LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 95
The situation was not good.
No, I thought it was the worst thing that could happen among all possible disasters.
We had entered the battle.
Siabel and the soldiers were advancing, taking down the hearts and necks of the kobolds.
Shione was firing arrows next to the priest.
I was no different.
While Shione supported the front lines from the safety of the rear, I was merely close to Flora, aiming at kobolds to share some archery tips with her.
Hiding behind a thick wooden column, I was quietly drawing my bow when something unexpected happened.
Undoubtedly, it could be described as the worst situation among all that could occur in the current predicament.
Ahead were the kobolds, and behind were the wolves.
A true deadlock.
“Grr…!”
I barely managed to embrace Flora, who almost lost her life in a moment of carelessness, and as the wolves lunged again after my failed ambush, I pierced one through.
The pure white blade drove into the wolf’s snout and wreaked havoc inside. I felt a strong recoil from my trembling sword for just a fleeting moment.
Shudder.
My body shook heavily, and then the wolf crumpled to the ground.
“I can’t believe this.”
I had just resolved to comfortably shoot arrows from behind while searching once more, but now here I was, drawing my sword again.
I quickly scanned my surroundings and stood Flora up, who was trembling in my arms.
“Get up. There are more than one wolf.”
The wolves revealed themselves now, as if they had forgotten to breathe.
However, they didn’t surround us.
They were merely growling low, as if wanting to pass through this place, displaying no overt intent to attack, unlike the one that had just been pierced by my sword.
No, rather…
‘…They seem frightened.’
I had no ability to gauge emotions from the faces of dogs, but there was an instinctive atmosphere I could feel.
At least to me, those cunning hunting wolves looked scared of something.
I observed the farthest end of the wolf pack.
In the distance, a wolf was carefully watching its own path of retreat, not ours.
‘That direction…’
The west of the Count’s House, where the Beltlin mountain range is.
Just as Siabel warned me, that was the place where the rampaging orcs were causing chaos.
“Ray! Are you okay?!”
Shione shouted while protecting the priest, startled by the sudden appearance of the wolves.
“I’m fine!”
I lightly responded to Shione while stabilizing Flora, who looked dazed.
“The situation is bad, so I’ll keep my words to a minimum.”
Flora blinked and nodded to my statement.
“Are you hurt by the wolves?”
“U-uh… no.”
“You didn’t twist your ankle or anything while rolling around?”
She looked at the ground and twisted her ankle to gauge her condition.
“My ankle is fine….”
“Then snap out of it and get ready to run.”
Since her ankle was good to go, there was no need for me to support her.
With that, we returned directly to Shione’s side.
As we turned our backs to run, a few wolves attempted to pounce on us, but Shione solved the issue by shooting arrows at them.
When we finally regrouped with Shione and the priest, she asked while shooting another arrow to prevent the wolves from approaching.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. I’m not the type to get hurt rolling around on the ground.”
“That’s a relief.”
As the engagement with the kobolds continued ahead, and we found ourselves in a tense standoff with the wolves here, Siabel began to actively manipulate her mana.
She coated her sword with condensed mana. The aura blade formed faster than before. By wielding her enhanced physical abilities with the mana, she swiftly began to deal with the remaining enemies.
‘At this rate, Siabel should finish her fight with the kobolds soon and help us out.’
Having gained some distance from the wolves, I swung my sword to shake off the blood before sheathing it.
Pulling out an arrow from my quiver once again, I was about to string it when Flora cautiously approached and whispered.
“Th-thank you for saving me…!”
“Save your thanks for later, but how about stringing your bow now?”
Flora’s face was clearly showing her anxiety as she fell back into battle.
True to form, Flora was tense with a face full of nerves as she pulled back her bowstring.
Her arrowhead trembled slightly, not able to focus on a calm target.
What with the several battles, there weren’t many arrows left.
It would be a waste to consume the arrows without hitting something effectively.
To help alleviate Flora’s tension even a little, I spoke.
“Even if the wolves get closer, I’ll protect you like just now, so try to relax a bit.”
“…Thank you.”
Upon hearing my words, Flora briefly inspected my face before turning her serious gaze onto the wolves.
Her arrowhead no longer trembled.
However, shortly after that, a sudden chilling presence behind me made my body shiver.
…It wasn’t the wind.
When I turned back for a moment to check, I found Shione smiling with a smirk on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“…You’re too kind, it’s a problem.”
…My mouth is quite the issue, that it is.
After muttering that, an unsatisfied expression crossed Shione’s face as she leaned closer to me and said.
“We’ll have to speak about this later, just the two of us.”
I nodded absentmindedly at Shione’s words and resumed our standoff.
With Siabel’s contributions, the kobolds were being cleared out faster than ever.
The expert knights and soldiers who joined us swiftly handled the wolves as well.
