2 – Attack
The coachman whipped the horses relentlessly, increasing the speed of the carriage under the elves’ attack.
The road was uneven, and the carriage rocked as if it would overturn at any moment.
“Ouch!”
The most miserable-looking one among us was the elf girl.
She was tied with chains, and her neck was strangled as she was tossed around.
I ran over and hugged the girl. Then I grabbed the railing of the carriage and fixed my body firmly.
The girl who was afraid of me resisted with a scream, but she calmed down as soon as I told her it was okay.
I don’t know if she heard my voice.
This elf girl said she was deaf.
– Kwaaang! Kuuung!
Even amidst all that, the noise of the battle continued to reach them.
Thanks to the carriage speeding away, it was gradually getting farther, but the sound was so loud that it felt like it was coming from right behind them.
The forest roared and trembled.
Startled birds flew up in unison, and a sinister darkness descended into the woods.
The situation was anything but trivial.
I knew nothing about this world, but I could instinctively be sure of this.
If I made a wrong move, I would be done for.
“Is this okay?!”
I shouted at the coachman.
The coachman was whipping and urging the horses with curses.
He seemed not to hear my voice.
So I shouted again.
“Get a grip! If the horses die, we’re screwed!”
This time, he seemed to hear me and turned his head.
His bloodshot eyes and tightly closed mouth looked like he was barely holding back a curse.
I hugged the elf girl more tightly and pointed to the back of the carriage.
“I’ve been watching since earlier, but it doesn’t seem like anything is following us! Please explain the situation! I need information to help you!”
“No! No way!”
He shook his head violently at my words.
And then he screamed out the worst-case scenario.
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“Look at the forest, not the road! They’re already on our heels!”
I tilted my head and looked outside the carriage.
And this time, I started to focus on the forest, not the road.
The dense trees whizzed by because of the speed of the carriage.
In the sight that seemed like an illusion, my eyes caught some strange points.
“What is that, what….”
Among all the things that passed by, there were things that did not move and stayed still.
Considering that the carriage was running at full speed, it meant that they were also running through the forest at a tremendous speed.
Dozens of green shadows.
They were the race that protected nature, the elves.
“Is there no way to shake them off?!”
“I don’t know! I don’t know either! This is the edge of the great forest! It’s the first time the elves have crossed over here! Damn! Damn!!”
The coachman spat out curses and started to whip again.
The two horses that pulled the carriage did not make a sound once, as if they sensed the urgency of their owner.
Only the rough wind and the rattling wheel sound surrounded us.
The noise of the battle that was heard until a while ago was cut off.
Was it because the distance was too far? Or was it because one side was annihilated? There was no way to find out right now.
“That’s right! Here! Take this!”
Then, the coachman threw something at me and shouted.
The thing that fell to the center of the luggage compartment was a small ring with keys on it.
I picked up the key and looked at the coachman.
What am I supposed to do with this?
The coachman pointed at the elf girl in my arms and added an explanation.
“That’s the key to her shackles! Unlock them and throw her out of the carriage!”
“……What?”
Throw the elf girl out of the carriage.
I frowned at the absurd request.
“They’re your kin, so they’ll be distracted! It’ll buy us some time to escape!”
The coachman shouted with a flush on his face, as if he had found a treasure.
He seemed to think it was a brilliant idea.
Of course, I understood his logic.
If their kin fell from the carriage chasing us, the elves would inevitably hesitate.
It was an efficient means if survival was the only goal.
“Hurry up!”
If I valued my life, following the coachman’s words would be the right answer.
After all, hadn’t they said that woodcutters and elves were mortal enemies?
I had no idea what the elves would do to me, so getting rid of them was my top priority.
“Ugh!”
I gritted my teeth and started to unlock the shackles of the elf girl.
The girl who had hugged my waist closed her eyes tightly and obediently entrusted her body to me.
The look of fear that he had for me had faded long ago.
While he briefly let go of me and looked around, there was no resistance from the girl.
“The locks are on your neck and feet! It’s a black key! Right!”
It was a matter of seconds to free her.
The heavy chains fell to the floor, revealing the blood-stained skin.
It must have been very painful until now.
The girl, who rubbed her neck as if she couldn’t believe it, was pitiful beyond words.
“Good! When I give you the signal, throw yourself out of the carriage!”
As the elf girl regained her freedom, the coachman shouted.
The way he didn’t treat the young girl as a person was so alien.
How could he do that, even if his life was at stake? How could he force her to sacrifice, even if she was a different race slave?
He didn’t look like a human to me.
I hugged the girl again and glared at the coachman.
“You just have to throw her when you turn that corner! You’ll be able to get some distance even if they’re distracted for a moment!”
The coachman pointed to the front and said.
The corner he mentioned was quickly approaching.
Without time to sort out my thoughts, the coachman turned around and yelled.
“Now! Throw her!”
The coachman’s eyes were filled with disgusting hope.
He was sure that I would follow his plan.
I hugged the elf girl even tighter.
Then, I showed the middle finger to the coachman.
“f*ck off. I’d rather die
I started to breathe again and felt dizzy.
I checked the safety of the elf girl who was in my arms.
As I cleared the debris of the broken carriage, I saw green hair and white skin.
The girl seemed to have fainted from the shock, but she was breathing well and had no serious injuries.
The minor scratches could be seen as a symbol of a strong woman.
It was a relief.
