Heimer stretched out his fingers and touched the wet mud on the ground to confirm that the footprints were fresh.
The soil splashed around the footprints is still wet, so it is obvious that the owners of the footprints have not been here long.
The thought that those terrifying orcs might be lurking nearby sent shivers down everyone's spine.
Zeref wiped the sweat from his forehead and urged the two people who were still there: "Then leave quickly! Why are you still standing there?"
The young man curled his lips and said, "I agree, but I'm afraid 'they' won't agree."
He drew out the dagger at his waist, and Heimer on the side also drew out his own sword.
"Do you still remember what I taught you last time?"
Heimer asked the young man while paying attention to the movements in the surrounding trees.
"No, I remember everything."
How could you forget?
The young man secretly regarded Heimer's questions as a joke in his heart. He would never forget these skills, especially those that could save his life at critical moments.
"Okay, you can run away later when you have the chance, and I will hold 'em' back."
After Heimer explained the matter, he turned to Zeref who had climbed into the car.
"Zerf, please turn the car around quickly. 'They' will come from the front soon."
"Okay! The little girl inside wakes up, she can't sleep anymore."
Zeref immediately got into the car and took the reins to turn the car around. At the same time, he did not forget to wake up the girl who was still sleeping in the car.
"Hmm? What's the matter?"
Nia rubbed her still red and swollen eyes and slapped her cheeks to cheer up.
Also woken up by Zeref's shout was the sleeping baby Liana.
Liana was very dissatisfied when she was woken up. She pouted and babbling in protest. But she didn't cry. This is a very wonderful thing about this baby girl.
There is an indescribable spirituality in Lianna's big, bright eyes.
Although she was only a few days old, it was rare to see her crying randomly for no reason except when she was hungry or suffered a severe fright.
"Coming!!"
Seeing the bushes in front of him begin to rustle, Heimer shouted and charged forward with his sword.
Sure enough, two wolf heads poked out from the bushes.
Those orcs are called wolf-headed people. As the name suggests, they are beings with wolf heads and human-like bodies.
But the two wolf heads poking out from the bushes at this moment belonged to two real wolves. They howled and rushed towards the boy and Heimer respectively.
"One for each person!"
Heimer handed his back to the young man, and he was willing to believe that this steady young man could live up to his expectations.
"good!"
The young man responded without hesitation, and also handed his back to the knight.
The opponent is a mountain wolf that is common nearby. Although it is small in stature, it moves quickly.
Once bitten by its fangs, it is fatal, and they can easily tear off a piece of flesh from any part of a person.
When the young man saw that the mountain wolf was already charging towards his face, he did not dodge, but stabbed straight in the direction it came from.
This mountain wolf is also a veteran of many battles. He was very surprised when he saw that the prey in front of him did not dodge, and even pointed the dangerous blade at his exposed belly.
But surprisingly, it didn't panic. Although it couldn't move in the air, it could twist its flexible body.
As the mountain wolf's attack posture changes, the boy's unexpected attack will also fail.
As long as the mountain wolf successfully avoids the attack, the boy who is physically weak in all aspects will obviously become passive.
The opponent came fiercely, but the young man still faced the attack, not afraid of the sharp teeth and claws of the mountain wolf.
Before the mountain wolf touched the ground with all four legs, he bumped into the wolf's body and threw the mountain wolf to the ground.
Before the mountain wolf could struggle out from under him, the dagger in the boy's hand had already pierced its neck.
The thick wolf skin was penetrated directly by the dagger, and wolf blood spurted out from the wound and splashed on the young man's face.
The young man stood up and wiped away the sticky blood on his face, leaving the dying mountain wolf twitching in place.
"Ha ha……"
The young man took a few breaths. The movement just now seemed not big, and he would not be so weak if he was normal.
But after all, he had been injured before. This series of movements involved the muscles that were strained at that time, which put a heavy burden on his body.
"Well done, but this is just an appetizer."
Haimer had already split another mountain wolf in half, but he understood that the crisis had not been resolved, and the real enemy was coming towards them.
"Are you ready? Zeref?"
"It's almost done, you guys come up first."
Zeref took advantage of the fact that the carriage had almost turned around just now, and called for Heimel and the boy to come up quickly.
Ouch!
The howl of the wolf came again from the surrounding dense forest, getting closer and closer.
The black horse "Lightning" let out a scream and kicked two front hooves at the mountain wolf that rushed towards it.
Heimer, who had planned to climb into the car with the boy, smiled bitterly: "It seems we have to wait..."
The moment they dealt with the two mountain wolves, the surrounding bushes began to rustle, and more and more wild wolves ran out.
The carriage was entangled by a pack of wolves and could not move at all. Fortunately, the carriage was on a high ground and it was not easy for the wolves to jump on it.
There is also a high baffle at the rear of the car, so I believe there is no danger to the girl in the car for the time being.
But there is no protection on the front side of the car.
"Get away! Get away!"
Zeref took the riding crop and hit the wolves who wanted to attack the black horse.
The riding whip hit these wolves, beating their skin and flesh to pieces, and the wolves who were hit let out howls.
But the wolves still kept attacking the four horse legs of "Lightning", and they also wanted to bite "Lightning"'s soft belly.
"Lightning", which was under mortal threat, also continued to fight back with horse hooves. Several wild wolves that were unfortunately hit were knocked back several steps and could not get up again.
