Soy Sauce 8. Owin Forest
by Foreigner Β· 2026-08-26
It was the fifth day since they passed Raypro.
There, the road split into two.
One went straight.
The other turned south.
Derban: Your Highness.
Derban, the commander of the Elion Knights, lowered his head from atop his horse.
Derban: Let us take the straight path.
Derban: ......
Derban: The other route will take an extra day.
Ains did not respond.
He took out a piece of paper from his pocket.
It was a map.
A red line was drawn on it.
It was the road that turned south.
Ains: We will head south.
Derban: Your Highness.
Ains: We will head south.
Derban was silent for a moment.
Derban: ......Seton is urgent.
Ains: I understand.
Ains: It will take a day.
Ains: We will be a day late.
Ains folded the map.
Ains: Commander.
Derban: Yes, Your Highness.
Ains: I am the overall commander.
Derban: ......Yes.
The expedition turned south.
Keira heard that conversation from behind.
After listening, she went over to Berin.
Keira: Berin.
Berin: Yes.
Keira: Did you just see that?
Berin: What?
Keira: The commander's face.
Berin looked ahead.
Derban was turning his horse's head.
Berin: ......It was not impressive.
Keira: That's right.
Keira grabbed the reins.
Keira: But there is nothing we can do.
The southern road was narrow.
Both sides were forested, and only one cart could barely pass through.
It took half a day for a thousand carts to traverse that road.
When setting up camp at night, there was not enough space.
So they divided.
The prince and the guards were in front, while the main Elion force was behind.
There was about five hundred meters between them.
Keira: Commander.
Keira asked.
Keira: Can we not get a bit closer?
Derban: There is no room.
Keira: It seems difficult for five hundred to merge all at once. They are following from too far away.
Derban: If they run, five hundred is nothing.
Derban said.
Derban: And this is Heness.
Keira did not respond to that.
Night fell.
It was a forest.
Sounds in the forest are strange.
What is close sounds far away, and what is far sounds close.
Berin could not sleep because of it.
To be precise, it was not because of that.
When he closed his eyes, he saw a cliff.
It had been like that since the 23rd day.
Now it was the 32nd day.
Around two in the morning, a bird flew.
Berin heard that sound.
When a bird flies all at once in the forest, it means something is below.
Berin got up.
As he stood up, his side ached.
It was a place that had been touched.
Berin: Keira.
Keira was already up.
The arrow came first.
It came towards the tent.
Berin jumped into the tent.
Ains was sleeping.
Berin pushed him.
While pushing, he blocked the tent wall with his back.
Two arrows pierced through the fabric.
One missed.
One lodged into Berin's left shoulder.
Berin: Your Highness.
Ains: ......Berin?
Berin: Wake up.
Ains: What is it?
Berin: Wake up!
Berin dragged the prince out.
There were people outside.
They were dressed in black.
There were no patterns.
They looked to be around twenty.
They made no sound.
That was the scariest part.
Bronzestorm was five.
There were twelve royal guards, but four of them were already lying down.
Keira: Back!
Keira shouted.
Keira: Your Highness, back!
At that moment, Berin killed one.
I killed the second one as well.
The third one came from the side.
Berin saw it.
He saw it, but his body didn't respond.
An arrow was lodged in his left shoulder.
Berin raised that arm.
He blocked the sword.
The sword passed through his arm.
At first, Berin didn't feel it.
He just leaned to one side.
'.......'
He didn't know why he was leaning.
It was because the weight had changed.
Berin adjusted his grip on the sword with his right hand.
And he killed that person.
After killing him, he stood before the prince.
Berin: Your Highness.
Ains: ......Berin.
Berin: Stay back.
Ains: Berin, your arm.
Berin: Stay back.
Ains saw his face at that moment.
Berin had no expression.
It wasn't the face of someone in pain.
It was the face of someone working.
Three out of the five Bronzestorms died on the spot.
It was then that Keira carried the prince.
Keira: Your Highness, excuse me.
Ains: What.
Keira: Excuse me.
Keira lifted Ains onto her back.
Something flowed from Ains' side.
It was an arrow.
He didn't even know when he got hit.
Keira: Berin!
Keira shouted.
Keira: Berin, let's go!
Berin did not come.
Berin stood at the entrance.
It was a narrow path.
If he stood alone, they could only come one by one.
Keira: Berin!
Berin: The Commander.
Berin said.
Berin: The young lord said to go first.
Keira stood there for three seconds.
And then she ran.
She ran while carrying the prince.
She didn't look back while running.
The main force of the Elion Knights arrived afterward.
It was five hundred meters.
They said it would take this long to run.
It took thirty minutes.
Derban: The forest was dark.
Derban said that.
Derban: The path was narrow, so the formation couldn't spread out.
Keira heard those words.
She did not respond at all while listening.
It was not because she had nothing to say.
It was because there was no evidence.
The black-clad ones died twelve, and the rest left.
They searched the bodies.
Nothing came out.
No patterns, no marks, and no letters were found.
The pockets were empty as well.
Derban: They were well prepared.
Derban said.
Derban: It's a mercenary.
Berin: No.
It was Berin.
He was sitting on the ground.
He was missing his left arm.
The medic was applying pressure to stop the bleeding.
Derban: What did you say?
Berin picked up an arrow.
He picked it up with his right hand.
There was thread wrapped around the end of the arrow shaft.
Berin: The way of wrapping is different.
"......"
Berin: Mercenaries do not wrap it like this.
Derban: Then who wraps it like this?
Berin set the arrow down.
Berin: It's the Inder Guard.
The camp fell silent.
Derban: How do you know?
Derban asked.
Berin did not answer.
There was no need to respond.
He was the only one who had faced the Inder Guard in this place.
Ains had a fever that morning.
The arrow in his side was lodged shallowly, but that was not the problem.
He could not tell what had been applied.
Karin: Your Highness.
Keira shook him.
Keira: Your Highness, please open your eyes.
Ains opened his eyes.
Ains: ......Keira.
Keira: Yes, Your Highness.
Ains: Seton.
Keira: ......
Ains: What happened to Seton?
Keira could not answer that question.
Ains: We must go.
Ains said.
Ains: We will leave in four days.
Karin: Your Highness.
Ains: I am the Commander.
Ains: ......
Ains: I will give the orders.
Ains could not finish that sentence.
Derban ordered the retreat an hour later.
It was the regulation.
If the Commander is incapacitated, the senior-most officer takes command.
The injured royalty is evacuated by the shortest route.
No one could oppose it.
Because the regulation was correct.
The expedition turned west that afternoon.
They went the way the 1000 had come.
Berin was carried on a stretcher.
As they went, he looked east.
There was a forest, and beyond it, nothing was visible.
They said that on clear days, Mount Dedon could be seen.
That day was cloudy.
Berin felt light on his left side.
However, the pain was not on the left.
It was on the east.
At the same time, Bedrun climbed the wall in Seton and looked west.
It was the 24th day since sending the letter.
They said it would take 9 days for cavalry.
There was nothing on the western road.