“Ugh!!”
The problem was on my side.
Blood was gushing from my head and my vision was turning red.
A loud ringing in my ears made me dizzy, and I felt nauseous.
Something was definitely broken.
“Ah, sh*t….”
But my arms and legs moved without any problem.
I lifted my heavy body, pushing away the wreckage.
Then I carefully laid the elf girl on the torn tent.
That’s when I heard a voice from somewhere.
“Cough! Please, save me… I didn’t do anything―”
“―Kill him.”
Thud.
The voice of the horseman was cut off at the same time as the concise sound of flesh being torn.
“`
As the weak screams died down, an awkward silence settled around.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘Mabu, he’s dead.’
Convinced of Mabu’s death, I staggered to my feet.
In my right hand was a chainsaw that I had found while clearing the debris.
Running away was impossible. I couldn’t hide like this either. Then, the only way was to face them head-on.
I brushed off the blood that was flowing down and lifted the curtain of the carriage.
Thump. Thump.
Despite the severe bleeding, my heart was beating fast without any sense.
“……”
I came out of the carriage and looked around.
A small race with green hair and eyes, elves.
There were at least dozens of elves surrounding me.
They were all disgustingly pretty and handsome.
I had heard that I was good-looking several times in my life, but their appearance was different from the root.
I felt like I had become a squid relative to them.
I let out a snort without realizing it.
“Heh.”
“!!”
The elves flinched and backed away as I laughed.
“`
I frowned, wondering if I had seen it wrong, and the elves reacted nervously, aiming their bows at me.
A fierce atmosphere, as if arrows would fly at any moment.
I was unable to make any movement, as if standing on a sheet of thin ice.
‘Why don’t they kill me?’
But, this situation was a blessing in disguise for me.
The elves who had mercilessly killed other humans, but in front of me, they seemed to be searching for something rather than killing me right away.
There must be a reason why they don’t kill me immediately.
To survive from the elves in front of me, I had to grasp that reason and cling to it.
“I don’t want to fight!”
So, I decided to try to talk to them first.
They were not beasts like half-moon bears, so I thought they would at least communicate.
But,
– Shriek――
That was too naive of me.
– ――Ting!!
The arrow that cut through the air hit the saw blade and sparks flew.
The arrow broke and flew towards my face, and hot blood started to flow from my cheek.
The elves had finally shot an arrow at me.
A declaration of their unwillingness to talk.
I couldn’t help but distort my expression.
“Prepare to fire.”
A crisp command came through, signaling the end of the one-sided search.
At the same time, all the bowstrings around me were pulled taut.
The situation looked like I would become a bloody hedgehog.
I clenched my teeth and lifted up the chainsaw.
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– Vroom!!
I yanked the starter cord roughly and woke up the chainsaw.
The engine spewed fire and made a beast-like roar.
My breathing quickened with the rising excitement.
Vitality surged through my whole body, and my vision turned green.
I stopped hesitating. I lost my fear.
Something was wrong, but I had no time to care.
A chilling thrill dominated my reason.
“I don’t know, f*ck.”
Do or die. Or sink or swim.
If those bastards had no intention to talk, then I would only deal with them with violence.
Even a cornered rat would bare its teeth, let alone a human. Shouldn’t I at least dance with a knife?
I had no regrets anyway. I had already died once.
Just one person. No more, no less. Just one person to take with me as a companion.
With that resolve, I pulled the trigger of the chainsaw and raised its rotation speed.
――――――!!!!
The roar of a chainsaw echoed through the dense forest.
The eyes of the elves showed confusion and fear.
A human growled like a beast, and countless elves expressed horror and disgust.
A bloody situation that was imminent.
It was the moment when only one step was left until the battle.
“Stop, stop!!”
Suddenly,
A loud noise came from the overturned carriage.
“Stop… please!!”
The one who jumped out of the carriage was a little girl.
The elf girl who had regained her freedom from the humans, the one I had rescued.
“No… it’s not! Bad human! It’s not!!”
The girl ran to me and shouted with a hoarse voice.
She sounded a bit awkward, as if she couldn’t hear well.
I quickly lifted the chainsaw and turned it off, afraid that the girl would get hurt.
The girl hugged my waist and screamed desperately at her own kind.
“He! Saved me…! He’s not a bad human!!”
At the girl’s words, the elves started to lower their bows one by one.
I also put down the chainsaw and maintained a crouching posture.
The sharp atmosphere softened, and an awkward air swirled between me and the elves.
The shockwave caused by the girl spread throughout the forest.
“Who is that child?”
“How can they protect such a monster….”
I could see the confusion and bewilderment spreading among the elves.
Perhaps they couldn’t fight in front of a child, even if they were grown-ups, their expressions started to show discomfort and nervousness.
In this regard, every world seemed to be similar.
I dropped the chainsaw to the ground and looked down at the girl.
“Stop… please….”
The girl who met my eyes pleaded with tears in hers.
I was the one who was being attacked, but who was she telling to stop?
I let out a bitter laugh and stroked the girl’s head.
The girl blinked and looked up at me.
“Stop… please?”
Yes. I’ll stop.
A life that had already died once. Do whatever you want with it, whether you bend it, live it, or tear it to death.
“Sigh… I don’t know.”
I gave up resisting and let out a sigh.
Then the elves approached me hesitantly.
They had sturdy ropes in their hands.