Chapter 237 Part 2: The Thing to Protect
The fastest and best option was to let the black horse carry Rachel away. And he himself would stay behind to buy time.
…That was the only choice.
It was not safe to let Rachel stay here. She would only be in danger and in the way. Even though this place was a remote area outside the royal capital, the knight’s horse could definitely find its way.
And there were knights stationed in the nearby wild areas too. As long as the horse found the closest knight base, everything would be fine.
He really was betting everything on this.
But if he didn’t take this gamble, neither of them would make it out alive.
As he thought about this, Armand quietly took out a crystal stone hidden under his cloak. It was a special signal stone used among knights. If it was broken using a certain method, the Knight Order’s headquarters would be alerted.
But the one Armand held was unique, not the usual kind and not even one meant for a captain. It was a private signal between Armand and the only person he truly trusted, Carle.
At this point, Carle was the only one he could rely on.
Armand believed Carle would know how to rescue Rachel without exposing any extra information. As for whether this would reveal Armand’s “other identity” to Carle—
No, that didn’t matter anymore.
Armand trusted him, and Carle was never the type to stir up trouble for no reason. He probably already had his own guesses about things but just never said them out loud.
They had known each other for ten years. They understood each other’s personalities well. What could possibly escape the eyes of an old friend?
While Armand was deep in thought, Evelia didn’t stop attacking. She kept pressing forward, step by step, her dagger shining under the moonlight, sharp and dangerous.
Armand was being pushed back again and again. Even though it was clear he was at a disadvantage, Evelia didn’t rush in recklessly. That was because Rachel was still in the arms of the man in front of her, like a hostage.
From Armand’s perspective, he was thinking about how to protect Rachel.
From Evelia’s perspective, she was thinking about how not to hurt Rachel.
So neither of them made a reckless move. They just waited for the right moment, all it would take was a tiny mistake—
Whoosh—THUD!!!
At the exact moment the bowstring tightened, the perfect moment arrived.
Armand had been keeping his attention on the archer in the distance. When her arrow flew toward him, it was like hearing the words “ready, go” at a race. He quickly twisted his body and dodged backward.
He had been retreating toward the shadowy woods behind him all this time, waiting for the moment the arrow was released. At that instant, he used the dust kicked up by the arrow to blend his black figure into the darkness of the night.
Unlike Evelia, who was facing the dust cloud head-on, Gray Dove was watching from the side. She clearly saw Armand’s movement and quickly changed to lighter arrows, pulling her bow again.
From the way he moved, she could tell he wanted to protect Rachel completely, without any harm. She didn’t know which side he was on, but it was obvious he was trying to protect Rachel. So this time, without hesitation, she aimed directly at the child in Armand’s arms.
“...Guh...!”
As expected, the black figure blocked the arrows for Rachel. Three arrows were fired, one missed, one was deflected, and the last struck his arm. The arm that hadn’t had time to raise his sword again because of his injuries.
“Wasn’t that easy...”
Gray Dove chuckled as she raised her bow again. Now that she knew how her target would act, she wouldn’t miss next time.
She smirked and aimed her bow once more, still targeting Rachel.
Although Evelia cared deeply for the child, and Gray Dove also believed that Rachel would grow into someone important one day, she still aimed at the girl, because she knew that man would definitely protect her again.
This kind of thing was what Gray Dove enjoyed most. No matter the reason, she loved watching these so-called “small people” struggle in vain.
Open attacks are easy to dodge.
But hidden attacks? Not so much.
Even though Armand had figured out where Gray Dove was hiding based on the direction of the arrows, he still had a bigger problem, he needed to get Rachel to the black horse.
Evelia was chasing from behind, and the archer was attacking from the side. All he could do now was head to a more remote area and try to shake them off in the forest.
Rachel still didn’t show any signs of waking up. The last time, she’d woken early because of stress and fear.
But this time, she had fallen asleep with the thought, “When I wake up, I’ll be home.” So she slept even deeper. Even with Armand’s blood dripping onto her cheek and staining her clothes, she didn’t notice a thing.
“Hahh... hahh... cough...!”
Armand didn’t know how long he had been running in circles with the enemies behind him, but he finally found a chance to escape.
He rolled down a small hill. Thanks to Gray Dove’s cruel sense of humor, he took another arrow to the leg.
He staggered down the slope and slipped into a small, hidden cave in the hill. It wasn’t deep, but it was hard to notice.
He pulled a rope from his gear and quickly tied Rachel tightly onto the back of the black horse. Breathing heavily, he gave instructions to his “comrade.”
“You know the way. As a knight’s horse, you must remember the path and where the nearest knight outpost is. Take a different route, don’t let them find you. Go, quickly.”
Without even taking time to rest, Armand slapped the horse’s side, sending it off. Then, without delay, he climbed back up the hill. To distract Evelia, he purposely made a loud crashing sound and even threw his sword to the ground. The clanging echoed clearly through the quiet night.
Since Armand had only disappeared for a short time, Evelia didn’t grow suspicious. She followed the sound and saw Armand collapsed on the ground.
Armand had originally just wanted to get her attention for a moment. But after falling like that, he honestly didn’t feel like getting up again. His head was spinning.
While his injuries weren’t yet serious enough for him to lose a lot of blood, his body was already in bad shape, and now, after being hit so many times during this intense fight, he was really starting to reach his limit.
He stayed down for a moment, barely holding himself up, until he heard footsteps behind him. Only then did he force himself to get up quickly.
…If this goes on, none of us will make it out.
Armand muttered as he pulled out a small medicine bottle from his pocket.
Wait, who said anything about running?
He shook his fuzzy head and looked at the bottle in his hand.
‘They killed Evelia. I haven’t gotten revenge yet.’
Not only did he need to get Rachel out of here safely, he also had to avenge Evelia’s death.
Now was the time.
Clink—a small pill fell into his palm.
Behind him, Evelia clearly hadn’t noticed what Armand was doing. She stepped closer, closing the distance between them, still thinking about whether Armand’s fall had hurt the Rachel she believed was still in his arms.
Now, Armand had his back turned to her, looking completely defenseless. All Evelia had to do was stab him with her dagger and end his life, then take Rachel—
CLANG!!!
Before Evelia could strike, Armand suddenly spun around.
That huge black greatsword was already in his hand. Its heavy power shook Evelia’s dagger right out of her grip.
Whoosh—CLANG!
To keep up the act that Rachel was still in his arms, Armand held the greatsword with only one hand. He dragged it across the ground and swung it upward, knocking Evelia’s dagger away again.
When it came to strength, even now, Armand at his best wouldn’t lose to Evelia, the so-called "Red Crow" who relied on speed.
Over on the other side, Gray Dove also realized something was wrong. The moment that dark figure stood up, his whole aura had changed.
She noticed that the first thing he did after standing up wasn’t to attack Evelia. But to glance straight at her, as if to send a warning.
Now, he wasn’t being cautious or hesitant anymore. Even though his arm was still hidden under the cloak, his movements had become wide and aggressive, using the weight of the greatsword to its full potential.
The moment Evelia saw him like that, she knew, this was going to be trouble.
At first, she hadn’t understood why her long-time enemy seemed so weak, but during a fight, it didn’t matter. Victory was what mattered, not fairness or honor.
But now, that intimidating presence she had once felt from him on the central tower…
She could feel it again.
Even though he wasn’t wearing heavy armor now, and there were no loud clanging sounds, Evelia still felt a wave of pressure from him.
Still even so, Evelia tightened her grip on her blade.
Because she had to get Rachel back.
They had made a promise to go home together.