"Little Lori, I'll hold them off in a moment. Run, and don't stop. Miss Lina will be watching over you from the heavens."
Watching the masked men draw closer step by step, Simoya gritted his teeth, pulled the arrow embedded in his leg free, drew the shortsword at his waist, and charged forward. Amid the old steward's roar, Lori ran toward the depths of the forest in tears. But before he had taken more than a few steps, a figure slammed into a nearby tree trunk.
Frightened senseless by the sudden turn of events, Lori stared blankly at the figure leaning against the tree. The old steward's right arm had been hacked halfway off, while his left hand held in the intestines spilling from his wound.
"Run, Young Master Lori! Run! Don't look at me!"
Yet under Simoya's urging, although the little boy was trembling with fear, he forcefully wiped the tears from his cheeks twice and raised his hands to stand in front of the old steward.
"You're not allowed to hurt Grandpa Simoya!"
Looking at the small figure shielding him, the severely wounded Simoya wept bitterly.
Seeing the little boy glaring at them fiercely, the masked men burst into unrestrained laughter. Their leader looked at Lori and mocked him.
"Oh! Our little baron has some backbone, does he? So what are you going to do about it?"
Hearing their boss's taunt, the masked men broke into another round of wild laughter.
"Kill the old one. Cut off the little one's head and take it back to Madam to settle the job."
At the masked leader's command, two masked underlings approached the master and servant with blades in hand.
Watching the masked men approach step by step, the little boy gritted his teeth to keep himself from shaking. He