Chapter 83: 21st Floor: Escape
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 83: 21st Floor: Escape
"Die!!"
Swords swung from both sides.
Blades imbued with a ferocious aura closed in, threatening to slice me to pieces in an instant.
"Kyaaaaaah!!"
Ignoring Irene's screams ringing in my ears, I used my buffs.
I stacked Haste and Strength up to the fourth level.
The world slowed down.
Using both ends of my spear, I smoothly deflected the swords swinging at me from all directions.
"How can this be..."
'Sorry, but you and I live in different worlds.'
The world he perceived and the world I perceived were different.
Thrust! Thrust!
I instantly pierced the necks of the two knights as they lost their balance in confusion.
"It's that royal guard! Everyone, fight properly!!"
They recognized me and hesitated to attack recklessly.
Instead, they surrounded me in a circle, unleashing magic, arrows, and long-reaching spears.
Their target wasn't me.
It was my horse.
Wielding my spear in all directions, I struck down every attack aimed at my horse.
I blocked all the magical attacks as well.
For fireballs flying straight at me, I shattered their magical cores to disperse them. For unavoidable spells like lightning magic, I enveloped myself in divine power to block them.
But the enemies weren't just letting that happen.
Fwoooom!!
A hot fireball exploded nearby.
They detonated the spell before it reached me, dealing indirect damage. I was fine, but the horse staggered from the nearby explosion.
'Damn it, this isn't easy.'
If I were alone, there would be many ways to win, but this was a battle of protection. The moment I missed a single attack, it would be over.
I didn't have time to use any big skills on offense. I focused, blocking the attacks coming from every direction.
I swung my spear relentlessly.
Parrying, deflecting, and parrying again.
Magic, arrows, javelins, nets—I knocked them all away.
An impenetrable spear.
Focusing all my senses, I blocked every attack with my spear.
I blocked ordinary arrows with my body, and when cavalry charged me, I deftly dodged them and thrust my spear into the riders' necks.
'They're trying to herd me somewhere.'
I wouldn't fall for it.
When the assault weakened for a moment, I exploited the opening and tore through the middle of their formation.
Most of them died without even reacting to my spear, but there were some who could block a blow or two.
These enemies were no mere rabble.
Most were knight-class, and a good number of them could use aura.
The number of wounds on my body increased.
They were relentlessly targeting the horse and Irene, and when I couldn't deflect an attack, I had to block it with my own body.
'A way to turn this situation around...'
I couldn't see one.
On this desolate plain with its endless stretch of grassland, it wasn't like something was just going to pop out.
Under the faint moonlight, surrounded by hundreds of cavalry, I raced across the plains, kicking up clouds of dust.
They had given up on herding me. Instead, they maintained a safe distance, adjusting their formation to match mine whenever I charged in a different direction.
[Bind]
[Grease]
The mages tried to cast spells to hinder the horse's movement, but I avoided them by changing its direction back and forth before the spells could be cast.
Spells like that are ineffective unless the target is stationary or its path can be predicted.
"It's fine, keep going! Keep up the pressure!! Those bitches have nowhere to run!"
A man who appeared to be the commander shouted loudly, chasing me from a distance.
He was right.
On this wide-open plain, there was no opening to turn the tables.
A tree or two and a few rocks would only buy me some time, nothing more.
'No, I won't rely on luck.'
I would endure.
I just had to stubbornly and desperately block every attack.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!!!
I endured, blocking every attack flying in from all sides.
"Incredible..."
I thinned their numbers by piercing the necks of those who crossed the line.
"That bitch is alone. She'll tire out eventually! Attack in shifts without rest!"
Even though I understood their strategy, I had no other choice.
'Alright, let's see who wins this!'
This was a battle of endurance and perseverance.
A fight with no quarter given between one who seeks to protect and those who seek to kill continued.
*
Slowly, the dawn began to break.
Irene, who had been squeezing her eyes shut in fear and trembling whenever something flew by, was now too exhausted to even react.
I was exhausted, and so was the horse.
'My arms... feel like they're about to fall off...'
I wasn't showing it, but the muscles in my arms were completely shredded. Every time I swung the spear, a pain like needles stabbing my muscles shot through them.
Of course, the enemy was exhausted too.
The mages had run out of mana long ago, and they had been out of arrows for a while. Enemy reinforcements arrived at dawn, but there were no threatening mages among them.
Aside from them taking turns to harry the horse, the threatening attacks had stopped.
"Hoo... you're one tenacious bitch. Let's negotiate, royal guard! We didn't come to kill the princess!!"
