Chapter 51
Tap!
A small shadow silently followed behind the trackers as they raced through the darkness.
It was Theron.
They've gotten faster.
After throwing away their torches, the men were running through the darkness without hesitation.
Their formation had not broken apart, and there was never more than a single step between them.
It showed just how thorough Kuarem's commands were.
I can't let them leave the forest like this.
Dozens of torches were approaching in the distance.
There was not much time before the troops coming from the city joined them.
And more importantly...
That man is dangerous.
Kuarem.
He was far too capable to be nothing more than a tracker operating in a remote region like this.
His ability to read the situation.
The way he commanded his men.
His judgment of when to retreat.
All of it belonged to someone who had spent years surviving real battles.
If a man like him returned alive and started following the tracks of Theron's scattered comrades...
There's no telling how many will die.
Theron's eyes turned cold.
There was only one conclusion.
He had to kill Kuarem here.
Theron increased his speed while pulling the final signal flare from his belt.
First, I'll stop their feet.
FWEEEEEEET!
The flare tore through the night sky.
But this time...
It rose ahead of the trackers, directly over the path leading toward the forest exit.
"...!"
Kuarem abruptly stopped.
His men hurriedly did the same and looked up.
"I-It's in front of us!"
"Did he somehow pass us?"
Their voices were filled with confusion.
Until now...
The boy had been behind them.
Yet the flare had risen from somewhere ahead.
When had he overtaken them?
Or...
Had he really overtaken them at all?
"It could be a trap."
"He might have prepared it earlier along our return route..."
As his men spoke, Kuarem silently stared into the darkness.
If they went forward...
They would head toward the place where the flare had risen.
The boy might be waiting there.
But if they changed direction...
Their formation would break, exposing their sides to the darkness.
And if they stopped...
They would lose time.
No matter what I choose, I'm still moving exactly as he wants.
Kuarem ground his teeth.
It was difficult to believe a twelve or thirteen-year-old had created this situation.
But there was no time to admire him.
"We push straight through."
"What? But..."
"If it's a trap, we break through it."
"The city troops are already coming."
"He doesn't have much time either."
"What he wants is for us to hesitate here."
Kuarem tightened his grip on his sword and took the lead.
His judgment was correct.
The problem...
Was that Theron had already predicted that correct judgment.
I knew you'd go straight ahead.
Hidden in the darkness above, Theron quietly lowered himself.
The signal flare was not a trap.
It was something meant to force them to choose a route.
If they hesitated, Theron gained time.
If they continued straight...
Their path became fixed.
And once the path was fixed...
So is the place where I'll ambush them.
A ravine crossed the route leading to the forest exit.
The passage was narrow, with steep rocky slopes on both sides.
There was no way to maintain their formation through it.
They would be forced into a line.
Theron's small figure silently slid down the tree.
The final act of the hunt...
Would take place there.
The moment Kuarem entered the ravine, he slowed.
Bad terrain.
A narrow road.
High slopes on both sides.
A place so dark that even moonlight barely entered.
There could hardly be a better place for an ambush.
But there was no other route.
"Pairs."
"Stay together and watch above."
"We pass through quickly."
His men swallowed and nodded.
Only six remained, including Kuarem.
Less than half the number that had entered the forest.
Step. Step.
Their footsteps echoed quietly against the ravine walls.
Every nerve was focused upward.
The attack would come from above.
Until now...
The boy had always descended from higher ground.
But...
STAB!
"Ghk..."
The attack came from below.
A pile of fallen leaves beside the road exploded.
Theron had buried himself inside it.
His dagger cut the tendon at the ankle of the man at the rear.
The instant the man fell...
The blade pierced his throat.
"Behind us!"
Kuarem spun around and shouted.
But Theron was already gone.
Rustle.
The shadow shot out of the scattering leaves, kicked twice against the ravine wall, and vanished into the darkness on the opposite side.
"That crazy bastard..."
"He buried himself in the leaves?!"
The men's voices trembled.
Five.
Their number had fallen again.
Kuarem tore his gaze from his fallen subordinate.
He had to calculate first.
Anger came later.
He's trying to wipe us all out.
Had the boy's objective changed?
If all he wanted was to delay them...
There was no reason to keep biting into their numbers this aggressively.
And there was something else.
Kuarem had underestimated him because of his age.
But now...
He's far more terrifying than I thought.
He had no choice but to admit it.
In this darkness...
The boy was far stronger than they were.
If they could not predict how or where he would attack...
They would eventually all die.
In that case...
"Stop."
Kuarem raised one hand.
"Everyone scatter."
"Spread out as far from each other as possible."
His men stared at him as though they had misheard.
Scatter against an assassin who ruled the darkness?
It sounded no different from volunteering to die one by one.
But Kuarem's thinking was different.
If we all run in different directions, he'll have to choose.
The boy could not kill all five of them at once.
Otherwise...
He would simply have to let them escape.
Damn it.
Kuarem hated the situation.
Adults fleeing from a child who was not even fully grown.
But...
We don't have another choice.
He turned slightly.
If the boy chose one of the five to pursue...
The person with the highest chance of becoming the target was...
Me.
Kuarem clenched his fist.
If the boy came after him...
