LITMIR.BIZ

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order that has existed for over a millennium. Your people weren’t even on the world map, and the order had already been around for many years. But at some point, you appeared – arrogants who decided to rule the world on your own. Because of you, we had to embark on a quest for truths that would allow us to stand against you. Because of you, our order had to evolve. Because of beings like you, I am who I am. The one who fulfills his purpose over and over, killing raidarians like you. Do you know what number you are? One hundred! I thought that God would reward me with someone special for my efforts, but I’ve seen enough, once again confirming that miracles don’t exist. And now, answer me! After what you’ve seen, do you still hope to defeat me?”

      “I couldn’t care less about you and your order,” said Reyn. “I’m just waiting for you to do something instead of running your mouth.”

      “Interesting…” replied Bern, once again assuming a combat stance.

      This time, Reyn, holding his sword with both hands, simply stood, lowering the blade to the ground, forcing Bern to initiate the attack. This time, Reyn decided to fight by countering, deflecting Bern’s slashing strikes. Bern understood that trying to break through his solid defense would be too foolish, so after another strike, he quickly somersaulted away. Coming out of the roll, he tried to pierce Reyn from the side again, but this time, Reyn managed to block the attack with a wooden plate strapped to his left forearm. At the same time, as he stood up, Bern drew a knife from his waist with his left hand and, with a sharp turn, tried to thrust the knife directly into Reyn’s neck.

      Reyn had to release his sword to quickly block this attack with the armor on his right arm. In the process, the sword fell, embedding itself in the ground. Reyn’s hand barely reached the knife before it could pierce his neck, gripping it so tightly that Bern couldn’t pull his knife back. Then Reyn noticed his hand, which was bleeding from holding the knife blade. More precisely, he noticed the glove. At that moment, he deeply regretted not stealing a raidarian armor with gloves that protected the back of the hand. Bern was greatly surprised that Reyn somehow managed to escape what would normally be a deadly blow. While Bern was in a state of strong surprise, Reyn was already lifting his leg for a kick, managing to deliver a powerful blow to Bern’s torso and throwing him backward. The impact was so strong that Bern couldn’t stay on his feet and fell, but he quickly got up without losing composure.

      Reyn imagined the expression on Bern’s face hidden behind the mask, which probably resembled a surprised lamb. Reyn only wanted to break the distance with a kick to gain a little more time against such a skilled killer. But Reyn didn’t have much time, considering that he had been wounded several times and was bleeding. At that moment, Bern roared, as if not expecting to have to fight for so long.

      Bern tensed his muscles, gripping his sword with all his might. He took a short breath and exhaled. Then, with a slight toss of his sword into the air, he pulled out another object from under a strap on his chest, resembling a small throwing knife. Like lightning, Bern hurled this knife-like object towards Reyn and hit the gap between the protective wooden plates on his leg, penetrating just above the knee. Reyn didn’t know what to do. If he pulled it out, another bleeding wound would open, and if he left it, this thing would slow him down so much that his chances of victory would plummet.

      Bern, on the other hand, wasted no time – he wanted to finish this battle as quickly as possible. Bern caught the thrown sword in the air, but then…

      Out of nowhere, sounds of flying arrows were heard from behind Bern. He immediately understood what it was. He tried to turn around to swiftly deflect the arrows with his sword, which he managed to do, but one arrow still pierced his dense leather attire, lodging into his back. Before his eyes, a horrifying scene unfolded with numerous raidarian warriors appearing on the horizon, seemingly ascending a small slope. They appeared one after another, releasing arrows from large bows and crossbows.

      Unexpectedly, one of the guys who had been watching the battle by the tree was struck by an arrow from a raidarian crossbow. He cried out momentarily, attempting to pull out the arrow, but any attempts ended in agony as he experienced unbearable pain at the slightest touch. In pain, fear, confusion, and complete despair, he remained silent, doing nothing, resigned to his fate.

      Meanwhile, despite everything, no arrows flew towards Reyn, as raidarian warriors, seeing his sword and appearance, but unable to discern his emblem due to the distance, mistook him for one of their own.

      At the same time, Bern was forced to take cover behind tree trunks, moving from tree to tree, fending off arrows to reach his horse, tied not far away.

      Reyn, seeing an opportunity, decided to rescue the injured guy struck by an arrow. He approached the guy, looked at him, and the guy slowly raised his gaze to meet Reyn’s. Their eyes locked. Reyn took the guy’s hand, placed it on his shoulder, then turned around and, limping, headed towards Bern’s horse, dragging his sword along the ground, as their only chance of escape lay with the horse. The guy offered no resistance, although any movement must have caused him pain. He seemed to be in a state of shock. While Bern stood behind a tree trunk, being bombarded by a multitude of approaching empire warriors, Reyn managed to outpace Bern, as almost no one hindered him. However, at some point, the raidarian warriors realized something was amiss, as their own, whom they saw in Reyn, wanted to flee rather than join them.

      Feeling the first arrow piercing his back through the armor, Reyn immediately dropped the guy from his shoulder, grabbed him with his left hand, and hid him behind, walking sideways and deflecting the arrows with the broad side of his sword. As much as Bern wanted to reach his horse quickly, the dense stream of arrows towards him proved to be a significant hindrance. Eventually, Reyn managed to reach Bern’s horse first. He placed the guy on the horse and intended to saddle it himself. However, as soon as he untied the reins from the tree, Bern’s throwing knife impaled his glove, causing Reyn to turn around.

      At that moment, Bern was already charging at Reyn furiously with his sword. Reyn barely managed to block Bern’s strike with the armor on his arm. While Reyn blocked the strike with one hand, he began to swing his sword with the other, causing not only raidarian arrows but also his own sword to fly towards Bern. As a result, Bern had to step back from the sword strike, throwing another knife at Reyn. Reyn, anticipating the attack, used this moment to his advantage. He only needed to break the distance one last time to buy himself a few more moments to somehow get on the horse. Seizing this opportunity, he took the reins and mounted the horse, which was already getting restless due to the arrows hitting its armor.

      “Let’s go,” exclaimed Reyn, tapping the reins, and the horse galloped away from the arrows flying towards them. Some arrows bounced off the horse’s metallic armor, while others pierced it directly. The horse ran as fast as it could, leaving Bern behind. The warriors and Bern were gradually becoming distant, but that was no longer important. What mattered was to bring the guy, weakened by blood loss, to the nearest village, as his time was running out. Moreover, Reyn was gradually losing blood, which was not a good sign. Because of the constant galloping, the guy occasionally made strange sounds, as if in pain. Perhaps these discomforts during the ride were what kept him conscious, preventing him from losing consciousness.

      Riding with all their might towards the village, they arrived much faster than if they had walked on foot.

      “Here is the village!” exclaimed Rein, seeing its silhouette in the distance. “Hey, buddy, can you hear me?” But the guy didn’t respond. “Hey, you! Are you still with us, hey?”

      When Rein turned back and shook the guy by the shoulder, the guy showed no signs of life. “Damn it, buddy…” Rein muttered, pulling the reins with all his might. “Let’s go! Forward! Forward!”

      It was getting dark, and sunset was approaching. The crimson light enveloped the fields as Rein urged his horse even faster. Finally, he entered the village.

      “Hey, is anyone here?” Rein shouted loudly. But no one answered. It seemed like the village had been deserted for a long time. There were no knights even though they had promised to wait

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