Chapter 130
Screeee—!
An arrow flew.
It split the air.
No, it split space itself.
Thwack!
The arrow embedded itself into a rock.
Right after, Javier stepped on the arrow lodged in the rock.
Thupat!
A flash-like leap.
But there was no time to enjoy it.
A barrage of arrows followed, all aimed directly at the back of his head.
Twakak! Thwack!
He twisted midair.
Five arrows narrowly skimmed past his body.
Three struck the bare ground, and two hit the rocks.
In that moment, Javier realized two things.
One: These elves are completely unhindered by the darkness of night.
Two: They fire their arrows with absolute precision so that not a single tree or blade of grass is harmed.
‘Unbelievable.’
The more he thought about it, the more astounding it was.
A breathless, high-speed chase.
In a dark, dense forest.
Yet with every shot, the arrows came swift and accurate.
And somehow, they ‘always’ hit the bare ground or rocks—never a single plant!
‘They’re predicting my full-speed movements purely through instinct. They’re calculating the angles and terrain of the impact zone in real-time. All of it, instantly, to fire those arrows!’
It was astonishing the more he thought about it.
But now was not the time to marvel.
Tat!
He landed.
And kicked off the ground again.
Weaving between trees and bushes as he sprinted.
Even so, the back of his neck and spine tingled.
The sensation of dozens of arrowheads aimed squarely at him.
The killing intent was sharp enough to sting his skin.
‘But I can’t let them catch me.’
If he got caught—
Lloyd-nim would be in danger.
So he couldn’t afford to be caught.
His job tonight was to keep just far enough ahead of their pursuit.
That was the best role he could play.
Javier reaffirmed his purpose and picked up speed.
But the encirclement was tightening.
Scree, scree—!
The arrows that had only come from behind now flew from the sides.
“…!”
Ska-kak!
He slashed his sword.
Two arrows were cut by the blade wind.
Another was deflected off his sword body like it had been shaved off.
Just a fist’s width from his forehead.
“……”
He was getting cornered.
This was bad.
‘He said to be back within 30 minutes.’
His job wasn’t just to run blindly.
He had to distract them effectively and return to Lloyd.
If the timing was off, Lloyd would be in danger.
Could he make it back in time?
‘It’s going to be tight.’
These elves chased relentlessly no matter how fast he ran. Their arrows were always horrifyingly accurate.
Now he had to turn around and re-enter the path he fled from.
In other words, he had to break through their encirclement.
‘But I can’t hesitate anymore. If I go further, I’ll be too late to turn back.’
Javier made up his mind.
He turned his body at the stream up ahead.
He charged straight into the elves’ encirclement.
And with every move, he defended with aura-infused sword strikes.
If possible, he even launched threatening blasts to force them back.
‘Good.’
He finalized his plan in an instant.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Scree, scree, tatatat—four arrows scraped his heels and struck the ground.
At that moment, Javier’s eyes gleamed.
‘Now!’
Thwak!
He spun instantly.
He raised his sword before his chest.
Brilliant light—his aura—flared.
Kwooo—!
As the aura surged, he scattered his blade.
Following the direction of the wind.
Riding the current of drifting pollen.
He unleashed a storm of 57 slashes in all directions.
Chakakakakak! Kakakakak! Skakak! Kwachak! Chukuk!
All 86 arrows aimed at him were severed.
And not just severed—
The front half with the arrowheads fell to the ground.
The rear halves flew through the forest.
Toward the locations of the shooters.
“…!”
The elven archers were stunned.
They had thought this time would land for sure.
But that human suddenly flared with aura and returned the rear halves of their arrows—like a reverse counter!
“Kh!”
“Guh!”
Several elves couldn’t avoid the counter.
Some were struck in the shoulder, others in the shin.
But none were seriously hurt.
It stung momentarily—more like a whip’s warning than a wound.
Still, the elves had no time to dwell on the sting.
‘He’s trying to break through!’
One elf signaled with her eyes.
The others instantly understood Javier’s intention.
Thump!
He charged forward with even more force than before.
This time, he made no attempt to dodge.
That meant only one thing.
He wasn’t fleeing—he was breaking through.
Or possibly engaging in a head-on clash.
“…!”
Of course, they had no intention of letting him pass.
All 86 elven archers simultaneously drew their bows.
Javier was now about 50 meters away.
All eyes glinted coldly.
His speed.
The direction and strength of the wind.
The humidity in the night air. The pollen density.
Every variable was calculated through pure instinct.
In unison, all their glimmering arrowheads aimed at a single point 24 meters ahead.
Their eyes filled with killing intent.
Twenty-four meters ahead.
A needle-sized gap between the bushes.
That’s where the silver-haired human who had trespassed tonight would meet his end—impaled by arrows.
Chzzzkt!
The archers’ arms bulged with muscle.
The bowstrings were drawn to their limits.
The bows bent as if about to snap.
They were just about to release.
And then—
“…!”
A whistle blew.
Soft, yet thunderous.
A signal only elven ears could hear.
A command: cease pursuit and engagement.
“…”
The archers looked at one another in confusion.
None of them knew why the whistle had come.
But that didn’t matter.
A signal must be obeyed.
That was a law etched into their bodies through life in the forest.
Swish.
The elves lowered their bows.
And faded into the darkness.
Some disappeared into the shadow cast by beech leaves. Others vanished between hanging vines. Some hid behind rocks untouched by moonlight.
They retreated like breathing.
One by one, they vanished.
Like sugar melting in water.
They melted into the forest shadows.
And Javier was left bewildered.
Tatata!
He passed through the designated kill zone in an instant.
In that moment, he flared aura to protect himself.
But something was off.
‘What is this?’
No one shot at him.
Not a single arrow came.
