Walking through the pure white snowfield.
Having been running continuously, my legs trembled and my body shivered in the cold wind as I kept searching for a crowd of people.
Thanks to the artifact that hid my presence, I hadn’t been discovered yet, but if this continued, it would only be a matter of time before the artifact’s effects wore off.
Mira-jen bit her lips lightly and let out a sigh.
I had escaped through the passage, yet the problems still remained.
The possibility of reuniting with Adele Igrit and the chance of Robert Taylor returning alive.
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed unlikely I would survive against all those immigrant tribes.
How powerless I felt. That realization furrowed Mira-jen’s brow.
How many had died just to save one person? Not to mention Robert Taylor.
Thinking of blocking dozens of immigrant tribes alone to let one person escape was something even the Knight Commander in the imperial palace couldn’t consider.
Someone with no meaningful connection said that. To buy time and carry on living.
Couldn’t we have escaped together?
What was she, just a princess clinging to a precarious position behind the Crown Prince?
“…I don’t understand.”
-There was a need for it.
When she asked Robert if there had been a need to save her despite coming alone, he had answered that way.
What necessity could have driven him to say such a thing? Mira-jen recalled Robert’s eyes.
They were slightly more affectionate and softer than usual.
He often looked at her with such eyes, causing Mira-jen to struggle to understand Robert’s heart.
-Mira-jen, do you… believe in reincarnation?
Could it be mere coincidence that Adrian’s words came to her mind?
Reincarnation, if Robert and she had a special relationship during a time that no one knew.
If he remembered something that no one else did, only Robert himself recalling their memories.
Perhaps then, she could understand his attitude.
The cold wind seeped in.
It was bearable only because Robert had given her his cloak.
She clutched the cloak she had received, feeling the faint warmth that lingered inside and recalling Robert’s determination to protect her.
Sacrifice. No, Robert wouldn’t die.
He had said he wouldn’t die, so surely they would meet again.
In the intensifying blizzard, a faint silhouette began to emerge.
Spotting a pack of black wolves sprinting toward her, Mira-jen withdrew her artifact.
As Mira-jen’s figure was revealed in the snowstorm, Adele, having discovered her, led the pack charging towards her.
“Your Highness the Princess.”
While relieved to find Mira-jen alive, Adele’s gaze confirmed that there was nothing next to her.
To come all this way meant Robert had arrived as well.
But where had Robert gone?
She wondered if he might be regrouping from behind, but Mira-jen spoke up first.
“We don’t have time to stay here like this. Duke Taylor is holding off the immigrant tribes alone. We need to support him as quickly as possible—”
“…Robert is alone?”
Suddenly, a chilling voice echoed, causing Mira-jen to nod in silence.
Adele’s expression hadn’t changed from before.
Her face remained expressionless, and she seemed to maintain her cold demeanor.
However, her eyes, gazing in the direction where Robert was, quivered infinitely.
Grinding her teeth, Adele let out a faint breath. It was evident that Temujin wasn’t facing them alone.
Wasn’t Temujin cunning and sly? It was certain he was fighting against dozens.
Isn’t it obvious? I’m sure he’s fighting against dozens.
There wasn’t even time to think about it. After briefly checking Miragen’s condition, Adele opened her mouth, looking at the cloak draped over her shoulder.
Covered in dried blood, even if Robert’s blood is little, there’s no way he wouldn’t be injured.
Adele’s expression darkened as she stared at the hole in his shoulder.
“How was Robert’s condition?”
“He was seriously injured. I think it will be hard for him to keep fighting… I believe.”
“I see.”
Having lent a sword to Robert, Adele drew the remaining one and looked at Toby.
There wasn’t time for everyone to move together. From here, it would be faster for her to go alone.
It would probably take about 10 minutes to reach where Robert was.
Estimating that time, she started to move her lips.
“Toby, take Her Highness the Princess and join Bunta. I’ll go get Robert and bring him back.”