The battle didn’t last long.
In front of the aura blade, the wolves were slaughtered, and as their numbers dwindled, they chose to flee in haste.
What nagged at me was that the wolves, no matter how one looks at it, seemed to appear fearful…
And then it happened.
“Ker-r-uk!!”
“Grr!!”
Something strange happened from the forest where the wolves had appeared.
Kobolds were jumping out one after another.
“…Looks like they’re frightened.”
Just as Shione had said.
The kobold that burst through the underbrush felt none of the prior aggression.
What was evident was nothing but fear and terror, like the wolves just moments ago.
I furrowed my brow, sensing the growing unease.
*
The weather abruptly turned for the worse.
The cold wind had become a biting gale sweeping over the northern tundra, tormenting us.
It would have been nice if we could bask in even a little sunlight on our now frozen bodies.
But with the dense gray clouds filling the once clear and empty sky, even that became impossible.
Whoosh!
As the fierce wind blew, not only the underbrush but the branches of trees were shaking violently. The wind was getting stronger. Neither Flora nor Shione seemed immune; every single person was shivering in this situation.
Before the weather conditions could get any worse…
“That’s enough for today, let’s return to the base!”
Siabel eventually judged that they couldn’t push any further and decided on a return to the base.
We began to slowly retrace our steps.
Maybe five minutes had passed.
Shione, who had been rubbing her hands together in an attempt to generate heat, looked up at the sky.
“Ray, Ray.”
“What is it?”
“Look up at the sky a bit.”
“The sky?”
I followed Shione’s words and looked up, and then I saw it.
“It’s finally snowing this year at the Count’s estate!”
White flakes were fluttering down from the sky.
“Seeing it like this, this forest path feels quite scenic.”
Said Shione cheerfully as she walked ahead with lively steps.
*
“I want to go home now…”
Shione sniffled and whined.
She had been so excited when the first snow fell.
Now, she was praying with both hands clasped that it would stop.
The bad weather.
We were left stranded in the stormy forest.
The biting cold wind and the relentless snow combined to create a blizzard that made it hard to see ahead. We were left to trudge through this miserable situation, praying for the sight of the base to appear.
The women, including Siabel, were huddling together to brave the snowstorm.
I was following behind them, acting as a wind shield for Shione, who was struggling with fatigue, worried we might get separated.
“Urgh…”
My body started to lose heat.
Even Shione’s fur hat was becoming cold, gnawing away at my senses.
At this rate, I would be frozen and unable to move like the rest of them.
So, needing to share warmth like everyone else, I immediately latched onto Shione.
“Ugh… Ray…?”
I didn’t answer and tightened my arm around her waist.
It was an action to block the wind coming from behind.
“Could you cover my left hand for a moment with your hands?”
“Out of the blue…?”
“Just try it for now.”
“Umm… okay.”
Shione curled her hands around my left hand.
I then manipulated my mana.
Whoosh!
The spirit magic elements I could handle were two in total: wind and fire.
Using the fiery energies, I created a flame.
Although Shione and I were closer to the fire than necessary, it wasn’t a problem since the spirit’s flames could only burn what the caster intended.
I infused warm heat into Shione’s hands.
“This is…!”
A typical reaction when someone catches a glimmer of hope.
Shione’s previously lifeless eyes began to shine brightly.
I warmed her hands before bringing them to my cheeks.
“Ah…”
Now, I felt more alive.
My face felt warm, and the throbbing headache from the cold was easing.
“Lady Shione, you should also bring your face closer to mine.”
“Hmm? Are you talking to me?”
“Who else am I talking to while having a chat with you?”
“…I understand.”
With that, Shione brought her face closer to me.
I placed my warmed left hand against her cheek.
“How does it feel? Isn’t it warm?”
“…Yeah, very warm.”
“Then hurry and put your hands back together.”
While stealthily warming ourselves up ahead, suddenly—
Bang… bang…
“……?”
I couldn’t tell if it was just my imagination.
Some kind of vibration was rising from the ground through my feet.
The tremor jolted my nerves and I extinguished the small flame from my palm, turning to look behind me.
“Ray, what’s wrong?”
“That is—”
I delayed answering, trailing off.
Beyond the restricted visibility of the blizzard, I could see something approaching, a shadow that was dark against the fierce wind.
The shadow began to close the distance between us.
Shione and I could finally make out its true identity.
“Ah….”
The face of a rugged-looking goblin, its pig-like nose sticking out prominently.
A massive body with broad shoulders and that olive-green skin.
Snort.
Seeing it blow a powerful gust of breath, I instinctively cursed in Korean.
“Damn it.”
Why does my ominous feeling always seem to become a reality?
The goblin’s eyes were bloodshot red.
It was as if it were proving how wild and fierce it had become.