Musou Knight: Crow of Cinders-Chapter 20: Escape 2

Chapter 20 - Escape 2

I couldn’t afford to be found. Since I was on a rocky trail, I moved aside and hid behind a boulder.

The light drew closer every second. Soon enough, I heard horses’ hooves.

My curiosity got the better of me. I peeked at the light source and discovered a cavalry team rushing through the path. Everyone wore yellow and carried banners with a golden mouse and fire torches.

Those banners were familiar to me. They served under Zoli. I bet they were from the ambush site I had avoided, and they were following our tracks to meet up with Zoli’s main force.

The cavalry team passed by. I left my hiding place just as the last of them was 200 meters away. I looked towards where Lenitia might have gone.

The light I had spotted southwest of here was moving toward the cavalry team.

Was she stupid? Or was that Lia acting as a decoy?

I had no idea. Since it wasn’t my business, I turned around and resumed my journey.

That was my mistake.

As soon as I looked back, I came face to face with another team of infantry in yellow uniforms. They were also moving in the dark.

"SHIT!"

"ENEMY!"

I didn’t know how many there were, but my brain stopped functioning. My muscle memory took over, and I made a wide arc with my spear, sweeping horizontally.

My iron spear glowed red, releasing a horizontal flame slash. The fire ring expanded outward and illuminated everything around me for a brief second.

Surprised faces of rough-looking men, whose torsos were split in half, came into view. A wave of hot wind blasted outward and left behind a vacuum of cold air around me. Another flash revealed a second shockwave, which sent men in yellow clothes flying. Some turned into fireballs midair.

After using up my musou attack, exhaustion hit me like a hammer. It sobered me up, and I came back to my senses. My iron spear felt as soft as jelly. I had no choice but to discard it.

The surviving men ahead lit torches to find me, even though they didn’t need them. Several dead bodies and severed torsos were already on fire.

Because it wasn’t wise to fight an unknown number of enemies in an open field in the dark, I kicked up some dirt and ran backward, using the same trail as the cavalry until I reached the previous boulder. I slid to the side and got off the road.

"BE CAREFUL! THAT’S A MUSOU KNIGHT!"

I heard the commotion. Judging from their voice, they were as surprised as I was since they had never been trained to fight a musou knight. However, their captains or lieutenants might have.

Instead of heading west, east, or south, I moved north into unknown terrain. The shadow of a tall cliff in front of me caught my attention. My adrenaline transformed me into a monkey as I leapt to the cliff and started climbing.

I couldn’t see anything on the cliff, but my hands kept reaching for something to grab. Fortunately, my body was thin, and I had built some strength after eating spawned food. Using arm strength alone, I managed to climb three meters.

Soon, my arms lost strength. I took a break mid-climb and looked below while I fetched a piece of dumpling in my shirt to replenish my stamina.

The pursuers were scanning the area, searching for me. None of them had looked up yet. It was only a matter of time before they noticed me.

I have two options: either relocate immediately and risk detection, or feign inanimate stillness and let them pass. However, if I lingered any longer, they might spot my shadow’s movements.

I made my decision to move.

I looked up. The top of the cliff was roughly two meters away.

With a surge of motivation and adrenaline, I pulled hard. My hands reached for any rocky surface and pulled me up. This made me think of a certain climbing game.

The excitement and dread of being discovered must have triggered something in me. My hands grew sweaty, and the rocks slipped.

Using my free hand, I pulled my knife from the belt sheath and stabbed it into the rocky cliff as a hold. Then, I pushed for another half meter.

"UP THERE!"

Well, shit. I must have made noise.

The commotion from below urged me to push harder. I let go of the knife and stepped on it. Using it as a foothold, I jumped up and grabbed the top ledge. With another pull, both elbows got on top of the cliff.

CLINK.

Something hard hit my back. Probably an arrow.

I had no luxury of looking back. I lifted my legs and rolled.

I was out!

While rolling, I caught a glimpse of multiple arrows flying upward. Every shaft missed me.

That was close.

But it wasn’t over. I couldn’t stop here.

With only one knife left as my weapon and an empty musou bar, I couldn’t challenge an army. I turned around and looked for a path to leave.

The medieval era was certainly a challenging time. Visibility was limited solely to the illumination provided by their torches. Nevertheless, that could be used to determine the enemy’s position.

I shifted my attention to the most shadowed section and proceeded with caution. But I stopped almost instantly.

There were eyes. Gleaming eyes, staring at me from the dark.

Oh, come on. Out of the frying pan, into the fire?

One of them walked out of the dark. Whatever it was, it looked small... like a chicken.

Gleaming eyes? Chicken?

"CAAA!"

It was one of Cow-Cow’s buddies!

"What are you doing here?!"

"CAAA!"

More crows emerged from the darkness. They waddled away, but one poked my leg.

"What is it?"

"CAAA!"

It turned around and ran.

Did it want me to follow them?

Whatever. There was no alternative available to me. I followed the crows and their red eyes.

From below the cliff, I heard horses’ neighs and loud commotion. The cavalrymen must have arrived to search for me.

"FIND THAT MUSOU KNIGHT, OR YOU’RE DEAD!"

That wasn’t the way to encourage your men, dumbass.

I stopped paying attention to my pursuers.

The crow chickens were so dark they blended into the night, and I could barely keep up with their walking speed. Fortunately, they kept looking back, showing me their glowing red eyes.

After walking for half an hour, we trekked down the hill and stopped in front of a cave. The crows made way for me to enter.

This gave me PTSD. I hoped the oxygen level in the cave was sufficient.