83 – 21st Floor: Escape

“Die!!”

Swords swing from both sides.

Swords imbued with ferocious aura approach, ready to slice me to pieces in an instant.

“Kyaaaa!”

Ignoring Irene’s scream ringing in my ears, I use buffs.

I stack Haste and Strength buffs to level 4.

The world slows down.

Using both ends of the spear, I gently deflect the swords swinging from left, right, front, and back.

“How can he…”

‘Sorry, but you and I live in different worlds.’

The world they perceive is different from the world I perceive.

Thwack! Thwack!

I instantly pierce the necks of the two knights who lost their balance and panicked.

“He’s the escort knight! Fight properly, everyone!”

They recognize me and don’t attack rashly.

Instead, they surround me in a circle, wielding magic, arrows, and long-range spears.

Their target wasn’t me.

Their target was my horse.

Swinging the spear in all directions, I deflect all attacks flying towards my horse.

I block all magic attacks as well.

I shatter the core of the fireballs flying directly at me, scattering them, and block unavoidable magic like lightning with divine power.

But the enemies weren’t just taking it.

Boom!

A hot fireball explodes nearby.

They explode the magic before it reaches me, indirectly causing damage. I’m fine, but the horse staggers from the magic exploding nearby.

‘Damn, this isn’t easy.’

If I were alone, there would be many ways to win, but this is a defensive fight. The moment I miss one, it’s over.

I don’t have time to use big techniques in attacks. I concentrate and block the attacks flying from every direction.

I swing the spear relentlessly.

Deflect, deflect, and deflect again.

I deflect magic, arrows, javelins, and nets—everything.

An impenetrable spear.

I focus all my nerves and block every attack with the spear.

I block ordinary arrows with my body, evade charging cavalry, and stab the riders’ necks with the spear.

‘They’re driving me somewhere.’

I won’t let them.

When the attacks weaken for a moment, I exploit the gap and tear through the enemy lines.

Most of them died without even reacting to my spear, but some managed to block one or two strikes.

The enemies aren’t a disorganized rabble.

Most are knight-level.

Among them, quite a few knights use aura.

Scars increase on my body.

They relentlessly targeted the horse and Irene, and when that wasn’t possible, I had to block with my body.

‘A way to turn the situation around…’

I don’t see it.

There’s no way something will pop out in this desolate prairie stretching endlessly.

Under the faint moonlight, I gallop across the prairie, kicking up dust, surrounded by hundreds of cavalry.

They gave up trying to lead me and maintain their formation, keeping a sufficient distance, adjusting to my direction if I charged in a different way.

[Bind]

[Grasp]

The mages try to cast spells to hinder the horse’s movement, but I dodge by changing the horse’s direction this way and that before the spells are cast.

Those kinds of spells are ineffective unless the target is stationary or the path is predictable.

“It’s okay, keep going! Keep the pressure on! There’s nowhere for those bitches to run!”

A man who appears to be the commander shouts loudly, chasing behind me at a distance.

His words are true.

There’s no gap to turn the situation around in this barren prairie.

A mere one or two trees and a few rocks are only good for buying time.

‘No, I won’t rely on luck.’

I endure.

I stubbornly block every attack and desperately endure.

Clang clang clang clang!

I endure, blocking all attacks flying from all directions.

“Unbelievable…”

I reduce their numbers by stabbing the necks of those who cross the line with the spear.

“She’s alone. She’ll eventually tire out! Attack in shifts without rest!”

Even though I realized the opponent’s strategy, there’s no other way.

‘Alright, let’s see who wins!’

This is a battle of endurance and perseverance.

The relentless battle between those trying to protect and those trying to kill continues.

 

Dawn slowly begins to break.

Irene, who was scared and closed her eyes, trembling whenever something flew at her, doesn’t even react anymore, probably because she’s tired.

I’m tired, and the horse is tired too.

‘My arms… feel like they’re going to fall off…’

I don’t show it, but all the muscles in my arms are wrecked. Every time I swing the spear, I feel pain like needles piercing my muscles.

Of course, the opponents are tired too.

The mages’ mana ran out long ago, and the arrows are gone. Enemy reinforcements arrived at dawn, but there were no threatening mages.

Except for the level of checking the horse in sequence, the threatening attacks have stopped.

“Hoo… you’re a disgusting bitch. Let’s negotiate, escort knight! We didn’t come to kill the princess!”

