“Ugh.”
Barsabe groaned, clutching her side with her right hand. Everything was sticky and wet from sweat, blood, and the relentlessly falling rain.
She wrung out the blood-soaked upper body. Even when she tried to perform first aid with mana, she had used the doppelganger technique for too long to shake off the pursuers. With no strength left, this was no different from an ordinary person’s body.
Barsabe curled up, enduring the pain.
‘I wonder if the idiot did well. Ah, this really hurts so much.’
The place she was hiding in was the corner of an abandoned warehouse. Tap tap, the sound of rain hitting the roof was particularly loud. To Barsabe, it sounded like the footsteps she had been making a few hours ago. That one step she had taken with all her might to live.
Tap tap!
She lured four squads of armor to the outskirts and escaped. If she had a little more ability, she would have sent the doppelganger in the opposite direction to create confusion over a wide area. But reality was not easy, and Barsabe, her doppelganger, and the armors continued the chase and escape, maintaining a constant distance.
But at so point, sothing felt strange. Rather than a chase for slaughter, it felt like they were luring and driving her. As if they hoped she would take a different path.
‘I don’t consider it a mistake.’
In a situation where she didn’t know what had happened to the Imperial Palace. Whether to run away and protect herself or take the path they were wary of, Barsabe made a choice at the crossroads. To aim for the enemy’s vital point, she had to get that close. The price was a body so battered that she couldn’t move.
Swish.
She looked down at her left hand, which had no strength. Her father Petreio’s ring was on it.
Until recently, she couldn’t understand her father’s determination to commit suicide leaving her behind, but now she felt like she understood a little. A life that embraces death for the sake of struggle. That is the life of a knight.
She kissed the ring and steeled herself.
‘Let’s endure a little longer. When the sun rises, people will co. If the corpse has been found, the Imperial Guard family will also co. It’s okay.’
Chatur. A region where handcrafted factories are densely located, and goods to be distributed to the center are stored. There were prominent clients such as large manufacturing guilds, rchants, and blacksmiths, but small groups also ford a community in line with the characteristics of the district.
One of them must have roots in Hayman.
‘There is no Hayman Bank here. Nevertheless, the people in District 3 didn’t find it strange to see the Black Armor. It ans they must have been seen here often, and given the regional characteristics, it is related to the manufacture of the Black Armor.’
It is likely to be a place where materials are stored. Even better if it’s not the Black Armor. Because it reveals another variable that Hayman is hiding.
Barsabe kept repeating the best-case scenario.
The corpse disguised as her is quickly discovered, and the Imperial Palace uses this to conduct an investigation nearby. Thus, identifying the base and confiscating the supplies. All of that is carried out, and her survival is officially confird.
“Hey, did you check here too?”
“No. Not yet over there.”
“You go right first. I’ll go.”
“This way! Move this way!”
Splash splash!
Then, faint sounds of people could be heard from afar. The sound of those chasing her. It seems the corpse hasn’t been discovered yet.
She curled up even tighter and held her breath. The night gets colder as it gets deeper. As her breath faintly leaked out, Barsabe closed her eyes altogether.
‘Damn it.’
Creak.
Pass by, pass by, she prayed like chanting a spell, but to no avail. The warehouse door opened indifferently, and light entered. It was the light of the lanterns held by the pursuers. They quickly looked around and roughly scattered the stored items.
Thud! Boom!
“Be careful. It’ll be troubleso if it breaks.”
“Yeah. Right.”
Barsabe was so tense that she felt nauseous. It felt like all her senses were on edge. Perhaps to rember her last monts. Fortunately, the pursuers turned their backs without much gain.
“Doesn’t seem to be here.”
“But is she really here?”
“I don’t know. According to the knights, they lost track of her nearby, and well, Annie hasn’t co back. We have no choice but to be suspicious.”
“Such a hassle, really. Co on. Let’s go to the next warehouse.”
“Since there’s no place with intact limbs, she’ll be stuck sowhere.”
Annie. It must be the na of the woman Barsabe had taken care of. She was the one who attacked her as soon as they encountered each other in District 3.
She bit her lip and listened intently. The footsteps were going outside. The mont they were about to leave the warehouse.
“Wait.”
A man raised his hand. And slightly, he turned back along with his foot. A faint mix of red. She thought it might be a color reflected by the lantern, but it didn’t seem to be.
“Lift your foot.”
“Foot? Why?”
“Any wounds?”
“None. Why all of a sudden?”
“………”
Instead of answering, the man drew his sword. He had stepped on the stain of soone who had hidden while injured. At his response, his companions were also surprised and took an attacking stance.
Shing.
A sound she had heard hundreds, thousands of tis. The eerie cry of a sword being drawn from its sheath.
Barsabe instinctively realized she had been caught. She bit her lip and opened her eyes. Now it was truly the end. Before they killed her, it was ti to show a knight’s pride one last ti. She wouldn’t die crouching. At least, she would decide her own death.
“Let’s see, is she here?”
Thud! Clang!
“No, not here. Then here?”
The pursuers swung their swords, smashing large boxes in a single blow. They then cut and stabbed cloth-wrapped objects, searching every place Barsabe could be hiding.
Swish.
Slash! Crash!
“Aaaah!”
Barsabe threw a dagger at the man who had his back turned to her. She aid for the back of his neck, but her body was uncomfortable, so she missed. The dagger cut off the man’s ear and stuck into the wall.
