By Zephyria 
Trolls were not monsters that acted in groups. Maelo Sanson had once encountered trouble with a group of trolls, but that had happened deep within the Yuil Mountains. This place, close to the Widdrow Duchy, could be considered almost a safe zone.
However, pouring down towards our direction like ants swarming a sugar cube, it was clearly trolls. The only difference was that their hides were a darker, blacker shade than other trolls.
Hugh Benson, his face pale, made a swift decision befitting a squad leader.
“We’re breaking through.”
“Through there?”
“If we run back now, we’ll starve without supplies. We don’t know which way these bastards will move or how. We can’t entrust our lives to luck. This is the moment we can exert our maximum strength. As quickly as possible, let’s run for the Duchy.”
As Marianne’s voice trembled, Hugh Benson explained rapidly, dropping the bundle of Orc hides he had been carrying. We, who knew how meticulously he had tanned those hides, also began to unpack our burdens, keeping a wary eye on the troll horde from a distance.
“Discard anything useless. Mikael, you take the lead. Marianne, center. Your Highness, center right. I’ll be center left. Benjamin behind me, Elvin behind Rubel. Marianne is the slowest, so we’ll move in a wedge formation at her pace.”
“Yes.”
“Marianne, don’t use blink. If you fall out of formation, you’re dead. Run even if it’s hard. If we run for four days without sleeping or eating, we’ll reach the Duchy. Run with the resolve to die. Understand?”
“Yes.”
After instructing Marianne, Hugh Benson unbuckled the set of daggers strapped to her body. Knowing there was no time for explanations, Marianne quickly handed the bundle to Hugh Benson.
This time, he murmured an order towards me.
“If you see a path, take it. Even if trolls are gathered in a horde, they leave openings for their long arms to move. Slip through those gaps and run. Your sword is the fastest, which is why you’re leading. We’ll handle the regeneration from behind. Whether it’s a neck or an arm, it doesn’t matter. Don’t aim to kill, just make a path. We can’t kill all of them.”
“Yes.”
“Senior.”
Marianne cut off Hugh Benson, who was about to say more. Hugh Benson ground his teeth in annoyance. Before he could scold her, Marianne held up a small, round glass bottle on her palm.
“I have a flower that a Salamander spat out.”
“…What? Why do you have that?”
“I bought it because I saw it.”
“Ah… I’ll give you three ‘get out of trouble’ passes. Everyone, take one and put it in your mouth.”
What was this? Bewildered, I accepted what was given. My gaze, however, was fixed ahead. A troll that had been wandering at a distance had noticed us and was approaching. I drew my sword first.
“Whatever it is, we should do it quickly.”
“Don’t swallow it. Place it on your tongue and hold it. Never swallow or spit it out. Each petal lasts fifteen minutes. If you swallow it or the time runs out, you could burn the person next to you, but I’ll heal you immediately, so just run.”
“Yes?”
“There’s no time to question it. Hurry!”
So, everyone placed a petal on their tongue. Strangely, it tasted sweet.
As Marianne swung her staff in a zigzag pattern and recited the Activation Word, flames ignited on everyone’s bodies.
We ran like that. Monsters often shared similar attributes with beasts. While they might be curious about a high-flying light, they usually fled from intense heat nearby.
But that was when they were few in number. The trolls, with their large numbers front and back, charged without fear of the flames. Each time, we cut them down.
For the children behind me to cross more easily, it was best to sever the trolls’ long arms. Cutting off their heads only made them an obstacle to jump over. So, I cut off their arms. I cut down any I saw, creating openings.
The flames rained down from above, consuming the blood of the monsters.
I carved a path, and those who still charged were held back from behind. Elvin occasionally unleashed Sword Energy at those pursuing us. Ruben and Benjamin also worked hard. Marianne, running desperately, occasionally cast Restoration Magic on everyone.
Adjusting our speed so the children could run felt like death to me as well.
I cut, and cut again. And then cut again.
The number of trolls pouring down with their hideous roars seemed endless. There was no time to think why. Arms reaching from above were cut from below, and monstrous hands reaching from the sides were cut from above.
At some point, when the petal’s effect wore off and my back burned, I put another petal in my mouth. Then, a hot light would envelop my body again. In between, I could hear sobbing from behind.
Still, I couldn’t look back. It was partly due to Hugh Benson’s voice, shouting that if I hesitated, everyone would die, and partly because the end of the giant enemies filling my vision was nowhere in sight. There was not even a moment’s respite.
I became the sword, and the sword became me. It felt like I existed only to cut.
“Snap out of it, you bastard! Too fast!”
Slowing down,
“Shit, we’re out of flowers! Speed up!”
I sped up.
“All clear! Straight ahead!”
It was fortunate that the path was simple on the wide plains.
I could hear the sound of ragged breaths behind me. Occasionally, Hugh Benson would loudly announce the children’s status and encourage them. If Hugh Benson hadn’t kept shouting to inform us of the situation, I would have surely looked back, unable to bear the anxiety.
Then, at one point, Hugh Benson, having used up both his and Marianne’s Flying Daggers, clung to my back and snatched the daggers I had tied to my belt. I had left them there for him to take.
Ruben’s breathing, Marianne’s incantations, Hugh’s curses as he occasionally threw Flying Daggers at trolls the children missed, Benjamin’s battle cries, and Elvin’s foreign words like the sound of sandstorms.
Running through those sounds, sounds, and more sounds, the sun rose and set.
The sun rose and set again.
