NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
“Move the injured first!”
“Bring some splints over here!”
Since I helped, dealing with the remaining masked people in the garden was a breeze.
“Whew…”
After catching the remaining masked people surprisingly quickly, I took a moment to catch my breath.
I’m so out of breath.
It feels like my stamina is draining along with the blood from the wound on my chest.
“Shouldn’t you get treated…”
As I was catching my breath alone, a guard came over and asked me.
I wondered why he was asking, but the wound had opened up more, and the cloth tied around it was gradually soaking red.
“No.”
With the mansion on fire like that, where would I even get treated?
The annex must be chaotic right now too.
“Then at least rest a little…”
“Don’t worry.”
More than that.
I could feel the guards’ gazes turning noticeably friendly.
Back when we trained together at the training ground, they were a bit wary of me, but now it seems they see me as an ally.
“More importantly, I’ll head into the mansion first.”
“Huh? With that wound?”
“The faster we end this, the sooner I can get treated.”
Let’s see…
The inside of the mansion is still a bit chaotic.
The garden entrance where my doghouse was is blocked, but.
Would the intruders only come from the front?
They probably came over from the sides and even climbed over the walls from behind.
The two bodyguards are with the lady, and Lowell is still fighting someone on the roof.
Even if the knight in charge of the mansion’s security blocks one entrance, two others are wide open.
“Then I’ll hurry.”
So, I took a relatively intact piece of clothing, tied my wound tighter, and entered the smoke-filled mansion.
And then.
“Wow.”
I marveled at the chaotic interior of the mansion and the intruders still breaking in.
Like the masked people I dealt with earlier, why are there so many remnants?
Something feels off.
Are they a guerrilla terrorist group from a fallen kingdom?
I thought they were a small elite force when I first heard the name.
But why are they swarming like cockroaches?
“There seems to be a problem with the front team.”
“We’ll handle it.”
Seeing the masked people muttering among themselves as they looked at me, I drew the sword I borrowed from the guard earlier.
“Swarming, huh?”
“Let’s take them all out at once!”
Honestly.
Very honestly, it’s touch and go.
Whoosh-
I dodged the sword swung by the masked person at the front.
Sharp. Is he more skilled than the others?
Still, he’s not as strong as the ones I faced earlier.
He’s not even an aura user.
Swoosh-
“Ugh.”
Using the momentum from dodging, I slashed his neck and quickly stepped back.
Whoosh-
A sword swung right where I had been.
There really are a lot of them.
“He’s injured!”
“Push him hard!”
Are these all remnants?
Or did they hire more?
What kind of group would take on such a request?
Well, I need to focus on the battle first.
Tap-
I kicked off the ground and charged.
“He’s coming!”
“Stab him!”
Honestly, there are too many of them.
If I fight fair, I’ll collapse from excessive blood loss first.
Then.
I need to make them lose their nerve.
First.
I wrapped my aura around my body, enhancing my physical abilities, and grabbed one masked person’s head.
And then.
Crack-
I twisted his neck like opening a lid.
“What.”
“Huh.”
At that unrealistic sight.
The two in front hesitated.
But.
“Don’t stop!”
“Stab him!”
The ones behind pushed the hesitant ones aside and swung their swords at me.
Thud- Thud thud!
I blocked those attacks with the corpse of the masked person I just killed.
Instead of stepping back, I pushed forward.
Deeper, even deeper.
Tangled up.
So close that they might stab their allies while swinging at me.
“Huh.”
“Gah!”
Now that I was right in their faces.
Their swords, aimed at me, started stabbing their allies.
The more they hesitated, the closer I got.
Occasionally, some tried to stab me sharply from the sides with daggers.
Sting-
But then, my sharp senses rang an alarm.
Whoosh-
I dodged the blade and grabbed their hand instead.
Crack!
“Ahhh!”
I crushed their hand with my grip and took the dagger from their weakened hand.
Disarming the enemy is a gladiator’s basic skill.
In group battles, your blade gets damaged countless times.
Now that I had a dagger in hand.
I had an even greater advantage in this melee.
“Just stick to him!”
“Push him down!”
Even as they tried to push me down with their bodies.
I stabbed their throats with the dagger and bit their noses when they got too close.
