Chapter 203: Unmatched

I did it! I did it! I did it! I raised a cheer inside my heart. That was close — paper-thin. Truly a hair’s breadth. When I turned to look at him, he was pressing his side while blood dripped steadily. He looked at me. Unlike the expression from a moment ago, I could see the sorrow of one who had sensed death.

In an instant his eyes changed and became dyed with madness. His left arm dangled limply. Blood trickled from the arm onto his hand.

"Gwaaaaaah—!!"

He charged at me while screaming, but he had already lost the speed from before.

I dodged the downward-swinging sword and cut his thigh. There was solid feedback! Blood scattered. Had I cut an artery or a vein!? It should be a fatal wound! Stop moving already!

At that moment an arrow flew toward me. Startled, I dodged — and the next arrow flew to the place I had dodged to. When I knocked that one down I noticed an arrow flying from behind and opened my body to avoid it. The arrow passed beside me. But as if my movement had been anticipated, arrows came from both sides at the same time. I deflected one and knocked down the other. Arrows from both directions continued.

In the direction the arrows were flying from, suddenly

"Gyaa!!"

a voice rang out and a person fell from a tree. Who? Who did that? When I turned around, White was holding a bow. That guy!? A perfect example of "you can’t judge a person by appearance"!

Yet arrows continued without pause from the right. White, aim for that one! The arrows were being fired in rapid succession; I was fully occupied just defending! White shot an arrow and it struck that archer!! At that moment I failed to notice an arrow flying straight at me, skimming the ground. The arrow grazed my thigh!

"Itee—!!"

I cried out and rolled. Even though it only grazed me, the pain was terrible!

""Robby-sama!?""

Voices rose from Lily and Stevie. Both were fighting. They had no time to look after me.

"Guh!?"

I took a styptic out of my mana bag, dumped it on the wound, and wrapped cloth around it. Poison on the arrowhead? I wasn’t dead, so was it all right? Ah... my leg was starting to go numb. Antidote, antidote medicine? I searched the mana bag. Where? Where is it? None! Is there none? Ah, there is! Found it! I took it out and poured it on the wound! Another one — search, find it, take it out, drink it! Bitterrrrr—!! But although my leg was numb, it didn’t seem to be spreading further. Just as I tried to drag my leg and move into the shadow of a tree, another arrow came flying as if crawling along the ground!

Bashii!

I barely managed to knock the arrow down.

"Hmph!"

A voice came from within the forest and the archer appeared. His body was not particularly large, but he looked as if he possessed a supple physique. At that moment Stevie appeared in front of me. She seemed to have defeated the man she was fighting. Her arm had been cut, her clothes were torn, and blood was dripping.

"White!"

"Yes!"

Answering my voice, White fired arrows in rapid succession. Yet that man lightly stepped left and right and dodged them with ease. The power and accuracy of White’s arrows were above average. He was dodging them with room to spare.

Then that man suddenly dashed — he appeared in front of Stevie in the time it took to blink! The speed made me think he had used shrinking the earth. Stevie’s sword barely made it in time against the sword he brought down, but she was pushed back and her sword was forced down.

The man took one hand off the sword and punched Stevie in the side!

"Gufu!!"

Stevie screamed and rolled sideways. He was treating Stevie like a child! Stevie rolled while scattering blood. She shouldn’t have been cut by this man just now? Was it from when her arm was cut earlier?

The man looked at me and grinned.

"Sorry about that. I thought I’d take you alive, but too many of my comrades have been killed. Looking at your face makes me remember the dead ones. So I’ve decided to take your head. Nah, I’ll just say I killed you in combat, yeah? Ahahaha!"

He laughed with complete composure.

"Robby-samaaa—!!"

Lily cried out, but Lily was also fully occupied with her current opponent. White shot an arrow at the man in front of me, but he brushed it aside easily.

"Where exactly did you intend to take me? To Maxim?"

At my question the man’s face twisted and he sneered,

"Hahaha, you think so? Ihihihi, I’ve already stopped carrying that idiot’s litter. That guy fails at everything he tries. I’m taking you to the Empire. Just thinking about raising your head in the square of the imperial capital makes me feel something indescribable! The royal family of this country is nothing but idiots, nothing but shit! (I agree with that — including myself) Even the Crown Prince said he was going on a magical-beast hunt, yet he never went to the front line, never cared about the people fighting desperately ahead, and just played with girls collected from nearby villages in the safe rear. What do you think? Wouldn’t it be better if there was no such Crown Prince? So we blew the whistle that summons magical beasts. And then he died while still thrusting his hips on top of a woman! The idiot Crown Prince was an idiot right up to the moment he died! Sorry, but you die too! And in the next world meet that idiot Crown Prince. Tell him that idiocy isn’t cured even by death. Now dieeeeee—!!"

The instant he finished speaking he drove in a thrust of ferocious speed.

"Uwah!?"

With the greatest effort I matched the thrust with my sword and deflected it. He pulled the sword back and thrust again. I barely managed to parry. He thrust, I parried.

"Uhyahyahyahya!! This is fun! It’s been a long time since I had this much fun! Feels good — I finally understand the feeling of a cat toying with a mouse! Ahahaha! Just a little more! Look, your life is about to disappear! Come on, try harder! Entertain me a little longer! Killing you too easily wouldn’t be satisfying — I’ve finally met someone with real substance! Ahahaha!!" ℯ

Standing in absolute superiority, he thrust his sword so that I could barely dodge at the last moment. There White’s arrow flew.

He brushed the arrow aside and shouted,

"Don’t interfere!"

He pulled a sword from his mana bag and threw it!

"Uwah!!"

White’s scream rang out from behind.

"Well then, shall we finish this soon. More interference might come, after all."

Licking his lips he drew the sword back. At that moment Stevie charged in from the side.