After Putting the Slayer of the Night to Sleep, I Ran Away - Chapter 64

Leo opened his eyes, which had been closed.

Although he had deployed Wiltus, its scouting ability was halved due to the dense forest in the mountains.

However, he confirmed that something was rushing towards this location at high speed. Leo, scanning the general direction, commanded sharply.

“Prepare for battle!”

The knights, drawing their swords in unison, became even sharper in their demeanor.

Leo’s ears, having heightened all his senses to their limit, picked up a howling cry from afar.

“It’s a pack of Lycans.”

Leo, listening to the unfamiliar presence mixed with the wind, bit his lower lip.

Lycans are monsters with tough hides and developed muscles, making them difficult to take down unless their heads are severed, and they have a habit of operating in packs.

Their numbers were at least thirty.

With seven knights brought for escort and about ten knights brought by the princess, they were outnumbered.

Of course, for the knights he brought, Lycans would be nothing to scoff at.

After drawing his sword, Leo spoke to Dex.

“We’ll reduce their numbers. I’ll go first.”

Leo, spurring his horse instantly, charged forward as if shot.

Simultaneously, yellowish-brown figures suddenly emerged from between the tree trunks.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

Leo’s sword was the first to slash horizontally across the Lycan that had emerged.

He spun his sword around and swung it once more in the opposite direction.

Another Lycan leaped up from between the bodies that had been split in half.

Leo kicked off the ground and severed its head in one go.

“Kyaaaang—.”

Leo, stepping on the corpse of the Lycan that fell with a dying scream, lightly shook off the bloodstains on his blade.

The Lycan pack, having instantly lost a comrade, approached with low growls from all directions.

The Lycans’ habit of cornering their prey for a pack hunt was clearly evident.

“Maintain formation!”

Dex shouted.

Ian, Walter, Dave, and the other knights formed a defensive line.

An uneasy standoff ensued.

The Lycan pack prowled, looking for an opportunity, and Leo did not move rashly.

Even he could not face a dozen Lycans simultaneously.

Of course, for Leo and his knights, mere monsters, not even demonic beasts, were nothing, but having four people to protect was a significant weakness. Moreover, with so many eyes watching, it was awkward to use their familiars.

“Listen.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“We will reduce their numbers as much as possible.”

“Leave it to us.”

“Drain Knights, focus on defense.”

After giving the order, Leo and the Grey Wolf Knights simultaneously kicked off the ground.

One Lycan had its neck impaled by Leo’s sword, and another was knocked away by Ian’s sword.

The Lycans instinctively began to attack in groups of two or three, making Leo and the Grey Wolf Knights their primary targets.

However, they could not afford to be complacent.

A few Lycans that had dispersed suddenly emerged from unseen areas and charged towards the center.

The Drain Knights, ordered to defend, generally fought well, extending one leg forward and swinging their swords, but they could not sever heads in one blow.

“Aim for the head!”

Someone offered the solution, but it seemed easier said than done.

The four individuals designated as protected persons swallowed nervously amidst fear and tension.

At a knight’s instruction, they used their horses as shields, placing them in front.

Among them, only Ayla and Princess Grace were empty-handed.

Feeling uneasy about the tense and brutal battlefield, Ayla spotted a spare dagger among the luggage on her horse’s back and quickly drew it.

To Grace’s gaze, which seemed to ask why she was drawing it, Ayla replied boldly.

“Just in case.”

She did not want to entrust her safety solely to them.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, but she didn’t want to be a burden.

Her gaze followed Leo, who was fighting ahead.

It was difficult even to follow his movements with her eyes, but she wanted to confirm he was safe.

It was then.

“Kyaaang—.”

A blood-soaked Lycan was flung nearby, letting out a dying scream.

It seemed to have been knocked away while fighting a knight, and a horse it collided with reared up in surprise.

The situation escalated in an instant. Someone let go of the reins they were holding, and the startled horses bolted forward.

