—Imperial Year 980, Winter 16th—

     It was a silent night. The cool breeze of wind continued to sigh at the forest as the night fell deeper. It was at the middle of winter and the trees are coated in white, it's leaves covered with snow. The forest was lit by the moonlight, making the visibility brighter. 

 The forest was indeed quite. The only noise that can be heard at the forest was the howling sounds of predators hunting for their prey, other sounds produced by nocturnal animals and the clacking noises of a single carriage being pulled by two large white horses. The carriage was elegant and is decorated with obviously expensive materials such as gold and silver. It was obvious that the ones inside it is of high status. The driver seems to be on edge as he recklessly traversed the rough terrain. Indeed, they're in a dire situation as there are riders pursuing them. The ones trailing behind them are seasoned soldiers mounted at warhorses, each one was wearing the same crimson black armor and is holding each of their respectable weapons. The chase continued but the distance aren't closing, as each of them moved at almost the same pace.

Impatient and irritated due to the accumulated stress while they are in their pursuit, the leader of the men riding the horses ordered his men to fire arrows at the carriage. Four of them which is armed with short bows, nocked an arrow at the same time and fired simultaneously at their target. It only took a few seconds before the arrows impaled the back of the carriage, since the distance between them wasn't that far.

Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud*

*Shriek

One of it's passengers was startled by it. There are five person inside the carriage excluding the driver, two men, two women and a newborn baby. Continuous barrage of arrows continued to rain down on them as they're traversing the bumpy terrain in the moon lit snowy forest.

"Don't worry, Serene. We'll get out of this together. Just hold it in for now, 'kay?" A fine looking man with a wavy black hair wearing a noble suit reassured.

"Uhm. Sorry for making you worry, dear." A beautiful grey haired girl with amber colored eyes named Serene, held the baby in a special clothing carefully and gazed at it affectionately. 

The man nodded saying that it's okay and faced the back door, where the two of his retainers resides. "How many of them are there?" he asked.

"About ten men on horse back, including their leader, Milord."

"Let them chase us for awhile, we'll engage once we got past at this forest."

"If I may, I think it'll be better if I'll hold them back and stall some time, Milord," the man that looked like he's still full of vitality even though he's nearing the age of 60 suggested while his hands holding tightly at his sheathed broadsword. 

'Reckless as ever, I see.' The fine young man thought.

"This isn't the time to act recklessly, old man. You know what'll happen if do, don't you?" A red haired female wearing a white dress with yellowish patterns, covered in black robe, calmly responded.

"You shut your mouth, Quilla. Pardon my words, Milord," the warrior named Trevor bowed at the man in front of him, but still carries the same determination as before, litting his fiery red eyes.

"She was right. I will not allow you to act recklessly. For now, let's have Quilla take care of it," the young man responded calmly.

"Much appreciated, sir." Quilla prepared her staff and aimed at the backdoor of the carriage.

"Open the door as soon as I finish casting, Trevor!" Quilla said as she began her chant. While casting, a small ball of fire appeared at the tip of her staff, gradually getting bigger and bigger.

"Heis del revt.....Firae!" The fireball burst forth and before it hit the door, Trevor opened it at the last second. The ball of fire enveloped one of the soldiers who was directly riding behind them, causing him to fall immediately after contact. The one behind him was caught by the stray fire too, leaving him screaming in pain while riding on horseback. One of the soldiers pierced his ally to end his suffering, or perhaps to stop the fire from spreading. An arrow almost hit Quilla while at the process.

Quilla panted in relief. Huff* huff* "That was close~"

"We must take down their archers first, Quilla, can you cast a magic bow for me?" he asked.

"I can, sir, but what will you do about the arrows? I can't create arrows anymore since I'll be using my last remaining bit of my mana for the bow."

They'd been fighting non-stop for the past few days which rendered her weak and exhausted, aside from the tingering hunger and thirst she's experiencing at the very moment. They'd only managed until now only because of the rejuvenation vials they had. But that's not an option now, since there's no single vials are left. 

She knew that if she created a bow now, she'll be rendered useless since a mage with a drained mana pool was as good as an impaled soldier waiting for his death. The nobleman knew this as well but he still chose to use Quilla's remaining mana for the bow.

