Chương 395: 390. Predicament - III

It had been nearly an hour since they had been waiting, but there was no change in the situation. The knight had been curious about the crossbow, muttering something about the loading system being different than what he was used to, but he had still figured it out easily enough and given it a few tries at a tree, being surprised at the ease of reloading it.

Everyone except the dead guard and the baldy were wearing tunics and trousers—none of them having any time to put on their leather armor in the hurry of chasing after her, while the knight was wearing a much better-quality robe, but not his plate armor. Hyola wasn't sure if he would've even fit in it anymore.

Hyola's legs hadn't been tied, probably because the knight was confident that there was nowhere for her to run—especially with her twisted ankle—but her hands were still securely tied up behind her with a rope. The slaves were also sitting nearby, after the knight—their owner—had told them to stay, so he could show an example of what happened when someone killed his men. Feroy hadn't returned either, making her wonder if he had decided to abandon her. No, he wouldn't do that! Right...?

The three guards who had been sent to find the ex-mercenary also hadn't returned. The old knight was getting impatient by now, looking around again and again, waiting for his guards to return. Eventually, it seemed he'd had enough.

"You!" He pointed at one of the two remaining guards.

"Go and find where those idiots are. They should've returned by now if they couldn't find the other guy."

"Yes, boss," the guard nodded, and ran off too, leaving just the knight and one more guard. Hyola wondered for a moment if she could take them on, before she exhaled. Even if her hands hadn't been tied up, and if she still had her crossbow, she probably couldn't have taken the guard by herself. And he wasn't alone either. The knight's prime days were long in the past, but even at around 50 years of age, his body still looked fit enough—more or less—although a potbelly was starting to develop.

But if his claims of serving in Fort Aragosa in the past were right, he could probably cut her in halves with his huge sword with barely any effort. She knew that because even someone like the guard captain Hudan hadn't been able to become a knight and serve in Aragosa. So anyone who did serve there, had to be scary good for sure. The knight had tried a few more times to ask about the crossbow, but she hadn't told him a thing. She would gladly die before betraying Lord Kivamus!

She had also decided to sit down after realizing that standing in protest wasn't going to do anything other than tire her out. However, she had another purpose in mind for sitting now. When she finally sat down this time, she made sure she was facing everyone else, which meant her hands were behind her and close to her feet—specifically, her boots, where her small serrated dagger was hidden.

After some initial struggle to escape in the beginning, she had calmed down after the knight had slapped her again, letting him believe she wouldn't try to run. That meant the knight was looking around—waiting for the other guards to return—while the last remaining guard was just standing idly and yawning. That was all the chance she needed. She gently pulled out the thin dagger, and started to cut the rope tying her hands.

Before long, only a few strands were left, when she stopped cutting—she could break them easily with her own strength whenever she wanted, but at a quick glance the ropes would still appear tied up. Now she just had to wait for a good chance. She looked back at the two remaining captors. She might not be able to kill both the men, but she knew she could still run away from them—she just had to break free before the other guards returned.

It wouldn't be easy to run away with her twisted ankle, especially without knowing the local terrain, but there was no other choice. She had to escape before the moon set. She glanced up, seeing that the moon was slowly approaching the roof of the barn in front of her, which was on the other side of the knight and the guard. It would only be a couple of hours before it went completely dark around midnight. Better not to wait.

She was going to cut the last strands of rope, when she noticed a silhouette in the moonlight, just beyond the barn. She stilled, thinking one of the guards had returned, but the person was moving... differently. She squinted. Was that…? Hell yes! It was Feroy. It couldn't be anyone else skulking there at the time. But where were the local guards? The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It only took a moment for her brain to process it and she barely stopped herself from laughing loudly. She knew exactly where those bastards were. Going against Feroy in the night? Even the goddess couldn't save them if she wanted. And she wouldn't. That meant Feroy must have taken care of at least the first three guards who had gone to look for him, and possibly the fourth one who had gone to find his comrades. That meant it was two against two now.