As the formation broke, Ayla, tense, heard a low Lycan growl from behind.

The hair on her entire body stood on end.

Ayla gripped the handle of the dagger in her hand tightly and slowly turned her head, only to see a Lycan leap out from the bushes and pounce.

“Your Highness!”

It had targeted Edward, who had his back turned.

Fortunately, he seemed to have paid attention during his sword fighting lessons, as he twisted his upper body and swung his sword, diverting the Lycan’s path. However, another Lycan that emerged next was the problem.

“Eek!”

“Ed!”

Alex exclaimed and thrust the sword he was holding.

The Lycan, with a choked cry, bit and shook Edward’s sword as it lunged towards him.

With unexpected strength, Edward lost his balance and fell to the ground.

“No!”

Ayla, in desperation, looked around, but the nearby knights were all engaged in combat.

She could see Grace stamping her feet.

While Alex was confronting one Lycan, the Lycan that had initially targeted Edward was turning around.

‘He’s going to get hurt like that. Even if it’s me.’

To buy time for Edward to get back on his feet, as the Lycan was about to pounce on Edward’s back, Ayla leaped towards it and plunged her dagger with all her might.

“Kyaak!”

Attacked in the flank, the Lycan instinctively twisted its body.

The Lycan’s hind leg, as thick as Ayla’s thigh, scraped past her arm.

Dark blood spurted out like a fountain.

The Lycan, howling in rage, lowered its stance, and in that opening, Edward plunged his sword into its nape.

The Lycan struggled to stay alive, and Edward clung on desperately to end its life.

Eventually, the Lycan’s movements stopped.

The Lycan Alex was fighting was also dealt with by a knight who rushed over.

“Hah! Hah!”

Edward, gasping for breath, looked back at Ayla.

The thought that he would have died if not for her sent a chill down his spine.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Are you hurt?”

Ayla, clutching her arm from which red blood dripped, worried about him instead.

Edward stared blankly at her wound.

On her slender arm, which seemed barely able to hold anything, flesh had been torn away in several places.

It was an injury severe enough that it was fortunate her arm was still attached.

Ayla’s face, worrying about him despite being so injured, was etched into Edward’s retina.

“Lady Ayla, are you alright?”

Grace, unable to even open her lips, asked with a tearful expression, speaking for Edward.

Ayla, her face pale, offered a faint smile and reassured Grace that it was fine. Alex, watching her, clicked his tongue in pity.

Meanwhile, the situation was being resolved.

After defeating the last Lycan, who appeared to be their leader, Leo approached with a grim expression.

“That was too reckless.”

Leo’s low voice was filled with displeasure.

While not a single drop of blood stained his hands, Ayla’s arm was a mess of blood from her wound.

“I’m fine. Your Highness are the knights alright?”

As if they had gathered in the meantime, Dex, Ian, and the other Grey Wolf Knights lined up behind Leo.

Ayla, avoiding Leo’s gaze, craned her neck to check if they were injured, and the knights, with even more somber expressions, reassured her.

“We are fine.”

“Yes. You should worry about yourself, Lady Ayla. Your arm, sigh.”

“I should have protected you. I’m sorry.”

Ayla smiled as if relieved.

“I’m glad no one is hurt. I was worried.”

“Get treatment first. Dex, the potion.”

Leo extended his hand, and Dex quickly brought out the potion he had prepared and handed it over.

Leo, supporting her firmly, opened the potion’s cap with his teeth, spat it out, and continued speaking.

“It’s going to hurt.”

A potion is a liquid that accelerates the healing process by attaching to damaged tissue and closing wounds, thus healing external injuries.

Knowing this, Ayla took a deep breath and resolved.

‘I must not show any sign of pain.’

She didn’t want to show her pain in front of everyone who was watching with concern.

However, the moment Leo poured the potion onto the wound, Ayla fainted from extreme pain.

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