“Are you planning to go alone?”
“That’s right.”
Adele nodded briefly to Miragen and grabbed the reins. Miragen didn’t try to hold her back as she hurried to depart.
The thought that they needed to help Robert as soon as possible was mutual between the two.
Only one thought filled Adele’s mind.
She had to reach Robert as quickly as possible. A cold wind blew.
It was chillier than usual, and that strange feeling made Adele spur on.
#
The numerical advantage always provided a sense of stability in any situation.
Even when three faced one, wasn’t there confidence in winning?
Especially now, there were as many as 50. Temujin frowned slightly as he looked at the warriors surrounding one man.
But why was it that no one dared to approach?
It was a battle that simply ended by subduing one. Why couldn’t they subdue him easily?
Temujin himself couldn’t advance either, and this tedious exchange continued without resolution.
“Are they scared or what?”
Robert sneered.
He was covered in numerous wounds, arrows piercing his shoulder, and his once-white shirt had long been soaked in red.
Wiping the blood from his forehead, he thought. Perhaps the trick he used once had worked well.
Hadn’t he faced situations of one against many quite often?
The number of knights Miragen had assembled to hunt him was five hundred.
He managed to cut down all five hundred, yet he couldn’t strike down Miragen in the end.
It was because he hesitated.
The name Miragen remained someone he could still hesitate against.
When he cleanly severed the neck of a warrior he had grabbed, the body fell with a thud.
The only way to gain the upper hand in an unfavorable situation was one.
To create a strong impression that made it hard for them to approach easily.
Swinging his sword wildly, the startled warriors flinched and stepped back.
“What are you doing? Cowardly backing away from just one!”
“B-but he’s not an easy opponent. Seven warriors have already died, but it’s difficult to surround him in such tight quarters.”
“Then just shoot arrows, damn it!”
Every time an arrow was fired, it was like watching a bizarre demonstration as he cut them down with his sword.
Over a hundred were shot, and only three hit. Was that really something a human could achieve?
For a moment, Temujin shook off his doubts and decisively stepped forward.
There was no point in sending cowardly warriors now; this situation was truly the moment for him to fight.
As for the likelihood of victory, Temujin assessed Robert’s condition as critical.
He must have exhausted nearly all his strength, and it looked like he would crumble at the slightest provocation.
Look, isn’t he already gasping for breath? Watching Robert struggling to breathe, Temujin seized the opportunity.
“Do you really think I’m exhausted?”
Of course, Temujin’s thoughts were quite transparent to Robert.
It was true he was tired.
To seize the initiative at the start, he had to exert overwhelming pressure, which had drained a significant amount of his stamina.
‘… Maybe 5 minutes.’
The time available to use his magic was laughably short.
If he dragged it out any longer, he would end up collapsing and dying.
It was indeed a very short time. Yet, he didn’t feel a thought of death.
Was it confidence? No, rather, it would be more accurate to call it conviction.
He hadn’t lived a meaningless life just to die in such a place.
Flames, like a phoenix rising, enveloped Robert’s body.
Unlike before, it burned the surroundings like a fire, appearing as if it absorbed the magic scattering in the wind.
And in reality, it was true. Once he learned how to manipulate magic, he finally understood how to use the magic present in nature.
Realizing that Robert still had no intention of swinging his sword, Temujin planted his feet firmly on the ground.
Boom! The ground split under his foot, sending dust flying. He aimed to finish it in one blow.
Temujin’s specialty was channeling magic into his body in an instant; the blade infused with immense magic swung towards Robert.
But it didn’t connect. Robert deftly tilted his head and dodged, lifting his elbow to strike down.
Coughing, Temujin grimaced as he felt the sting of the blow.
He swung his body again, but that attack missed too.
Robert’s movements flowed like the wind. Almost reaching but never quite touching.
“Ugh!”
Each time he failed to land a hit, Robert would inevitably strike a vital point, causing Temujin to stumble as Robert’s leg swept towards him.