"Don't worry about that, let's have Trevor take care of it." he looked intently at the middle aged knight.

Years of fighting together developed a strong bond between the two of them, to the point that one will know what he'll do just by making an eye contact with their said partner, but at Trevor's weakened state right now, he's not sharp as ever as he only stared at the man, mouth agape.

"I'm afraid I cannot follow through your intentions, Milord."

The man explained what's on his mind. He needed Trevor to go outside and gather few of the arrows that is impaled on the back door, which is a little risky even for Trevor.

Since Trevor has been in more life threatening situations before, that much was not enough to make him back down. The plan was about to be carried out. As soon as he opened the door, he immediately positioned his thick right arm at the side of his head, serving as a shield while his left hand gathered as much arrow as he can. The archers responded quickly and he got hit by two arrows while doing so. One at his right leg and one at his right arm.

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"Humph!" Trevor harrumphed.

"As expected of Trevor. I'm sorry for assigning you this task," the man said sincerely.

"I'm happy as long as I can be of purpose, Milord," Trevor handed three of the arrows he managed to grab during the process.

"As for the bow, Quilla..."

Quilla spread her arms slightly, a light forming between them. She conjured a magical bow using her raw mana and solidifying it at the process which needs high concentration and great handling of mana. She managed to create it flawlessly, since she was a high ranked mage.

"This will do. Rest and replenish some of your mana now." he took the bow and nocked three arrows.

If Quilla and Trevor didn't witnessed this man's skill first hand, they must've questioned him as to why he's firing three arrows at once. But they know very well, that when it comes to bow and rapier handling, the man in front of them was second to none.

Their chasers seems like they've stopped firing for awhile, since they can't penetrate the carriage. The distance gap was the same as ever. Trevor opened the door, which took their enemies by surprise. The enemy archers immediately nocked an arrow and aimed at them. But as soon as they release their grip at the bowstring, an arrow pierced their throats open. Three of the horses all stopped at once since they noticed their rider was dead. They're traversing a rough terrain which aiming with a bow makes it hard and complicated, but despite the situation, Bayron took down three of their archers at the same time. Finding the ones armed with a bow, analyzing each of their position, calculating the arrow's trajectory, aiming and firing precisely, all of these was executed perfectly by him in a short notice of time. Only four melee warriors and one archer are left.

"Damnit! Catch up to their pace! No matter what!" their leader was frustrated at the loss of his comrades.

"Milady! We are closing at the forest's exit now, and there are foot soldiers blocking the path!" the driver said.

Serene was worried as she tighten her hold at the baby.

"Trevor." Serene said with absolute authority.

"On your command, Milady!"  

"It's for the best if you take them down immediately, both in the front and the ba-"

"I think so too. Trevor, I'm leaving the front to you, I'll take care at the back," the man interrupted, holding his lightweight silver rapier. 

"Dear-"

"I'll be fine, Serene. Don't you trust your husband?" He looked at his wife, his azure eyes brimming with valor, a smile of confidence written at his face. He will face the remaining pursuers at their back to prevent the possibility of them  being cornered. 

Quilla couldn't do anything but to replenish her drained mana. The 

man jumped out of the still moving carriage, landed flawlessly and took on a offensive stance after unsheathing his light silver rapier.

The carriage was now close at the foot soldiers. Their formation was tight, making it hard to break through. Each one was wearing heavy plate armors, carrying a large shield and is accompanied by long piercing spears. There are at least twelve of them, six at both the front and the back.

"Heuuuuuuppp!" the driver grunted as he put a halt at their pace. The carriage that was carried by the momentum, was now a few meters away from the soldiers. Trevor, who leapt and landed with a loud thud, immediately charged.

Trevor unsheathed his large broadsword.

Holding the hilt of his large broadsword at his side, Trevor was ready to swing at any moment. Since the attack reach of his enemies are greater than his, he has no choice but to parry the incoming attacks first. As he anticipated, four of the soldiers all thrusted at him at once. Stepping forward and putting all of his force at his large broadsword, he swung vertically at the perfect timing and parried almost all of them, even breaking some of the spearhead's while at it except at his right side. One of them managed to land a thrust at Trevor's right chest. But it was shallow due to his platemail and only caused light bleeding.