Sometimes I crouched extremely low, making them crash into each other.
When they tried to pin me down, I moved my body close to the ground and twisted their feet.
Like ants being sucked into an antlion’s trap.
The moment they got close to me, their lives were over.
“Shit….”
“…Go first!”
The more that happened.
The fear spread from front to back.
The fear that had been numbed by the group’s strength.
Gradually, the anesthesia wore off, and death loomed large in their minds.
By the time the number of masked people attacking me had halved.
“Ugh, ugh….”
“Crazy monster….”
Now, the fear gripped not just their heads.
But their entire bodies, especially their feet.
Though I was covered in blood and had taken a few unavoidable hits, making my situation precarious.
Cooking frozen prey.
Was all too easy.
**
“Lady! Let’s move quickly!”
“Ugh, ugh…!”
On the burning third floor of the mansion.
Darren, a bodyguard of the Void Family, hurriedly escorted the lady downstairs.
“Kaiden! What about the enemies?”
“Not seen yet.”
The reason being.
The intruders, who had been swarming in like mad, suddenly stopped.
So, after a brief discussion with Kaiden, the other bodyguard, they decided to escort the lady out of the mansion.
Until now, they had held out in the burning mansion thanks to the lady’s magic.
But as her magic reached its limits, they planned to escape outside.
Since this was the capital, escaping outside the mansion to the guards or another family would keep the lady safe.
“But.”
“Lady?”
“Where’s the dog?”
But then.
In the middle of moving, the lady said something strange.
“Lady…!”
In this critical moment, why is she talking about the dog?
Why look for him now?
“This isn’t the time to look for him…”
But seeing the lady’s strangely glowing red eyes, words failed him.
“Where is he?”
“…Probably in the yard, he’ll manage on his own.”
This is insane.
What’s so great about that dog….
The lady had her quirks, but this was the strangest yet.
The lady, who had never shown interest in battles, suddenly wanted to watch a gladiator match that day.
And then all this happened.
The humiliating memory of being pierced by someone who didn’t even know the basics of aura usage flashed by, but I quickly erased it from my mind.
“Let’s get downstairs.”
Still, that guy was a former champion, so his skills were undeniable.
Right now, I wish I could borrow even a cat’s, no, that dog’s paw.
Such thoughts are shameful for a knight.
But I hoped that dog the lady brought in was out there biting the intruders.
The lady has her divine powers.
There must be a reason she brought him in, right?
The family, knowing the lady’s uniqueness, set up this mansion in the capital and arranged for special tutors.
Anyway.
“Kaiden! Let’s go down this way!”
They descended through the back stairs of the mansion.
A path usually used only by servants, but even here, a few masked intruders were coming up.
Swoosh-
“Gah!”
One or two.
Easily dealt with as they went down.
“Suddenly, their numbers have dropped.”
“Something must be happening below.”
Literally, in an instant, the number of masked intruders decreased.
Considering how they had been struggling against the endless swarm in the corridors and stairs, the situation was strange.
Did reinforcements arrive?
Thinking of the strong ones who had been sharply piercing through the masked intruders, the mansion’s guards wouldn’t stand a chance.
Anyway.
Whatever it was, they weren’t about to waste this opportunity, so they quickly escorted the lady down to the lobby.
“It’s quiet.”
“Yeah.”
Ensuring the lady’s safety as much as possible.
Darren guarded the lady’s back, and Kaiden led the way to the lobby.
“Kaiden?”
Just before the lobby.
Kaiden stopped.
“Darren, cover the lady’s eyes.”
“…Lady, just a moment.”
What could it be that he wants her eyes covered?
Very carefully, he used a cloth to cover the lady’s eyes and checked ahead.
Then.
“…What?”
Darren couldn’t help but utter a bewildered sound.
Because, the first-floor lobby was drenched in red blood.
Black-masked intruders lay everywhere.
The marble floor, now dyed red, was a gruesome sight.
And in that place.
A man stood.
“Whew…”
Covered in so much blood, it was hard to tell if it was his own, drenched from head to toe.
“It’s over.”
And then.
Seeing Darren and Kaiden’s bewildered expressions as they safely escorted the lady.
Thud.
Among all the people in the lobby.
He was the last to collapse to the ground.