Love Letter From The Future-Chapter 344: Bread and Dagger (42)

The blaring horns reverberated, rattling my skull.

Armed soldiers rushed  out from all directions, each holding their own weapon and exuding a menacing aura.

It was a surprise attack under the cover of night.

The location of the Yurdina family’s military camp was supposed to be a closely guarded secret. For the elves, discovering it would have been no small feat, especially given their overwhelming disadvantage in terms of military strength.

Even if they sent scouts, our surveillance net would have caught them in no time..

In fact, the Yurdina family’s army was actively scouring the coniferous forest themselves. The chances of them overcoming all those countless obstacles to reach our camp were virtually nonexistent.

Moreover, the elves were already struggling with a lack of manpower. They could hardly afford the luxury of considering missions that were no different from attempting suicide.

So for the Yurdina forces, this night raid was the first they’d experienced in a very long time.

To panic and become flustered would have been natural for anyone.. It was, after all, a situation where they had to confront the enemy without even having had time to mentally prepare themselves.

Yet, among the hundreds of soldiers, not a single one stood frozen in shock or lost their composure.

They simply gripped their weapons with calm resolve, as if they had been expecting this all along.

This truly was the front line.

In a place where they lived with death constantly looming over them, the soldiers guarding the edge of the coniferous forest were already prepared to fight.

That was a relief.

In the end, it was my misjudgment that saved Venetta’s life. Had the night raid caused significant casualties, it would have been hard to bear.

As I breathed a sigh of relief and looked around,

A familiar voice resonated in my ears.

“......Young Master.”

Despite the battle looming ahead, the person’s tone was oddly composed.

When I turned my head, there stood an old knight in heavy armor. It was Sir Alex, the loyal vassal and veteran commander of the Yurdina family.

He spoke to me with a calm expression.

Meanwhile, a few soldiers brushed past us.

“The elves have launched a night raid. Fortunately, a soldier on guard spotted them early, but their numbers are somewhat significant.”

“How many are there?”

“They seem to have about as many troops as we have in this camp.”

Our forces were evenly matched.

Ugh, a groan escaped my lips. It didn’t make sense for hundreds of elves to have prepared for a battle so suddenly.

Then there was only one answer.

“It’s a premeditated attack.”

“Yes, although I don’t know how they found out our location...”

“Venetta.”

It was a straightforward confession.

Even as I said it, I felt a pang of embarrassment, but Sir Alex just stared at me blankly.

It seemed he didn’t understand what I meant.

So I had to elaborate.

“I’m talking about that elf woman we captured as a prisoner. Turns out she had a tracking device on her.”

“Ah, that elf... Hmm, that’s unusual. Our mage didn’t notice anything when he examined her.”

“Looks like she’s undergone some kind of body modifications.”

It was still just a theory, but the grotesque lump of flesh that appeared in Venetta’s mouth resembled the one implanted in Aviang’s body, the only difference being Venetta lacking the regenerative abilities Aviang’s did.

Maybe each lump of flesh has its own unique ability. Even with body modifications, there were bound to be limits.

Despite the rather shocking revelation, Sir Alex didn’t seem particularly surprised. If anything, he was nodding, as if it all made sense.

He burst out in a chuckle.

“Didn’t I tell you? Elves are inherently untrustworthy creatures... It’s best to kill them outright, without a second thought.”

“...I’ll keep that in mind.”

I couldn’t help but think his advice was a bit much but, as someone with a guilty conscience, I couldn’t argue. I could only silently nod.

Seeing my gloomy expression, Sir Alex clicked his tongue and tried to console me.

“There’s no need to worry too much. Even if their numbers are equal, the qualitative difference can’t be ignored. Each one of our Yurdina soldiers is elite. And besides...”

The old knight’s gaze quietly met mine.

I wasn’t oblivious to the implication in his eyes. Before long, I gave a heavy nod and replied.

“We’ll join the fight. My companions and I.”

“Then we’ll win without much trouble. That is, if they’re the same ‘elves’ I know.”

He added ominously.

I frowned slightly, but Sir Alex ended the conversation and strode off, heading toward the coniferous forest dotted with lights.

It seemed the elves decided there was no point in hiding anymore.

They advanced, carrying torches they had prepared. Concealed among the trees, their exact numbers were difficult to discern, but their eyes glimmered fiercely in the darkness, filled with murderous intent.

I turned to Senior Neris, who was silently standing beside me.

“Senior Neris, please support the soldiers from the rear for now. And take care of Aviang too.”

“Yes, Sir Ian.”

She hurriedly lowered her head. Her identity was still a secret to the public, after all. Even the fact that she reached the rank of Expert was something she kept concealed.

It was better for her to stealthily support us from behind.

Besides, Senior Neris probably didn’t want to risk fighting on the front lines.

