Chapter 28
Four figures dashed through the snowy mountains.
At the very rear, Lytton, who was guarding the perimeter with his sword drawn, gritted his teeth.
‘Damn it…! We’re surrounded.’
He was a knight through and through. Having reached the stage where he could read and utilize the flow of mana, he could perceive far more information than the hunters who only carried guns.
There were entities closing the perimeter right now.
Judging by their non-human nature and the ferocious quality of their mana, it was certain they were not the Caliso Wolves mentioned in the initial report.
Furthermore, there were five of them.
‘We won’t make it in time.’
They had only just entered the first valley, but Lytton knew.
Those monsters were toying with him.
It was more accurate to say they were applying pressure as if playing a game.
Now he understood.
He understood why no deaths had occurred despite the village being so heavily damaged.
And why the cross-sections of the severed wooden fences were so unnervingly clean.
‘They were Blade Wolves…!’
The enemies were high-tier monsters, Blade Wolves.
Among monsters, they were the strongest of the strong, second to none when it came to cruelty.
Tap—
Lytton came to a halt.
Sensing his change in demeanor, the hunters also stopped and looked back at him.
“Sir Knight? What is the matter?”
Lytton gave a bitter smile at the hunter’s confused question.
“Could you head to the village first?”
“Wh-what? What on earth does that mean…?”
“We’ve been surrounded by monsters.”
The hunters’ bodies shuddered.
Their eyes widened in disbelief, but they soon realized from Lytton’s grim expression that he wasn’t lying.
The reaction that followed was pure terror.
The fact that Lytton was ordering an escape rather than a confrontation meant the disparity in strength was that absolute.
Without needing to think deeply, it was clear Lytton intended to act as a decoy.
“Then what will happen to you, Sir Knight…?”
“Someone has to survive to inform the village of the situation. That’s the only way we can get reinforcements or whatever else we need.”
That wasn’t the only reason.
“Besides, the Captain and his wife are still at the cabin. How do we know the monsters that left didn’t head that way?”
Even setting aside the fact that he was their employer, Lytton wasn’t the kind of person who could throw his friend to the monsters just to save his own skin.
‘A truly troublesome friend.’
He was just like he used to be, always getting involved in dangerous affairs and making things difficult for others.
The only difference was that this time, the possibility of a miracle occurring was much lower than before.
This might very well be the end of Lytton’s eventful life.
“Th-that may be true, but…”
The hunters’ hesitation, though they were trembling, was both touching and frustrating.
Lytton thumped his armor and grinned.
“Don’t worry. You seem to have forgotten, but I’m a knight. If you mention Lytton, the rising star of Gideon, people will jump out of bed just to raise a glass.”
“Sir Knight…”
“A knight,”
Lytton added a deliberate emphasis to his voice.
“Is someone who protects the weak, fulfills their duty to their lord, and pursues honor and justice. Please don’t make me feel ashamed.”
The hunters’ spirits sank.
Already, an air of mourning permeated the group.
The tearful hunters eventually bowed their heads deeply and pressed their fists over their hearts.
“…Please stay alive. We will bring reinforcements without fail.”
“I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, sir!”
Turning away, the hunters began to sprint across the snowfield with all their might.
Lytton watched them intently until their figures shrank into tiny dots. Only then did he let out a sigh and slump his shoulders.
“Lord, that damn Captain.”
If you’re going to die, die alone.
Lytton let out a dry chuckle and turned around.
He faced the direction where he felt the presence of the monsters.
“Come out already.”
“Grrrrr…”
Immediately, five monsters with silver-gray manes emerged from between the falling snow.
They were indeed Blade Wolves.
The exceptionally long claws protruding from their paws proved it.
“You lot look terrifying.”
Or should he say hideous?
Their ferocious nature, which couldn’t be hidden by their sleek silver-gray manes, made his entire body tingle with dread.
The reason they had waited for him to separate from the hunters was obvious.
They wanted to minimize any potential injuries they might sustain.
Cunning as they were, they knew the combination of a knight and matchlock guns was dangerous.
“It won’t go the way you want.”
Whoosh!
Blue mana erupted from Lytton’s body, enveloping him.
Mana Flare.
It was the physical enhancement technique knights learned first.
“I’m taking at least one of you down with me. You need to learn to fear humans, you brutes.”
His fingertips trembled slightly as the fear of death crept in.
He intentionally raised his voice louder to hide it.
