Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

The deafening sound of the carriage wheels against the packed ground mingled with the desperate neighing of the horses. Dust and blood filled the air, transforming the road into a moving battlefield.

Kael stood atop the carriage, his feet planted firmly on the wood that creaked under the insane speed. The wind whipped at his cape, but nothing shook his posture. His sword flashed as it sliced ​​through the air, repelling every enemy that dared to approach.

A figure leaped from a parallel enemy wagon, blade raised. The steel descended in a deadly arc, but Kael twisted, dodging it by the skin of his teeth. His response was swift: a precise blow that pierced the man's chest. The scream barely erupted before his body fell to the road, swallowed by the dust and the rumble of the wheels.

Behind, Amelia raised her arms tightly. The air around her trembled, freezing, and in an instant, columns of ice erupted from the ground like makeshift walls. The impact was brutal: two enemy wagons crashed into the glowing barrier, shattering into shards of wood, iron, and flesh. The sound of crunching bones echoed in the air before being swallowed by the rush.

"This will only slow them down a few!" Amelia shouted, panting, beads of sweat dripping down from the chill emanating from her.

Other pursuers emerged from the hills. Screams, blades raised, eyes hungry. The dust enveloped them like a cloak, turning them into multiplying shadows.

Inside the carriage, the chaos was no less. Sylphie's hand glowed with energy, forming small shields of light that sealed cracks in the wood, while Irelia stood, sword drawn, blade ready for anyone who tried to open the door.

"They won't stop!" Sylphie screamed, holding on tight, her green eyes wide with fear and adrenaline.

"Then let them try!" Irelia replied firmly, the tip of her sword trembling with the frantic movement of the carriage. "Anyone who touches this door, I'll cut them in half!"

The princess remained seated, her hands clenched in the fabric of her dress, but her expression was unsettlingly serene.

"They won't stop until they succeed," she said in a low but audible voice. "No matter how many fall."

Irelia stared at her for a moment. "You speak as if you already know who they are."

The princess looked away, without responding.

The coachman, outside, whipped the horses without hesitation. Sweat dripped from his forehead, mixed with the dust.

"They're surrounding us!" she shouted, her panic evident. "If we don't make room, they'll crush us from all sides!"

Kael quickly looked around. Three wagons were coming from the flanks, trying to block the passage. Soldiers appeared, leaping to the ground and rushing toward the wagon like wolves.

"Amelia!" Kael bellowed from above. "Right flank! Now!"

She raised her hands without thinking, the ground answering her call. Ice spikes shot from the ground, piercing wheels and legs. Screams rent the air as men were impaled, pinned like dolls on crystal stakes.

However, from the left flank, a wagon was advancing too quickly. Two men leaped from it, straight onto the roof of the wagon, where Kael stood. The wood groaned under the extra weight.

Kael swung his sword, slashing the first in a precise arc. The body rolled to the side, plummeting. The second, faster, raised a massive club and brought it down on Kael with brutal force. The impact made the wood crack, nearly throwing Kael off.

"Die!" the man roared, trying to crush his skull.

Kael blocked with the blade, his muscles screaming with the effort. The shock reverberated through his bones, but he didn't relent. With a swift movement, he pushed the enemy's arm aside and swung the sword in an upward slash. The sound of steel tearing through flesh echoed, and the man fell to his knees before being kicked out.

Amelia, outside, raised a wall of ice to block another attack, but cried out in pain as an arrow pierced her thigh. She fell to her knees, groaning, trying to maintain her concentration so as not to lose control of her magic.

"Amelia!" Sylphie opened the door for a moment and released a beam of light that exploded against the distant archers, forcing them to retreat.

"I'm fine!" Amelia growled, breaking the arrow and using her own pain to stay on her feet. "Just give me room!"

The carriage rattled violently, its wheels threatening to break at any second. The coachman shouted at the horses, who were foaming at the mouth from the strain.

Kael crouched on the roof, his amber gaze fixed on the enemies still behind. Hundreds of meters of road were already covered in ice, blood, and debris, but the pursuers kept coming.

"This is no ordinary ambush," he muttered to himself. "They're not here for loot. They just want it."

The princess, hearing her words through the wood, replied firmly:

"I told you. They won't stop. Not while I'm alive."

Irelia gritted her teeth. "Then let's make them regret trying."

From above, Kael leaped from the roof of the carriage straight into the enemy wagon approaching from the side. The impact startled the men, and before they could react, his sword had already cut down two of them. The wagon driver tried to pull back the reins, but Kael plunged the blade into his chest and leaped back into his own carriage just as the enemy overturned, skidding in flames and dust.

Sylphie watched through the small window, her eyes wide.

"He's insane… completely insane!"

"But it's working," Amelia replied with a forced smile, blood trickling down her leg.

