They knew the mountains well and were armed. On the other hand, Ton had no weapon now, and the steep terrain would make it difficult for him to fight.

“It’s okay. Please hide behind that tree over there, Nellia.”

Although Nellia had heard before that Ton was skilled in combat, it was unclear if there was any chance of winning against three in this dimly lit mountain…

But now it was too late to escape. The thugs who chased them quickly revealed themselves in front of Ton.

Following Ton’s advice, Nellia hid her body behind a tree.

The thugs, holding only a single branch, looked at Ton and sneered.

“Just with that single branch, you’re going to face us?”
“The cornered mouse opens the door to the cat, they’re a perfect match. It would have been better to keep running.”

Ton, without a word, swung a branch and struck one of the thugs.

Thunk. With a dull sound, one thug collapsed.

“What, what’s going on.”

Confused thugs, seeing Ton’s quick movements, belatedly drew the swords at their waists.

And without hesitation, they tried to attack Ton, but once again, Ton was faster.

Thunk. When Ton forcefully kicked the thug’s leg, he lost balance and rolled over.

In an instant, only one remained out of the three.

Nellia clenched her fist and hoped Ton would handle the remaining one safely.

Ton lifted a branch towards the remaining thug.

However, at that moment, the thug who had been knocked down by Ton and fallen, writhed and got up.

Without picking up the missed sword, he fumbled at his waist and pulled out a hidden dagger.

Fiercely opening his eyes, he seemed to be aiming for Ton’s back. In an instant, he rose and tried to attack Ton’s back.

“Ton…!”

Unable to just watch, Nellia rushed out from behind the tree and pushed Ton.

Luckily, the thug’s dagger narrowly missed Ton’s neck.

The thug who noticed Nellia widened his eyes.

“There, there was someone else!”

Ton quickly grasped the situation and shouted to Nellia.

“Nellia, run!”

The thug who failed to stab Ton and got up again focused on Ton’s back. And he quickly rose and aimed to attack Ton’s back.

“Ton…!”

“I will handle the remaining ones and catch up, so please run quickly!”

Nellia understood that, in the current situation, her fleeing would help Ton.

Staying here would only be a hindrance as Ton had to fight to protect himself.

Nellia turned around and started descending from the mountain. The thug who tried to attack Ton with a dagger followed. He seemed to have become more agitated after his attack failed due to Nellia a while ago.

“You’re caught! You’ll be sold to the slave market like that man!”

Nellia desperately dodged the thug, but the dirt path was too steep and slippery.

Thud, thud [Dash]!

At that moment, the sky flashed, and lightning struck.

Indeed, lightning struck in the bone-dry sky.

“Damn, even the sky’s gone crazy!”

The thug cursed, and Nellia continued to flee. The distance had suddenly narrowed.

“We got you, you rat…!”

Eventually, the man grabbed the hood of the robe Nellia was wearing. With the force of his pull, Nellia fell backward.

In the end, losing balance on the steep path, she tumbled down. Her vision spun quickly.

Thud. Colliding with a wooden pillar, Nellia barely regained consciousness.

Just as she opened her eyes to survey the surroundings, the thug was walking towards her, who had rolled down.

Nellia realized she needed to get up and run, but her body had hit the wooden pillar quite hard, and she couldn’t put any strength into her legs.

‘Ah…’
Unbeknownst to her, a thug stood in front of Nellia.

“All this mess is because of you.”

The thug, feeling compelled, squatted in front and grabbed Nellia’s hair.

Nellia’s eyes twisted in discomfort.

“Ugh…”

While holding Nellia’s hair, the thug glanced at her face.

“I’d like to give you a few hits if it weren’t for that… But selling a pretty face like yours as a slave could fetch a good price.”

When Nellia glared at the thug, he let out a wicked laugh.

“The weather is gloomy, let’s stop playing hide-and-seek.”

Then the thug suddenly fixed his expression, sniffed around, and looked puzzled.

“But… Haven’t they put out the fire yet? Where is that burning smell coming from?”

The burning smell…?

Come to think of it, there really was a strong smell of burning coming from somewhere in the forest.

‘By now, they should have definitely put out the fire…’

In the moment of feeling strange,

Kwakwang [Dash]!

The dark sky brightened, and lightning struck.

“Ah, be surprised! Where did the lightning come from all of a sudden?”

Startled by the loud noise heard up close, the thug turned his head around. Along with the thunderous sound heard up close, the smell of burnt spread from all directions.

“Uh, it’s really on fire. We need to return to the base quickly.”

The thug, still gripping Nellia’s hair, got up. Nellia had no choice but to get up in pain.

Kwakwang [Dash]!

Then lightning struck again. This time, the subsequent thunder was close to an explosion.

As the aftermath of the explosion gradually faded, a crackling sound was heard nearby.

Hearing the sound, the thug, still holding Nellia’s hair, quickly looked around.

“W-who is it!”

Nellia, waking up from her daze, also scanned the surroundings, wondering if Ton had arrived.

Through the hazy moonlight, a shadow of a figure in armor was visible.

At the end of her gaze, when she saw the shining silver hair, Nellia finally realized.

The cause of the burning smell that had been blowing since earlier.

When the clouds obscuring the moon were lifted, a familiar face appeared faintly.

There, Marquis Hart was standing.

‘Marquis…?’

The marquis, who suddenly appeared deep in the mountains, felt so unreal that it could be mistaken for a dream. However, the pungent smell of burnt in the air made it clear that Marquis was indeed real.

However… Marquis was making a rather unfamiliar expression, almost making her doubt if he was the same marquis she knew.

His face, as enchanting as ever, might be mistaken for that of an angel, but the icy silver eyes looked as cold as those of a devil who would ruthlessly kill a person.

Emerging from the darkness, the marquis, despite being in the wilderness, exuded a noble atmosphere.

The marquis stopped his steps in front of Nellia.
Unlike a moment ago when the thug shouted in surprise, asking who it was, he now stared blankly at the marquis. His expression seemed as if he had lost consciousness.

Marquis Hart slowly reached out his hand. Even Nellia, momentarily dumbfounded, watched the marquis with a vacant gaze, trying to understand what he intended to do.

And it happened in an instant.

Thud.

The marquis snapped the finger of the thug who had been gripping Nellia’s hair.

“Aaack [Dash]!”

The thug let out a painful scream. However, he remained motionless like prey caught in a spider’s web. No, it seemed like he couldn’t move.

The marquis grabbed the thug’s neck and threw him to the ground.

Thud [Dash]!

When the thug’s body collided with the rocks upon being thrown, a loud noise echoed.

Looking down at the fallen thug, the marquis’s stern voice resounded.

“How dare you.”