Ulyseon looked regretful at Maxi's sick expression.
“Please think how devastated Sir Riftan would be if something happened to you, my lady.”
“Mas… mas…”
His face contorting in anguish, Maxi clutched Riftan's copper coin.
She couldn't get the image of the ghouls' black, rotting bodies out of her mind.
She didn't want to end up like this, and the thought of never seeing Riftan again tore her apart inside.
She was sure she wasn't the only one who felt this way.
Idsilla had a brother who cared about her a lot.
The other clergywomen also had friends and family, and no soldier wished to die.
Maxi looked at Ulyseon pleadingly.
"So, w-let's…bring some more with us.
I-I'm not asking to take everyone“"
"We cannot go back, my lady.
Imagine the uproar if we did," replied Garrow, shaking his head firmly.
The two squires' mournful expressions mirrored her own.
"We also do not want to abandon the city, my lady.
Please try to understand.
For us, Sir Riftan's orders come first."
“Há uma nobre de Livadon que veio para Eth Lene comigo.
Ela é apenas uma garota de dezoito anos… mas veio porque estava preocupada com o irmão.
Ela disse que o veria depois da guerra…”
For a moment, Ulyseon's expression turned worried before he shook his head.
"It would be too dangerous for us to return now, my lady.
I'm sorry, but your safety is our priority."
"I-I'm not that important!
I'm not the powerful noble you think“"
She bit her lip as she began to shake with sobs.
Garrow watched her with a perplexed expression.
He sighed, pulling on the reins of Maxi's horse.
"We have no time to waste arguing, my lady.
There may be monsters lurking around the city walls.
We must cross the gorge before we are discovered."
He pulled on the reins, and Maxi's horse followed obediently.
Maxi tried to hold back her tears as he dragged them away.
The faces of the people she cared about flashed through her mind.
There was Ruth, who always looked out for her despite her nagging, and Idsilla, who always tried to act strong despite being sensitive deep down.
Then there was Hebaron and the clerics, whom she had grown fond of without realizing it.
It wouldn't have made much difference if I had stayed in the city.
I would have become just another ghoul that the returning army would have to deal with.
Although she desperately tried to justify her escape, she couldn't deny that she was abandoning everyone to preserve her own life.
Maxi closed her eyes tightly, splashing tears onto the saddle.
Powerlessness and guilt weighed heavily on his heart.
Pense em Riftan.
Remember your promise to him.
You assured him that you would be careful, that you wouldn't do anything reckless...
Despite her efforts, tears continued to stream down her cheeks even as night fell.
They rode through the dark forest.
Time after time, Maxi looked back.
She thought she could hear screams echoing in the distance.
He couldn't tell if the sounds were real or an auditory hallucination caused by his fault.
Ulyseon, who had been riding silently, suddenly spoke.
“I think we’re going to have to change course.”
He saw Maxi's exhausted face and gave her a sympathetic look.
“I feel a horde of monsters approaching here,” he said, his expression hardening.
“Devemos voltar.”
"How many?" asked Garrow gravely.
“A little under thirty… no, forty.”
“Trolls?”
Ulyseon looked at the dark forest as if he could see through the trees and shook his head.
"Kobolds or red goblins, more likely.
Best to avoid them."
Garrow turned the horse around.
Then he handed Maxi's reins back and said darkly, "We really can't go back now, my lady, so get ready and follow our example."
Fighting back sobs, Maxi nodded.
Ulyseon took the lead and galloped first.
Spurring his horse behind him, Maxi desperately tried to regain his composure.
This was no time to be crying like a child.
Ulyseon and Garrow could be in danger because of her.
"This way, my lady.
We will follow this path to cross the rock wall."
They traveled through the dense forest for about twenty minutes before Ulyseon pointed up the hillside.
The path was so narrow and bumpy that it could barely be called that.“Do we… need to go up?” Maxi asked.
"It's likely that the monsters would have sent garrisons to the north as well if we tried to escape.
Going around is no longer an option.
We'll have to climb up and head east."
“B-But what if there are monsters waiting on the other side?”
Ulyseon shook his head.
"They have no reason to spread their troops in so many places.
And even if there are monsters, they will probably be scouts.
We should both be able to deal with them."
“I'll lead from here,” said Garrow, walking up the slope.
“I’m more skilled with this terrain.”
Maxi's entire body tensed as she climbed the dizzyingly steep incline.
Sweat ran down his body like rain, and his breathing became labored.
It seemed like they were going up forever when they suddenly stopped.
An unobstructed view of Eth Lene Castle stretched out below them.
Maxi straightened in the saddle as he listened to the faint sounds of the siege.
Garrow grumbled under his breath.
“Damn…”
Maxi quickly saw what had made the squire swear.
One of the double barriers in front of the walls was crumbling.
The monsters roared wildly and charged at the remaining barrier like a herd of buffaloes.
Maxi let out a groan of despair.
The size of the monster army was much larger than what she had seen above the walls.
What seemed like an army of hundreds now seemed to number thousands.
Not only were there trolls and red goblins in their ranks, but also ogres.
“How the hell did an army that size come out of nowhere?”
"Now is not the time for that.
They probably have search parties all over the place.
We have to get out of here before they catch our scent."
