The carriage rushed ahead without pause for half a day.
Together with the sun speeding across the sky, the horizon slowly welcomed dusk, and faint moonlight and the sparkle of stars began to appear in the heavens.
The horses, evidently fatigued, had slowed to a crawl, a stark contrast to the speed they had maintained since they had first left the city.
“It’s about time we search for a suitable place to camp.”
Rex, the Orc at the forefront of the group who was leading the soldiers, decided that the horses needed rest and the soldiers, too, could take a brief respite for slumber. He momentarily halted his position.
Even if they traveled day and night, it would take three days to reach the capital from Stradurs.
Rex’s elite troops, well-trained sentries of Stradurs, wouldn’t have severe combat impairments from a three-day period without sleep, but their horses required periodic rest and sleep to run optimally.
“Feed the horses and take a break.”
“Aye!”
“Understood!”
As the camp area began to bustle with activity, the masked thief, Baldur, silently alighted from the carriage.
“…”
“Search the area for a proper campsite.”
After hearing Rex’s instructions, Baldur lightly nodded and, like a dissolving mist, disappeared from the spot instantly.
The current location of the group was in the very heart of a dense forest.
Here, surrounded by massive and thick ancient trees, setting camp could leave them vulnerable to surprise attacks from creatures creeping through the trees and bushes.
Therefore, the soldiers, having dismounted their horses, drew their weapons and vigilantly guarded the perimeter.
The boy, inside the carriage, observed their sharp blades and armor glittering faintly under the moonlight and felt secure.
They were not the regular Stradurs city guards but genuine elite operatives sent from the capital.
Each was no doubt above Level 20, and especially the Orc hero leading this platoon, Rex, was over Level 40.
The monsters in this area around the road were mostly abandoned mutants by the Marauders, deemed ‘failures’, or merely lost wild dogs—mere Level 1 or 2 creatures.
Hence, it was almost impossible for this detachment to encounter an enemy that could be a threat here.
‘If we carry on like this for two more days, we’ll reach the capital…’
The boy watched absentmindedly as Rex tenderly stroked his komodo and contemplated future plans with ease.
“The most perilous section has been passed with the help of these high-leveled guards, it seems we’re bound to safely reach the capital. Once we get there, the places I need to visit are…”
Carddeck!
Amidst the boy’s unhurried planning, an ominous scene unfolded as red liquid blossomed like petals in the corner of his vision.
The focus, which had been on Rex and his seemingly mismatched, yet affectionate komodo, shifted abruptly.
His eyes refocused on the crimson drops blooming in the corner of his vision, where a soldier pierced through the neck by an arrow was slowly collapsing to the ground.
“…”
Time seemed to slow down.
A heavy silence fell suddenly over the soldiers.
The acrid smell of blood, reminiscent of the Stradurs massacre, stung the boy’s nostrils once more.
The lifeless body painted with crimson collapsed onto the ground.
Kahang!
Steel armors clashing made an ear-piercing noise, followed by the soldiers shouting frantically.
“There’s an ambush from the east!”
“Arrows imbued with mana!”
“The enemy’s exact position is unclear!”
Despite the sudden attack, the well-trained soldiers efficiently relayed the fragments of information they had collected to their commander with brevity.
“Damn it, Baldur! Where is Baldur?”
Rex called out for Baldur, the thief cloaked in his full-body mask.
“…”
“Here, I’m here.”
Behind Rex, holding his axe, Baldur emerged. His entire body was drenched in blood.
He had sustained three wounds on his abdomen, and a large spear was lodged in his back.
The wounds were undeniably infected with a potent poison.
His flesh was turning green and blue, and blood tears streamed down his face.
“It’s a Marauder ambush. There are about a hundred mutated beings, not many in number, but…”
“…What the hell. Medic! Medic, get over here immediately…”
Rex swung his massive body toward the lineup, crying out loudly in desperation.
Baldur, grabbing Rex’s arm with his trembling hand, shouted despite blood spurting out.
“Don’t cut me off, Rex… Prioritizing the information passing is crucial.”
Baldur removed his blood-soaked mask as he spoke, struggling to relay the information accurately due to his paralysis from the poison.
The face scarred with old wounds and scars from burns became visible as the mask was cast aside.
“All the mutated beings… They possess sentience and know how to wield weapons. Not just brute attacks… Precise archery and spear skills…”
Baldur’s voice gradually faded.
Though on the brink of death, Baldur deemed transmitting information to Rex far more important than surviving.
“Weapons…?”
Rex frowned, incredulous at Baldur’s words.
Mutated beings with remaining sentience are occasionally discovered. Marauders leave this sentience intact to create hesitation in warrior mutants they face.
However, these mutants merely utter the same strings of words mechanically, unable to think deeply like other sentient beings.