After issuing my instructions, I promptly followed behind Sir Alex. In front of a tent that appeared to be the command post, all my companions were already gathered.

Starting with Senior Elsie, followed by the Saintess, Yuren, Emma and even the Princess.

Except for Emma, they were all capable fighters ready to be deployed.

The first to spot me was the Saintess, who was anxiously pacing around.

“Ian! I heard the elves have launched a night raid...”

“This is a battlefield.”

I said, trying my best not to show any sign of panic.

Only then did the somewhat chaotic atmosphere among the group settle down a bit.

I was the one leading the group. We’de be in trouble if I didn’t keep it together.

“It’s not unusual to face an attack at any time. We came here to support the Yurdina family, so we’ll assist their army here.”

“H-How?”

The question abruptly spilled out.

My companions and I turned our gaze toward the source. Standing there, nervously fidgeting, was the Princess.

Her eyes were welling up with tears.

Seeing the girl on the verge of tears, I couldn’t help but wear a bitter expression.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand how she felt.

She was a woman who had been pampered in the imperial palace since childhood. It wasn’t just her; a subtle reluctance was evident on the faces of the rest of the group as well, except for Yuren.

After all, the elves were sentient beings.

They were different from the unmistakable monsters we’d fought and slain thus far. This was more akin to murder.

Taking someone’s life.

Unless one was a born killer, hesitation was inevitable. Even so, this was a battlefield.

“...We have to kill them.”

At that one sentence, the mood among the group sank noticeably.

The Princess tried to say something but then quickly clamped her mouth shut. She couldn’t deny that my words were logically correct.

I forced myself to ignore her downcast eyes and continued speaking.

“Emma, you stay somewhere safe for now. Saintess, please focus on treating the wounded at the rear. Senior Elsie, join the Yurdina family’s mages in intercepting the enemy... and Yuren?”

“I’m already excited to see what elven swordsmanship is like.”

Yuren grinned fiercely, running his hand along the blade of his sword.

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He was as strange as ever.

He’s perfectly sociable and reasonable when he’s not holding a sword—so why does he act like this?

Anyway, it worked out well for me.

The trauma of killing was most severe on the front lines. You had to fully endure the sensation of taking a life with your own hands.

But Yuren seemed to be devoid of any aversion to killing.

He was an excellent companion to have by my side. Smiling wryly, I stepped forward.

And then, in the next moment—

With a thud, I kicked off the ground, propelling myself forward. The space blurred into a straight line, and the icy northern wind lashed against my cheeks as if to tear them.

Not to be outdone, I felt Yuren’s presence chasing after me.

The elves, who had closed in within a certain distance, had come to a halt there. And as we got closer to the frontline, the true nature of the lights scattered among them became clear.

It wasn’t just torches.

Flaming arrows.

As if they had already anticipated such a tactic, the Yurdina soldiers bearing shields had positioned themselves at the very front.

“Fire!”

A faint voice echoed.

It was probably from the commander leading the elves. The perfectly coordinated barrage of flaming arrows that filled the sky at the command made it unmistakably clear.

The flames dotting the night sky resembled stars.

The only difference was that as they drew closer, they heralded death. Even though the arrows were fired from within the forest, their trajectory deftly avoided the trees.

It was the famed archery of the elves I’d only heard about in rumors.

It was said they could even alter the trajectory of their arrows using spirits.

But even the relentless rain of flaming arrows couldn’t halt my advance.

Without breaking my stride, I drew my sword and hatchet. Because I had drawn them in haste, a sharp scraping sound—shling—sliced through the air.

And with each step I took, several arrows broke and plunged into the ground.

My sword and hatchet crossed over each other in rapid succession. Under the two blades, which interlocked like precise gears, the arrows splintered and lost their momentum.

It took just four steps for all the flaming arrows brushing past me to crash into the ground.

My body shot forward without delay, as if dancing or treading lightly on the snowfield. Naturally, it was the elves who panicked.

They couldn’t have imagined a human would charge straight through a barrage of flaming arrows.

With a couple more leaps, I landed—thud—right on top of their formation. The elves who had been nocking arrows looked dumbfounded.

“W-What are yo...?”

“Human.”

With that brief reply, my sword sliced through the air and an elf’s head flew into the sky, his expression showing he hadn’t grasped the situation until the very end..

With a splurt, blood spurted out like a warm rain, scattering droplets everywhere. The surrounding elves screamed in shock.

“An Expert!”

“An Expert has joined the battle! Call the sword-wielders!”

It seemed that an ‘Expert’ was synonymous with fear for the elves.

And there were more of us than just me.

Concealing that bitter truth like a blade sheathed within me, I flicked the blood from my sword.

I felt filthy.

Utterly filthy.