Do You Want to Try My Arrows?

Shasta led Gevra swiftly through the mountain forest.

The turmoil in the mountains had caught her by surprise.

Morey wanted to use Romain Armor-Splitting's power to find Gevra, but she did not trust nobles. No noble could be trusted.

Six years ago, a witch had awakened within the Grand Duke Armor-Splitting Territory.

But by the time she learned of it, it was already too late. The church had found her first and publicly burned her sister, whom she had never met.

Yet the renowned Duke Armor Break had turned a blind eye to it all.

From that day onward, she had regarded the nobility and the church as birds of a feather.

If the church were the murderers, then the nobles and the King were all accomplices.

She had not known Romain Armor-Splitting was in the mountains, but now that she had found the target of her journey, there was no need to remain. Her top priority was to leave as quickly as possible.

Yet fortune was not on her side. On the way out, Shasta encountered another enormous mountain deer.

It burst out from the side and attacked Shasta and Gevra with its huge, hardened antlers.

Though Shasta dodged the attack, the beast's intense aggression told her that unless she killed this magical beast, she would not be able to escape calmly with Gevra.

Shasta placed Gevra somewhere safe, then drew the two short swords at her waist with a clang.

Though the mountain deer weighed seven or eight hundred jin, flesh and blood could not withstand sharp blades and a witch's spells. The enormous deer soon collapsed in a pool of blood, its throat cut open.

Shasta quickly said, "Gevra, come with me."

The battle had caused a tremendous commotion and cost them too much time. They had to hurry.

But the gentle girl avoided Shasta's outstretched hand. She kept backing away and shaking her head, her voice thick with tears. "Just go. Don't stay with me. I'll only bring you misfortune."

Shasta said solemnly, "Good girl, this isn't your fault. We all went through similar stages. In the future, you'll be able to control this power."

Gevra said painfully, "But before then, I'll get you killed."

Shasta froze. She had no way to explain the current situation—why, when she tried to take Gevra away, it had provoked the magical beasts into rioting.

Was the power this child possessed truly so great? Could it affect the magical beasts across these mountains, driving them mad and making them swarm here?

If it was truly that terrifying, she did not know whether she could fend off all the disasters Gevra might bring.

"I know you're afraid, but there are many witches in Witch Forest who are far stronger than I am. And we have many companions. There will always be sisters who can help you suppress your power, Gevra. Come on..."

But Gevra broke down completely.

She babbled incoherently, "I don't understand! What Witch Forest, what spells, what life outside, what bread, what not being afraid—I don't understand any of it! I'm not your sister either. Why did you come into the mountains to find me? Why do you have to take me away...?"

Like a little mouse whose tail had been stepped on, she desperately wanted to crawl back into her hole.

Everything Shasta had told her felt frightening and unfamiliar. After suffering two attacks by magical beasts, the taut string in Gevra's mind finally snapped.

Shasta stared at her blankly for a moment, took a deep breath, and said resolutely, "Even if I have to use force, I'll take you away..."

Otherwise, she could not bear to imagine Gevra's future—sleeping rough and scavenging for food, never knowing if she would survive the next day. If Gevra had once been barely able to live on, then Shasta and Morey's arrival had already destroyed her former life, not to mention the greatest variable of all: Romain Armor-Splitting.

Once that fragile balance was broken, only death awaited Gevra.

Just then, accompanied by the rustling of bushes, a steady-faced figure holding a round shield emerged and said, "Then I don't think you'll be able to do that."

"Found him..."

In another dense forest, Dota knelt on one knee before a bush, looking at snapped dry twigs, displaced leaves, and crushed fallen foliage.

Dota studied the trail.

In his mind, he pictured a frantic figure hurrying through this place.

That person had been anxious and nervous, constantly looking around, leaving obvious traces behind.

"Can you really defeat Bandit Borg?"

Dota turned to Green, who carried a greatsword on his back.

Green was also surveying the surroundings, but he still smiled. "I've heard the stories about Borg. He's very likely a third- or fourth-rank transcendent, and I wasn't even born back then. That means I've given him another twenty years to grow. I hope he's strong enough now to fight me."

Dota's mouth twitched slightly at Green's shameless words.

Green continued, "I'm not afraid of a one-on-one fight, but Borg has far more experience in the mountains than I do. So I'll be relying on you to help me eliminate potential dangers."

He had no experience moving through the wilderness, and unfamiliar terrain would limit his strength.

With a hunter beside him, he could avoid risks to the greatest extent possible.

Dota silently nodded and followed Borg's trail together with Green.

"Kill the evil dragons! Kill all you evil dragons! I'll kill you all!!"

The ragged, staggering figure muttered.

The magical beasts he had drawn in had not formed a tide and torn Romain Armor-Splitting apart, but he would not give up.

"Only when the Evil Dragon is dead... as long as the Evil Dragon is dead..."

Shasta stared straight at the War Knight before her and said coldly, "Move aside!"

Aaron said, "The Lord has given his orders. No one is allowed to leave!"

Shasta sneered. "You can't stop me. You're so young—are you a first-rank War Knight or a second-rank War Knight? You're still far from reaching your peak. I've killed fifth-rank War Knights!"

Aaron replied expressionlessly, "You're strong, but you cannot defy the Lord's orders. Otherwise, we will act according to the law."

The guards' iron-tipped spears rose amid the bushes, while the other hunters hid in various places.

Shasta said, "You can't stop me. You'll die!"

Aaron shook his head. "I only obey Lord Romain's orders."

Shasta gripped two bloodstained short swords in reverse, crossing them before her chest. Thick black smoke rose from the blades, giving off an eerie and dangerous aura.

"Then do you want to test my swords?"

The moment her words fell, a sense of danger swept through Shasta's entire body.

She looked up toward a patch of dense woodland on higher ground. Through the cover of vegetation in that dim forest, she could vaguely make out a powerful figure drawing an enormous bow, its glinting arrowhead aimed straight at her.

"Then do you want to test my arrow?"