Thump, thump. The sound of trolls slamming their long arms onto the ground was so immense that the earth trembled greatly. Even running on solid ground would make one’s legs ache, but with the earth shaking, it took double the effort to run properly. It felt like being offered as a sacrifice in a grand ritual.
Every time I tried to look back, Hugh would shout.
“All clear! Straight ahead!”
Unable to disobey his hoarse shouts, I continued to carve a path.
Running, eating nothing, sleeping nothing, cutting and cutting, Marianne cast Restoration Magic a few times, but eventually, she could only retch and couldn’t cast spells in time. Hugh Benson, with his shouting voice, urged us to just run and do nothing. Marianne did so.
Instead of Marianne, it was Hugh Benson who poured Healing Magic using Healing Artifacts. A few of the Activation Words he recited in his voice, which sounded like grinding metal, were familiar.
On the morning of the fourth day, Hugh Benson commanded in a cracked, hoarse voice.
“If the brats fall, Benjamin carries Marianne, and Elvin carries Rubel.”
“I will.”
“You have to make the path! Snap out of it, you bastard!”
“…Yes.”
I gritted my teeth. While leading the pursuing monsters, I worried if it was okay to bring them all to the Duchy. But Hugh Benson had told me to go forward without a moment’s hesitation, so I did.
Then, at one moment, far in the distance, beyond the plains, a towering castle wall rose up.
It was such a high wall that it was visible from afar. As the finish line came into view, I became doubly anxious and kept wanting to look back.
It felt like no one was left behind me. It felt like I would be left alone again, having lost everyone, standing on empty ground. A dark shadow gnawed at my vision. The breath that rose to my throat pushed me forward.
Unconsciously, I chewed and swallowed the names of the children I had lost. The names of those already lost, and those pitiable ones I might lose. Names I would never forget, even in my dreams. All the while, I swung my sword. Blood still splattered.
Then, I saw figures pouring out from the castle gate ahead. I opened my eyes wide. They didn’t hesitate and spurred their horses. Hundreds of knights, drawing their gleaming swords, mounted their horses and charged towards us.
“Allies!”
Hugh Benson shouted loudly. The other side, hearing the shout from afar, also yelled.
“Allies!”
“Allies! Allies!”
I also saw figures with bows in the distance retracting their arrows, lest they hit us.
I had believed we would be saved once we reached the castle walls of the Duchy. Even hundreds of trolls would not be able to withstand knights charging with full force. Only then did I feel relieved.
A strong sense of relief and belonging, unlike anything I had experienced even in the Martial Arts Alliance, and the intense pleasure that came from it pierced through me.
Benjamin opened his mouth in a weak voice, but with a clear hint of a smile. The voice of the one who had remained silent all along was intact. Of course, no matter how quietly he whispered, his words would have been clearly heard.
“So, do we turn back and fight now?”
“Fight? Shit, run faster, you bastard!”
Hugh Benson burst into laughter.
My breath returned. There were no longer trolls pouring in from the front or sides.
The trolls chasing from behind, faced with a human force as numerous as themselves, hesitated and stopped their advance. The trolls were driven from their position as overwhelming hunters. However, even if they realized it, there was nowhere to escape.
The sound of hooves rushed past us, right beside us. Knights with excellent horsemanship, like a stream flowing between rocks, passed us lightly on both sides and galloped onto the plains.
We slowed our pace.
Only now could I look back. My vision filled with the group. Though their appearance was horrific, stained with dirt, monster blood, and even their own blood, thanks to repeated Restoration Magic, everyone was intact without a single wound.
Slowly, I first examined my child. Out of breath, drenched in sweat, with bloodstains all over his disheveled hair, he looked at me with shining black eyes, still intact. Ruben was smiling brightly. He was alive…
Now, everyone stopped walking.
Benjamin collapsed on the spot, and Marianne lay flat on her back. Both had smiles on their faces. A few white clouds drifted lazily across the bright blue sky. The sounds of weapons clashing, shouts, and the voices of knights yelling “Go forward,” “Go left,” “Go right” sounded distantly.
I thought it was pitch black night, but it was bright daylight.
Even though I knew Ruben hadn’t suffered any major injuries, I checked him multiple times. I held up the child who was about to collapse, examined him thoroughly. And I saw. Ruben had his right hand and his sword tightly bound with torn pieces of his clothes. Seeing the blood soaking into the fabric made my eyes sting.
When my gaze fell on the child’s hand, he casually held it up and smiled.
“I said I wouldn’t let go.”
He was asking for praise. With a sigh, I took his wrist and pulled him into my embrace. Thank goodness. What a relief. I finally felt like I could live. Hugh Benson looked at us with a weary expression, then also sat down and grumbled in a hoarse voice.
“Seriously, damn it… This is why you shouldn’t come with couples.”
Marianne sobbed, laughing and crying. Hicc, hic, she gasped, her chest heaving, and then fainted dead away. Hugh Benson, startled, checked her pulse, then laughed wearily and collapsed himself.
Seeing that, I asked.
“Benjamin carries Marianne, and I carry Rubel, right?”
“Carry me, you bastard. Me.”
But Hugh only chided me verbally, and with a gesture, he gave his permission. Only then could I pick up Rubel. The child hesitated for a moment, then obediently wrapped his arms around my neck and let me carry him.
Seeing that, Benjamin also started to get up to lift Marianne, but Elvin stepped forward first and gently lifted Marianne into his arms instead of Benjamin. Then Benjamin also walked along obediently.
When the group reached the moat, the bridge, which had been half-raised in case monsters attacked, was lowered.
From behind, the sounds of knights fighting trolls were still loud, but their victory was a foregone conclusion. No one worried.