Chapter 41
The pack of wolves, too numerous to count, slowly drew closer.
Noah silently drew his dagger. Kaya cursed under her breath and slung her longbow over her back.
“Damn it, this is seriously bad luck… huh?”
As Kaya muttered and tilted her head down, a wolf from the left lunged at her.
Kaya flinched and threw herself aside, and a hand immediately struck the wolf’s head hard with the back of the dagger. The wolf whimpered and retreated a step. Noah adjusted his grip on the dagger and asked,
“Where’s your crossbow?”
There was no time for jokes. Kaya, finally regaining her senses, turned around and shouted,
“Miss, throw me the crossbow!”
The crossbow was still strapped to Karina’s back, just as it had been earlier.
Karina seemed completely frozen, looking back but unable to move. In the meantime, two wolves lunging at Kaya were struck down by her swinging longbow.
The distance between them and the wolves was now close enough to be bitten if they tripped. Kaya, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, stepped forward as if making up her mind.
“Captain, go ahead first.”
“What?”
Her tone was oddly resolute. Noah tilted his head, lowering his dagger.
Kaya seemed serious. When she turned around sharply, her face even carried an air of solemnity.
“Go and catch that damn rabbit with Miss Karina. You saw it earlier, didn’t you?”
The area they had entered was one where predators like wolves and foxes were common. And if there were rabbit tracks mixed in among the wolf prints, it was obvious what must have happened.
If they didn’t go now, they wouldn’t be able to catch the rabbit they’d missed yesterday.
“I’m already dealing with this mess for you, so if you miss it again… you’d better be prepared for the consequences.”
Kaya pointed her index and middle fingers alternately at herself and Noah before lowering them slowly.
Without any further words, Noah nodded and turned to leave.
The wolf at the front, seemingly the leader, charged forward as if to block his escape.
Kaya responded immediately, kicking the wolf’s jaw, but the other wolves had already pushed off the ground to attack. There was no more time to waste. Noah quickly dealt with two wolves lunging at him and turned back.
“Hurry, Karina!”
From the other side, Phyllis was running while pulling Karina by the arm.
Karina, following him, suddenly stopped in her tracks. She deliberately halted her steps.
Noah, who met Karina’s gaze, pushed aside his thoughts and moved his body.
“Noah…!”
At that moment, a particularly large wolf leaped out of the nearby bushes and lunged at Karina.
Without hesitation, Phyllis blocked the wolf’s sharp teeth with the bow he was holding.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and go!”
Phyllis’s loud shout seemed to signal the arrival of yet another pack of wolves from nearby.
Noah instinctively dodged and swung his dagger, cutting down a wolf that had gotten too close. The white snowfield was stained red in the blink of an eye. Noah’s hands were no exception.
Noah wiped the blood splattered on his face and turned his head.
Karina, who didn’t seem to notice how close Noah had gotten, shakily pulled the crossbow from her back.
The sharp arrowhead was aimed at the wolf grappling with Phyllis.
‘Look, you pull it back like this, with both hands pressed against the ground.’
‘Do I really have to use it that way?’
‘You can shoot with one hand, but I think it’ll still be too difficult for you, Miss.’
The taut bowstring was pulled back with desperate force. Karina gritted her teeth. Noah unconsciously stared at her.
Before long, the crossbow fired. The arrow flew straight and embedded itself deep into the wolf’s back.
The wolf let out a pained howl and recoiled. A middle-aged knight, seemingly part of their group, swung his sword.
“Young Lord! Are you alright?”
“Yes. Ugh, I’m fine.”
Phyllis tried to stand but grimaced and grabbed his leg. His trousers were soaked in blood, as if his thigh had been bitten deeply. The bleeding looked severe.
Karina dropped the crossbow to the ground. She hesitated for a moment before taking a step toward Phyllis but stopped again.
“…Miss Karina.”
Noah opened his mouth with difficulty. For some reason, he couldn’t say anything more.
Fortunately, Karina looked at him right away.
“Noah.”
The situation was still urgent. Noah, regaining his composure, was about to sheath his dagger when the sound of hoofbeats rapidly approached. Karina turned her head, as if sensing something.
Two men burst out from the bushes and snatched Karina away in an instant.
The sound of Noah’s dagger embedding itself somewhere echoed, but that was all.
“Karina!”
“Miss!”
Just as suddenly as they had appeared, the men disappeared into the forest with Karina.
After the commotion, silence fell over the area. Noah looked down at his hands. They were stained with dried blood, cold and lifeless. Hands that had failed to grab hold of anything.