"Hah... cut the bullshit... You think I'd believe that? You've been relentlessly targeting Irene this whole time..."
I didn't even have the strength to answer.
"Hoo... that was to get you off the horse. Don't misunderstand, we came to rescue the princess!”
“What? You think that makes any sense…”
'Wait a minute.'
In the original history, how did Irene survive? Assuming her royal guard wasn't as skilled as I am, did that mean they really saved her?
And after that, Irene went missing for ten years?
I had been wondering how on earth she survived, and it made sense if they weren't her enemies, but...
“I refuse.”
How could I forget? Even though Irene and I may have met as a sex offender and a victim, the sincere sorrow of the innocent Irene here was real.
When all the people precious to her died, she clung to me and sobbed silently.
You must be the ones who killed and corrupted the friends of this naive, clueless royal girl. I don't know what you plan to do after taking Irene, but I will stop you.
“So you insist on drinking the poison. Do you think you can hold out in that state? Don't you know that the longer you resist, the higher the price your future master will have to pay!”
“You sound like a bunch of thugs, not even slave traders. If you've got the guts, come at me yourself. Stop throwing your subordinates as bait.”
“…Negotiations are over. All-out attack!!!”
And just then,
A village appeared before my eyes.
They must have noticed it too, because they immediately began their all-out assault.
“Charge! Trample them with your horses!”
The densely packed cavalry on both sides received buffs and surged forward, forming a semicircle as they began to charge toward us.
'That's impossible.'
It was impossible to block the charge of all those cavalrymen rushing in without any gaps. My horse didn't have the strength to swerve to the side. If I tried to change the direction of the horse, which was barely managing to run forward, it felt like it would collapse on the spot.
I raised my trembling arms, unequipped my spear, and hugged Irene.
I was pretending to be fine, but it was difficult to fight in my current state.
Holding Irene in a standing carry, I planted my feet and stood up on the horse's back. I balanced myself and waited for the right moment.
“You bitch, what are you doing…?”
And just before the enemy horses collided with mine,
I stomped on my horse's back and jumped.
Heeeeeigh~!
The force of my powerful jump broke the spine of the horse that had carried me through this fight, and it collapsed.
'I'm sorry…'
I soared through the air, looking down at the dumbfounded expressions of the men below.
My arms were on the verge of breaking, but my legs were fine.
With Irene's screams, I flew several hundred meters and landed near the village.
Thud…
I squeezed out my remaining divine power and sprinted toward the village. My arms may have lost their strength, but my legs were still going strong.
I ran until my thighs felt like they would burst.
Leaving footprints on the earth at incredible speed, I approached the village in an instant.
“W-what the!”
The village was surrounded by a small, two-meter-high wooden palisade. A member of the local watch looked at me in shock.
It was a village similar to the one from the 3rd Floor trial, with a sturdy wooden fence built around it to protect against small monsters.
I jumped over it and into the village.
“Kyaaaaaah!!!”
With Irene screaming as she clung to me, I landed steadily on the ground.
Craaaash!!!
And right behind me, the cavalry smashed through the palisade and stormed in.
“Where is she!! Find her!!!”
The startled villagers scattered in panic.
“Aaaaaah!!”
“What, what in the world is… Gak!”
“Leave no witnesses, kill them all!”
The villagers, caught up in this unfortunate event, were slaughtered.
Meanwhile, as soon as I entered the village, I ducked into the largest house.
'I'm sorry, villagers…'
I quickly threatened the people inside the house, shoved them into a small room, and prepared to exit through a window in the top-floor room.
Thump, thump, thump, thump…
The sound of the cavalry tearing through the village reverberated.
[She's hiding somewhere in a house. Everyone, dismount and search!!!]
'Now's my chance.'
I climbed out the window.
The village chief's house, the largest in the village, was a full three stories high.
“Lady Irene. You mustn't scream.”
“O-okay…”
Carrying Irene on my back, similar to how I flew here, I tensed my thighs and jumped with all my might.
Irene and I flew through the air, over the heads of the dismounting men, and landed outside the village beyond the palisade.
Thud...
'Did they not notice?'
I immediately started running like mad. I sprinted with all my strength, praying they wouldn't spot me too quickly.
The sun was rising on the opposite side of the village.
'I have no choice in direction.'
Going east would take me further away from the Empire, but the most important thing was to get as far away from the attackers as possible.
I ran and ran with all my might.
I dashed forward at full speed without rest. My current running speed wasn't much different from that of a horse.