Barsabe took advantage of that gap and quickly ran out of the warehouse. No, she wanted to run out. She was limping heavily on one leg, so it was almost like walking.
“Ha!”
The pursuers were surprised and tried to rush out, but they laughed at the sight. With that state, isn’t she worse than a trapped rat?
“Blood! Blood!”
“Hey kid, don’t die. Just stop the bleeding.”
“Hey! One-leg! You might as well roll. That would be faster.”
They slowly followed Barsabe, scraping the ground with their swords. Apart from the sound of rain, only the sound of stepping on wet soil, laughter, and her rough groans could be heard.
It was a aningless escape, but Barsabe kept walking. Because she thought that if she resisted outside rather than inside, soone might see her. Although it was late at night, no one was visible due to the bad weather.
Splash! Splash!
“Hic, hic……”
“Too fast. Let’s go slowly!”
A flickering figure can be seen in the distance. People. They were all holding umbrellas and smoking cigarettes. For a mont, Barsabe’s eyes widened, filled with hope. Until she saw the Black Armor standing tall among the people.
Splash!
The pursuing team slashed her from behind as if mocking. Barsabe fell forward and collapsed. She clenched her fists tightly to endure the pain. They were full of dirt.
“Leave the face. The head is worth 1 gold coin. We need to confirm the identity, you know.”
“These, fucking bastards……”
“Can’t hear you? What did you say?”
Clang! Clang!
The pursuer’s sword fell perpendicularly, aiming for Barsabe’s neck. She rolled to the side and barely deflected it, and at the sa ti, the man whose ear had been torn off ran and kicked her.
“This, how dare you!”
“………”
“My ear!”
Thud! Thud!
Barsabe bit her teeth and held back her groans. She couldn’t let out her pain while being beaten by these guys. Damn Beric. It’s not easy to bite down without molars.
“Die! Die!”
Just land one last blow. Let’s take just one more with us. As Barsabe made that resolve and tightly grasped the sword hilt.
Swoosh.
Suddenly, all the lantern lights went out.
It was a night when the moon was also hidden by rain clouds. In an instant, the world seed to be dyed in darkness.
The pursuers hesitated and looked into the lanterns. The glass cover was tightly closed, but they didn’t know why it went out.
“Anyone got a light?”
“Why is this suddenly……”
Boom!
Then, with a roar, a man was rcilessly crushed. As if he had been directly hit by a teorite falling from the sky.
Barsabe narrowed her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and she couldn’t see properly.
“Wha-what!”
“Hey! Help here!”
And once more.
Boom!
A wet cloak fluttered endlessly. Barsabe unknowingly lay down and let out a sigh of relief. Tears flowed with the sigh, but she would bla it on the rainwater.
“Barsabe.”
“Ah……”
“Are you okay?”
They were her colleagues. They released their mana to the fullest, making even the scattered raindrops bend their trajectory. The man whose ear was cut off died in one blow. So brutally that even the heavy rain couldn’t wash away his blood at once.
“Ugh, eek! Hey!”
Slap! Slap!
One by one, Imperial Guards appeared from sowhere, piercing through the rain. Their expressions were not visible in the darkness, but they were relieved at Barsabe’s survival. A colleague took off his robe and threw it to Barsabe.
“Barsabe. We were looking for you.”
“Ah, everyone. Really……”
“We will die together on the battlefield. You too.”
Barsabe hugged the red cloth and lay down again. She no longer had the strength to even lift her waist. At the sudden appearance of enemies, the pursuing team shouted loudly.
“Here!”
They were calling the Black Armor. But that soon beca his last struggle, and like his colleague, his limbs were torn apart and he fell to the ground.
Swoosh.
Snap.
The Imperial Guards stood behind Barsabe and faced the Black Armor. Those who grasped the situation could be seen scattering here and there to request reinforcents. It seed that a rather big battle would take place in Chatur today.
Zzing. Zing.
It was the mana armor that had defeated Riama. The core force of the enemy that Barsabe and Beric couldn’t defeat even when working together.
The Imperial Guards endlessly released their mana and took an attacking stance. The light they emitted glowed hazily in the rain.
“We are mbers of the Imperial Guard. Are you really a knight belonging to the Hayman family? And did you make our Barsabe like this?”
Soone shouted, but the armor gave no answer. Instead, it just rushed in, swinging its fists wildly.
Boom! Crash!
As his fist plunged into the ground, a stream of water shot up. A mber grabbed Barsabe’s arm and dodged, while the others simultaneously leaped into the air and swung their swords.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Five Imperial Guards struck the armor at the sa ti. Front, back, left, right, and even the top of the head. Strength was applied simultaneously, but instead of falling, the armor only staggered. The Imperial Guards stepped back, speechless.
“What the-“
What is it made of……
The armor cracked, but the knight inside seed unhard. Everyone was about to reaffirm their stance and pour out attacks again. In the distance, Black Armors could be seen running and pounding.
A total of three squads. The ones that had been chasing Barsabe.
“Everyone!!”
Flash-!
Boom!
With a raging lightning and thunder. At the sa ti, Jeirutt’s resounding order fell from the sky. He was standing on the roof of the abandoned warehouse, pointing the tip of his sword at the armor.
“Captain!”
“From now on, the objective of the operation is changed.”
Zzing. Zing.
Jeirutt’s strength, which he only released when facing demons. An eerily dark energy swirled around him.
“Annihilation. We will annihilate the enemies without leaving any survivors.”
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