Ten Atria soldiers escorted horse-drawn carts carrying supplies through a dense forest road at night. The only light illuminating their path to the border of Atria Kingdom was the full moon. The group proceeded cautiously, as the wagon had been targeted multiple times by hunters and bandits, and one of the supplies had been stolen by the Witching Night Boy. The red zone in this region had various methods of pilfering supplies from chained cargo within a minute.
The sound of horse hooves grew closer and louder in the heart of the forest. The Atria soldiers breathed a sigh of relief for not choosing the Nightville route, as they still had the trauma of holes and iron spikes that had made their horses stumble and fall. Although they would reach the border gate in a few hundred meters, the forest still seemed like an ideal location for an ambush.
"Damn, the moonlight is gone," one of the soldiers complained. "Tomorrow I will ask General Riggs to build a military base in this part of the forest."
"Save your complaints," another soldier said. "Reinforcements are already waiting for us outside the forest, and it is their job to bring these supplies to the palace."
The surrounding bushes swayed, causing one of the soldiers to cry out, "Stop!" and startle the others.
The soldiers looked intently at the grove, and one of them asked, "What is it?"
"Nothing," the soldier replied. "Just bushes blowing in the wind. Let's get back on track."
On the other side of the forest, a small child moved silently, leaping from tree to tree. The shadowy figure ran toward a group of children hiding in the thickets. One of the children whispered, "Shhh, Fenrius, how many troops are there?"
"Ten. As expected, they've increased the number of guards. But even so, we can still win this," Fenrius replied.
"I'm ready," Dale said.
They whispered to each other, making secret plans.
Fenrius ordered the two girls while they prepared their bows and arrows, "Kagari, Talindra, as usual, aim your arrows at the horses." He then turned to his other companions and said, "Luca, Dale, and Camus, let's fight together at the front. The signal will be when I throw the smoke bomb in my hand. Is that clear?"
"Wait, Fenrius, what if the cargo is a trap?" Luca asked, probing.
"This is zero hour for the attack, Luca. If the worst-case scenario happens, then run to the village," Fenrius replied.
"Or fight to the death together," Camus interjected. "Misery loves company, we're all like family. If we live, we live together, and if we die, we die together."
Fenrius patted Camus on the shoulder and said, "We will definitely win. Let's do it together. For Yaevin." He raised his sword.
"For Yaevin," the others followed, raising their swords.
These children had been trained from an early age to be experts in ambushes. They had successfully stolen cargo from the kingdom of Atria using various routes for two years, although luck and seeking help from others also played a part in their success.
"I'll call the shots," Fenrius said. "Luca, Dale, Camus, remember to target their unarmored areas first. Focus on their ankles, eyes, and necks. The wrists and groins are secondary."
Talindra looked at Kagari, who was shivering with fear. Kagari gulped and whispered to her only surviving female friend to this day, "Talindra, do you think this will work?"
Talindra put on a brave face and replied confidently, "Don't worry, we've been doing this for a long time. Trust Fenrius."
Kagari nodded in agreement, trying to conquer her fear at this crucial moment.
They moved in silence, taking advantage of the darkness. Based on their experience, a total ambush at the outset would inevitably lead to complete failure. Therefore, it was wiser to minimize damage and wait for an opening. When the opportunity presented itself, they must refrain from attacking immediately and wait for the right moment to maximize their impact.
Fenrius was watching them from above the tree. He knew that the soldiers had anticipated this, so he was prepared with a new plan involving throwing a poisoned smoke bomb. However, since their objective was an interrogation, not stealing, Fenrius believed that a total ambush would be necessary at the end of the plan.
*
Through the dark night forest, one of the soldiers shouted again, "Stop!"
The Atria soldiers came to a halt. They heard a whooshing sound and saw the bushes stir. Several iron arrows shot out of the darkness and struck the two horses. The horses reared in pain, their hooves flailing wildly. The wagon behind them tipped over, spilling its contents onto the ground. The horses, now free from the wagon, galloped away into the forest.
