Free Web NovelWithin the lawless zone between Garos Fortress and the Great Winter Forest—
Where the hell did that bastard Depier run off to?!
Damn it!
Get your ass back here already!!
After narrowly dodging the heavy hammer strike of a silver-armored warrior, Saklei, leader of the Blazing Shadow Mercenary Group, cursed furiously in his heart.
And at that exact moment—
A massive crimson magic circle abruptly appeared behind the sixth-tier expert!
In an instant,
An enormous fireball came crashing toward him, causing Saklei’s eyes to shrink violently. His scar-covered old face twisted even more viciously after being ambushed.
However,
As a veteran who had survived countless battles, Saklei quickly adjusted his posture, dodged the exploding fireball, and directly hurled the spear in his hand!
In that instant,
Black light erupted violently!
Wrapped in dark-attribute battle aura, the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} spear tore through the night sky and pierced straight through the distant caster’s shoulder, instantly crippling the fifth-tier mage’s combat ability.
And after losing the long-range threat,
Saklei finally managed to steady himself somewhat during the battle.
Even so, his expression remained incomparably grim.
At this moment, the Blazing Shadow Mercenary Group under his command had already suffered devastating losses during this slave-smuggling mission. The only ones still capable of fighting were himself and a few elite members.
Almost every other mercenary had already been killed by the church knights before them.
Looking at the dozens of knights clad in exquisite silver armor and crimson capes, Saklei’s eyes filled with hatred. He wished he could chop every single one of them into pieces to vent the fury in his heart!
This transport mission had been going perfectly!
He had practically completed the delivery already! He was just about to hand the slaves over to the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church! He was only moments away from receiving eight million Star Source Coins!
And yet...
At a critical moment like this, they had actually run into these damned Asumos Church knights?!
Damn it all!
“Wasn’t that bunch of bastards supposed to have terrible relations with the Snow Night Empire?! Why the hell would they appear near the fortress?! Bastards!!”
Saklei cursed inwardly in rage.
At the same time, he repeatedly glanced toward the distant Great Winter Forest in confusion.
Dozens of minutes ago, he had sent a squad to chase down that runaway girl!
She was only an ordinary third-tier human, wasn’t she?!
So why the hell had they not returned yet?!
“Depier! What the hell are you doing?!”
Saklei grew increasingly anxious.
If those people did not come back soon to support him, he truly feared he would end up being taken down by these young church knights.
However,
At the very moment he looked toward the Great Winter Forest—
A mocking voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.
“Oh ho? You still have time to look elsewhere?”
?!!
What?!
“Who?!”
In an instant, Saklei’s pupils contracted violently as an overwhelming sense of danger surged into his heart. He hurriedly turned around in disbelief toward the brown-haired female knight who had somehow appeared behind him.
And the moment he glared viciously at her—
A sword burning with violet flames suddenly pierced through his chest from behind,
Directly shattering his heart!
“Y-you damned...”
Along with his powerless curse, Saklei—who had spent decades living by the blade—finally died during this slave transport mission.
And his death also signaled the complete destruction of the Blazing Shadow Mercenary Group.
—
“Finally dealt with...”
After dispersing the violet flames on her sword, Garona let out a long sigh of relief.
Even for them, surrounding and killing a sixth-tier expert had not been easy.
Afterward,
Garona slowly turned around and looked toward the other battlefields behind her.
Now that Saklei was dead, the remaining members of the Blazing Shadow Mercenary Group who had still been desperately resisting all raised their hands in surrender.
Without question, the battle was over.
Smiling slightly, Garona looked toward the burly man wielding a giant axe not far away and shouted:
“Kakaro!”
“Hm? What is it, Big Sis Garona?”
The man called Kakaro hurriedly leapt into the air and landed before Garona.
Garona pointed toward the dozens of young boys and girls imprisoned inside the carriages nearby.
“Clean up the battlefield. Also, help treat those poor children.”
“Got it. I’ll call the priest squad immediately.”
“Mm. Oh, right!”
