Love Letter From The Future

Chapter 347: Bread and Dagger (45)

My escape with Yuren went off smoothly, without a single hitch.

Perhaps if that damned Demonic Human could sprint at full speed, things would be different. But with elves piled high on his shoulders and arms, running on all fours was out of the question.

In other words, there’s no way he could keep up with our speed.

I raised my voice, hoping to prevent any more casualties.

“Retreat! Fall back!”

To the soldiers who were still locked in melee, my shout must have sounded utterly baffling. Especially so for the Yurdina troops.

No matter who looked at it, the battle was clearly tipping in Yurdina’s favor.

The elves were poorly armed and, to make matters worse, Senior Elsie and the Imperial Princess were blocking their escape at the rear. On top of that, the presence of the Saintess had boosted the morale of the Yurdina forces to new heights.

Even if they got wounded, they could almost certainly be saved.

Because of that, they were fighting more aggressively, certain that the elves’ defeat was inevitable and only a matter of time.

And now I was suddenly telling them to retreat.

And the problem was, since I was the one who gave the order, they couldn’t just brush it off. In the North, strength commanded respect, and the heroic deeds I’d piled up had earned me real authority.

The elves, however, responded a bit differently.

They looked shocked at first, but soon their faces hardened with grim determination. From that moment on, their attacks intensified, becoming even more relentless.

They showed no sign of caring for their own lives now.

Some elves even screamed out loud, their eyes bloodshot.

“For our liberation!”

It was obvious what kind of ‘liberation’ they were referring to.

While our ranks began to waver, I spotted Sir Alex at the front line, carving his way through the enemy. His armor was drenched in blood just like mine.

With a squelch, the old knight’s sword cleaved an elven soldier’s body clean in two.

He silently endured the shower of blood, as if he’d long since grown accustomed to it. All he did was exhale, ‘Hoo...,’ and wipe his blood-soaked forehead.

Sir Alex’s seasoned eyes turned to me.

He, too, must have heard the commotion I’d caused.

“Young Master, would you care to explain? Why should we turn our backs to these elven bastards...?”

“They’re using the evil techniques of the Dark Order.”

At that single sentence, Sir Alex’smouth snapped shut.

Truth be told, I wasn’t certain what kind of magic the elves were using. But from what I knew, only the Dark Orders used powers that sacrificed life in exchange for rampant destruction.

Above all, persuading Sir Alex was my top priority at the moment.

‘Evil Technique’—a term favored by old, stubborn knights. It was typically used when our side was being overwhelmed by the enemy, and the nuance it carried was important.

It meant we were at a disadvantage.

It implied the tide of battle shifted due to an unknown power. While Sir Alex might have been a brave Northern knight, he wasn’t a stupid commander.

His hesitation was brief.

‘Tch,’ he clicked his tongue and asked.

“If we’re to retreat, how far?”

“Just back to our camp. Once I regroup with my group supporting us from the rear, we’ll butcher that elf who’s using the dark magic.”

“As you say, Young Master.”

Right after that, Sir Alex calmly raised his hand.

A distant horn sounded, and soon the soldiers began pulling back, realigning their formation as they withdrew.

Sir Alex spoke to me.

“In the North, the commander always stays with the troops.”

“I know... but let my group handle it this time. If Sir Alex were to end up seriously wounded, the entire chain of command would crumble.”

It was something I was already well aware of.

Sir Alex nodded, though his expression was somewhat reluctant. While he understood the need to leave, he seemed disappointed that he couldn’t continue fighting alongside us.

However, there was no time left for complaints now.

Sir Alex promptly moved to the rear to rally the group. Meanwhile, as the soldiers withdrew in an orderly fashion, Yuren and I took down elf soldiers one after another.

Anyway, if that Snow Leopard showed up, these elves would just assist him in cornering us.

Reducing their numbers in advance was the best course of action.

Thankfully, our group arrived before that thing did.

I had no time for detailed explanations.

“The Demonic Human is using elves as sacrifices to cast some kind of powerful magic! If you see the elves getting tossed at you, dodge and back us up from the rear!”

It wasn’t much of an explanation, but it was all I could manage.

My companions looked confused, but they still nodded. My caution toward the Demonic Human was such that even Senior Neris and Aviang were stationed by my side.

Senior Neris’s face twisted slightly with displeasure.

