Chapter 45: One Wrong Target

A single screech pierced through his chest. The soldier ran down the hill without thinking.

The arrow wasn’t deep, but that didn’t matter. She wasn’t climbing anymore.

His chest tightened when the Firewing veered even lower than before. She folded one wing slightly and dived. Arrows chased after her blazing tail as she skimmed over the grass.

The Firewing closed the distance easily. Benign jumped, grabbed the saddle, and swung onto the back in one practiced motion.

"Good girl." He steadied himself with one hand and snapped his head toward the watchtowers. "Higher!"

"It’s the Hero!"

A soldier yelled out to the other archers. "Don’t you dare miss!"

"Yessir!" They chorused.

Another rain of arrows streaked toward them.

SHING!

The Blade of Ages flashed once and split two arrows apart before they reached the Firewing, while a third scraped harmlessly across the flat of the blade.

Benign sliced through the arrow before it could bury itself deeper beneath the Firewing’s wing. Yet the Firewing still bled from the place it was struck.

"Should I pull it out? Would it hurt too much?"

[Suggestion.]

"Yes?"

[The Stepfather skill may be applied to your companion. It will cost more since the Firewing is still active.]

[Cost = 50 HP]

[Remaining HP = 42 HP ]

Benign frowned while another arrow whistled past. The HP hurried to its depths faster when he didn’t check. "Will her healing be immediate?"

[No, but the Firewing’s injuries will close within the next three minutes.]

Benign hummed. That was faster than any of his injuries healed. He looked under him. The Firewing’s breathing had already grown uneven.

"Do it."

A warm current spread from his chest into the Firewing beneath him. The arrows buried beneath her wing trembled before sliding free as the flesh regrew. The torn feathers knitted together.

"So that’s how it works..."

The firewing answered with a determined screech.

"You are welcome. Now, let’s hope not to get any more injuries."

The firewing climbed again.

Benign glanced at Rox. She hadn’t moved, and her eyes remained glued to the direction of the Slime. Good. She hadn’t noticed him leaving.

Benign raised the firewing upward again, letting the archers find him.

Another storm of arrows followed.

Benign leaned across the Firewing’s neck. "Keep flying."

SHING! SHING!

His blade batted arrows away one after another. The numerous impacts numbed his wrist, but every arrow aimed at the Firewing struck steel instead. "I can’t do this for long... what if I used Hell Rain... on the watchtowers?"

[Hell Rain’s range cannot be reduced.]

Benign frowned. "The smallest possible area?"

[Hell Rain’s range cannot be reduced.]

Benign looked across the enemy camp. Dating to use Hell Rain would ruin the current plan, and the one he had waiting for the right time.

He also had no idea what Mana Points he had left. His fingers tightened around the hilt.

"Let’s just distract them till Rox gives feedback."

He pulled the Firewing into another sharp dive. The guards shouted immediately, every bow turning toward the blazing Firewing.

"That’s right..." Benign muttered. "Keep looking at me."

Meanwhile, Rox listened carefully while keeping the slime child away from human contact..

"Anything important?" Areus asked behind her.

"Not yet. I can’t tell which soldier to follow. It seems there’s no ongoing meeting at the moment."

The slime continued to the other half of the camp, slipping through windows and doors in abnormal fluidity. The child slid behind a door and froze.

A patrol soldier approached, scratched his leg, and continued moving.

"Why are we having another meeting...?"

Rox’s eyes widened when she heard that. "Okay, I have found someone." The slime followed.

It slipped through a gap beneath a tent before hiding beneath a folded map table. There were only four people present, so it was easier to go unnoticed.

For emphasis, it hid behind a large barrel of water. Several officers stood around the table.

"That route is unusable."

"Then we attack from the river."

".... you know. The boys.... and they can’t swim...."

The men murmured amongst themselves. Rox struggled without being physically present.

"The General wants the Hero alive." One said with a raised voice. "So that suggestion is out of it."

Rox’s eyes narrowed. "Alive?"

There was a battle plan that involved the Hero being dead, hence the men wanted to avoid it. That made her feel the headquarters might be vulnerable. She continued listening.

"The siege launchers arrive tomorrow." One of the soldiers told the rest. "The explosives remain in the southern storage. What about those arrows?"

Another nodded firmly. "The poisoned arrows stay separate. We are ready with every preparation."

Rox immediately memorized everything.

Weapon supply. Poisoned arrows. Fire launchers.

Then the word she had been waiting for.

"Tomorrow."

The soldiers nodded within themselves.

"We attack tomorrow. Let the General know."

A grin slowly appeared on her face. "There it is."

Someone rushed into the room at that moment. "General! The Hero is here! He’s mounted a Firewing! I believe he wants an audience with you!"

Many footsteps rushed out of the tent.

Rox leaned back, the grin fading off her face. "Tell Benign to get out of there. We can leave."

Areus nodded and adjusted the silver shard in his hand.

He smiled when Benign glanced his way. Raising his razor-shaped dagger, he closed his eyes for a brief moment before flicking it toward Benign.

Benign leaned from the Firewing’s back and caught the dagger, wincing as its edge nicked his palm. Instantly, the familiar blue glow spread from the dagger to the Firewing.

The bird climbed higher, soaring beyond the reach of arrows, above the watchtowers and into the clouds.

"Head back to them now." Benign gave the Firewing a gentle pat.

His eyes found the slime child waiting below beside the cheetah mounts. ℯℯ𝘭.

"Looks like you’re done too."

He released the dagger.

The blue glow vanished. The Firewing immediately struggled under its own weight and tilted without warning. One wing dipped, throwing Benign off its back before he could brace himself.

"What—" His blade slipped from his hands before he realized.

"Shit!"