Just as the burly man prepared to leave, he suddenly stopped and looked back at his captain in confusion.
“What is it, Big Sis? Anything else?”
Hearing that,
Garona slowly frowned and thoughtfully looked toward the snowy plains nearby and the distant Great Winter Forest.
Thanks to her sharp instincts—or perhaps simply a woman’s intuition—she had constantly felt something strange during the battle against those ruthless mercenaries.
It felt as though...
Something nearby had been watching her.
The sensation made Garona deeply uncomfortable. That inexplicable icy chill left her spine cold even now.
“Kakaro... do you feel like something strange is watching us?”
Hearing that, the burly Kakaro revealed a puzzled expression and awkwardly glanced around.
Then he helplessly shook his head.
“N-no? Everything seems normal?”
“Hmm? Really? Then what about the scout squads stationed nearby? Any reports? Did they spot magical beasts or even Abyss Demons?”
“Probably not. If they’d seen Abyss Demons, someone would’ve rushed over to report it already.”
“Mm... true.”
Could it be my imagination?
Maybe I’m just exhausted lately?
Closing her eyes, Garona lightly shook her head while silently thinking to herself.
And at that moment—
“Eh?!” freёweɓnovel.com
Kakaro’s startled cry instantly interrupted Garona’s thoughts again, causing her to curiously raise her head.
“What happened?”
“T-there’s a girl! Looks like an ordinary human?! She ran out of the Great Winter Forest?!”
Pointing toward the distant forest, Kakaro spoke in disbelief.
“Hm?”
Hearing that, Garona froze briefly before also looking toward the distance in shock.
The next moment,
Garona could not help revealing an astonished expression.
Reflected in her eyes was a pink-haired girl dressed in ragged clothing and covered in filth, exactly as Kakaro described, stumbling out of the Great Winter Forest and running toward them.
“She actually... really came out?! Dear heavens! What happened to that child?! How could she come out of the Great Winter Forest alone?! N-no, wait?! Why would a little girl run into such a dangerous place in the first place?!”
“That outfit... doesn’t it look similar to the slaves in those carriages?”
“A slave? A runaway slave?”
“Probably. Didn’t Saklei say earlier that his men went into the forest to catch someone? It should... probably be her.”
“If she escaped, then why is she alone? Where are the people chasing her?”
“No idea. We’ll ask after she gets here.”
“Alright.”
Looking at the fragile figure stumbling toward them with every ounce of strength she had left, Garona’s sympathy rapidly swelled.
After exchanging a few quick words, Garona immediately rushed forward together with Kakaro and several other Asumos Church knights to help the poor girl.
However,
Just as Garona and the others were about to reach the girl—
Garona noticed something strange.
The girl’s expression.
That was not the expression someone should have after seeing rescuers.
Instead, her face was filled with endless terror.
Her entire body radiated panic and unease, and she constantly glanced anxiously behind herself as though fleeing from something horrifying.
“No... something’s wrong!”
An ominous feeling suddenly exploded into Garona’s mind.
And at that very moment—
As if to confirm Garona’s instincts—
A terrifying pressure abruptly erupted from inside the forest!
Like a violent storm of compressed air, it instantly slammed into Garona and the other Asumos Church knights head-on!
The moment they sensed the energy fluctuations within that pressure—filled with deathly silence, overwhelming killing intent, and a nauseating stench of blood—
The people who had been casually chatting moments ago all froze in shock.
Cold sweat slowly trickled down their foreheads.
The next instant—
The earth shook violently.
“ROOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!”
Accompanied by a heaven-shaking monstrous roar, several gigantic bipedal monsters engulfed in blazing hellfire suddenly burst out of the Great Winter Forest under the terrified gazes of Garona and the others!
Overflowing with monstrous killing intent, they roared as they charged straight toward them!
?!!!
The instant they saw those monsters, everyone stopped breathing.
An unprecedented terror surged through their hearts.
“A-A-Abyss Demons?!”
Th-this is bad!
“Quick!! Fall back immediately!!!!”