'This mission is so damn hard…'
I cursed inwardly as I ran.
At some point, the grass started to get taller, and trees came into view.
A mountain appeared, and I started to see insects and animals.
As I climbed the mountain, I glanced back and saw the pursuit squad riding toward me in the distance.
'Such persistent bastards.'
I decided to worry about their identities later and focused on hiding.
Until now, I had to run so fast that I couldn't help but leave footprints and traces, but from now on, I would erase my tracks.
Using the assassin's footwork I learned in my past life, I slipped into the mountain without leaving a single footprint or trace.
I thoroughly camouflaged the entrance of a cave I was lucky enough to find, and hid inside with Irene.
“Hoo…”
“Hah…”
Two exhausted women sat on the cave floor, resting.
I was tired, but so was Irene, who had been clinging to me.
A long silence passed between us.
I was contemplating what to do from now on. Irene was feeling more sorrow for those who had died than joy for having survived.
I couldn't block every single attack either.
Irene's body had scratches from small fragments, and her luxurious nightgown was torn in many places.
Despite her shabby appearance, her radiant beauty couldn't be hidden.
'As expected of a princess, she's a princess even on the brink of death...'
“First, let's eat and get some sleep.”
“…Okay.”
'Hah… If I'd known this would happen, I would've kept a strawberry cake or something in my inventory.'
What should I do about this gloomy atmosphere?
I took a potion from my inventory, drank one, and handed another to Irene.
Gulp... Gulp...
After drinking the potion, my body recovered and my energy returned.
'Hoo... I feel a little more alive now.'
Grrrrowl...
That wasn't my stomach. Irene was blushing, clutching her belly.
"Th-that's..."
"It's only natural. I prepared for this, just in case."
I had already opened a food pack that becomes a hot meal in one minute.
When I gave Irene the warm braised short rib rice bowl, she tilted her head.
"What... is this?"
"It's a meal made for knights' field rations. You should always keep one of these in your magic tool."
I gave a vague explanation, and she began to eat with her chopsticks without suspicion.
"It's... it's pretty good..."
The gloomy atmosphere began to lift a little.
She started eating demurely, but soon devoured the food ravenously before leaving about half of it, saying she was full.
It was a three-person portion to begin with, so she had actually eaten a lot.
"Ahem... you must be thirsty, right? This is the best field combat milk for knights. Please, have a drink."
I had been curious about something for a while.
Normal people don't get stronger no matter how many elixirs they consume.
But what about people inside the Tower?
I poured my breast milk into the empty potion bottle from before.
A potion bottle holds 100ml. Combined with my own, it was the perfect amount to trigger the effect.
Irene looked a little anxious as she sniffed it and took a small sip. Her eyes widened. Then, without even a moment to exclaim, she started chugging it down.
'It must be delicious...'
I knew because I had tasted it myself. There was probably no drink in this world as delicious as that.
She held the bottle of breast milk vertically, shaking out every last drop. As if unwilling to waste what was left, she even stuck her tongue inside to lick it clean, which was a rather lewd sight.
"Heut... ha-eup...!"
"Uh... Lady Irene, I have plenty of that. Would you like some more?"
"Ah... there's more? Y-you should have said so sooner...!"
Seeing her face turn red was a fresh experience. If the Irene in the secret manual was a worldly, jaded woman, the Irene here was so innocent that it was fun to tease her.
In the end, she had three refills before saying she was full and would have more later.
When I asked if she felt any changes in her body, she said,
"Just... a pleasant feeling because it was so delicious?"
'So the minimum requirement is mana manipulation...'
It was still morning, but we slowly got ready to sleep.
It was better to let those bastards pass by from here than to go out and take a risk.
Especially that commander of the cavalry.
He was hiding in the back like a coward, but I had felt an unusual aura from him.
After completely covering the cave entrance to block out the sunlight, I smoothed out the floor as best I could.
It didn't matter to me, but if Irene slept here, her delicate body would get all scratched up by the rocks.
On the flattened ground, I took out the normal clothes from my [Illusionary Garment] and laid them down as bedding.
'I never thought this would be so useful. I should start carrying some clothes to use as blankets.'
"Lady Irene, please lie down. Let's get some shut-eye."
"Okay... let's just rest for a bit."
Lying down on the floor, cushioned by the clothes, I felt my fatigue melt away.
As Irene lay down next to me, I caught the strong scent of her skin.
'Her scent is so lewd...'
When I turned my head to the side, I saw that she was looking at me too.