Collecting himself first, Ulyseon tried to lead them back to the road, but Maxi could not take his eyes off the surrounded city.
While she was stunned, Ulyseon tried to reassure her.
“Even if the city falls, I'm sure our men will be able to hold it off long enough for the coalition army to return.”
Although Maxi knew nothing about war, she knew the squire was lying.
How could just three hundred men face thousands of monsters?
The creatures would undoubtedly turn Eth Lene Castle into ruins in an instant.
She watched in terror as monsters flooded the canyon below them.
Then suddenly an idea popped into his mind.
“If… we collapse this… would it be a big enough blow to the monsters?” she asked, pointing to the tall rocks that rose on either side of the road leading to the south gate.
For a moment, the squires looked at her in astonishment.
Their eyes widened when they realized she was pointing at the large boulder that stood out above the rocks.
“My lady, are you saying… that you could do this?” asked Garrow, his voice shaking.
“I think I could… if I used magic.”
Although she wanted to appear as calm as possible, her voice cracked like a croaking frog.
Both squires looked skeptical.
“Do you think you have enough mana, my lady?”
"I have a way.
If t-there is a chance of success...
however small it may be...
don't you think it's worth trying?"
The squires exchanged glances.
Sensing their internal conflict, Maxi desperately begged, "P-Please, let me try.
It shouldn't take more than twenty“no, fifteen minutes.
If I fail, I'll f-follow you without another word."
After looking between the stone and Maxi's face, Ulyseon bit his lip.
He silently deliberated the matter with Garrow before nodding his head.
"Very well.
We must try, my lady.
But if the plan fails, we cannot delay any longer."
Maxi gave a determined nod.
The squires watched her wistfully for a moment before the three of them headed back up the rugged mountain path.
As he followed them, the noise of battle gradually approached, and the sky turned purple.
Maxi gasped for air, sure her lungs would explode.
Pain pierced her thighs, and her arms shook, but she didn't dare ask to stop.
They rode for an indeterminate amount of time when something suddenly jumped out of the trees.
Ulyseon drew his sword and shouted, “Stay back, my lady!”
Calming his agitated horse, Maxi hurriedly retreated behind the squires.
Unfortunately, there were also monsters behind.
Pushing Maxi back, Ulyseon exclaimed, "Garrow, they've surrounded us!
Clear a path now!"As if executing a plan, the monsters rushed at them all at once.
Maxi's horse began to rear, and it took all her strength to hold on to its neck and try to control it.
Casting a barrier at the same time was impossible.
“My lady!” shouted Garrow.
"Escape while we distract them!
We'll be right behind you!"
Terrified, Maxi looked around.
Where should she run?
While hesitating, completely unsure of what to do, Ulyseon and Garrow cut through the goblins and managed to open a passage.
“Now, my lady!”
Maxi spurred his horse and shot past the goblins like an arrow.
The wind whistled, along with blurred views of thick tree trunks.
There was no time to check if I was going in the right direction.
Afraid that the monsters would catch up to her if she slowed down even a little, Maxi frantically whipped the reins.
Then, out of nowhere, something fell on top of her.
Maxi fell from his horse and rolled across the ground.
The excruciating impact traveled through his entire body, knocking all the air from his lungs.
Panting, Maxi looked up in terror.
A goblin sat on his chest with a weapon at the ready.
Maxi shouted.
She felt around on the ground for anything she could grab and aimed it at the creature.
A branch caught the goblin's attention, and he howled as he clutched his face.
Maxi pushed him out and crawled across the floor on all fours.
The goblin was on top of her again before she could get up.
He pulled her back by her hair, and she thrashed against him like she was drowning.
Then, her vision went black as he delivered a brutal kick to her stomach.
She tried desperately to hold on to her fading consciousness.
It would really be the end if she fainted now.
The monster began dragging her across the forest floor by her hair.
Fighting him, Maxi pulled the dagger from his waist.
She thrust the blade upwards and felt it sink into the flesh as if it were rare meat.
The goblin's big, fiery eyes grew even bigger as he stared at his abdomen in disbelief.
Then, he began to shake his head violently.
Maxi pulled the dagger out and plunged it in again.
Hot blood gushed out like a fountain, drenching his face and arms.
Again and again, she stabbed frantically at the goblin's round belly.
It took dozens of blows before the monster's hands finally went limp.
Breathing heavily, Maxi sat down shakily.
Nausea invaded her as soon as she saw the monster's chest.
Now it looked like a piece of meat.
Turning her head, she vomited sticky bile onto the base of a tree.
His throat burned, and his entire body ached as if all his bones had been crushed.
Breathing was painful; she deduced that she had broken a rib.
Holding the side, she looked back along the way.
Where the hell am I?
His horse had run away a long time ago.
Pressing her hand against the tree trunk for support, Maxi stood up.
Strangely, she no longer felt afraid.
Perhaps it was because his ability to handle the situation had been stretched far beyond its limits.
She was looking around in a daze when she heard a hoarse roar in the distance.
She staggered toward the sound.
Coming out of the trees, she found herself on a dizzyingly steep cliff with a rock ledge.
Maxi teetered to the edge and looked down to see thousands of monsters gathered at the barrier protecting the city gates.