***
Karina’s trembling eyelids opened slightly. Even in her dazed state, she focused on the voices she could hear.
“It hurts. I’m going to die from the pain!”
“Oh, shut up and deal with it.”
A rough voice sounded right next to her.
Karina, with her barely open eyes, scanned the ground. Under the rock where she lay, she could see two pairs of feet.
“See? I told you not to do anything unnecessary.”
One of them stood up and spoke in a tone of disdain.
“Now you’re backing out? You were all in on it earlier.”
“That’s because I thought your stupid plan would actually work.”
Their incomprehensible conversation continued over Karina’s head. The man who had been complaining about the pain grumbled again.
“Who would’ve thought that red-haired guy would be so strong?”
“That’s true. If it weren’t for that woman, we could’ve taken care of the rest while they were distracted.”
“Well, we’ve got the woman, so we should be satisfied.”
Karina’s head was spinning. She couldn’t understand what they were talking about. For now, she knew she couldn’t let them know she was awake. Karina calmed her pounding heart and tried to steady her breathing.
The man who had stood up moved away from the rock and said,
“I’m going to take care of some business. Get ready to leave.”
Where were they planning to take me?
Karina shivered with unease as the remaining man muttered in frustration.
“What am I supposed to prepare with this leg? It hurts like hell just sitting here.”
That single complaint, strangely enough, gave Karina hope.
When the sound of footsteps faded into the distance, Karina fully opened her eyes and looked around.
A large man sat with his back turned, leaning against the rock beside her.
She had only one chance. Karina took a deep breath and quietly rose to her feet.
Without hesitation, she threw herself to the ground. The sound startled the man, who turned around in shock.
“What the hell? Did she wake up… no, must’ve been sleep-walking.”
Karina remained completely still, waiting for him to come closer.
Soon, the man’s cautious footsteps approached. Karina seized the moment.
She sprang to her feet, startling the man, who stumbled backward with a strange cry. Luckily, his injured leg was closest to her.
“Argh!”
Karina pressed down hard on his wound, causing him to writhe in pain and collapse to the ground.
After confirming that the man was nearly unconscious, Karina ran into the nearby forest. She heard shouting from the direction the other man had gone.
Karina was terrified but didn’t stop. She needed to get as far away as possible. Somewhere they wouldn’t find her right away.
It was only a brief reprieve. Even so, Karina felt an inexplicable certainty.
She had locked eyes with someone at the very end. Someone who had been looking directly at her, more intently than anyone else.
‘Noah, please.’
Relying on that single person, Karina ran desperately through the forest.
Branches scratched her face, drawing blood, and she slipped on the snow, falling several times.
Eventually, Karina slowed down. A deep ravine stretched out before her.
“Keep going that way!”
“Damn it, if I catch her, she’s dead!”
She turned back reluctantly, hearing voices echoing somewhere nearby.
Karina panted heavily, stepping back little by little.
The dense trees seemed to loom over her menacingly. She felt as though those large hands might grab her again at any moment.
Even as she hesitated, they drew closer. Finally, Karina squeezed her eyes shut.
“Wait! I think I found… ugh!”
At that moment, the sound of someone choking was followed by the disappearance of one person’s presence.
When she cautiously opened her eyes, she saw a familiar figure lying in the bushes nearby.
“Ben! You bastard!”
Another man, furious, dismounted his horse and looked around.
The man called Ben lay motionless on the ground.
Perhaps he really was dead. Soon, the person Karina had been waiting for emerged from the bushes on the right.
“…Noah.”
The sight of him made her breath catch. Karina bit her lip hard.
Noah, his expression as calm as ever, met her gaze.
As if to say everything was okay, that it was all over.
“That’s the guy who took down Ben, huh. He dared to do this to him.”
Her relief was short-lived. The furious man aimed his bow at Noah.
The taut bowstring looked ready to release at any moment.
Without thinking, Karina ran toward Noah.
But just as she reached out to him, the man’s arrow shifted direction without warning.
The target was Karina. Before she even realized it, the arrow flew toward her.
‘I’m going to die.’
Without a word, Noah grabbed Karina’s arm and pulled her into his embrace. At the same time, his foot slipped off the edge of the cliff.
Karina couldn’t think of anything. She and Noah, clinging to each other, plunged into the ravine below.
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Still having the same feeling. Random scenes and random dialogues. It’s as if author wrote whatever idea get into their mind without constructing the proper story flow.