SWY 154

Seeing that, Sharhan’s anxiety surged.

‘Damn it, I didn’t think they’d catch up this fast.’

He’d expected them to chase after him, there was no way they’d give up the heirloom. But he hadn’t anticipated they’d move so quickly. He’d only intended to take a short break for the sake of the injured and exhausted, but that pause had now come back to bite them.

Still, there was no time to regret it, and even if he could go back, he would’ve made the same choice. That’s how bad Rael and the nanny’s condition had been. The only reason they could move at all was thanks to that short rest, and the dried herbs they’d taken, however ineffective. Rael, in particular, needed proper treatment and rest.

“Go, now!”

Sharhan shouted, urging the hesitant group while keeping an eye on Parel. Iris was on the verge of tears, but she didn’t cry aloud.

“Iris, hold on to the nanny’s hand and stick close to Sir Rael. Understand?”

He pulled her into a tight hug, then gently pushed her forward, urging her to go. Iris looked as though she would burst into sobs but clenched her eyes shut and managed to hold it in.

She didn’t want to upset her brother by insisting on going with him. More than anything, the crashing from the well made it obvious how urgent the situation was.

‘I can’t get caught. I’ll only drag brother down.’

Iris steeled herself.

Sharhan’s heart ached just as much. How long had it taken to find his sister again? He didn’t want to be apart from her even for a moment, but now wasn’t the time to give in to emotions. Logic had to come first.

“You-you have to stay safe.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll fight like hell and come find you. Nanny, take care of her, please.”

The nanny nodded with tear-reddened eyes.

“Brother, you have to come get Iris.”

“I won’t be late this time. I’ll come for you soon. I promise. Now go. Don’t lose Rael.”

The nanny took Iris’s hand tightly and stuck close behind Rael. Her face was drenched in sweat as she endured the pain in her ankle, but she grit her teeth and walked on.

Rael moved quickly, warily eyeing the mana explosive in Parel’s hand. He might not have known what it was, but his instincts screamed it was dangerous. Adam and Kuph didn’t take their eyes off the unfamiliar man and took a wide path around him.

Bang! Boom! Bang bang bang!

The pounding on the well lid grew louder, more violent. It wouldn’t hold for much longer.

“Don’t even think about running,” Parel warned, eyes narrowed. “If you do, I’ll throw this straight after them. Tch, if I’d known you had this many people, I would’ve used them for leverage earlier. What a waste of time. Anyway, there’s only one choice left for you now, join forces with me. Take down the Ailun dogs so I can get my revenge on the emperor.”

He smirked as he dangled the mana explosive, watching the group that hadn’t yet gotten far enough.

At that moment, a loud thud rang out like a hammer slamming into stone. The well lid cracked open just wide enough for a grown man’s hand. In an instant, multiple sword hilts shot up through the gap, and the heavy rock atop the lid toppled and rolled away. The cover creaked open with a grinding noise.

Thump!

The lid crashed to the ground with a heavy sound, echoing like an alarm bell. It pushed the group into a state of near panic.

“Run faster!”

Sharhan shouted.

“Nanny, get on my back!”

Adam, frustrated by her slowing steps from the pain in her ankle, bent down in front of the nanny. She hesitated briefly, but quickly realized this wasn’t the time to refuse and climbed onto his back.

“I must be heavy… I’m sorry. Thank you.”

“It’s fine. You’re not heavy at all.”

Carrying her, Adam took off at a run. Kuph picked up the now-empty-handed Iris, and the two ran hand-in-hand, supporting each other as they fled.

At the rear of the group, Rael gasped for breath, struggling to get even a little farther away. He was barely holding together, but the duty of a knight kept his legs moving.

Watching them go, Sharhan silently prayed they’d make it out safely. He was especially worried about Rael, whose condition was worse than he let on. It pained him that he couldn’t go with them.

‘Please, let them be safe. Let them all be alive when I come for them.’

If Iris were to be hurt, or worse, die. He didn’t think he could go on living.

Not just Iris. There was Lestel, the nanny, Sir Rael, Kuph, Adam, even Derry back at the tax storehouse… the number of people Sharhan had to protect had only grown.

For their sake, he had to survive this looming crisis. He shoved down his anxiety and looked to Lestel. Their eyes met, and they nodded in unison. No words were needed. They understood each other.

Stay safe, Lestel.

Let’s survive, Sharhan.

They gripped their weapons and charged toward the well. One knight had already climbed out. Sharhan ran toward him, sword drawn. The knight shouted as he saw him:

“They’re here! I see the Kaios boy and–!”

Sharhan’s sword cut him off. The knight arched his back to avoid the blow, then struck back, aiming straight for Sharhan’s face.

Sharhan ducked to the side. The blade sliced through a few strands of his hair. Meanwhile, more knights climbed up, and Lestel began cutting through them.

Parel stood back, clutching his mana explosive and watching the well. His goal had only ever been the emperor. He had no intention of helping Sharhan and Lestel fight. He merely waited, hiding in the shadows to strike when the emperor appeared.

Sharhan and Lestel’s battle grew fierce. Sharhan noticed Parel’s presence had vanished, but it didn’t matter, as long as he didn’t interfere or stab them in the back, they could ignore him.

Five knights had now emerged, all highly trained swordsmen. Even fighting one-on-one would be difficult. But Sharhan had to take on two, and Lestel three. Wounds gradually multiplied across their bodies.

Sharhan and Lestel ended up back to back, fending off their attackers in unison.

“Kaios! Die!”

A knight, probably in his early thirties, charged in a frenzy. Seeing Sharhan gasping for air, he thought he had him cornered.

Sharhan dodged the blade with practiced ease and swiftly thrust his sword into the young man’s neck. The knight’s eyes widened in disbelief. He clutched at the gushing wound and stumbled back, collapsing with a thud.

“Franz! You bastard, killing my junior like that!”

A brown-haired knight, likely his superior, charged at Sharhan with rage. His blade flashed rapidly, speed was clearly his specialty.

Sharhan struggled to dodge the flurry, barely managing to keep up. He searched for an opening, though he couldn’t avoid everything. His body was slashed in several places, and his shirt had long been soaked in blood. His strength was fading.

Sharhan bit down hard on his tongue, drawing blood to sharpen his senses. He had to find a weakness.

‘I need to kill this one quickly and help Lestel.’

His mouth tasted bitter. His vision blurred from exertion. But each time it did, he thought of Lestel.

The brown-haired knight’s blade swept under Sharhan’s arm and slashed across his side. The pain was sharp. Sharhan instinctively struck out.

“Ugh!”

The knight let out a groan, his sword clattering to the ground. Sharhan’s blade had buried deep into his gut. He drove it in deeper before yanking it back out. Blood sprayed as the knight staggered and collapsed.

Sharhan had managed to kill his two opponents. But there was no time to rest. He immediately ducked, just as a cold blue blade sliced past the crown of his head.

It was Harrel. And he hadn’t hesitated to strike Sharhan from behind.

Sharhan quickly grabbed the dying brown-haired knight and used him as a human shield. Harrel’s blade tore into his fellow knight’s corpse.

“Typical of a Kaios. Using a person as a shield, how cowardly.”

“Says the man who attacked from behind. That’s far more disgraceful for a knight.”

Sharhan’s retort made Harrel’s face twist in anger. They were just about to clash.

“Lestel! You child of Ailun, do you dare raise your sword against Ailun’s knights?!”

A thunderous voice rang out like a bolt of lightning.

It was the Marquis of Ailun.