"We are surrounded! Get in position! Protect our cargo!" commanded one of the soldiers.
The soldiers quickly gathered at the center to guard their cargo. All of their movements were as expected until a smoky object was thrown from above. The object exploded, releasing thick smoke that spread quickly.
"What's this?! A smoke bomb?!" coughed one of the soldiers as they were blinded by the smoke.
The soldiers one by one fell limp from inhaling the smoke and died from within.
"No, it is not an ordinary smoke bomb! It is a poisoned bomb from that slum!" exclaimed the soldier. "Hold your breath!"
Fenrius, Luca, Dale, and Camus readied their weapons and moved quickly, as the smoke would only last for a short time.
"Surround them from all sides!" cried out Fenrius, giving the signal.
"You damn brats! So this is the children's gang that is often talked about!"
The soldier charged forward recklessly, but Fenrius managed to slash his unarmored ankle. He fell to the ground, disabled. Luca, Dale, and Camus followed up with a combination attack, beating him to death. The other soldiers could only hear the sound of their comrades screaming from behind the smoke.
"These kids were like nimble rats! All my strikes only hit their shadows in the smoke!" exclaimed the frustrated soldier.
Fenrius almost failed to parry one of the soldier's relentless attacks, but Luca, hidden by the smoke, slashed the soldier's ankle, causing him to collapse. The soldier felt foolish for failing to anticipate a direct attack. Fenrius then threw his sword, which struck the soldier's neck, killing him in seconds.
"Thanks, Luca!" exclaimed Fenrius.
"Save that for later," replied Luca.
The two soldiers intended to ram into Fenrius from two directions. An arrow shot from behind the smoke pierced one of the soldiers' eyes, causing him to falter and stop attacking. Fenrius deflected the other soldier's attack and was supported by Luca, who snuck up and attacked the soldier's ankle again.
("Go, Fenrius! I won't let them attack you!") thought Talindra as she prepared her next arrow. She could see the shadows of adults from behind the smoke.
"Damn it! These kids are already trained!"
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
Fenrius and his friends seemed to have executed the strategy well, and now only five soldiers remained who had not been disabled. Camus' hoarse scream roused the spirits of the others, and they slowly advanced while the soldiers could only retreat and be further suppressed.
"For Yaevin!!" Camus desperately lunged forward, but a sword slash almost hit his head. Fenrius blocked it just in time, and Luca slashed the soldier's ankle, causing him to fall to the ground. This was Luca's chance to finish him off, but Fenrius pushed him away just as a strong slash almost hit Luca from behind. A reckless soldier charged into the crowd.
"Surround that soldier!" shouted Fenrius.
The group followed the captain's orders and charged at the remaining soldier with their swords and bats. Kagari put down her bow, took out a dagger from her pocket, and joined the fray, shouting "For Yaevin!!"
Enraged, they slashed and beat the soldier to death. Three soldiers left. Fenrius took on one soldier in single combat, leaving the rest to his comrades. This encounter reminded him of his time in prison against Lieutenant Jack. He held a club, moving fast while the soldiers' movement would be limited due to their heavy armor.
The soldier yelled in frustration, "Where is he? Where is he?!"
Fenrius grabbed hold of the soldier's feet, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Fenrius raised his club with both hands, took a strong stance, and slammed it into the soldier's head until he fainted instantly.
Fenrius looked back and asked, "Is everything over?"
It appeared that the others had successfully defeated the two soldiers, leaving one vulnerable and crippled soldier for interrogation. The wounded soldier slid all the way to the front of the fallen wagon and leaned back, trying to catch his breath. Dale gasped as if he couldn't believe what he and his friends had done. Unexpectedly, Fenrius' plan had gone perfectly.
The disbelieving soldier asked, "How can you brats use swords and bows?!"
Fenrius replied as he approached him, "That's because we were born for this."
Camus, who was still angry, twirled his club as he prepared to strike the soldier. He shouted, "If you want to live, tell us what you did to Yaevin! Now!"
