The Extra Wants To Live

Exhausted from the battle, the red gnoll was running through the forest at night, unaware of how much longer it could last.

There were no deaths among the imperial soldiers, but eight remained in the village with injuries.

There were fewer than 30 people in total. It was natural to feel terrible stress just by moving through a forest full of danger.

"Be a little stronger!"

Even though Carl was the most exhausted and panting, he continued to encourage the soldiers until the end.

Although he only made cavalry charges on horseback, Carl was still physically weak and was not used to horseback combat.

If it weren't for his quick recovery, he would have collapsed long ago and been carried away.

No one who saw Carl like that complained that they couldn't go on because they were tired and scared.

Catherine was moving at the very front, holding a torch. The red gnoll was easy to track because it bled and left traces everywhere.

'If he had lost this much blood, he should have died a long time ago. It is a life force that cannot exist even if it is a monster.'

Catherine figured out the abnormality of the red gnoll by considering its size and amount of blood loss.

He must have strange powers, such as replenishing blood.

'I can't miss it.'

Catherine's fingertips were shaking as she had already missed the red gnoll twice.

She may be a dangerous person, but she had failed Carl's expectations twice in a row.

No matter how bad the situation was, failure was failure.

"How far is it until the valley?"

Carl took a deep breath and asked the Hilfin knight.

Since he was an ordained knight from Hilfin, Carl thought he would be roughly familiar with the geography for strategy and tactics.

But the knight hesitated and said nothing.

After receiving his ordination, he rarely left the castle, and when he moved for work, he did not need to bring a guide with him to memorize geography.

Carl felt like his mouth would hurt if he said more, so he stopped.

Corbin, who was a commoner, seemed to be better in many ways, even if his skills were slightly lower.

"The valley will appear soon. The distance from him has become much closer."

Catherine, who was familiar with the guidance she received from Corbin, spoke for her.

Because there were only a small number of people, they were moving at a considerably faster speed than during the day.

"Be alert to your surroundings."

Following Catherine's words, Carl gave instructions to the soldiers.

The red gnoll was by no means a stupid monster. If they let their guard down and came this far without any disturbance, they could end up falling off their heads.

The speed slowed down a bit. Thanks to this, Carl was able to catch his breath.

"Lord Carl, you must not leave my side,"

Bilford whispered softly to Carl.

It seemed unlikely that Hilfin's knights would be able to protect Carl, Carl nodded towards Billford.

Carl decided on priorities with an honest heart. In any case, it would be better to save the imperial soldiers, even if it meant throwing Hilfin's knights as prey.

Catherine, who was moving forward quietly, suddenly slowed down. Everyone wondered what was going on, but they knew it right away.

"Ugh..." Carl frowned.

A bloody smell that messed with your head and the disgusting smell of a decaying corpse stung her nose.

Come to think of it, there was no time to dispose of the corpses of the gnolls from today's daytime battle.

But on the way, not a single body was seen.

Where had all those corpses gone?

"Ready for battle!"

"Understood!"

The imperial soldiers took up formation at Carl's shout.

Because their numbers had decreased, it was not possible to form a large and strong formation as before, so they settled in as close to trees as possible.

Carl turned his head here and there in the crampedly narrow circle.

He could feel the gaze.

The gaze of a cornered rat baring its teeth, driven by evil, at the very end. Even this desperation could not be fake.

Gradually, Catherine moved first before Carl gave instructions.

Her eyes followed the pitch-black darkness where not even the moonlight could penetrate.

"This is the end."

Carl's confident mutterings penetrated heavily through the cold silence of the night forest.

Crrrrr...

As if responding to Carl's words, a sound like scratching on a rock returned from the other side of the darkness.

At the sound of the red gnoll, Catherine quietly walked and settled down with her sword pointed.

Carl narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.

Very strangely, somehow, the sound of the red gnoll...

'Did he just laugh?'

The moment he thought that, a commotion suddenly broke out in the quiet surroundings.

"Come! Concentrate on maintaining your formation!"

At Carl's shout, the soldiers put their shoulders together and raised their shields as if to confirm each other's presence.

The soldiers inside the ranks raised their torches high, and the moment the gnoll's figure was illuminated by the light, Carl shouted.

"Stab!"

Burbubbuk!

The spear, which was thrown out with machine-like precision and accuracy, killed the attacking gnolls.

The soldiers skillfully pulled the spears and pushed the shields, then removed the spears from the corpse and placed them back in place.

But something was strange.

No, the moment the gnoll's body bounced off the shield, everyone realized what was wrong.

"Oh my god!"

The soldiers who killed the gnoll with a single blow were greatly shaken.

The sound of light footsteps running on the floor, the sound of soldiers making metal, and the sound of torches swaying in the wind.

Other than that, there was no sound.

Gnolls that were supposed to bark loudly had no mouths.

As if they were half-human, their blunt, protruding snouts had only one nostril for breathing.

But that wasn't the problem.

It had only one eye and one ear, and the thin, frail body visible through the sparse fur was so thin that one wondered if it had any internal organs, and its limbs were no different from tree branches that could only walk unsteadily.

As if it was already made.

Or, as if they took everything off to make as much as possible with insufficient ingredients.

Goosebumps rose all over soldiers body.

And Carl and Catherine moved at the same time.

"Run!"

Carl shouted so loudly that the forest trembled.

Catherine ran with her sword raised to block the red gnolls that quietly rushed at her in the darkness.

She would do whatever it took to waste time here.

The intention of the red gnoll was clearly felt. She didn't know what exactly it was aiming for.

However, it was absolutely impossible to play according to the enemy's intentions!

"Bilford! Open the way!"

Carl gave this order to Bilford instead of Catherine, who was stranded trying to stop the red gnoll, and pointed the way with his sword.

Bilford gritted his teeth and pushed the soldiers forward.

The countless unfinished gnolls that rushed in silently, hissing harshly through their only nostrils, had no ability to even attack the enemy.