Moments earlier.
Wollyeon was watching the battlefield.
Beyond the smoke screen, all she could see were fragmented shadows,
but even among them, she did not lose track of Muryeong’s movements.
The instant Muryeong charged in.
The sound of that enormous axe clashing with the knight’s sword.
Kaaang.
Wollyeon lowered her breathing and slowly focused.
Miryeong’s whistle rang out—
and Muryeong knocked the knight away.
Now.
Wollyeon took aim at the knight.
Just as her finger on the trigger was about to press down—
Whoosh.
An arrow flew in from the side,
striking the flank of the crossbow and twisting its axis.
The bowstring could not withstand it and snapped loose.
“Chit—”
As the cord broke, Wollyeon’s fingertips grasped empty air.
Her heavy crossbow was no longer a “weapon that could shoot.”
Wollyeon held the broken crossbow close for a moment.
Its weight was the same, but its purpose was gone.
Her fingertips tingled.
She had not even pulled the trigger,
yet her arm throbbed as though she had already fired a shot.
Beyond the smoke, Muryeong’s axe rang out again,
and that sound pushed against Wollyeon’s back.
If she abandoned it and ran, she would be lighter.
But if she abandoned it, she would have no reason to return to the next fight.
Wollyeon gritted her teeth and wrapped the severed cord around her arm to secure it.
Pain spread every time the crossbow struck her side,
but that pain was proof that she was “still holding on.”
Wollyeon’s eyes immediately searched for the direction the arrow had come from.
Two soldiers with bows.
One soldier with a crossbow.
Ahead, two spearmen were running toward her, widening the distance between them.
And behind them—
silver armor.
The knight shouted.
“Shoot!”
Wollyeon chose the lowest shadow on the slope.
One tree root, one stone.
She calculated only what she could grab.
She swallowed a single breath.
Until the arrows came,
she had only two breaths of time left.
If she got greedy for a third breath, she would be too late.
And so Wollyeon threw herself forward.
Soil spilled away from the edge of the cliff-like slope,
and while holding the crossbow with one hand, she snatched at a root jutting from the incline with the other.
It was high.
But she could not allow herself to be caught.
Wollyeon descended the slope with movements like a beast.
Her toes struck the dirt, her body folded once, then opened again.
Her balance did not collapse.
The moment she reached the ground, she ran.
From above, arrows poured down toward her.
Wollyeon swallowed her breath short
and lowered herself toward the next point of cover.
—
Rag slid down from the tree and ran the moment the retreat signal was given.
He kept his breathing low and softened his footsteps.
That was when it happened.
The sound of a bowstring snapping.
The wind split thinly—
and something flew in from the right.
“Lord Rag! On your right!”
Ed’s voice burst out.
Before Rag could even turn his head, Ed swung the edge of his hand.
It was similar to the movement Miryeong used.
But the wind was thin and short.
The first arrow twisted its trajectory in midair and bounced away.
But behind it—
there was one more shot.
Thud.
The arrow lodged in Rag’s shoulder.
“Guh…!”
Rag’s legs wavered for an instant.
Ed gritted his teeth and reached out again,
but this wind could not reach the soldiers.
Just as the soldiers were about to nock their arrows again—
“Ed! Take care of Rag!”
Miryeong’s voice struck sharply.
Immediately, a gale incomparable to Ed’s poured out.
The soldiers lost their balance and were pushed back,
and a few dropped their bows, spilling their quivers.
Miryeong shouted again.
“To the rendezvous point! Run! I’ll take the rear!”
“Guh….”
Rag gritted his teeth and exhaled.
“…Let’s go. I can run.”
Instead of answering, Ed pulled Rag’s arm more tightly around himself and ran.
The arrows flying from behind lost their trajectories in the wind Miryeong drove back and fell.
Miryeong took one beat to catch her breath.
“Haa….”
“This isn’t easy.”
Beyond the smoke screen, she could see the soldiers running toward her—
and the silver armor cutting through behind them.
It was the knight.
Even the weight of his footsteps was different.
The knight shouted.
“Chase those who went ahead! I’ll handle the Haraya!”
Miryeong’s lips hardened into a thin line.
For the rear, she had no choice but to trust Rangnan and Aslo.
‘They’ll hold it up on that side.’
The knight took his stance right in front of Miryeong.
The tip of his sword lowered, and the moment his foot “stamped” the ground, the air changed.
His eyes narrowed.
“I am Marcel Ravencourt.”
Miryeong only twisted the corner of her mouth.
“Sure. Lavender.”
“You want to play with me?”
A vermilion light flared in Miryeong’s eyes.
The wind stirred low,
rippling from beneath her feet.
—
Guh—!
An arrow lodged in Ed’s leg as he ran.
Ed muttered with a trembling breath.
“Ah… this isn’t good….”
That was when it happened.
“Hurta! Retrieve them! Take care of those two!”
At Rangnan’s shout,
a shadow brushed past Ed.
It was Aslo.
His sword drew a swift line.
Lusterless Slash.
A sword strike whose trajectory could not be seen struck the shaft of the spear belonging to the soldier chasing Ed.
Clang!
The spear bounced away and tangled with the spear beside it, and the front line collapsed as it was.
