Over the next few days, the abandoned house did not change much.
The place where they lit the fire and the place where they kept their belongings remained the same.
Even without anyone saying a word, the things they needed were put back where they belonged.
Bido’s training took place in the clearing as always,
and during breaks, everyone tended to their own tasks.
Someone maintained their weapon,
and someone sorted the provisions.
Bido was coming to accept that scene as natural.
Where to set down his sword,
where to store the box—
now his hands moved first without him needing to think.
The longer they stayed here,
the less the abandoned house felt like a temporary shelter.
He knew it was a place they would leave after a brief stay,
but at least for now, he did not have to put that thought first.
Today was the same.
It was an afternoon not much different from the morning, and the forest was as quiet as usual.
So when Miryeong came to a stop,
everyone noticed at once.
Miryeong lifted her head without a word.
The movement was not large,
but her ears stood straight up, and her shoulders stiffened ever so slightly.
After standing like that for a while, she slowly drew in a breath.
“...It’s him.”
At those words, everyone’s gazes gathered on her.
Miryeong did not answer right away.
She inhaled once more, as if cutting through the air.
“I’m sure.”
Bido raised his head.
There was no need to explain who “him” was.
“It’s that holy knight’s scent.”
Miryeong’s voice was low, but clear.
She paused for a moment,
then furrowed her brow a little more.
“But... there isn’t just one.”
As soon as those words fell, the air inside the abandoned house sank subtly.
Miryeong slowly turned her head and looked toward the forest.
“They’re not that far.”
“And—”
She stopped speaking for a moment, then opened her mouth again.
“It’s definitely different from before.”
As soon as Miryeong finished speaking, she shifted her gaze.
It was toward the inside of the abandoned house, where Rangnan was.
Rangnan had already raised his head.
As if he had been looking that way even before Miryeong approached.
“The pursuit has caught up again.”
Miryeong spoke briefly.
“It’s that holy knight. He’s not alone this time.”
Rangnan nodded and did not bother asking again.
For a moment, he looked outside the abandoned house.
The forest was still quiet, and the direction of the wind had not changed.
“...Slow.”
Muryeong spoke shortly.
Rangnan did not waste any more time.
After sweeping his gaze over their surroundings once, he said briefly,
“We prepare immediately.”
With that one sentence,
it was decided that this place was no longer “somewhere to stay.”
For a while, no one spoke.
Instead, movement began first.
Someone put out the fire,
and someone scanned the surroundings while standing watch.
The objects scattered inside the abandoned house quietly began to find their places.
Bido looked down at the box, then checked the chain once more.
The chain, fastened again, was tightened firmly.
Bido immediately lifted the sword and the box and slung them onto his back.
It was a weight he had grown used to.
No one said anything in particular about the action.
Miryeong moved toward the outside,
and Aslo guarded behind her.
Erdin naturally checked the opposite side.
Rangnan and Muryeong remained inside the abandoned house for a moment, watching the situation until the very end.
Melanie and Mendel packed the provisions while matching their pace.
No one said they had to leave.
There was no need for such words.
Now, this place was no longer somewhere to stay.
No words passed between them,
but everyone knew what they had to do in this situation.
As they began to leave the abandoned house, the distance between the group widened.
Those who went ahead
and those who deliberately slowed down were clearly divided.
At the front were Bido and Aslo,
along with Miryeong and Erdin.
Behind them remained Rangnan and Muryeong,
Melanie and Mendel.
Just before the group moved too far apart,
Miryeong slowed her steps for a moment.
She glanced at Melanie behind her and said,
“Hey.”
Melanie raised her head.
“Don’t die.”
That was all she said.
Melanie looked at Miryeong for a moment, then smiled as if it were nothing.
“Yeah. You too.”
With that, Miryeong went on ahead.
The group, split in two, advanced along the path.
And among those who remained in the rear, Muryeong was the first to sense it.
They were not yet visible,
but the density of their presence was different from before.
Their approaching speed was fast as well.
“...Two.”
He reported briefly.
There was no need to add anything more.
Rangnan immediately stopped, and Melanie took her position.
Mendel silently placed a hand on the water pouch at his waist,
and Muryeong took one step forward.
A moment later,
two people appeared between the trees.
One was clearly Adel.
There was no wavering in his steps,
and his gaze was already fixed on them.
Beside him was another knight.
A little behind him, but maintaining vigilance equal to the distance.
Adel’s gaze moved quickly.
“Where is the black-haired girl?”
His voice was low.
Rangnan did not answer.
Instead, he met his gaze.
