Chapter 191: Pincer Attack

"Stevie, from which direction is the whistle sound coming?"

At my question Stevie furrowed her brows, put a hand to her ear, and shook her head. In a good way she looked like a rabbit — no, she didn’t. Stevie was straining her ears toward a sound I could not hear at all. As expected, she turned toward the road we had come from and pointed.

"This way, I think it’s coming from this direction."

""As I thought.""

Lily’s and my voices matched. In short, they intended to call magical beasts from the direction we were heading and have Maxim’s agents strike us from behind in a pincer attack.

"Robby-sama, what shall we do?"

Lily asked.

"Pursuers are definitely coming from behind, right?"

"They are not yet visible, but..."

Lily answered.

"There are magical beasts in the forest ahead as well, without a doubt."

"They are surely gathering."

That was Stevie. Had no one taught her that she must not say such things, that she must not raise flags? Tears were about to fall from my eyes. When I looked at Lily she was shaking her head.

"Does that mean the magical beasts are coming toward us?"

"No!"

Stevie unusually declared it firmly.

"What’s different?"

"Magical beasts gather at the place of the person who blew the whistle."

That made sense.

"What if the person who was blowing the whistle stops blowing?"

"Who knows?"

You don’t know!?

Ahh, the forest began to rustle. Even I could feel that something terrifying was heading this way. A chill ran down my back. More than us, the horses we were riding began to grow frightened. They would not stand quietly, and if left alone they tried to flee. We barely held them down by pulling the reins.

"Robby-sama!"

Lily raised her voice.

"Is ahead no good?"

At my question,

"Impossible!"

Lily answered immediately.

"Then we turn back."

"But the pursuers?"

Lily asked, so I answered,

"We’ll think about that after we see them."

""Yes!""

Both of them gave good replies. As long as I gave the order they would follow it. Here there was no time to waste thinking this and that.

When I pulled the reins and made the horses run toward the direction we had come from, the horses began galloping at surprising speed. They must have felt that terror was coming from the forest. What even the horses could understand, I could sense only a little.

Lily, looking behind, cried,

"What!?"

Looking back, black masses leapt out from the forest. Because they were magical beasts, there were no goblins or kobolds? There might be some, but from behind, four-legged beasts were chasing us.

We made the horses run at full speed.

"Th-those are dogs?"

"N-no! Those are wolves, I think!"

Lily shouted.

"No! Those are Fenrir! A pack of Fenrir!!"

"Fenrir!? How are they different from wolves?"

"They’re big! Bigger than our horses!!"

Stevie screamed. They were overwhelmingly faster than our horses! The speed made me think my own horse was running in slow motion!?

At that moment Stevie pitched forward and collapsed. No — it was not Stevie; the horse Stevie had been riding crumpled and rolled forward. In that instant Stevie leapt up, landed ahead, and began running. My horse was also foaming white saliva from its mouth. Already at its limit?

"How’s Lily’s horse?"

"No good! I’m abandoning it!"

Lily shouted and jumped off. The horse immediately stopped and collapsed forward. I also dismounted before my horse fell. The moment I did, the horse stopped and sank unsteadily to the ground.

The three of us abandoned the horses and ran back the way we had come. I almost thought we were faster running on our own legs. Ahead, a mass of people came into view. Were those the ones who had been chasing us? Even though the magical beasts were closing in from behind us, they looked completely composed. The horses they were riding should also have been able to see the Fenrir, yet they wore calm faces (though I couldn’t read a horse’s expression). Why? Did they possess something that prevented magical beasts from attacking them? (I learned later that the horses the pursuers rode were warhorses, while the ones we rode were ordinary horses. Lily and Stevie had been frustrated about that, but of course no one would give good horses to people heading to the Mainz Kingdom. The fact that the margrave had given us any horses at all was already fortunate.)

From within the mass, one woman advanced her horse and came forward. The others seemed to leave it to her; they had drawn their swords but held them dangling and were laughing. Some were laughing loudly. They looked as if they could not contain their joy at seeing us chased by Fenrir! Damn them!!

The woman pointed her hand toward us and spread it open. There was not a single emotion on her face; only her lips moved while her expression remained blank. Was she chanting something? When the distance had closed to about twenty meters, light was born from the woman’s hand directed at us. The scenery in front of my eyes distorted for an instant. My head ached. My mind swam. Something seemed to pass from my forehead out through the back of my head. What had happened? What was that just now? What had that woman done?

Looking to the side, Lily was on her knees holding her head. Her profile showed an expression of agony. What had happened? Was it that severe? On the opposite side Stevie was also staggering, but she had not gone down on her knees. She showed me a face that seemed to ask what had happened. Was it not as bad for her as for Lily? As for me... the pain had lasted only an instant. Now I felt nothing.

"Se-seishin...?"

Stevie groaned. Spirit? Mental magic? Eroding the spirit? Spiritual abrasion? This was no time to be saying such things! I had to defeat that woman! I had to take out the source of the transmission!! If this was stacked further, even Stevie might end up in an unknown state!!

I started running toward the woman once more!

"Why!? How can you still move? Impossible — with the Crown Prince it wasn’t like this, damn it!?"

the woman cried. I don’t care about that! I’m going to defeat you!! I charged straight in front of the woman!

Until just before she had been laughing, directing a mocking black expression at us, but now her eyes were wide open in a face that looked as if she were seeing something that should not exist. I must not let this woman chant any more spells. I must not hesitate just because she is a woman! Even if I cut her stomach her life would remain, and if she then cast a death spell it would be the end of everything. I dodged the horse and leapt at the woman. Without looking at her I passed by and cut upward from chest to neck. The woman’s head, trailing a thread of blood, flew toward the ones who had been laughing.

"Impossible!?"

The men lined up behind the woman raised voices that were neither screams nor shouts.

"It doesn’t work? The mental magic doesn’t work!!"

I charged toward the one who had shouted and cut upward just like that. I severed his thigh. His spurting blood splashed across my face. For an instant I turned my face away so it did not enter my eyes. I leapt up, kicked the rump of his horse, and swept my sword toward the man beside him. I cut off both of his arms.

"Damn it!"

"Kill him!"

"Surround him!!"

Voices rose from within the group. Still mounted, they began moving to envelop us from both sides. Fools — horses cannot move that agilely!

In that interval I back-stepped, escaped the encirclement, and withdrew to where Lily and the others were.

Lily was shaking her head. Stevie was standing with her sword drawn, but her face was pale. She was swinging her sword, and the speed looked the same as usual.

"Lily, Stevie, are you all right?"

"Au..."

Lily still could not speak. But Stevie said,

"I’m all right!"

The tone of her voice had returned to normal.

Lily did not look all right at all, while Stevie somehow looked able to fight. Was empty-headed Stevie strong against mental magic? Had the skill the Queen gave me as thanks for the youth-rejuvenating medicine taken effect?

I looked behind. The Fenrir? Ah! They were eating the horses! Sorry, horses! Sacrifice yourselves for our sake and rest in peace! Huh? Horses can’t become Buddhas, can they? After all, people say "nembutsu in a horse’s ear," don’t they? Once they finished eating those it was obvious they would come this way. Three Fenrir that had already finished eating began running toward us. We run! Ahead are the pursuers (probably) whose comrades have been killed and who are in confusion; behind are the Fenrir — that means we leave the highway and flee to the side!

God, help us!