Another arrow flew, this time aimed at the carriage. Sylphie raised her arms, and a shield of light enveloped the side, deflecting the projectile that would have pierced the window. The impact was so strong that cracks spread across the magical field, and she fell to her knees.

"I can't take much more…" she whispered, panting.

Kael returned to the ceiling, his chest heaving, his face covered in dust and blood. His eyes scanned the surroundings, calculating, measuring. He knew they couldn't keep this up much longer.

Then he shouted for all to hear:

"Hold on tight! We'll force our way through!"

The coachman, without waiting for an explanation, cracked his whip, and the horses bolted even faster, as if all hell were behind them. Amelia, even wounded, raised her hands one last time, creating a monumental wall of ice just behind the carriage, blocking the entire road. The nearest enemies crashed into the barrier, destroying themselves in chaos and screams.

The carriage shot forward like an arrow, racing down the narrow road as the setting sun painted the horizon red.

And in the heart of that chaos, as the wind roared and the road seemed endless, a single certainty hung in the air:

Not everything goes as planned. Not every journey follows the expected path. Because sometimes... unexpected things happen.

…

[Hours earlier.]

The sun had barely broken the horizon when the group set off again. Dew covered the grass, glistening like broken glass in the soft morning light. The weather, though chilly, was relatively calm.

Kael walked beside the carriage, his gaze alert as always. The road ahead stretched through rolling fields, interspersed with small hills and woods that cast long shadows.

Amelia walked a few paces behind, muttering to herself as she pulled her cloak up against the wind.

"Twenty days of this… I'm going to go mad."

Sylphie, on the other hand, seemed almost excited. She held the map open before her, her eyes scanning each route. "If we cut through the Erendale Valley, we can save two days."

Kael, without looking away, replied dryly:

"Two days less, twice the risk."

"Still," she insisted, closing the map. "We can't ignore the weather. The longer we delay, the easier it will be for whoever's after her to track us."

The princess, who had remained silent until then, leaned slightly out of the carriage. Her steady eyes landed on Kael.

"I agree with her. I need to get to Azalith quickly."

Kael paused for a moment, staring at her. The intensity of his amber eyes met the determination in hers.

"Getting there quickly doesn't matter if she's dead before then."

She didn't respond. She simply retreated back into the carriage, as if accepting the warning without completely giving in.

Irelia, walking on the opposite side, took advantage of the pause to intervene.

"But Kael, even you have to admit that we can't rely solely on game and rivers. There will come a point when we'll need to stop at some city."

He narrowed his eyes, as if pondering the inevitable.

"We will only enter where absolutely necessary." The less exposure, the better.

Amelia raised her voice in irritation.

"Oh, great. Then we'll live on air and wind until Azalith. I'll start chewing rocks along the way."

Sylphie laughed softly, but the sound soon died when she noticed the tension in Kael's face.

Despite the words, the journey remained relatively uneventful until the afternoon. The group crossed a vast field, where wildflowers swayed in the breeze. The coachman, always silent, kept the horses' steady pace.

It was then that Kael raised his hand, ordering a halt.

"Silence."

Everyone froze.

He crouched down, studying the marks on the road. Footprints. Many. Recent. And they weren't from ordinary travelers.

The air seemed suddenly heavy.

Irelia narrowed her eyes. "Ambush?"

Kael stood, adjusting his sword in its holster. "Not yet. But we're not alone on this road."

Sylphie nervously pulled out the map again. "So... we go around? We can take the northern route, but..."

"The northern route will throw us into the territory of the mercenary clans," Kael snapped. "It's like jumping from the frying pan into the fire."

Amelia sighed, running a hand through her hair. "So we stay here and wait for them to show up?"

Kael stared at the horizon, where hills rose like jagged teeth.

"No. We'll go on. But be prepared."

Tension hung in the air like a storm cloud.

The princess, previously silent, looked up from the carriage. There was something strange in her voice—calm, yet sharp.

"I warned you the longer we took, the worse it would be."

And before anyone could react, the sound arrived. At first distant, then deafening: the rumble of wheels, the echo of hooves, and shouts that were fast approaching.

Kael drew his sword. "All hands in position."

The coachman whipped the horses, and the carriage sped down the road. Dust rose in thick clouds, momentarily blinding the view.

From behind the hill, three wagons laden with armed men appeared. Their clothing was dark, without crests or symbols—just nameless shadows, hungry eyes fixed on the princess's carriage.

Amelia raised her hands, and the ground responded. Columns of ice exploded from the earth, blocking the road behind them. The first wagon crashed violently, the men's screams echoing before they were swallowed by the shattered wood.

Kael leaped onto the moving carriage, sword ready. The wind roared in his ears, but his amber eyes were fixed on the enemies advancing from the flank.

Irelia and Sylphie entered the carriage, shielding the princess from any surprise attack. The wood creaked, shook, but within them, the steel was ready to respond.