After receiving one of the enemies attacks, his stance which was on the defensive before, immediately switched to offensive. He's ready to slash again. Only a second has passed after he's at a defensive stance and is now immediately on the offensive.

"Gruaaaaaaaa!" Trevor let out his war cry while stomping his left foot forward as he mightily swung his broadsword with all of his body weight on it. The broadsword's edge was blazing with blue flame. Six of the soldiers at the front line took the blow head-on with their iron shields thinking it'll be enough to block their enemy's desperate looking swing. Unfortunately for them, Trevor's sharp broadsword packed with his brute strength and is empowered by his mana, sliced them like butter despite being heavily armoured. With one slash, six of them dropped dead with their body cut in halves. The remaining six at the back flinched, scared and surprised at the scene they just witnessed at front of them. They're battle veterans and fought for many years, but this scene was new to them.

The man that looked like their leader pointed at Trevor. "Attack at once!" he yelled, veins that seems like they're about to pop at any second visible at his neck. Surprised by the sudden order, all of them dropped their shields and focused on handling their spears two handedly. Excluding the one who gave order, five of them charged at once. Their leader took that opportunity and ran for his life while his subordinates charged to their own graves.

Several cries resonated as they charged like a madman.

The five of them didn't notice that they're rushing head-on to their own death. With a sigh, Trevor swung his broadsword just like before, and it sliced their torso's easier since they've abandoned their shields. 

"What kind of leader will order his men to their deaths just to save his own skin?" Trevor was disappointed. He wanted to chase that scum of a leader so badly, but that's not his priority right now. 

"Good job, Trevor," a man holding a bloodied rapier, said. His fancy looking suit splattered with blood and dirt. But it's obvious that those are from the men before, not from him. 

"Monstrous as always, huh. " Trevor said with a sigh. It looks like their pursuers at the back are handled well.

"Heh. You must've seen our lord while he took them all down elegantly as soon as they got off at their mount."

Quilla said with a smug grin on her face. She adorned Bayron a lot, she didn't even laid a single glance at Trevor's fight. She just indirectly said that the man didn't even gave them the opportunity to properly took their battle stances and is defeated immediately after that. 

"I've wanted to fight them the old fashioned way but I've got no other choice. Ahaha."  He lightly scratched his cheek with his point finger and is a little embarrassed. But the blood all over his face didn't quite match his 'cute' act. 

 "Anyway, now that the path is clear, let's pick up our pace. I've got a few horses to add more speed at our carriage mounts."

Trevor looked at their carriage. At the front, aside from the two original horses that carried them all along, there are other four of it attached in the front. "But, aren't those...warhorses, Milord? I don't think it's a good id-" 

"Who do ya think I am, young'un? I can handle them horses," the driver of the carriage declared confidently as he patted his chest, satisfied at his own capability. "Hop on. We must leave before the winter gnolls feast on the corpses scattered around."

'Hmph. I can take them all down anyway' Trevor grimbled as he entered the carriage.

They all boarded and once again, continued their travel. Inside the carriage was the wounded Trevor, mana exhausted Quilla and the blood filled man. Now that their pursuers are gone, they all took their rest except Serene.

"Fufu. It's hard, isn't it?" Serene looked affectionately at her son while caressing it's soft cheeks.

"Just endure it a little bit more, okay? We'll arrive at the border soon and everything will be over." She patted the child's head lightly and stared at the masterfully crafted ring on her palm. She has a gut feeling that this won't just end here. Looking at the side window, she gazed at the star filled sky. The cosmic above was truly beautiful, magnificent, even.

"What a  beautiful constellation...huh-?" she muttered absentmindedly, completely mesmerized at the sight while softly humming a lullaby when- 

"Milady! Watch ou-!?"

*Boom!

....

Not far away from the completely burned carriage, Serene delicately engraved 'Grey' on the ring using her mana.

'I would've never thought that this spell will become useful one day.'  Serene thought. 

After chanting a spell on the ring, she put it on the necklace and hid it inside her son's clothing.

With tear filled eyes, full of complex emotions, she kissed her child on it's cheek one last time. "Live peace...fully...Greyrion van El..." 

...