One soldier swallowed a scream as he fell.
A soldier in the rear spat out, almost like a curse.
“What’s that fast—”
Before he could finish, Aslo dug in one step farther.
The tip of his sword struck precisely between the soldiers’ wrists and their weapons.
Spears fell, and bows rolled across the ground.
The archers hesitated for an instant.
Beyond their firing line—
their allies were mixed in.
Rangnan tore through that gap.
He rushed in from the side and swung his hand.
Claw-like trails of white light chopped the bows to pieces,
and Rangnan’s thick tail followed, striking a soldier head-on.
With a heavy blow, the soldier was sent flying backward,
crashing into the soldiers behind him and collapsing in a tangle.
Rangnan said in a low voice.
“Aslo. We stall for time like this.”
Aslo gave a short nod.
—
After some time had passed, at the rendezvous point.
Hurta was looking over Rag and Ed’s injuries.
Rag gritted his teeth while clutching his shoulder,
and Ed’s breathing trembled as he held his leg.
Then the group arrived one by one.
First Jincheong.
Then the twins.
Marin.
And Wollyeon, limping slightly, came over and sank down onto the ground.
Wollyeon looked down at the enormous broken heavy crossbow and grimaced.
At the place where the string had snapped, a faint trembling still remained.
After that, Muryeong walked in as though dragging his axe.
Muryeong glanced over the injured Rag and Ed once, then immediately asked.
“Where’s Miryeong?”
Ed answered after steadying his breath.
“Lady Miryeong… stood in the knight’s way.”
Muryeong let out a short sigh.
“…Let’s wait a little.”
At that moment.
A low wind brushed past.
Then Miryeong landed at the rendezvous point.
One of her sleeves had been torn away,
and her forearm was faintly red.
At a glance, there were also marks where blood had dried and turned black.
But her steps did not falter.
“Ah. Is everyone here?”
Hurta raised his head.
“Lord Rangnan and Aslo are holding off the pursuit.”
Miryeong nodded as though she understood.
Then, for a moment,
she redrew the routes in her head before speaking.
“We return to camp first. If we linger here too long, they’ll pick up the trail again.”
Miryeong placed her hand on the ground—
and left a mark in the dirt as though drawing a short groove.
Natural enough for anyone to overlook, but readable only to those who knew.
“Then let’s go.”
—
The group immediately began walking toward the camp.
The night was already deepening,
and Miryeong continued to scatter the party’s traces from the rear.
Jincheong supported Ed.
Their pace was slow because of the injuries,
but they advanced carefully, never lowering their guard.
Then Muryeong lowered his breathing.
“…A presence.”
Someone was coming.
The group stopped all at once.
Just as their hands were about to move toward their weapons—
Miryeong spoke first.
“It’s Rangnan’s scent. Relax.”
At those words, everyone breathed out in relief.
While they stood still for a moment, two shadows approached through the darkness.
It was Rangnan and Aslo.
Aslo said shortly.
“We cut off the pursuit.”
Rangnan immediately added.
“But we don’t know when they’ll pick it up again. We hurry.”
“They’re spreading their troops wide and sweeping the area.”
Miryeong nodded.
“Let’s move quickly. I’ll take care of the traces.”
And so the group headed for the camp once more.
—
Time passed.
The group arrived at the camp.
Yeonhwa and the other members were treating Rag and Ed’s injuries.
Short groans brushed through the room.
Bido quietly helped beside them as well.
Her expression was dark.
It was the face of someone whose relief had not lasted long.
Raen was crouched beside them too.
In her hands were a waterskin and folded cloth.
Her tail stiffened for a moment at the smell of blood,
but Raen did not avert her eyes and held out the cloth.
“Lady Yeonhwa. Do you… need more of this?”
From one side, Miryeong spoke.
“It went according to plan. We made two carts unusable for the time being,”
“and the food spilled all over the muddy ground.”
Then she looked toward Ed and Rag.
“We did take injuries too… but everyone came back.”
At that moment, Wollyeon touched her heavy crossbow and her face hardened.
“…My crossbow is broken too.”
Miryeong sucked in a short breath.
“Ah… right.”
Rangnan nodded.
“You all worked hard. The Empire’s burden must have grown greatly.”
Miryeong swallowed her words for a moment.
At her hesitation, everyone’s gaze gathered on her.
“Ah… but.”
Unable to avoid their eyes, Miryeong confessed as if laying it bare.
“When I stopped the knight… I blew off one of his arms.”
The air in the room sank for an instant.
Raen’s tail shot upright.
“…An arm?”
Aslo said in a low voice.
“…They won’t stay quiet.”
Rangnan closed his eyes once, then opened them.
“That’s all the more reason.”
“We have enough food. For the time being, we don’t move from here.”
“We recover from our injuries first, then see what their next move is.”
Muryeong asked in a low voice.
“Couldn’t they replenish their supplies from Kaldren?”
Sienna, who had been listening from the side, quietly cut in.
“That will be difficult. We already had information that they had no surplus there either.”
Rangnan slowly exhaled.
“Yes, now… it’s time to wait.”
The fire had gone out,
but the wounds of tonight would spread far more greatly on the Empire’s side.