They were like puppets controlled by the flick of a Marauder’s hand, equipped with only a speaking function.
Most mutants cannot wield weapons. They can barely clench or unclench their fists on their own, let alone demonstrate delicate sword or spear skills.
“Run, Rex…”
Nevertheless, Baldur insisted mutants were capable of wielding weapons, despite Rex’s disbelieving expression.
And with final words urging Rex to flee, Baldur, the thief with old scars and streaked scars, collapsed onto the ground, exhaling his final breath.
“…”
The solemn last words of his fallen comrade and a mana-infused arrow aimed at his subordinates left little time for Rex to process and decide.
“All troops! Mount your horses immediately! We break through the forest to the north!”
“…What’s this…”
Perched inside the carriage, the boy was shocked seeing the battlefield suddenly drenched in blood.
Weapons-wielding mutants? Mana-infused arrows?
Something was clearly wrong.
Mutants wielding weapons were supposed to be top-tier monsters found in the final stages of the game, not in this early stage area on the way to the capital.
“Get down!”
Herrion, grabbing the boy’s shoulder while he furiously calculated the situation, pulled him down to the carriage floor.
Hooom!
An arrow struck the carriage wall, predictably coated with a deadly poison.
The cold fear of death.
Though countless arrows flew with it, the boy’s mind did not stop thinking.
His breathing did not constrict and his senses did not blur.
He was focused and calculated, assessing the surrounding situation and seeking the best solutions.
“Magician, contact the headquarters immediately! A Grand Marshal has appeared!”
“Wh-what? A Grand…what?!”
Herrion, crouched on the floor of the carriage, questioned in disbelief, clearly unable to grasp the situation with the same level of composure as the boy.
“It’s a Grand Marshal! Only a Grand Marshal among the Marauders can create mutants capable of using weapons! We can’t handle this without help. Hurry! Time is pressing!”
“AAAAAH!”
As the boy explained the situation to Herrion, another scream filled the air.
A horse carrying a soldier galloping ahead fell after being struck by an arrow barrage flying from within the forest.
As a result, a soldier clad in steel armor was thrown and tumbled out of the ranks.
“Wait, wait!”
The soldier who fell off the horse shouted frantically at his retreating comrades.
“Commander! Felix is…”
At that moment, someone from the ranks noticed the fallen ally and started to inform the leading Rex.
Hooom!
In an instant, a dark greatsword wielded by a humanoid mutant cleanly severed the head of the fallen soldier Felix.
“…”
The soldier recognizing his comrade’s death did not utter a word.
Dul-kung, Dul-kung!
Terrified by instinctive fear, the horses pulling the carriage violently thrashed their legs.
The boy tightly gripped the corner of the carriage with his non-broken arm to avoid being flung out.
Herrion, the magician who had been crouched next to the boy, pulled out a crystal orb concealed in his robe and began chanting a spell.
The boy, amidst the cacophony of the wobbly carriage and the soldiers’ desperate curses, failed to hear the faint spell chanted by Herrion.
“I can’t reach the base! It seems some kind of mana-blocking interference is spreading around…”
After wrestling with the crystal orb for a while, Herrion spoke in a trembling voice. Despair deeply pervaded in his mind, much like the other soldiers.
“Damn…”
It was a situation where swearing was inevitable.
For some unknown reason, it appeared that the Grand Marshal had meticulously planned to exterminate them at this location.
‘Foes at this level can’t be defeated with simple blooming strength. A Grand Marshal’s level, even estimated at the lowest, is roughly 80.’
Rex, the Orc hero at the forefront of the battlefield trying to break through, was no match for a Grand Marshal. Their level difference was more than double.
Furthermore, the actual power difference wasn’t double but more like multiples. Even ten Rexes wouldn’t be able to scratch a Grand Marshal.
The boy clenched his teeth and concluded his thoughts.
“Mana-blocking interference? I’ll try to do something about it! So…”
Udtang!
Before he could finish his sentence, the carriage he and Herrion were in suddenly soared upwards.
The world’s time seemed to slow down once again.
As the carriage toppled, the leg of the horse that was crushed under it passed through the corner of the boy’s vision.
The faint moonlight reflected on the arrows flying toward the boy illuminated his face.
Herrion, who had soared high into the sky with the boy, urgently began deploying a protective barrier using the crystal orb.
‘Death’
The cold two words once again crossed the boy’s mind.
The boy’s body was extremely fragile, where even a simple fall could break an arm.
What would happen if such a fragile body experienced a catastrophic crash from a galloping carriage?
It was evident – all the bones would break, and every internal organ would burst.
The scythe of death was already resting upon his shoulder.
“Blooming.”
Hence, there was no room for hesitation.
With a single word, a massive bolt surged down under the clear moonlight.
