ToCF

Chapter 511-515

Running away.
Bud was used to running away, but he hated running away.

"...Huff. Huuuff. Huff."

Bud was burning up inside as he heard the Elf next to him breathing heavily.
It was unbelievable that an Elf who was used to being on a mountain could be tired like this, but the Elf next to him had no choice but to be tired.

'...He used too much of his Elemental's powers.'

The group that Bud was currently leading... And the other group that Elf Sorros was leading on the opposite side...
The Elf next to him had used his Elemental to maintain contact between the two groups.

"Huff, huff. Bud-nim."
"...Yes?"
"There's nowhere for even the Elementals to run away and hide."

The Elf looked full of despair.

The Elementals contracted to the Elves could not move properly on this mountain right now.
They were either screaming and running away, hiding under their contractor's clothes, or spread out and hiding around the mountain while waiting for time to pass.

Swooooooosh-

Bud flinched after hearing something cut through the wind and shouted toward a mercenary to his left.

"Lower your head!"

The mercenary lowered not just his head but his whole body without responding.

Crack!

An arrow flew past the mercenary and landed on the tree next to him.

'Shit!'

Bud started to frown as he watched this.
His gaze quickly headed toward the direction the arrow flew from.

Rustle-

He could see shadows hiding in between the trees.
Bud's group that was running away was being attacked by arrows like this. Bud could only dodge these attacks without being able to counterattack.

"Leader! Are we just going to keep getting hit like this?!"

One of the mercenaries behind him could not hold his anger back anymore and raised his voice.

"Then what do you propose we do?"

The mercenary flinched after seeing Bud's gaze.
Bud looked at his stiff subordinate's messy state and continued to speak.

"Do you think you can catch the bastard that shot that arrow in your current condition?"
"...But-!"
"You know that it is best to move according to the plan."

The mercenary kept his mouth shut after seeing Bud's cold gaze.

The plan.
Bud had a plan.
The mercenary decided to follow that plan. However, he just could not hold back his anger after seeing the approaching danger as well as the numerous injured people being carried by others.
Bud understood how this mercenary was feeling as well.
That was why he looked toward the mercenary who was quietly suppressing his anger and started to speak with a heavy heart.

"...We are moving again."

The group started to walk once again while dealing with injuries and fatigue.

"Huff, huff... huff."

They continued to wade through the bushes and trees while hearing heavy breathing around them.
An Elf who was next to him started to speak at that moment.

"There's no need to worry about where to go. The enemies are leading us to a single spot, so I guess we just need to go where they tell us to go."

The joking comment was full of anger and sorrow.
Even Glenn who was on Bud's back started to laugh in self-depreciation.