Getting hauled straight to the front lines and forced to reveal her hidden skills wasn’t exactly pleasant for her. Still, we needed every bit of help we could get at this point.

As for Aviang, I didn’t expect much from her.

We were fighting her fellow elves, after all. The battlefield was already drenched in blood, leaving her pale and trembling. I just hoped she’d stay close to Senior Neris.

If she wandered off too far from either of us, the magic restraint would activate, ending her life.

And just when we somehow finished sorting out our formation...

“Humans!”

The anguished roar of a wounded beast resounded across the battlefield.

The group turned their eyes toward the source of the voice and their expressions hardened. It spoke like a sentient being, yet its appearance was that of a demonic beast. That naturally unsettled them.

A Demonic Human—those who had made a pact with the Evil God.

This confirmed it: the elves had ties to the Dark Order.

Not that it mattered to the Snow Leopard , who continued its desperate cry.

“You drove us to this place! We were ready to perish here, and yet you gave us a fate more wretched than death! Thus, we will offer our lives to achieve liberation!”

“...Let’s go.”

As I gave a quick glance to Yuren and Senior Neris, three silhouettes tore through the battlefield.

Each of us sprinted in different directions with impressive speed. Yuren even shot a look of admiration at Senior Neris’s incredible speed.

Well, it was only natural—Senior Neris was already a fully-fledged Expert.

That was when two elves were suddenly shot up into the sky.

Their eyes were tightly closed, a resigned expression on their faces. Judging by their trajectory, they were falling toward me and the group positioned at the rear.

But we weren’t unprepared.

“...B-Banquet of Stars!”

The princess’s voice was a bit shaky—probably still shaken by the aftermath of her first kill.

Even so, the result was undeniable.

Dozens of light bombs lined up and hammered the airborne elves. Each impact tore their bodies apart, leaving a splattered mess. I could sense the Princess covering her mouth again at the gruesome sight.

I felt sorry for her, but there was no other way.

If we didn’t want to lose our lives, we had no choice but to take theirs.

For a moment, I regretted bringing her to these cold northern lands. No matter what intentions the future ‘me’ might have had, the princess was still too young.

That aside, her combat performance was nothing short of dazzling.

After being pummeled by the barrage of light bombs, the elves’ corpses exploded. The shockwave alone made me stagger momentarily.

If I ever had to take that kind of power head-on, how many hits could I handle?

Two hits?

No, maybe I’d be done in a single blow. I pressed forward cautiously, trying my best to stay safe.

Before I knew it, I’d closed quite a bit of distance with the Demonic Human.

As if refusing to give up, he flung more into the air.

Once again, there were two of them. With him having only two hands, it was inevitable.

That meant we had no reason to worry.

Not only the Princess but Senior Elsie as well were already on standby to intercept. No matter how quickly the Demonic Human hurled the elves, those two were still faster.

As if to prove my prediction, two lightning spears streaked through the sky in brilliant blue arcs.

Crackle! Crackle!

As expected of a skilled mage, her attack was flawless. Each spear targeted one elf, and as they were electrocuted, the elves screamed before bursting apart.

Now I was close enough to the Demonic Human that a couple of leaps would close the gap.

But as always, battles are never that simple.

From the bursting elf corpses, a terrifying amount of liquid sprayed out in every direction.

One was transparent, the other dark and murky.

Startled, I had no choice but to retreat, making several short leaps to get out of range.

Thankfully, I wasn’t caught in the center of it.

Senior Neris and Yuren, however, were not so lucky and ended up right in the middle of the splattered liquid before they could even react.

Yuren frantically darted around, avoiding the spreading puddles of the dark, murky liquid.

Senior Neris was no different.

The nature of the two liquids soon became clear.

From the transparent liquid, spikes of ice began to shoot upward.

They were countless in number, far too many to avoid just by stepping slightly to the side of the puddle.

Senior Neris bit down hard on her lips and leapt into the air. Her figure, maneuvering through the slippery maze of ice spikes, was like that of a swan.

Yuren, too, was just as focused on dodging.

The dark liquid let out a sizzling sound as it corroded the ground. The puddle gradually expanded, encroaching on the space where Yuren could stand.

I could even hear him cursing under his breath.

Right, I remember now.

It seemed that each elf, by sacrificing themselves, could manifest a unique type of power—and it wasn’t confined to mere explosions.

That realization sent a chill down my spine.

In that case, there was only one solution.