Those lucky enough to be born with the innate ability to control a specific type of magic are called sorcerers.
Only they themselves can know what is the best path for them to follow, requiring a long time and an enduring heart to make any notable achievements in their lifetimes.
Their magical power often overflows and is not easy to bring under control. Their spells are limited in quantity but can be easily adapted for different situations, giving them an upper hand under most circumstances.
In the case of mermen, the difference in their physical forms is quite an obvious indicator of their innate abilities.
Most normal mermen have superhuman strength, the ability to partially shapeshift when in water, and an intelligence on par with teenaged humans. But some of them are born with magical powers and are in turn superior to others of their race.
The halos of blueish flames above the heads of the two of the mermen following Hao Xuan and Ceni would suggest that they were just such beings.
Unlike normal fire, these flames were much different, using 'mana' to burn. They also don't have the same effects as ordinary flames and cannot be put out by water.
As long as there is mana inside their bodies, the flames will continue to burn no matter the environment.
The magics of these two sorcerers were from a branch of sound magic.
Muttering spells in their native language, they summoned concentrated shockwaves that could destroy objects as soon as they came in contact with it.
Wherever Hao Xuan and Ceni passed from, a moment later the ground would explode leaving several meter wide craters in their wake.
Hao Xuan did the best he could to avoid them but occasionally a shockwave would pass a little too close by, injuring him from inside out.
It didn't matter how tough his muscles were, the spells these sorcerers were using utilized their target's own strength against it by destabilizing the natural frequency of their body to such a degree that it would erupt in a flurry of intense energy, effectively destroying itself from within.
It was a good thing they were in a forest and could use trees as cover to break their line of sight otherwise they would not have lasted this long.
In less than 10 minutes they had covered dozens of kilometers on foot and it did not look like the mermen were willing to give up any time soon.
Ceni obviously did not have the physical aptitude to pull off something like this so Hao Xuan had to step in and carry her in a princess pose after a few minutes into the chase.
Thankfully, Haeti was more than fast enough to outrun everyone else and went ahead to scout. He was able to communicate with Ceni telepathically, just like Hao Xuan's severs could talk to him.
He relayed the information to her and she passed it onto Hao Xuan.
"Take a left in 40 meters when you see the big tree," she muttered right into Hao Xuan's ears, giving him goosebumps.
He wanted to tell her to stop but right now he didn't even have time to take a deep breath let alone speak. He had taken a partial attack head-on and lost all sensation in his left arm.
The bicep was exposed, a dark purple bruise covering the majority of his upper arm. And it wasn't healing on its own either. Hao Xuan could feel an unknown energy rampaging within his flesh.
Baracus's loud voice echoed in his head.
"Warning! Do not get close to their attacks, they can destroy the nanomachines inside your bloodstream. Efficiency has dropped by 8%."
A simple graze had managed to destroy over 8% of the nanomachines.
"Redirect power to lower limbs, 50%," he gave the order.
It was a good thing Hao Xuan didn't need to speak out loud to give commands to Baracus otherwise it would have been a problem.
He glanced behind and saw the mermen hot on his tail. The sorcerers were still waving their hands in the air like madmen but the random explosions had reduced significantly.
They were also running low on mana and had to conserve their strength.
The nanomachines moved towards Hao Xuan's legs and started working on his muscles, reducing the strain on his body. He could feel his legs expanding by an inch but he didn't increase his speed just yet.
Instead Hao Xuan used this opportunity to talk to Ceni.
"Can you fight? I just need you to hold off one of them for a few minutes," he said referring to the sorcerers.
Ceni nodded right away, "I can. When?"
Hao Xuan looked ahead and saw the tree they were told about earlier.
"Now," he mumbled before throwing Ceni towards it.
He then extended his right hand and the Glaive appeared in his grasp.
Hao Xuan stomped on the ground with such strength that it exploded underneath his feet. He used that force to turn 180 degrees mid-sprint and ran right into his unsuspecting pursuers.
It took some time to explain all this but in reality less than a second had passed for all these events to unfold.. Hao Xuan held the glaive horizontally and swung it left to right.