“Haa… don’t talk bullshit… do you think I’d believe that? You’ve been relentlessly targeting only Irene since earlier…”

I don’t even have the strength to answer.

“Hoo… that was to separate you. Don’t misunderstand, we came to save the princess!”

“What? Do you think that makes sense…”

‘Wait a minute.’

How could Irene have survived in the original history? Assuming the escort knight’s skills weren’t as good as mine, does that mean they really saved Irene?

And Irene was missing for 10 years after that?

I wondered how Irene could survive, but it makes sense if they weren’t the enemy…

“I refuse.”

How could I forget?

Even though my meeting with Irene was as a sex offender and a victim of sexual assault, there was clearly genuine sadness in the innocent Irene here.

She hugged me and continued to sob silently when all her precious people died.

It must have been you guys who killed and corrupted the friends of the naive, clueless royal girl. I don’t know what you’re going to do after taking Irene, but I’ll stop you.

“You’re stubbornly trying to drink poison. Do you think you can endure with that body? Don’t you know that the more you endure, the more your future lord will have to pay the price!”

“You’re not even slave traders, you’re just a bunch of thugs. Come at me if you have the guts. Don’t just throw your subordinates as bait.”

“…The negotiation is over. Everyone, total attack!!!”

And then,

A village appears in front of me.

The guys noticed it too, and immediately start a total attack.

“Push them down! Trample them with horses!”

The cavalry densely gathered on both sides receive buffs and charge forward, drawing a semicircle and starting to charge towards us.

‘That’s impossible.’

It’s impossible to block all the charging cavalry rushing in without gaps. My horse doesn’t have enough strength to move to the side right now. If I try to change the direction of the horse that’s barely running forward, it’ll fall over immediately.

I raise my trembling arms, disengage the spear, and hug Irene.

I’m pretending to be okay, but it’s hard to fight in my current state.

I hold Irene in a princess carry, step onto the horse’s back with both feet. I maintain my balance and aim for the timing.

“What are you doing, you bitch…?”

And right before the enemies’ horses and my horse collide.

I jump off the horse’s back.

Pheeheeheeing~!

With a strong jump, the spine of the horse that carried me and fought with me breaks and it collapses.

‘I’m sorry…’

I fly through the air, looking down at the expressions of the guys below who are staring in disbelief.

My arms are about to break, but my legs are fine.

With Irene’s scream, I fly hundreds of meters and land near the village.

Thud…

I squeeze out the remaining divine power and quickly run towards the village. Even though the strength in my arms is gone, my legs are still fresh.

I run as fast as my thighs can carry me.

Leaving footprints on the ground at an incredible speed, I quickly approach the village.

“Wh, what!”

A village surrounded by a small wooden fence about 2 meters high. My vigilante friend is surprised to see me.

It’s a village similar to the one I experienced in the 3rd floor trial, with a sturdy wooden fence around the village to protect against small monsters.

I jump into it.

“Kyaaaa!!!”

With Irene’s scream attached to my body, I land safely on the ground.

Crash!!!

And immediately after, the cavalry breaks through the fence and enters.

“Where is she!! Find her!!!”

The surprised villagers scatter in shock.

“Kyaaaa!!”

“What, what’s going on… Keugh!”

“Don’t leave any witnesses, kill them all!”

The villagers caught up in the unfortunate event die.

Meanwhile, as soon as I entered the village, I hid in the biggest house.

‘I’m sorry, villagers…’

I roughly threaten the people in the house, push them into a small room, and prepare to go out the window from the top room.

Thud thud thud…

The sound of the cavalry tearing through the village vibrates.

[She’s hiding somewhere in the house. Everyone, get off your horses and find her!!!]

‘Now’s the time.’

I go out the window.

The village chief’s house, the biggest in the village, is a whopping 3-story house.

“Irene-nim. You mustn’t scream.”

“O, okay…”

I put Irene on my back and, similar to when I flew with her, I tighten my thighs! and jump with all my strength.

The guys getting off their horses, Irene and I fly over them, over the fence, and land outside the village.

Thud…

‘Did they not notice?’

I immediately run like crazy. I run with all my strength, hoping they’ll be late in discovering me.

The sun was rising on the opposite side of the village.

‘There’s no choice of direction.’

Going east will take me away from the empire, but it’s important to get as far away from the attackers as possible.

I run and run with all my strength. My running speed right now is not much different from the speed of a horse.

‘This mission is really damn hard…’

I run while cursing inwardly.

