Ulyseon looked mournful at Maxi’s sickened expression.

“Please consider how devastated Sir Riftan would be if something were to happen to you, my lady.”

“But… But…”

Her face crumpling in anguish, Maxi clutched Riftan’s copper coin. She could not get the image of the black, rotten ghoul corpses out of her mind. She did not want to end up like that, and the thought of never seeing Riftan again tore at her heart.

She was certain she was not the only one who felt that way. Idsilla had a brother who cared for her greatly. The other female clerics had friends and family of their own, and no soldier wished for death.

Maxi looked at Ulyseon pleadingly. “Then l-let’s… b-bring a few more with us. I-I won’t ask that we take everyone—”

“We cannot turn back, my lady. Imagine the commotion if we did,” Garrow replied, adamantly shaking his head.

The two squires’ woeful expressions reflected her own.

“We also don’t want to abandon the city, my lady. Please try to understand. For us, Sir Riftan’s orders come first.”

“Th-There is a Livadonian noblewoman w-who came to Eth Lene with me. She is a mere girl of eighteen… but she c-came because she was worried about her brother. She said she would see him after the war…”

For a moment, Ulyseon’s expression grew troubled before he shook his head.

“It would be too dangerous for us to return now, my lady. I am sorry, but your safety is our priority.”

“I-I am not that important! I’m not the lofty noblewoman you think—”

She bit her lip as she began shaking with sobs. Garrow watched her with a bewildered expression. He sighed, pulling on the reins of Maxi’s horse.

“We have no time to waste arguing, my lady. There might be monsters lurking about the city walls. We must cross the gorge before we’re discovered.”

He tugged at the reins, and Maxi’s mount obediently followed. Maxi tried to suppress her tears as he dragged them along.

The faces of the people she cared about flashed through her mind. There was Ruth, who always looked out for her despite his grumbling, and Idsilla, who always tried to act strong despite being tender-hearted deep down. Then there was Hebaron and the female clerics, whom she had unknowingly grown very fond of.

It wouldn’t have made much difference had I stayed in the city. I would have just become one more ghoul that the returning army would have to deal with.

Though she desperately tried to justify escaping, she could not deny that she was abandoning everyone to preserve her own life. Maxi squeezed her eyes shut, splattering tears on the saddle. Helplessness and guilt weighed on her heart.

Think of Riftan. Remember your promise to him. You assured him that you’d be careful, that you wouldn’t do anything reckless…

Despite her efforts, tears continued to trickle down her cheeks even as night fell. They rode through the darkened forest. Again and again, Maxi turned to look behind her. She thought she could hear screams echoing from afar. She could not tell if the sounds were real or an auditory hallucination caused by her guilt.

Ulyseon, who had been riding in silence, suddenly spoke up.

“I think we’ll have to change course.”

He caught sight of Maxi’s haggard face and flashed her a sympathetic look.

“I sense a horde of monsters coming this way,” he said, his expression hardening. “We should turn back.”

“How many?” Garrow asked gravely.

“About thirty… No, forty.”

“Trolls?”

Ulyseon stared into the dark forest as if he could see through the trees and shook his head. “Kobolds or red goblins, most likely. It’s best we just avoid them.”

Garrow turned his horse around. He then handed Maxi back her reins and said grimly, “We truly cannot go back now, my lady, so please ready yourself and follow our lead.”

Fighting to suppress her sobs, Maxi bobbed her head. Ulyseon took the lead and galloped away first. Spurring her horse behind him, Maxi desperately tried to regain her composure. This was not the time for her to be crying like a child. Ulyseon and Garrow could be endangered because of her.

“This way, my lady. We’ll follow this path to cross the rock face.”

They traveled through the dense forest for about twenty minutes before Ulyseon pointed up the slope. The path was so narrow and rugged that it could hardly be called such.

“Do we have to… go up?”

“It’s likely that the monsters sent garrisons up north as well in case we tried to escape. Going around is no longer an option. We’ll have to climb over and head east.”

“B-But what if there are monsters waiting on the opposite side?”

Ulyseon shook his head. “They have no reason to scatter their troops in so many places. And even if there are monsters, they’ll likely be scouts. The two of us should be able to handle them.” “I’ll take the lead from here,” said Garrow, riding up the slope. “I’m more adept with this terrain.”

Maxi’s whole body grew tense as she climbed up the dizzyingly steep incline. Sweat streamed down her body like rain, and her breathing grew ragged.

It felt as though they had been ascending forever when they suddenly came to a stop. An unobstructed view of Eth Lene Castle stretched below them.

Maxi straightened in her saddle as she listened to the faint sounds of the siege.

Garrow muttered under his breath. “Damn it…”

Maxi quickly saw what had made the squire curse. One of the double barriers in front of the ramparts was collapsing. The monsters roared savagely and charged at the remaining barrier like a herd of buffalos.

Maxi let out a wail of despair. The size of the monster army was much bigger than what she had seen above the ramparts. What had seemed like an army of hundreds now appeared to number thousands. Not only were there trolls and red goblins in their ranks, but ogres as well.

“How in the devil did an army of that size spring out of nowhere?”

“Now is not the time for that. They probably have search teams all over the place. We have to get out of here before they catch our scent.”