Instead of falling, he clutched Temujin’s collar to stay upright.
Falling would only give him more time. What would happen once he knocked down Temujin?
Robert quickly assessed his surroundings and smirked.
Those dozens of warriors would surely charge at him.
Given their reverence for their chief’s honor, they would undeniably swarm him for a revenge they held dear.
Thus, he needed to show that even after the chief fell, he remained overwhelming.
Even if dozens rushed at him, he had to make them realize that there was no hope of victory.
That’s the reason for conserving his magic. Robert’s fist plunged into Temujin’s face.
Crack! Even as his nasal bones shattered and sunk inward, he grabbed Temujin’s collar to lift him and punched him again.
Bang! As Temujin’s body hit the ground, the floor shattered beneath him, yet he couldn’t resist at all.
The magic flowing through Robert completely enveloped him,
and every movement he made was immediately read, allowing for counterattacks. His hand gripping the sword twitched and trembled.
Crack! Once more, Temujin’s body slammed against the ground.
Blood oozed from his nose and mouth, and he could taste stone fragments. Still, Robert showed no signs of stopping.
Even as shards of broken teeth embedded into his fists and Temujin’s sword slashed at his side,
the roaring magic power surged like a flash toward Temujin’s body.
With each swing of the sword, it shattered his arm,
and whenever he tried to move, it smashed his knees to the ground. When he attempted to speak, a fist came crashing down, mashing his nose.
“Th-that…”
Bang!
Before he could even finish his sentence, his face was shoved into the ground with a scream.
In the midst of it all, Robert could feel his magic power slowly waning.
The reason for this relentless beating was simple; glancing around, he saw the warriors’ faces losing their fighting spirit.
Some of them were even running away, wetting themselves, which made Robert’s fists move even faster.
There was nothing to find out. Temujin knew everything that Robert already did.
The only question was how he knew the princess was in the Northwest.
Pausing for a moment, Robert slowly drew his sword.
As the magic power flowed into the blade,
a small droplet of blood gathered as the magically enhanced sword pointed at Temujin’s neck.
“P-please spare me…”
“Were you still hoping to live?”
At the moment he aimed for Miragen, Temujin was already a dead man.
He had no intention of sparing him from the very beginning.
As Robert smiled slightly, pushing the blade forward, the trickle of blood began to flow more rapidly.
“I have a question, and I expect an answer.”
“I-I can answer! Just spare my life…”
“First question. How did you know the princess was in the Northwest? Did someone tell you?”
Temujin vigorously nodded his head.
Yes, that was right, he was enthusiastically affirming, causing Robert’s expression to harden.
What he had suspected had now become reality.
So, who exactly had informed him of the princess’s presence here?
“It was a woman named Teresa who told me. The princess is… in the Northwest…”
“Teresa?”
Robert couldn’t believe his ears. Why was that name surfacing here?
Hearing that he didn’t know her last name, he let out a small sigh.
If this Teresa was indeed Teresa Violet, then there was no way he could just let her go.
But that was something to think about later.
He was headed South anyway, so he needed to decide Temujin’s fate first.
“If you want help, you should come to the South. I swear, so please just spare my life…!”
Temujin begged for his life.
At that moment, he realized that the title of chief meant nothing; he forced his unmoving body to kneel.
Thud, thud—every time he knocked his head to the ground, blood splattered.
Robert, who watched that scene, could only smile bitterly.
How had they treated Miragen when she begged for her life?
…Probably just laughed at her.
So, the sword did not stop.
As the cleanly drawn blade swept past Temujin’s neck,
his head rolled away, heading toward the feet of other warriors.
Robert’s gaze fell upon them.
Looking at the dozens of them, pale and trembling, Robert’s face remained relaxed.
Readjusting his grip on the sword, Robert’s lips twitched.
“If you want revenge, come at me.”
But he believed there would be no warrior bold enough to dare.
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