the vital spots of his opponents, exactly at their forehead, neck and heart, while the other four were precisely aimed at deflecting incoming daggers that would have hit Brown Pudding otherwise.
Not only did Leo attack his opponents, but he also defended them from attacks at the same time, which was a testament to the level of skill he had attained.
Such aim, such precision that too at such spectacular speed was not something that even professors at his academy were capable of, as it was only today that Luke realized that his brother was an Elite level warrior just like himself.
Not only did he successfully stop the approaching enemies, buying enough time for Brown Pudding to take flight, but even after they began their aerial escape, Leo helped cover their exit, ensuring that they had a smooth get-away.
"We can't let them escape, tail them at all costs-" the Assassin leader said, however, only seconds later he realized that his demand was unreasonable.
Brown Pudding was not a regular aerial mount, she was a Griffin and a fast one at that, hence once she took flight, she was out of sight within minutes as it became impossible for the assassin group to tail after them on land anymore.
"Who the fuck is that guy who helped him escape? We must report this to the guildmaster. He was wearing guild robes with the symbol 'DarkSky' written on it. Find everything about this guild that you can" The party leader instructed, as he begrudgingly accepted his loss for the day.
*********
"Hahaha, wooooo, I'm flying-" Leo said as he spread his arms wide and thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of fresh cold air hitting his face at high speeds.
With the adrenaline rush of the previous battle still fresh, this ensuing escape felt even more satisfying, as Leo felt his heart fill with joy and excitement.
"Hahaha, who the hell were those guys? What the hell sort of gaming life are you living?" Luke asked Leo, as he too felt the rush of their escape, feeling happy at how things turned out.
"Hahaha, I could ask you the same brother, what is this mount? What sort of a life are you living?" Leo replied, as both brothers began chuckling happily.
"It's a long story….. I'll tell you some other day" Luke said as Leo accepted the answer and did not probe anymore.
"But what the hell were those dagger throwing skills? Also Jin Mu? What sort of a gaming name is Jin Mu? Hahaha, it sounds like a panda who has erectile dysfunction" Luke commented, as at this moment Leo understood that Luke had contracted a misunderstanding but did not bother correcting him.
"Oh brother, we need to log-out soon! There's hardly five minutes left, drop me off anywhere so that I can find a motel quickly and log out. Else we will be late for work" Leo said, trying to avoid this conversation as Luke nodded his head and accepted.
They were indeed getting late for work and hence he decided to conclude their adventure for today.
Although Leo had no idea how he managed it, somehow, his first meeting with both Luke and Amanda within the game concluded without his identity being leaked.
**********
/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target, good job everyone! ///