The Extra Wants To Live

There was no sound of birds or insects. The only sound was the vague rustle of fallen leaves in the passing wind. Carl felt like he was surrounded, just like when he was fighting in the middle of a horde of gnolls, and unlike back then when he was fighting fiercely, he felt the blood in his whole body turning cold.

Head, neck, chest, stomach, stomach… … .

A cold, deadly sensation as if an ice blade were scraping across areas where even a light attack could result in fatal injury. As Carl continued to move the sword in the middle to cover the vital spot the opponent was aiming for, the deadly force retreated.

"You can't fall behind me."

"I know."

The moment when Bilford's calm voice was heard in the silence, and Carl answered, it seemed like something was moving on the other side of the forest. Bilford realized that the blurry shape in the color of fallen leaves was human.

Seeing it swing his arm, Bilford drew his sword closer.

Even though he couldn't see what was flying at him with wide-open eyes, he was still able to respond accurately by seeing the opponent's movements that remained in his eyes like an afterimage.

Tidi Dick!

Bilford neatly blocked all of the invisible, thin needles with the blade.

Then, he lunged towards another enemy who had jumped out of the bushes on the side without a sound and swung his sword fiercely.

Crack!

Bilford cut sharply sideways, but was blocked by his opponent's weapon. Bilford first cut horizontally once, and immediately after the attack was blocked, he twisted his wrist and tried to aim for the opponent's head with the back blade.

However, Bilford's sword caught on a short dagger divided into three prongs.

So if you ask me if Bilford was embarrassed, of course he wasn't.

Wow!

The opponent twisted the dagger and tried not to let go of the sword, but when Bilford pulled and twisted his wrist with such force that it seemed almost impossible, the sword was pulled out cleanly with a scraping sound. It was

It was a move Carl could execute because he was not wearing armor. At the same time, it revealed that the opponent was an assassin trained to deal with knights who did wear armor.

Whoosh!

Bilford's blade sharply cut through the autumn sunlight. With one large swing, the sword leapt out and cut across the assassin's chest. But it was a shallow cut; though it reached the bone, it was not fatal.

The assassin threw himself backwards with all his might, sending a thin spit flying from his hand, and Bilford turned his head to avoid it.

If Bilford had taken just one more step, he could have been killed. Unfortunately, he missed the opportunity. But it couldn't be helped, because Bilford's primary purpose was not to kill the enemy, but to protect Carl.

"Master Carl!"

Bilford shouted loudly and hit the ground with all his might.

His body, which had been leaning heavily to the left, suddenly stopped, his ankle twisted, and he immediately changed direction, leaping to the other side.

Carl followed Bilford's cries and movements, clinging closely to his back.

In an instant, the two's positions changed, and another assassin who had been targeting Carl appeared in front of Bilford.

Bilford, who was about to cut diagonally with his sword, changed his mind when he saw that the assassin also had a three-pronged dagger and an unknown device in his other hand.

Shriek!

The sword was making a large diagonal cut, and then it drew a small circle in the air.

The moment the opponent tried to catch the sword with his three-pronged dagger, Bilford lifted the arm that was swinging the sword.

The hand holding the sword hilt followed the arm that had drawn a circle so quickly and large that one might think it was straining the shoulder.

The positions of the hand and the sword reversed, as if there were an invisible axis at the center of the blade.

The assassin's three-pronged dagger whipped through the air, and the rotation axis at the center of the blade moved to Bilford's hand.

As cleanly as a picture, the sword swung sharply like the claws of a bird of prey, cutting off the assassin's outstretched left arm in one fell swoop.

The assassin did not make a single groan. He immediately changed his stance and lunged at Bilford, holding out a dagger with his remaining arm.

At the same time, the assassin who had been cut on the chest also rushed at Carl, who was close to Bilford's back.

Carl didn't even blink at the assassin targeting him. He did not use mana, nor did he swing his sword.

Because there was no need for that.

Bilford lowered his posture and took a step toward the assassin charging at him, pushing away the hand holding the dagger with his shoulder.