Collecting himself first, Ulyseon tried to get them back on the road, but Maxi could not pry her eyes away from the besieged city. As she stood dazed, Ulyseon attempted to reassure her.

“Even if the city were to fall, I am sure our men will be able to hold them off long enough for the coalition army to get back.”

Though Maxi knew nothing about warfare, she knew the squire was lying. How could a mere three hundred men hold off thousands of monsters? The creatures would no doubt turn Eth Lene Castle into rubble in an instant.

She watched in terror as monsters flooded out of the ravine beneath them. Then, quite suddenly, an idea dawned on her.

“If… we collapse that… would it d-deal a big enough blow to the monsters?” she asked, pointing to the towering rock faces that rose on both sides of the road leading up to the southern gate.

For a moment, the squires stared at her vacantly. Their eyes grew wide when they realized that she was pointing to the large boulder jutting out above the rock faces.

“My lady, are you saying… you could do that?” Garrow asked, his voice trembling.

“I think I could… i-if I used magic.”

Although she wanted to sound as calm as possible, her voice cracked like a croaking frog. Both squires looked doubtful.

“Do you think you have sufficient mana, my lady?”

“I have a way. If th-there’s a chance of success… no matter how small… don’t you think it’s worth trying?”

The squires exchanged glances.

Sensing their inner conflict, Maxi desperately pleaded, “P-Please let me try it. It shouldn’t t-take longer than twenty— No, fifteen minutes. If I fail, I-I’ll follow you without another word.”

After looking back and forth between the boulder and Maxi’s face, Ulyseon bit down on his lip. He wordlessly deliberated over the matter with Garrow before bobbing his head.

“Very well. We should give it a try, my lady. But if the plan fails, we must not delay any longer.”

Maxi gave a resolute nod. The squires regarded her ruefully for a moment before the three of them climbed up the rugged mountain path once more.

As she followed them, the noise of the battle gradually grew closer, and the sky turned purple.

Maxi gasped for air, certain that her lungs would burst. Pain stabbed at her thighs, and her arms shook, but she did not dare ask to stop.

They rode for an indeterminate amount of time when something suddenly leaped out of the trees.

Ulyseon drew his sword and shouted, “Stay back, my lady!”

Calming her agitated horse, Maxi hastily retreated behind the squires. Unfortunately, there were monsters to the rear as well.

Shoving Maxi behind him, Ulyseon cried out, “Garrow, they have us surrounded! Open a path now!”

As though executing a plan, the monsters advanced on them all at once. Maxi’s horse began to rear, and it took all her strength to cling to its neck and attempt to rein it in. Casting a barrier at the same time was impossible.

“My lady!” cried Garrow. “Escape while we distract them! We’ll be right behind you!”

Terrified, Maxi glanced around. Where was she supposed to run?

While she hesitated, completely at a loss for what to do, Ulyseon and Garrow cut down the goblins and managed to secure an opening.

“Now, my lady!”

Maxi spurred her horse and shot past the goblins like an arrow. The wind whooshed past, along with blurred impressions of thick tree trunks.

There was no time to check that she was going in the right direction. Afraid that the monsters would catch up to her if she slowed even a little, Maxi frantically flicked the reins like a whip.

Then, out of nowhere, something came flying down on top of her. Maxi tumbled from her horse and rolled along the ground. The excruciating impact racked through her whole body, knocking all the air from her lungs.

Choking, Maxi looked up in terror. A goblin sat on her chest with a hooked weapon leveled at her. Maxi screamed. She fumbled on the ground for anything she could grab and aimed it at the creature.

A twig caught the goblin’s eye, and it howled as it clutched its face. Maxi pushed it off and scrambled away on her hands and knees.

The goblin was on her again before she could get to her feet. It yanked her back by her hair, and she thrashed against it as though she were drowning. Then, her vision turned black as it landed a brutal kick on her stomach. She desperately tried to cling to her fading consciousness. It would truly be the end if she were to pass out now.

The monster began dragging her along the forest floor by her hair. Struggling against it, Maxi unsheathed the dagger from her waist. She thrust the blade upward and felt it sink into flesh like half-cooked meat.

The goblin’s large, burning eyes grew even bigger as it stared at its abdomen in disbelief. Then it began to shake her head violently.

Maxi yanked the dagger out and plunged it back in. Warm blood spewed out like a fountain, drenching her face and arms. Over and over, she stabbed the goblin’s round belly in a frenzy. It took dozens of strikes before the monster’s hands finally went limp.

Heaving ragged breaths, Maxi shakily sat up. Nausea washed through her as soon as she saw the monster’s chest. It now resembled a chunk of meat. Turning her head, she hurled sticky bile over the base of a tree. Her throat burned, and her whole body ached as though all of her bones had been crushed.

Breathing was painful; she surmised that she had broken a rib. Clutching her side, she looked back along the path.

Where on earth am I?

Her mount had long since fled. Pressing her hand against the tree trunk for support, Maxi staggered to her feet. Strangely enough, she no longer felt afraid. Perhaps it was because her ability to cope had been stretched far beyond its limits.

She was numbly surveying her surroundings when she heard a gruff bellow in the distance. She staggered in the direction of the sound. Stepping out of the trees, she found herself on a dizzyingly steep cliff with a boulder overhang.

Maxi teetered to the edge and looked down to see thousands of monsters gathered at the barrier protecting the city gates.