Lytton gripped his sword with both hands and faced the monsters.
In that moment, what came to mind—absurdly enough—wasn’t his family or a lover, but the face of his friend Elric, who had returned home after ten years.
‘Live a good life for my sake too.’
It was at that moment, as he took a step forward.
Shudder—
A chill ran down his spine.
Suddenly? Why?
The question bubbled up, and though he first suspected the pack of monsters, they weren’t the cause either.
Lytton was shocked.
‘They’re afraid? Those things?’
It was obvious that the monsters felt the same strange sensation that had suddenly filled the air.
Their manes stood on end like porcupine quills, their bodies were stiff, and their breathing was ragged.
“Grrr…”
Their growls no longer carried any ferocity.
It was an utterly incomprehensible situation.
After all, he couldn’t even tell where this bone-chilling sensation that froze his entire body was coming from, yet it was at a level that terrified even the monsters.
Lytton’s thoughts jumped in one direction.
‘Don’t tell me…’
Had a stronger predator arrived?
Had the master of the deep mountains emerged?
Despite the freezing weather, cold sweat trickled down his cheek.
His body began to shake for reasons unrelated to the cold.
It was then.
“Phew! I finally found you!”
A voice echoed through the space.
It was a relaxed voice that didn’t fit this tense atmosphere at all, and at the same time, it was a voice very familiar to Lytton.
Lytton’s head creaked as he turned around.
Soon, his face was filled with an expression of disbelief.
“…Captain?”
“Lytton! I’m glad I wasn’t too late!”
Elric stood there, chuckling as he caught his breath.
He was balled his fist and was lightly tapping his right knee.
“Whew, running this much used to be nothing in my prime, but getting old is scary. Or is it because of my injury?”
Seeing him spout such nonsense, it really was Elric.
The possibility of it being a ghost or a monster wearing his skin grew even slimmer.
Lytton’s mind began to churn with confusion.
“H-how…”
Why are you here?
More importantly, how did you get here?
The words got tangled in his throat.
In the end, all Lytton could do was gape like a fish.
Meanwhile, Elric approached Lytton with an even broader smile, acting as if the surrounding situation had nothing to do with him.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Lytton’s eyes darted around.
From the moment Elric appeared, the monsters had been frozen like statues, unable to show any reaction.
The implication was clear.
Elric was the source of all this.
Suddenly, Lytton felt like Elric was very far away.
No, more accurately, he was being overwhelmed by his presence.
Should he say it felt like looking up at an unreachable sky?
It was more accurate to say he felt a sense of awe at a gap so vast he couldn’t even dare to feel jealousy.
“Hmm…”
Elric chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as if troubled.
“To be honest, I rushed all the way here without thinking because I heard you were in danger. But… I’m in a bit of a difficult position.”
“Diffi… cult?”
“Yes, a difficult situation. I caused a bit of trouble over the last ten years. There are people targeting me—quite a few, actually?”
It was completely incomprehensible.
It was only a moment later that Lytton realized his intention.
Elric made a request in a serious tone.
“So, you see. Could you pretend you didn’t see what’s about to happen?”
For some reason, his voice carried a certain weight.
Lytton nodded blankly as if possessed by magic.
At that, Elric’s face became much brighter and more relaxed.
“Ah, thanks! I’ll take care of this in a jiffy!”
That was the limit of what Lytton could barely manage to understand.
What happened next was not.
Squelch—
The landscape distorted along with the sound.
The five monsters, the nearby trees, the falling snowflakes, and the wind were all severed at once.
It was a single horizontal thread of a line.
It looked like a technique that severed space itself by twisting the top and bottom in exactly opposite directions, and thus, it looked like a technique that cut through everything on that line.
There was only one reason he couldn’t be sure.
It was because he hadn’t seen the process of it happening.
All Lytton understood was the cause—his conversation with Elric—and the result—that everything in a straight line had been cut.
In his perception, Elric had done nothing but maintain eye contact with him, smiling gently from the beginning to the end of the incident.
Thud, thud, thud—
Leaving behind the chunks of meat falling to the ground after being split in half, Elric spoke with a deeper smile.
“Now, I’ll head back to the cabin, so you go to the village and tell them you took care of the monsters. Oh! We need to stage a desperate struggle, so please excuse me! I’ll just leave a few shallow wounds on your body!”
Lytton stood there, mouth agape, looking like a total fool.
The Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serialized)