The force, which began with a powerful step, traveled through his ankles, knees, and waist, reaching his left shoulder.

Wooosh-!

Bilford's upper body rotated violently, and his left shoulder, which had pushed away the hand holding the dagger, jerked back and struck the assassin's chest with its back.

Due to the tremendous impact, the assassin bounced back faster than he had charged and rolled on the ground.

Bilford skillfully used that force at the moment of impact to change direction at once.

His left shoulder, which had collided with the assassin's chest, sprang forward powerfully again.

To increase his reach as much as possible, Bilford held the edge of the hilt with his left hand, his fingers narrowly draped over the pummel, and extended his sword like a flash beside Carl's left waist.

Slash!

"Pfft…"

Bilford's sword strike from behind went farther than Carl's sword play, which aimed the sword in the middle.

The sword rose diagonally from Carl's left side and stabbed diagonally below the assassin's right ribs, piercing the liver and lungs at the same time.

Bilford grabbed Carl's waist with his right hand and pulled him, then turned around as if dancing, changed position, and vigorously raised the hand holding the sword.

Dump.

It was too rough a move to make while holding the pummel with his left hand, but Bilford did not let go of the sword.

The assassin fell to the ground, dead on the spot, when the sword stuck under his right ribs traveled up his ribs and ripped out his heart.

After that, Bilford turned around even more vigorously without stopping. The sword, pulled from the assassin's body, was swung powerfully around his largely rotating body.

Hiss! Puck!

Bilford's sword, which returned to its original position, bounced and flew, splitting the right shoulder of the assassin who struggled to get up and charge at him, and stopped in the middle of the chest.

Bilford carefully lowered Carl, then pushed the assassin's lifeless body away with his feet and pulled out his sword.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Of course not. That was great."

"Thank you."

Bilford brushed off the blood on his sword but walked quickly as he guarded Carl's side without sheathing the sword.

The identity of the assassin would be confirmed later. The priority was to take Carl to a safe place.

'Indeed.'

Carl saw the device that one of the assassins was wearing on his arm and was sure who it was.

It was a device used by assassins in the eastern country of Tumaria, an assassination tool that shoots an elongated blade the size of a finger from the inside of the wrist. It must be poisoned.

In the original work, there was an episode where Adrian collected the 'Bloody Ring Fingers,' a group of assassins expelled from Tumaria for violating a taboo.

'Then, he must be observing from somewhere.'

Carl rolled his eyes as he almost ran after Bilford. If it was true that Adrian had moved the 'Bloody Ring Finger,' he would have planted his eyes to see Carl's response.

However, Carl could not feel the murderous eyes aiming at him or following him.

His intuition, which once sounded a sharp alarm, was quiet. Even if they didn't intend to attack, if he couldn't even feel their gaze...

Carl's eyes scanned the surrounding shadows.

'Could it be that the leader, Camilla, came in person?' Camilla was a woman who ascended to the position of head of the 'Bloody Ring,' following in the footsteps of her father who broke the taboo.

She was an assassin who had become a master, and was a person with many talents in many ways.

Unfortunately, Lucas did not read the part.

'Both mice and birds could have died without knowing.'

If Camilla had really attacked, Bilford would have died on the spot no matter how hard he worked or how much Carl used mana. He hoped it was an overreaction...

Wow! Wow!

He heard a dog barking in the distance.

When Carl realized that those who had come looking for him were approaching, he took his eyes off the shadow of the tree and let out a small sigh.

Fortunately, he had survived without any injuries. But he couldn't feel at ease. The assassination attempt had come much sooner than expected. If this continued, he might really lose his head.

'I can't help it. It's too early, but we have no choice but to move.'

Carl revised his plan, remembering the silver that was accumulating in Hillpin.

He had planned to put it off until he was sure, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Well, if that didn't work, he would have to kill Adrian and prevent him from falling into Adrian's hands.

Carl rubbed his tired eyes as he watched the tense shoulders of Bilford, who was protecting him, relax with relief.

…Damn, now that I think about it, Lilly must be worried. What do we do?