No—before that…
‘The killing intent just vanished.’
He didn’t stop running.
Stopping now would make him an easy target.
Maybe that was their trap.
He kept sprinting through the forest, calming his confusion.
‘This is strange. What’s going on?’
There was no presence targeting him.
As if the intense chase from moments ago had been a lie.
‘How bizarre.’
What were they planning?
Javier grew even more alert and wary.
And an unsettling sense of dread began to creep in.
‘Don’t tell me something happened to Lloyd.’
Please no.
But he couldn’t shake the unease.
The sudden stop in pursuit.
Their casual, indifferent release of him.
With every step, his anxiety deepened.
The silence only made it worse.
‘I shouldn’t have left him alone.’
Even if he acted as bait, Lloyd had been in danger too.
But he had trusted Lloyd’s words too much.
Assumed there was a perfect countermeasure.
Conveniently pushed responsibility away.
The duty to protect Lloyd—
He had taken that lightly.
‘Please. Lloyd.’
Let him be safe.
Let him welcome me back as usual with that shameless attitude.
Let him joke and tease, just to prove he’s fine.
Javier ran through the forest, praying.
He pushed harder with every step.
He leapt over rocks, crossed stumps, wove between branches.
Even tore off the handkerchief covering his mouth and nose.
Pollen rushed in, but he didn’t care.
He ran too hard to even sneeze.
And finally, he returned to where he had started.
Where he had left Lloyd.
“Lord Lloyd!”
Tuguguguk!
He landed in a slide, practically crashing from full speed.
He turned his head.
His eyes darted.
Desperately searching.
Where was Lloyd?
Where were the elves?
He would strike the moment he spotted them.
Even if it meant killing a few elves.
Even if it meant being hunted forever by their wrath.
He would save Lloyd.
Gripping his sword, brimming with bloodlust.
And finally, he saw—
Or rather, was seen.
“Yo. You’re back.”
A familiar voice greeted him.
A savory smell wafted in.
His head whipped in that direction at lightning speed.
His gaze flashed like a burst of light.
And he saw it.
There was Lloyd.
Five elf archers.
All sitting in a circle.
At the center—a small grill.
And sizzling pork belly cooking on it.
So right now, Lloyd was…
“What… are you doing?”
“Hm? Just grilling some pork belly.”
“And… those people?”
Javier’s finger trembled slightly.
He pointed at the five elves, sitting awkwardly.
Lloyd cheerfully answered.
“We’re eating together.”
“……”
“Good timing. Here, sit.”
Lloyd patted the empty rock beside him.
Javier, as if in a daze, sat down.
And just like that, he ended up joining a cozy circle around a sizzling grill with the elves.
“What is even happening right now…”
“Say hi. These are elven archers. That one’s Muirah. She’s the chieftain of the Forget-Me-Not Tribe here in Everglow Forest.”
“……”
“You see? He’s a bit curt and bad with greetings. This is my knight, Javier Asrahan, who I mentioned earlier.”
“……”
Muirah and the elf archers gave him an awkward nod.
Javier watched them blankly and thought—
Even the elves looked too embarrassed to know what to do.
“So seriously, what is this situation?”
He finally collected his thoughts.
He half-demanded an answer from Lloyd.
It felt unfair.
He had been genuinely worried.
Had sprinted here in desperation.
And now this?
What had happened in the meantime?
How could Lloyd be casually grilling meat with the elf chieftain?
‘I don’t get any of this.’
He was completely lost.
And Lloyd, oblivious or not, just grinned.
“What else? We’re negotiating.”
“Negotiating?”
“No need for an explanation. Just watch. Here—tongs. Flip the meat so it doesn’t burn.”
“……”
He received the tongs.
Blankly flipped the pork belly.
Meanwhile, Lloyd and Muirah continued chatting.
“Haha, how’s the meat?”
“…Delicious.”
“Right? I heard elves don’t use fire.”
“Of course. Fire harms and sacrifices plants.”
“So you dry raw meat into jerky instead?”
“That’s quite tasty too.”
“More than pork belly?”
“……”
“Exactly. Pork belly is always the answer. But the coal smell doesn’t bother you?”
“Not at all.”
Muirah shook her head slightly.
Then her eyes turned to the glowing coals beneath the grill.
“Amazing. I never imagined there was a way to make fire without harming trees or using magic.”
Coal.
Burning stone.
She had been shocked at first.
Then moved—almost to tears.
It was something she’d never even imagined.
‘A stone that burns? I had no idea something like this existed.’
With that, fire could be made without sacrificing trees.
Which meant meat could be grilled deliciously.
A rich desire brewed in Muirah’s eyes as she stared at the coal.
Naturally, Lloyd noticed.
‘I didn’t think elves would actually get hooked on coal.’
He had only brought the coal to toss into a campfire. The pork and grill were meant for energy during the cold journey.
He never expected them to become his trump cards in elf negotiations.
Even for a schemer like him, this was a lucky break he hadn’t anticipated.
“Well then, back to our negotiation… If you accept my terms, we’ll supply you with a generous monthly amount of meat and coal.”
“Coal? These burning stones?”
“Yes.”
Technically, not stones.
They were trees buried and fossilized for hundreds of millions of years.
But no need to explain that.
Lloyd kept that to himself and spoke smoothly.
“My terms are simple. Grant me the right to extract sap from the Elensia root. Of course, I won’t harvest recklessly. I’ll stick to exact amounts under your supervision. And…”
“And?”
“Send a hundred elves to our estate. Ones who can work fearlessly on high-rise structures as rebar workers. Think of it as an outsourced labor dispatch.”
Fatty meat.
Amazing coal.
With those two cards in hand, Lloyd’s proposal was now fully on the table.