She gave a furtive glance to the knight, whose back was toward Feroy, and found that he hadn't noticed the ex-mercenary. The guard was also looking at the slaves, with Feroy on his left. She knew this was her chance. She cut the final strand of rope and freed her hands, without making any other movement. She held the dagger in her hand, waiting for the ex-mercenary to move first. She didn't have to wait long.

Her heart started beating faster as she noticed Feroy creeping closer and closer to the guard who was watching over the slaves. Before long, Feroy was standing right behind the bastard—who had no idea just how soon his life was going to end. The slaves must surely have noticed the ex-mercenary by now, but thankfully they understood what was happening and remained quiet. Feroy slowly stood to his full height, clamped a hand over the guard's mouth, and slashed his neck.

As she expected, the guard couldn't even make any sound as he slumped to the ground, but a child watching them nearly let out a scream before her mouth was covered by a female slave. Shit! The knight began to turn around in surprise, and Hyola knew she only had moments to distract him. She jumped to her feet, not letting the rope fall from her hands.

"You know what, old man? Fuck you!" She smirked." Wait, I think I said it wrong. I bet you can't even get it up now, huh?" The knight turned to her with a glare as he stood up.

"You bitch! What did you just say?" He strode to her with a scowl, his sword still in its scabbard, and slapped her again. Hard. Hyola lost her dagger from the force of the strike as she fell to the ground again. Dammit! She somehow managed to keep her freed hands behind her, along with the rope, as the knight bent low, right above her.

"I'll show you exactly what I can—" Hyola let the rope slip and brought her hands to the front—one of them still carrying the rope—startling the older man for a moment. That was long enough for her to throw the rope around the bastard's neck and catch it with her other hand. Immediately, she pulled him towards her and headbutted him on his nose. Hard. The knight sprang back in pain, clutching his bleeding nose, as Hyola scrambled to stand up. The older man finally drew his sword.

"You damned—" He had barely opened his mouth when his body jerked forward with the force of something striking him near the shoulders. The knight immediately turned around to see who had hit him. Hyola saw Feroy throwing his crossbow aside as he ran toward them with his sword out. Knowing the knight wasn't going to die from that bolt, Hyola sprang up, finally spotting her dagger on the ground. Ignoring the blazing pain in her ankle, she lunged in and stabbed the bastard from behind—right where his heart would be.

Shit. The knife was too short to go deep enough to kill him… The knight still cried out in pain, turned, and backhanded her with his left fist. Hyola fell to the ground once more, and this time, the pain in her ankle didn't let her get up immediately. The slave owner lifted his sword high, ready to send her to the goddess, when a different sword exited from his chest. Feroy had stabbed him from the other side. The older man gurgled blood for a moment, then fell with a loud thud.

"You bast—" the knight's last words stopped before he could finish the sentence. Hyola took a deep breath to calm her thundering heart, her mind refusing to believe that it was over. Then she remembered the fourth guard.

"Wait—what happened to the other guards?"

"Took care of 'em already," Feroy smirked.

"It's nighttime—my favourite time!"

"No—how many guards did you kill?" Hyola blurted.

"The knight sent a fourth one after you!" Feroy snorted.

"I can count too, you know? It wasn't easy fighting three men together. Got more than a few cuts for my trouble. The last one was alone—he went down way too easy." Hyola laughed. Of course. Fighting against four men in the night was anything but easy, but Feroy was Feroy... She exhaled loudly. It was over… It was finally over…

"I thought you'd abandoned me," she muttered after a moment.

"Of course you'd think that," Feroy snorted as he removed his sword from the knight's chest, and after making sure he was dead, he wiped the blade on the dead man's robe.

"Is that really what you think Lord Kivamus teaches the guards?" He shook his head." Loyalty to your partners is more important than anything. You should know that by now." Hyola dropped her gaze.

"I'm sorry…" Feroy looked at the slaves still huddling together in fear.

"Forget about it. We've got a lot of work to do before the moon sets."