The soldier retorted harshly, "What do you mean?! Who is Yaevin?!"
"Don't pretend like a fool!" shouted Camus. "You've done something terrible to him! You soldiers can't possibly understand the years of suffering we've endured! You were the first to kill our friend, so we're merely repaying the favor!"
"You brats who don't know the cruelty of this world!" replied the soldier angrily. "Are you the only ones who do bad things by force?! If you can't bear watching your friends die, you'd all be better off as useless trash!"
Silence hung in the air after the soldier's outburst. Kagari began to cry, while Talindra tried to console her. Camus, fueled by intense emotions, tensed up and prepared to strike with his club. "You bastard!" he yelled at the mocking soldier.
"Hold on!" interrupted Fenrius, stepping in and blocking Camus with his hand.
Camus halted his swing, allowing Fenrius to approach the soldier and take hold of his club. "Don't stoop to their level," Fenrius said firmly.
A portal exploded above the wagon, startling Fenrius and the others. The soldier raised his head in stunned surprise as a red, blazing portal materialized. A hooded and masked figure emerged, exuding an air of mystery as if descending a staircase. The figure approached them with a sinister onyx aura and declared in a weighty tone, "I was the one who killed your friend, Yaevin."
"Wh-who are you?!" Fenrius asked, gripping his weapon tightly, followed by his friends.
"You're the Sorcerer from Archon!" the soldier stammered.
"The Sorcerer?" Fenrius replied, his voice filled with tension.
Fenrius remembered the words of the Dawnstrike Assassin: ("The Sorcerers are a secretive society that operates with independent kingdoms like Atria. They have many faces and have brought about the downfall of numerous empires. If you ever encounter them, flee as far as you can! Your chances of survival will hang in the balance.")
"Hoh... So these kids defeated the Atria soldiers?" the sorcerer said, raising his left hand toward the dying soldier.
"What are you doing?! Arghh!" the soldier shrieked, struggling for breath.
"Teaching these kids to kill..." the sorcerer replied sinisterly.
Evil black energy shot out from the sorcerer's palm, absorbing the rays of life from the soldier's body and reducing him to black dust grains that scattered into the air. "That's how you kill someone without mercy. If you can do it, then you must be prepared to become like him."
The sorcerer, emanating a suffocating onyx aura, advanced toward Fenrius with deliberate steps. The air grew heavy, evoking the same sensation Fenrius had felt when he stood before the hills of Gronoa. Goosebumps prickled his skin, knowing this must be one of the sorcerers the assassin had warned him about.
"Fenrius! What are we going to do?!" Dale asked frantically.
"Everyone! Run...!!!" Fenrius shouted.
Everyone's blood ran cold as they fled toward the forest to escape from the masked sorcerer. Some of the arrows that Talindra had shot were caught by the sorcerer's hands and then broken in two. Talindra threw away her bow and immediately ran away screaming.
"Run, everyone! Run!" Fenrius shouted once more.
The sorcerer, who had been pursuing Talindra, turned to Fenrius and said, "So you are the leader. Alright, you are my first target."
Fenrius turned around and lunged at the sorcerer with his sword, but the sorcerer was able to grab him by the neck with one hand in mid-air. However, the sorcerer released his grip to avoid a slash from the boy's second blade. The sorcerer glanced at the scar on his left palm, then clenched his fist and remarked, "Hmm, so you're the stubborn type, huh?"
Dale, who had stopped out of worry, called out, "Fenrius!" He wanted to join the fight.
"Don't!!!" Fenrius' scream stopped his friend's intention to help. "Go! We don't have time anymore! I will restrain this sorcerer myself! Ask the villagers for help to fight together!"
"But! You will die if—"
"I won't die!" Fenrius cut in shortly. With teary eyes, he convinced his friends, "I won't die... I promise..."
Fenrius focused his attention on the sorcerer, intending to buy his friends sometime to escape. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't land a single blow. The sorcerer, bored by Fenrius's dull attacks, simply slammed him into the ground over and over again, using only his physical strength.
