Love Letter From The Future-Chapter 375: Bread and Dagger (73)

Hence, I didn’t hesitate as I kicked off the ground.

I dashed onward, closing the gap until I was within the elven guard’s line of sight.

The guard was looking at me with an expression that seemed to question the reality of the situation.

The elven ‘Headquarters’ lay deep within a coniferous forest. Its exact location was a well-guarded secret—so much so that humans hadn’t officially discovered even a single elven village, let alone their Headquarters.

Yet, out of nowhere, here was a human sprinting across the snowy field.

It would take him some time to process and accept the sight before him. I made sure to draw my sword in advance, ensuring he would grasp my intent.

It was only after facing the silver gleam of my blade that the elven guard regained his senses.

Like a desperate final act, the elven guard’s voice sharply rose.

“An attack! There’s one intruder... Gah!”

That was his final cry.

With a sharp thwack, the hatchet I had thrown smashed through his skull. The spray of blood and bone fragments was as repulsive as ever.

Droplets of blood splattered down, staining the pristine white snow.

I quickly held my breath and crouched low, searching for nearby cover as I moved.

Causing chaos was fine, but launching a solo assault on the elf headquarters was out of the question.

If even two demonic humans showed up, I would have to start worrying about my own survival. For now, it was better to erase my presence and move stealthily, which suited my objective far better.

After all, an unseen enemy was always more terrifying.

It didn’t take long for my theory to be proven right.

Shouts erupted from all directions.

“The intruder’s gone! Search every corner!”

“Hide all the non-combatants inside the houses!”

“Re-Report to Lord Leoric immediately!”

Among the soldiers swarming in, I recognized a few familiar faces.

Especially the ‘swordfighters,’ those who left no footprints in the snow.

They were the elite elven troops I saw during the camp ambush. Back then, I couldn’t grasp the technique behind their movement, but after learning from Elder Poff, I understood now.

It was a unique breathing technique exclusive to the elves.

Elder Poff once tied my hands and made me walk through the coniferous forest, instructing me to focus all my senses on my feet and feel the natural surroundings.

I had yet to fully master its intricacies.

However, I understood that it was this breathing that enabled their ghost-like gait. I focused intently on the way the swordfighters inhaled and exhaled.

My own breathing grew increasingly faint.

The traces of my presence became even harder to detect. When several minutes passed and they still couldn’t find me, the elves grew more restless.

I had entered without any knowledge of the layout of the place.

For an infiltration I’d begun recklessly, the results were excellent. Perhaps the elven breathing technique was truly effective, as no one had detected my presence in the temporary hiding spot.

The elves searching for me were grouped in pairs, at the very least.

This was to ensure that even if one was ambushed, the other’s cry would reveal the intruder’s location. After all, there weren’t many ways to silence two people at once.

It was a sound strategy, but only for a while.

As the chaos grew, some began to abandon that principle. The elves simply didn’t have enough manpower to comb through every nook and cranny of the headquarters.

And that was exactly what I had been waiting for.

I was hiding behind a hut. Gradually, I sensed a presence drawing nearer.

Once they turned the corner, they’d instantly spot me.

So I crept toward that same corner. It was obvious what would happen next.

Just before the elf soldier could spot me, my sword drew a silver arc.

Not a sound was made.

Even as he perished, the elven soldier remained unaware of my presence—perhaps even oblivious to the fact that he was dying.

Thud. His head rolled onto the snow-dampened ground. A moment later, the sound of blood gushing out followed and his body collapsed like a sack of straw.

With their long ears, elves had especially keen hearing.

It wouldn’t take long for my position to be discovered, so I held my breath once more and moved on. As expected, a few elves began gathering at the scene.

Now was my chance.

Amid the growing commotion and with all eyes turned elsewhere, I recalled the layout I had seen through the crow’s eyes. Leoric’s hut had been located in a somewhat isolated area.

I needed to get as close to it as possible.

Then I’d reunite with Aviang and make a swift escape.

That was my plan.

Having recklessly barged in, I couldn’t craft a more intricate strategy. Even so, this was the only way to ensure Aviang’s survival—and my own.

There was no way I could face the full might of the elven headquarters alone.

I wasn’t even sure if I could handle Leoric on his own. The best course was for the two of us to escape this place together.

It was while I was slipping between huts and trees that it happened.

That two swordfighters were loitering about, drawing closer to me.

It just so happened that Leoric’s hut wasn’t far off now.

I hid myself behind a pile of stacked firewood. The two swordfighters, their expressions tense, clicked their tongues as they moved forward.

They seemed unable to resolve their doubts.

“How on earth did someone discover this place? Could there be a traitor among our ranks...?”

“Today is the day of Lord Leoric’s ‘ritual’ no less—this is a serious problem.”

Luck wasn’t on my side.