“The White Wolf, the Red Lotus... I’m meeting some famous names.”
The female knight standing beside Adel spoke.
That was enough.
Enough for them to confirm that neither side intended to retreat from this place.
—
Bido’s group, heading deeper into the forest, still did not know about the encounter that had taken place behind them.
Bido walked while looking ahead.
The weight of the box remained the same,
and the sound of the chain swaying was no different from usual.
Then, the air ahead split subtly.
Aslo stopped first,
and Miryeong’s ears stood up again.
Erdin stepped one pace to the side and scanned the surroundings.
There were four people blocking the path.
In front stood two who appeared to be knights of the Empire,
and behind them were two soldiers who looked like members of the Arcu Guard.
“This is as far as you go.”
One of the knights spoke.
He had not drawn his sword,
but his hand was already touching its hilt.
“Surrender without resisting.”
Aslo did not answer.
He was assessing the situation with his gaze alone.
At that moment, one of the guards’ eyes wavered.
He looked at Aslo, then immediately at Bido.
“...You—”
He could not finish his sentence.
Clear confusion appeared on his face.
It was not certainty, but the expression of someone whose memory and reality did not fit together.
“Don’t tell me...”
The instant those words fell,
Miryeong drew in a low breath.
No more words followed.
Because there was no need for them here.
Miryeong moved first.
There was no word, no signal.
The moment her body sank low,
her next movement was already in the air.
With a rotation, her leg swung wide,
and along its trajectory, the air distorted.
Wind God Kick.
Compressed wind split the space ahead.
The two knights standing in front momentarily lost their balance and stopped in place,
and the guards behind them were flung away as they were, their bodies slamming into trees.
It happened in that instant.
Aslo had already stepped forward and shouted,
“Go.”
Before that word even ended, Bido and Erdin turned.
As if they had made a promise, the two plunged into the forest.
The knights reacted immediately.
Their momentary flinch disappeared,
and their gazes fixed on Miryeong and Aslo.
It was their judgment that they would not allow an opening for escape.
The guards, too, quickly recovered their stance.
Before they had fully shaken off the shock,
they confirmed the direction Bido and Erdin had run.
“After them!”
With a short shout,
the guards immediately dashed into the forest.
And so, the battlefield split.
—
The forest quickly narrowed.
Bido and Erdin ran without speaking.
The sound of footsteps chasing after them from behind was drawing closer and closer.
“They’re both faster than I expected.”
Erdin said while catching his breath.
It sounded like a joke, but his eyes were already calculating behind them.
Bido nodded.
He could feel that they could not shake them off with running speed alone.
“We have to face them here.”
With those words,
Bido turned first.
It was a spot where the space between the trees briefly opened up.
There were many trees, making it difficult for both enemies to rush them at once.
The guards did not stop.
They charged in without hesitation,
and at that moment—
Bido’s sword moved.
The first clash was smooth.
As blade met blade, a familiar recoil traveled into his hand.
His opponent was experienced in combat.
He did not overextend himself, nor did he easily leave openings.
Bido stepped in one beat faster.
Just as he had learned in training,
he lowered his center of gravity and cut with concise movements.
It was blocked.
He was not pushed back in strength.
But his opponent did not retreat easily either.
Erdin took his stance beside him, and the other guard turned toward him.
Bido steadied his breath and raised his sword again.
This fight—
was not asking who was stronger,
but who would collapse first.
Once again, the blades collided.
Bido let the recoil flow away and read his opponent’s movements.
Not fast,
and not slow.
It was a familiar speed.
At that moment,
his opponent’s gaze brushed past him.
The face of a guard he had occasionally encountered in the city.
Bido’s hand stopped for the briefest instant.
It was not that a memory came to mind first.
Only,
the feeling brushed past him that he had once stood at the same distance from this man before.
“......”
In that one beat, the point of his opponent’s blade came in first.
Bido immediately stepped back.
His body reacted, but his balance was a little late.
Erdin shouted from beside him.
“Lord Bido—!”
Before that cry could reach him,
Bido gritted his teeth.
He knew himself that he had lost the flow.
So he moved with even greater recklessness.
Bido lowered his stance further.
It was a distance he would not normally use.
He tried to put his strength into it and push through all at once.
But the sensation transmitted into his hand went wrong again.
The metal—
It was not the sound of holding firm.
The moment the blades collided,
the sensation that had been traveling into his hand suddenly—
cut off.
The weight vanished.
No recoil came.
Bido looked down one beat too late.
The tip of his sword had broken off and lodged in the dirt.
All that remained in his hand was the feeling of holding something.