Ⅷ
Whoosh!
Thunk!
A crossbow bolt struck one of the laughing pursuers dead on, entering his throat and bursting out the back of his neck in a spray of blood.
"Urk, urk!"
The pursuer still wore his smile, but his eyes had already dimmed, and he could no longer force a single complete word out of his throat.
Then he collapsed with a thud, lifeless.
And that was not the only crossbow bolt.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Another four or five bolts shot out.
Two or three more pursuers fell.
The bolts that missed embedded themselves in the square wooden posts beside Pistrie Hamlet-
Thock!
Twang!
The bolts still quivered and hummed. Pistrie froze for a moment, then kept crawling.
And the bolts kept coming.
Pistrie had no idea where they came from.
He only knew that if he wanted to live, he had to get out quickly.
Soon, the briny smell of the sea grew stronger.
At the end of the passage, a "door" opened.
A woman stood there, holding a crossbow.
She was thin, with rough, dark skin, and looked like a peasant woman worn down by backbreaking labor. But the crossbow in her hands lent her an unsettling air.
"Come here!"
Her tone was commanding.
Pistrie glanced at the crossbow in her hands and obediently walked over.
She looked Pistrie up and down, her eyes full of scrutiny.
Then deep bewilderment took its place.
"I'm Del's boss."
Del, Pistrie's first commoner friend, had just died at the wedding.
At the thought of his friend, conflicting emotions showed in Pistrie's eyes and on his face.
"Tch. Wondering why he sold you out, then stopped those pursuers? Didn't Tita just tell you? Kaka was captured.
"No!
"To be precise, I captured Kaka and handed her over to Lord Barro."
The