The flying numerous arrows hit the bolt and turned instantly into white ash. A massive fire spread around, engulfing the dense surrounding trees.
“…”
Herrion, who had managed to preserve his body from the shock, stared dumbfounded at the giant lightning bolt that had fallen before him and the boy standing unperturbed after absorbing the strike.
Hooom!
The sound of splitting wind chilled Rex’s eardrums.
As if waiting for this exact moment, countless arrows flew directly toward the boy, their sharp tips aimed precisely.
Pahsook…
However, they could not even scratch the boy, simply vanishing without leaving any mark.
The electrical discharge from the boy’s body reduced everything to white ash.
White powder clouded the boy’s surroundings, obstructing the view.
“Try to re-establish contact with the main base. The interference magic was likely destroyed with the first bolt.”
“A… Ah, yes!”
The magician, clad in a red robe, quickly infused his crystal orb with mana.
Fortunately, the orb functioned properly. The mud-covered orb emitted a red light and began transmitting the voice of the headquarters’ communication mage.
―Ah, ah. Communication security… communication b…
“Emergency request for reinforcements from squad six of the 1st Infantry Division of the Capital Guard, 4-circle Mage Herrion Kriatis! Our current coordinates are 07―11.36!”
Herrion urgently requested reinforcements from the headquarters, not bothered by any trivial communication security procedures.
―Ur… what’s the situation? Could you briefly explain…
“Mutated beings capable of wielding weapons have appeared! The Grand Marshal has seemingly emerged for some unknown reason! Emergency assistance needed…”
Interrupting the support soldier and quickly explaining the current situation,
Hooom!
An arrow imbued with mana flew towards Herrion’s side as he spoke, spitting saliva onto the crystal orb.
Realizing that arrows would not harm the boy, the mutants had shifted their strategy to eliminate the communicator.
Tac!
The boy, seeing it, flicked his fingers towards the arrow’s direction, discharging a thin streak of lightning.
The electric charge, moving at 100,000 km/s, met the arrow flying towards the magician, immediately transforming into a massive bolt that incinerated the nearby forest.
“Communication with headquarters established! Reinforcements are on the way to current position!”
Meanwhile, upon finishing the communication, Herrion loudly announced, projecting a surprisingly loud voice from his frail throat.
“Even if the headquarters are far away, we’re all doomed before reinforcements arrive. Quickly get onto my komodo!”
Herrion’s cry was followed by a silver-armored member rushing over and shouting.
“Did you transmit the situation clearly?”
Unlike the shouting soldier, Rex calmly asked Herrion.
“Yes! I definitely transmitted that weapon-wielding mutants have appeared… and the Grand Marshal too!”
“What… the Grand Marshal? Has it really appeared?”
The soldiers, having belatedly organized the ranks and comprehending the situation, stared at their surroundings with pale faces filled with growing dread. Their despair and fear deepened more.
“Damn it… that monster, which had left no clue for 3 years, why does it appear just now…!”
“Estellassia, have mercy on us. Please!”
To the drowning-in-despair comrades, Herrion cried out loudly once again.
“It’s the Grand Marshal who has appeared after three years…! That One will certainly not miss this opportunity! Delay is all we need. As I’ve already given the coordinates to That One, we must not leave this place, Rex!”
Rex, having halted his komodo, began to rapidly think through his massive brain inside his large head.
‘Certainly, when the news of the Grand Marshal’s appearance reaches the headquarters, That One will definitely come to support us.’
The question was whether his platoon could hold out against these mutants until reinforcements arrived.
Facing off against these monsters here or continuing to move on horseback and komodo – which of the two had a higher survival rate?
Rex continuously weighed the options in his mind.
‘Even if That One arrives as quickly as possible, it would still take at least 3 minutes from the capital to here.’
“Could we hold out? For 3 minutes? With our current squad’s condition?”
Rex’s platoon was sufficiently well-trained to handle ordinary Marauders and their mutants but were woefully inadequate against the Grand Marshal and the mutants.
They were a different breed altogether.
Even if Rex committed his life and fought, it was questionable whether he could properly defeat a single one of the Grand Marshall’s mutants, let alone his platoon members.
They would undoubtedly be swept away like falling leaves.
‘…However’
Kang!
Behind the red-robed Herrion lying flat on the ground, another massive lightning bolt struck down.
The boy with white hair was incinerating the entire surrounding forest without changing his expression or flinching, as though it was all nothing more than trivial matters.
Rex saw a ray of hope in the boy’s act of burning the entire forest.
The light was extremely bright. It was like lighting in itself.
‘…If this boy fights alongside us, it’s not an entirely impossible story.’
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Rex descended from his komodo, wielding his heavy battle axe.
The time for resistance had begun.
