Chapter 7

In a dense forest with many lush trees, a man kept running despite his short breaths, spinning head, and legs screaming for rest. The man, covered from head to toe in black clothing, ignored all the pain he felt, even as sweat drenched his entire body.

After a few moments of hard effort, the man finally emerged from the forest, his breathing uneven. As soon as he stepped out of the woods, he collapsed, his vision slightly blurry, but he seemed more relieved.

"I thought I wouldn't make it ...." he muttered as he caught his breath and slowly stood up. His previously chaotic mind began to clear now that he had reached his destination.

The man took a deep breath and looked up for a moment. Without wasting much time after his fear subsided, he regained his confidence and muttered, "Huh! I won't follow your orders, Neville Donatien!"

After regaining some energy, he immediately set off. His previously labored breaths had now recovered. He then walked casually while putting his hands in his pockets.

***

I slowly lay down in an open field in the middle of the forest. My body felt more relaxed as the breeze blew and my eyes gazed at the dark sky adorned with the moon and thousands of stars. I truly felt at peace in this atmosphere and slowly closed my eyes. However, before I could do so, Neville's suddenly shout echoed through the forest.

"Ars! Admit that you let that spy go to lure Byron Nevaeh here!" Neville shouted.

Unwilling to respond, I covered both ears with my hands. "You were the one who said you wanted revenge. Why are you getting so angry when I speed it up?"

"You're a psychopath!" Neville shouted even louder, "Then I'll destroy them all with my own hands!"

"Shut up! Your annoying voice is breaking through the last defense of my ears!"

Sigh ... He was so confident in his strength, yet why does he keep worrying? Truly an annoying and disgusting person. Acting like the main character in a novel who pretends to be weak.

"By the way, Ars, I want to confirm something ...." Neville suddenly sounded serious. "Do you think Keres Nevaeh's father will come with many troops tonight?"

"How stupid can you be?" I slowly used my hands as a pillow since Neville had stopped whining. "He won't come tonight, especially if he has to bring a large number of troops. Logically, that's almost impossible." I glanced at Neville. "Do you think gathering a massive army in one night is easy?"

"You're really an irritating person!"

"That's your own fault for being so stupid."

"But isn't there a chance he might lose control and attack with whatever troops he has?"

"Yeah, I won't deny that. But that only happens if he's an idiot." I paused for a moment, enjoying the breeze. "I think he'll at least attack tomorrow morning. And I'm sure the number of soldiers he brings won't exceed a thousand."

"You say that so casually as if it's easy to defeat them ...."

"Yeah... I'm pretty confident. Besides, the Beast Thestral can defeat them all in an instant, right?"

"Damn it! In the end, you're just dragging me into a grave!"

***

In the morning in the forest, as I predicted, Byron Nevaeh—Keres Nevaeh's father—had come with troops to hunt down Neville Donatien, who had killed his son. However, the number of troops they brought was not as many as I expected.

"Looks like I overestimated this country noble named Byron Nevaeh," I said to Neville as I stood on a cliff, observing the number of soldiers Byron Nevaeh brought. "He didn't learn from his son and brought no more than a hundred soldiers."

"But don't you think he might have spread his troops in all directions to surround us?" Neville asked.

"You're overthinking," I replied. "He'd only do that if he had a telepath by his side. But I'm very sure he doesn't have anyone that skilled."

Not wanting to waste much time, I immediately descended from the cliff, moving slowly while hiding my tracks to approach Byron Nevaeh's troops. Like Neville, I didn't believe Byron Nevaeh would only bring this many soldiers in one night. Something must be off.

As I moved, pondering various possibilities, I realized that Neville was following me. He probably didn't want to be left alone, but it didn't matter. I had to focus on what to do next.

However, a few moments later, I froze when I saw someone I recognized among the soldiers. I didn't expect he had become a "dog" for a noble. Hahaha. It's funny, but I couldn't laugh when I saw him.

"Wait!" Neville shouted when I suddenly stepped out of hiding and blocked Byron Nevaeh's troops.

Too late, I now stood right in front of Byron Nevaeh's troops, who immediately halted when they saw me leap, blocking their path. But I didn't care about them; my eyes were fixed on a long-haired man with his right eye covered.

"Who are you?!" Byron Nevaeh shouted, ready to draw the sword at his waist.

However, the long-haired man immediately stopped Byron Nevaeh. He stepped forward, stretched out his left arm to the side, and said, "Long time no see, my brother—Ars. How have you been?"

"Brother?!" Neville, who was behind me, exclaimed.

"I'm fine as you can see, brother," I replied. "But maybe soon I'll die in your hands."

"That's him! Neville Donatien! The bastard who killed my son!" Byron Nevaeh immediately pointed his sword at Neville.

Meanwhile, my brother—Nick Salazar—took a deep breath and said, "You don't have to worry, Ars. I'm not here to beat you, but the young man hiding behind you."

"Oh really? But I want to know, how does it feel to be a noble's 'dog'?" I couldn't hold back my emotions that had already peaked. "Do you get special treatment? Good food? A house that—"

"Ars!" Nick's emotions flared up upon hearing my insulting remarks. "I've tried to be a good brother to you, but you treat me with disrespect. Is that your attitude now, Ars?!" He then caught a sword thrown by one of the soldiers.

"He looks very dangerous, Ars..." Neville whispered, trembling. "I think we shouldn't fight him now..."

"Sorry, Neville... but can you handle all those lackeys by yourself? Let me face him alone." I realized my brother's strength wasn't that weak, even with my current power. I wasn't sure if I could fight him evenly with the sword I got from one of the soldiers' corpses.

"What kind of good behavior?!" I said as I quickly dashed forward, attacking my brother without caring if Neville agreed to my request or not. Now, my sword and my brother's sword clashed, creating a loud clang.

"ARS!" My brother immediately swung his sword with all his might.

I stepped back, dodging while keeping some distance, then quickly dashed forward again. Of course, my brother didn't just defend; he swung his sword again with full force, pushing me far back. Not stopping there, he continued to launch consecutive attacks, not letting me catch my breath and prepare.

We only clashed swords for a few seconds, but my energy was drained significantly, forcing me to keep my distance once more. He was very strong, as expected from a noble's "dog." However, I was determined to drag him into hell with me!