Chapter 56: Chapter 56
“Stay down. Don’t move from this spot.”
Still holding Venna’s body down against the ground while shielding her with his own body from the top, Saulus took a quick look around the area.
Just as expected, the attack came right before picking up their prey, when they were lowering their guard. And from how slow Saulus was to react to the ambush, it seemed that the enemy still managed to achieve some sort of surprise with their attack.
But it didn’t mean all was going south. From the few looks he took in at the battle going on around him, there wasn’t all that much to fear. While the bodyguards that had followed them ever since they left Venna’s tent to go hunting were busy fighting off the attackers, a small group of five men, which he supposed were to use the opening to either kidnap or assassinate the queen of the rebellious household, were currently turned to scrappy pieces of meat under the swords and axes of the second group of Saulus’ men.
“It seems that hiding them in the shadows wasn’t just me being overly cautious…”
Muttering to himself, Saulus suddenly closed his jaws as a wave of pain travelled up his spine all the way to his brain. Even though he was injured already a few moments ago, his body was now starting to communicate it to his mind.
“Saulus, what is going on?!”
Flaring up, Venna pressed him for answers. While her face was flushed due to how tense the current situation was, Saulus had no time to admire it.
“The harvest season is just around the corner. Do you remember when I spoke of how that one damned general in the south would be a tough opponent?”
Recalling the moment when he talked with the queen about the moves that their household had to take to survive, Saulus barely fought his desire to start cursing.
“Don’t tell me…”
As little experience as she had in managing an entire country or seeing through schemes, this time Venna managed to quickly catch the hint.
“Yeah. I knew something like this was going to happen, sooner or later. That’s why I was so happy to help you out with the hunt. By giving them this sudden and unexpected opportunity, we forced the enemy to make a move rather than letting them do whatever they want once you’re back in the capital. At this point, I don’t think I need to mention how it is actually easier to protect you here, in the forest, than in that damned city of schemers and traitors?”
Seeing how some of his veterans had managed to take down their respective opponents and were now forming a protective circle around the two of them, Saulus finally dared to stand up. Only now when he pushed his body up did he notice the actual reason behind Venna’s bright blush.
“Ugh… I’m… I’m sorry for that…”
Instantly taking his hand off the girl’s breast, he turned his head to the side, attempting to hide his own embarrassment. For others, it might seem as if he was worried about punishment for touching his Queen like that, even if it was an accident that happened in the heat of the moment. Thankfully, moving his body up caused Saulus’ back injury to flare up, allowing him to use the immense pain to distract and wash the impure thoughts from his mind.
“General, don’t move. We need to remove the bolt.”
Noticing the anguish of their commander, the veterans didn’t waste a single moment. With someone jumping to them with makeshift bandages made from a piece of cloth he tore from his dress, someone else was already setting up a small fire. By the time the initial clash finally concluded, Vesser was already heating his personal knife in the small fire, completely ignoring all the blood and guts sprawled all over his face.
“Sir… I think you know it’s gonna hurt like Infidious wrath. I’m sorry in…”
Instead of finishing his sentence, the commander of Saulus’s bodyguards pulled the bolt out, before slamming his red-hot dagger directly into the leftover wound.
“UGH.”
Tightening his jaws to the point where his teeth started to hurt as well, Saulus didn’t dare to make any greater sound. Without the confirmation that the area was perfectly clear, revealing the position of someone important enough to have his wounds tended to before the fighting fully concluded would be sure to attract a lot of unwanted attention right now.
“Sauly… Are you okay?”
Struck by the sight of the immense pain on Saulus’ face, Venna managed to quickly overcome her earlier embarrassment. Rolling on the ground as to not make herself a bigger target, she got closer to the man before springing up a bit. Grabbing his lowered head between her arms, she pulled Saulus’ face right to her chest, tightly hugging it.
“Please, be quick. I can’t stand seeing him like this.”
With his face hidden in her breasts, Saulus could only guess from the tone of her voice that by this point, Venna was already on the verge of tears. As pleasant as it was to know that she cared about him so much, an ocean of rage filled his soul instead.
Because it didn’t matter how adorable a girl could be with tears in her eyes. What was important, was killing, mutilating and torturing to the death all those who were responsible for her tears!
“Sir, just a litt….”
This time, the situation took a turn for the worse. Not even bothering to pull his knife gently out of the wound, Vesser cut directly through Saulus’ healthy flesh as he freed his weapon, only to turn desperately around and raise his silly weapon above his head.
CLANG
The sound of the metal hitting metal resounded once again.
DAMN IT. Fully filled with pain and wrath, Saulus ignored his wound, turning around towards the new threat. As pleasant as it was to be cuddled by Venna the way he was just a moment ago, there was no way he would abandon the fight just to enjoy himself for a little longer.
“We need one alive!”
Shouting at the top of his lungs, Saulus lunged forward, leaping headfirst directly into the stomach of the enemy whose overhead attack Vesser barely managed to block. Pinning the man to the ground, Saulus headbutted the attacker’s nose with his forehead, before suddenly rolling away. In a state of shock after receiving a powerful hit like that, the enemy couldn’t react in time.
As the young general backed out with the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Vesser followed his lead and lunged right on the top of the enemy, only to sink his still hot blade directly into his heart.
“Enemies! More enemies coming!”
A voice from the side of the now dying battlefield quickly announced that they still were in a pinch. With seven out of the twenty bodyguards already injured, out of which four were no longer capable of fighting, the situation started to look grim.