Overwhelmed by the one-sided beating, Camus immediately ran toward the village, crying soundlessly. Luca, recognizing Fenrius's stubbornness, had no choice but to obey his orders and leave him behind.
Dale's blood churned; in his heart, he would never forgive Fenrius if he were to die in this place. "Remember our dream, Fenrius!" agreed Dale, following Camus and Luca.
"Fenrius, wait for us! We will bring help from the village!" said Talindra, who also followed Dale, Camus, and Luca.
Finally, the red-haired girl, Kagari, sobbed in tears. She didn't want to disturb Fenrius, who was fighting and could only look at the boy's back in silence. Then, she ran after her friends, leaving Fenrius alone.
Fenrius lost his cool and grabbed the sorcerer's arm, but his blade only sliced through the air as the sorcerer's body dissolved into molecules. He muttered, ("Illusion?")
Glancing around, Fenrius saw no sign of the sorcerer, but his instincts told him to keep moving. He narrowly avoided an ambush from behind by his unseen enemy. The sorcerer extended his palm toward the boy and clenched it, rendering Fenrius immobile.
"It's useless to fight," the sorcerer said. "Before you die, I want to ask you something. Do you think your friends in the village will be safe?"
Fenrius' veins were pulsing visibly, a sign of his struggle to break free from the sorcerer's magic. His muscles and ligaments were constricted, making it difficult for him to breathe and move. This was his first time facing a sorcerer of such great strength, and he was at a loss for what to do. He tried to think of a plan to escape, but he couldn't come up with anything.
"Hey! Answer me, you stupid brat!" the sorcerer demanded impatiently.
The sorcerer loosened his grip slightly, allowing Fenrius to catch his breath and speak. Fenrius still didn't want to speak, so the sorcerer blasted him with a gust of wind, sending him flying backward and crashing into a tree. Fenrius gasped for air as he sat up and watched the sorcerer approach him.
"Let me tell you something, naive boy," the sorcerer said. "There is no such thing as compassion in this world. Do you still believe those people will save you useless brats?"
"Yes," Fenrius replied, hoping his friends had reached the village. "I believe in them. We have done a lot for those people, and I'm certain they will come to our aid."
The sorcerer chuckled at Fenrius' words. "You truly are an innocent boy. Don't worry, you will soon join your friends in a peaceful afterlife."
The sorcerer's hand now glowed with evil black energy, indicating that he was no longer playing around. Fenrius slowly stood up, limped over to a nearby tree, and hid behind it, making it difficult for the sorcerer to aim.
"Give in to fate. No one will save you," the sorcerer taunted.
Despite the pain in his body, Fenrius slowly began to adjust to it. He had endured worse pain before. His footsteps quickened gradually, and soon he was sprinting through the forest. The sorcerer was surprised to see that the boy still had so much stamina, and he began to chase after him. To Fenrius, it felt like a miracle that he could keep up with his pursuer in his current condition.
("Wait for me there, Dale, Luca, Camus, Talindra, Kagari!") Fenrius shouted in his heart, hoping his friends would hear him.
The sorcerer chased Fenrius deeper into the forest, making it difficult for him to aim his magic at the boy. Fenrius kept running, his eyes fixed on the darkness ahead of him. The sound of breaking branches told him that the sorcerer was getting closer. Fenrius hoped that some light would come from the village soon to help him. He cursed under his breath, wondering how much longer he could keep running. It seemed like the chase would never end.
After giving Fenrius a fierce glare, the sorcerer vanished into thin air, and the evil aura faded away. Fenrius realized that the sorcerer must have used some form of teleportation ability to move swiftly, but he didn't let that discourage him from reaching his destination.
A few seconds later, the sorcerer's voice echoed through the darkness of the forest. "However, it's useless. You will never be able to escape your fate. The more you run, the closer it will come."
As the sorcerer's voice faded away, Fenrius caught sight of a light shining in the distance, a ray of hope emanating from the village of Nightville. Relief washed over him as he realized that the villagers must have been preparing to join him in the fight.