When the others heard the question of the Second Prince, their expressions changed slightly. If it's true, and Klaus and Reynolds were delaying them for Grey's arrival, then it spelled trouble for them. Klaus and Reynolds were already troublesome to deal with on their own, if Grey were to be added to the fray, then they would be in serious danger.
"We have to leave. I don't care if it's just me overthinking or whatnot, I can't take the chances of having to battle with him, especially when Elric isn't around." The Second Prince was not willing to be attacked by Grey.
Just like the Seventh Prince, the Second Prince has a phobia when it comes to Grey, he doesn't want anything to do with the freak of nature.
If Grey knew the Princes were this scared of him, he would be flattered, to say the least. It was quite satisfying to know that the mortal enemies of humans seem to have a deep fear for him. With this, he could walk with his head held up high.
The others looked at the reaction of the Second Prince, to be honest, they all agreed with how he reacted, none of them wanted to face Grey. Grey was too strong, and if he were to appear now, they would be in serious danger. Elric who was the strongest amongst them had drawn Grey away, but they were all certain that there was no way he would be able to defeat Grey, so they all hoped he delayed for as long as possible so they could escape.
However, when they saw Klaus and Reynolds, they felt their luck was amazing, only for one of them to die at the start, killed by a Ninth stage Elemental Venerable. During the first time they crossed paths, Klaus used all he had to boost his strength, unleashing that attack that had the power of someone at the Peak of the Elemental Venerable. Unfortunately, he couldn't use it continuously.
These guys went after them with the hopes of capturing them, but their efforts were futile. Even when they would strike the duo, the duo would still for some unknown reasons manage to continue running as if they weren't hit by any attack. This has been a source of worry for the group chasing after them. Thinking they would eventually catch them, they didn't give up on the chase, even after seeing all these things. Only now that they thought of Grey arriving did they start to think of other possibilities.
The Seventh Prince halted, no longer willing to give chase.
"We can't leave like that, the Water Elementalist is very dangerous." Someone at the Peak said.
If they wanted to escape, then they risked getting attacked by Klaus. An attack from Klaus was too dangerous, this was not something they wanted to bet their lives on.
"One of us will stay back to block them while the others leave. Either that or we all stay and risk getting killed." The Second Prince suggested.
The others exchanged glances, they all fell deep in thought. If one of them offered to stay back, the chances of getting killed by the combined effort of Klaus and Reynolds were pretty high. The duo could incapacitate two people while they were running from such a group, it was easy to imagine what they could do if they were fighting against just one person.
Seeing their faces, the Second Prince sighed, "Alright, this is what we will do. Everyone goes their separate ways, and after they pick their opponents, the rest of us can ambush them."
"This will give us an edge over them."
The others instantly agreed with the Prince's suggestion. If they were the ones who ambushed the duo, then the matter would be settled. Klaus and Reynolds were too weak to defend against the ambush of such a powerful group.
While the group were plotting, Klaus and Reynolds were sitting on a tree branch, waiting for them to chase after them.
"What's taking them so long?" Reynolds asked when he didn't sense any movements behind them.
"They're probably planning on how to deal with us." Klaus said with a chuckle, "Your last attack stunned them."
The duo laughed after Klaus' statement.
They were still speaking when Klaus sensed the auras of the Gnomes going in separate directions.
"Fuck it! They've seen through our plan." Klaus cussed out, he turned to Reynolds, "Rey, who do we attack?"
"The Second Prince." Reynolds didn't hesitate.
After they came to a decision, they rushed towards the direction the Second Prince took.
When the Second Prince sensed that he was the one they went after, he cussed out in annoyance. He didn't want to be the one who would have to act as bait. What if he was killed before the others came to his rescue?
He increased his speed, not daring to wait for the duo to catch up to him.
Klaus and Reynolds were chasing after him, both having a grin on their faces. They were finally the ones who were doing the chasing. This was what they were used to, and not the other way around.
"Do you think it's a trap?" Reynolds asked as they chased after the Second Prince.
"Haha, of course it is, but they will regret it." Klaus said matter-of-factly. He didn't even for one second think it wasn't a trap. Why would a group of six Peak Elemental Venerables go different ways if it wasn't in a bid to force them into chasing one person?
The only mistake in the plan of the Gnomes was that they had zero knowledge of the bunny leader being with the duo, so they could utilize it to their advantage. Before the others could get close, they would at least seriously injure the Second Prince and then escape.
"Rabbit, take us closer to him, not too close, but close enough so I can strike him down." Reynolds said. His body was fully covered by lightning.
The bunny leader appeared and the duo disappeared. Klaus could feel his heart racing at the thought of bullying the Prince of the Gnome race.