They appeared to be of knightly rank. They weren’t opponents I could take down in one strike like ordinary soldiers.

And let alone there were two of them.

I didn’t think I would lose, but since I was pressed for time, these were adversaries I very much preferred not to encounter.

Yet, they showed no sign of changing directions no matter how long I waited, —and they’d soon notice my presence if that continued.

It seemed I had no choice but to strike first.

My hand fiddled with the handle of my hatchet.

My plan was to throw the hatchet to take down one and then overwhelm the other in their moment of panic, finishing both in quick succession. After that, I would make a dash for the hut.

Even though I saw no future other than being surrounded and slain.

I couldn’t help but regret my past decision to send Aviang off alone.

But what was done was done.

I had no choice but to make the best of the current situation. Resolving myself, I focused on the swordfighters’ movements.

Three steps, two steps, and then the final step...

Just before the two of them reached the boundary I had set—

Boom— a heavy rumble rang out from somewhere.

Naturally, both the swordfighters and I turned our attention toward the source of the sound.

Booom— the ground rumbled again.

The tremor shook the earth at its core. With each shockwave, the snow piled on the ground billowed up and scattered. As time passed, the source of the disturbance became clearer.

It was coming from Leoric’s hut.

None of us had any inkling as to its cause.

What in the world was happening?

It didn’t take long for that question to be answered.

Boom! Along with a deafening roar, the hut exploded apart.

In an instant, shards of wood flew in every direction. Several elves nearby, who had been gaping in shock, screamed and toppled over.

But it wasn’t just wooden fragments that scattered.

Everything inside Leoric’s hut—all the tools and furniture—was launched into the air. And among them was Aviang, who had snuck into Leoric’s hut.

Whatever had happened in the meantime, her transformation magic had been undone.

Conveniently, Aviang was flying straight toward me. There was no time to hesitate.

With a whistling sound, my hatchet shot through the air.

The swordfighters, caught off guard, stood no chance of countering it.

With a sharp ‘thwack,’ as blood spurted out, one of the swordfighters’ eyes fixed on me. Although his reaction was relatively swift, the vacant look in his eyes betrayed his shock.

That worked out in my favor.

I channeled the momentum of my sprint to squarely kick him in the chest.

“Guh!”

As his body was sent airborne, I cleaved him in two with my hatchet.

It was the perfect application of ‘Principles of the Movement within Stillness.’

Without sparing the fallen swordfighter another glance, I kicked off the ground once more. The next moment, I leaped forward and just barely managed to catch a grey-haired girl as she fell into my arms.

It was Aviang.

My arm, which absorbed the impact, throbbed painfully. Aviang couldn’t have been unscathed either.

Yet, no scream escaped the girl’s lips. She simply kept her eyes shut, letting out faint groans.

Even so, it was a stroke of luck.

I instinctively realized that this was our last chance.

While everyone else was still in shock, Aviang had fallen right into my arms.

One could say the heavens themselves had intervened.

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

I leaned in close to Aviang’s ear and began outlining our plan.

“Aviang, are you okay?! We’re escaping right now!”

“B-Betty...”

But at the words that spilled from Aviang’s lips, I froze.

Come to think of it, where is her sister?

No matter how much I scanned the area, only one figure had been flung from the hut. Since that figure was now in my arms, it meant Betty hadn’t made it out.

How is that possible?

My doubts were interrupted by another wave of screams.

My eyes turned toward the ruined remains of Leoric’s hut.

From there, a tide of melted flesh was spilling out.

Yes, a tide of flesh.

The boiling flesh was thick and grotesque like molten lava. Above this ever-expanding sea of flesh, a man walked, as if he were some kind of savior.

No, could that even be called ‘walking’?

The man’s legs had already fused with the flesh. With each wet squelch as he lifted his foot, viscous flesh and blood vessels stretched out in strands.

It was Leoric.

In his arms was the very girl Aviang had been so desperately searching for.

I staggered briefly as I rose to my feet.

It was unfortunate, but saving Betty now was impossible. The only choice left to me was to flee.

Despite that, I hesitated for a moment.

“Betty, no...”

Aviang’s faint whisper overlapped with my own memories—the time when I had sworn to protect Ria as a child.

It also reminded me of the little knight who had died trying to protect his sister.

It was only a few seconds of hesitation, but the price was steep.

“O’Immanuel... could there be a fate more exquisite than this?”

That sigh-like voice was now directed at me.

His tone was calm and measured. His voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried a strange resonance that seemed to drill straight into my ears.

My eyes shifted silently.

And then, they met his.

The eyes of the fanatic, brimming with a grotesque level of conviction.

“Brother Ian Percus—it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

He was blatantly staring at me.

It seemed clear that escaping was no longer an option.

***One night, an unwanted guest paid a visit to Seria’s room.