At some point, the grass starts to grow bigger and trees appear.

Mountains appear, and insects and animals are seen.

Climbing the mountain, I turn around slightly and see the pursuers riding horses in the distance.

‘Those guys are really persistent.’

I decide to worry about the identities of those guys later and hide first.

Until now, I had to run fast, so I inevitably came while leaving footprints and traces, but from now on, I’ll erase the traces.

Using the mysteries of the assassin’s gait learned in my previous life, I hide in the mountain without leaving a single footprint or trace.

Fortunately, I thoroughly camouflage the entrance to a cave I found and hide with Irene.

“Hoo…”

“Haa…”

Two exhausted women sit on the cave floor and rest.

I’m tired too, but Irene, who was hugging me, is also tired.

A long silence passes.

I’m thinking about what to do from now on.

Irene is feeling sadness for the dead rather than joy for surviving.

I couldn’t block all the attacks either.

Irene also had a wound on her body grazed by a small fragment, and a significant portion of her luxurious pajamas was torn.

Even though she’s in a shabby state, her radiant beauty couldn’t be hidden.

‘As expected, a princess is a princess until she dies…’

“Let’s eat first and take a nap.”

“…Okay.”

‘Ha… if I had known this would happen, I would have put a strawberry cake in my inventory.’

What should I do about this gloomy atmosphere?

I take out a potion from the inventory, drink one myself, and hand one to Irene.

Gulp… Gulp…

Drinking the potion, my body recovers and I feel energized.

‘Hoo… I’m feeling a little better now.’

Growl…

That’s not the sound coming from my stomach. Irene was blushing and covering her stomach.

“Th, this is…”

“It’s natural. I prepared for it knowing this would happen.”

I had already opened a food pack that turns into warm rice in 1 minute.

When I gave Irene a warm short rib stew rice bowl, she tilted her head.

“What… is this?”

“It’s rice made for knights’ field use. You have to put things like this in a magic tool.”

I roughly made an excuse, and she started eating with a spoon without doubting.

“It’s, it’s okay…”

The gloomy atmosphere starts to ease a little.

She eats demurely, then hurriedly eats the rice, saying she’s full and leaving about half of it.

It’s originally a 3-person portion, so that’s a lot for her to eat.

“Ahem… are you thirsty? This is the best field combat milk for knights. Try it.”

I had been curious about something for a long time.

Ordinary people don’t get stronger no matter how many elixirs they eat.

So what happens to people inside the tower?

I pour breast milk into the potion bottle that was left over from earlier.

The potion bottle is 100ml each. If I add mine, the effect will be activated exactly.

Irene smells it with a slightly uneasy look, tastes it slightly, and her eyes widen. And she drinks it down without even uttering an exclamation.

‘It must be delicious…’

I know because I’ve eaten it too. There’s no drink in this world that’s as delicious as that.

She holds the bottle containing the breast milk vertically and shakes it all out. She even puts her tongue in and licks it, as if she regrets that there’s anything left in the bottle, which is quite lewd.

“Heeut… Haaap…!”

“Th, there’s a lot of that, Irene-nim. Have some more.”

“Ah… there was more? T, tell me sooner…!”

Her face is turning red, which is refreshing. If the Irene in the secret book is a worn-out woman, the Irene here is innocent, so it’s fun to tease her.

In the end, she refills it 3 times and says she’s full and will eat later.

When I ask if she feels like something has changed in her body,

“Just… a good feeling because it’s delicious?”

‘The minimum requirement is mana operation…’

Even though it’s still morning, I slowly start preparing to sleep.

It’s better to let those guys pass by here than to go out and risk danger.

Especially that cavalry commander guy.

He was hiding behind like a coward, but I felt an unusual aura.

After completely covering the cave entrance to block the sunlight, I flatten the floor as beautifully as possible.

I don’t care, but if Irene sleeps here, her delicate body will be scratched by the stones and she’ll be full of wounds.

I take out the ordinary clothes from [Illusionary Wardrobe] and spread them on the flattened floor.

‘I didn’t know this would be so useful. I should put some clothes to use as blankets in my inventory.’

“Irene-nim, lie down quickly. Let’s get some sleep.”

“Okay… let’s rest for a bit.”

Lying down on the floor that’s been cushioned with clothes, I feel the fatigue completely disappear.

When Irene lies down next to me, I get a strong whiff of her body scent.

‘The scent is lewd…’

When I turn my head to the side, she’s looking at me too.