"Damn!!"
When Zeref whipped the wolf below, which was trying to attack the horse's belly, one of the wolves opened its mouth and bit the riding crop and pulled hard. Zeref and the wolf were in a stalemate.
Then other wolves also bit the riding whip, and the balance between one person and one wolf was instantly broken. The sudden increase in force almost pulled Zeref off the carriage, so he had to let go and give up the whip.
"Get out of the way!"
"Well?!"
Just when Zeref let go and his body was still leaning, a wolf suddenly jumped up and bit Zeref's neck.
Look at the rows of fangs in the wolf's mouth. There is no doubt that those things can definitely tear his throat.
Just when the gray wolf was about to take Zeref's life, Heimer's sword slashed at its Heavenly Spirit Cap first.
With a crisp "crack" sound, the gray wolf's head was split in half like a piece of wood in a lumberyard.
The gray wolf was killed on the spot, and Zeref was temporarily out of danger.
"I'm going to clear out these wolves on the road. Hurry up and get the car running."
Heimel did not stop, his sword never stopped from the beginning.
The wolves rushed towards him again and again, but were forced back by his sword again and again.
The young man was assisting this brave warrior. He might not be able to completely suppress the wolves like Heimer, but it would still be fine just to help resist the wolves sneaking up from behind.
"ah!"
The girl's scream came from the carriage, which made everyone who was in the midst of a fierce fight feel chilled.
Apparently the wolves did not ignore the girl and her sister hiding in the car, and several wolves had already invaded the car.
"Young man, go help them! Leave this to me."
At this time, Heimer had forced all the wolves around the dark horse "Lightning" back.
Although the cunning wolves will still swarm him as soon as Heimer loses a little bit, the road ahead has finally been cleared for the time being.
"Good guy, run!"
The bruised "Lightning" roared, and under Zeref's command, he began to pull the carriage and gradually increased its speed.
"Okay! Be careful!"
The young man had no hesitation and no time to hesitate.
He stabbed a charging mountain wolf into the mouth with his dagger and kicked the wailing wolf towards its companions.
The wolves were disturbed and immediately gave way to a path. The boy took the opportunity to run to the back of the car, stepped on the pedal and got into the car.
"Don't come here, all of you!"
Nia picked up an iron pot and danced around, trying to drive away the wolves that were facing them with their mouths open and saliva on their lips.
But the three wolves in front of them showed no fear at all. They approached the girl step by step and bit the iron pot she was relying on, forcing her to give up her weak resistance.
Nia, who was helpless, had no choice but to hold her crying sister tightly in her arms, intending to use her body to keep the baby girl safe before these beasts pounced.
"Nia! Get down! Close your eyes!"
There was an undeniable momentum in the young man's voice, and Nia immediately protected her sister and lay on the ground.
Whoosh!
Something was thrown out by the boy and spread out in the air.
Nia closed her eyes tightly, and the howling of wolves immediately sounded in her ears. Something seemed to have fallen on her body, but because she closed her eyes tightly, she could only judge that it should be something based on the touch of her skin.
powder.
Immediately afterwards, Nia heard the screams of the beasts and the sound that penetrated the flesh and blood, and then the "clunking" sound of heavy objects rolling down from a high place.
"Okay, open your eyes."
The three invading beasts have been dealt with, and there is no sign of any wolf outside wanting to jump in yet.
After all, outside, Heimer is the threat and target that the wolves care about most.
So taking advantage of this gap, the young man sat down and gave his tired body a short rest.
"What are these? Ah... sneeze! Ah sneeze!"
Nia took out some red powder from her hair. Her nose felt itchy when she sniffed it, and she couldn't help but sneeze several times.
"Chili powder, and then mixed with some sour nose grass collected yesterday. These things are very effective for those with a sensitive sense of smell."
The young man found a rag from the carriage, wiped the flesh and blood off the dagger, and then continued to explain:
"I thought there were a lot of wild beasts on the road, as well as the wolf-headed man I met last time, so I made something like this just in case."
"Have you ever been a hunter before?"
After being out of the crisis, Nia breathed a sigh of relief. Her sister Liana also had tearful eyes and snuggled tightly into her sister's arms, seeking warm shelter.
"No."
The boy denied the girl's guess about his past, and then ordered the girl: "Bring the crossbow next to you."
"Uh, is this it? Okay."
"Don't forget to bring me a steel arrow."
"good."
The girl followed the boy's instructions and handed him the heavy crossbow and a steel arrow.
"What do you want to do with a crossbow? If there are so many wolves, using a crossbow will be useless, right?"
Nia asked this question not because she doubted the young man's ability. It was just that there were too many enemies, and killing one or two wolves with a crossbow would not be of much use.
"To capture the thief, capture the king first."
The boy answered the girl's doubts while adjusting the sight and string of the crossbow.
"If we can kill the alpha wolf who commands the pack, the wolves will naturally disperse."
"Then, how can you tell which one of them is the alpha wolf?"
"The one who huddles in a safe place, looks smart and likes to howl all the time."
After the young man adjusted the sight, strung the bow, and loaded the crossbow arrows, the preparations for the attack were completed.
"but……"
After raising the crossbow, the young man observed the wolves outside for a while, and he couldn't help but feel doubtful in his heart.
"but?"
Nia didn't know exactly what the boy noticed.
"How is that possible? There is no wolf among them."