Dave reluctantly obeyed the unknown boy's demands once he realized all the other teenagers were looking at him with murderous eyes. Not a single one stepped forward to defend him or even bothered to explain the real reason for their hostility. They had simply followed their leader and turned against him.
Dave felt both wronged and helpless.
Being captured by a bunch of teenagers was simply humiliating. If his fellow guards ever heard this story, he would become a laughingstock. The only guard in Thorn's Cloaca who couldn't even defeat a group of children. It was a title he wouldn't wish even on his worst enemy.
Before throwing his sword onto the ground, Dave tried several times to gather the courage to fight his way out. But the sight of the tightly drawn bowstring and the gleam of the arrowhead made him abandon that idea.
Faced with a choice between social death and actual death, Dave decisively chose the former.
"Good. Now raise your hands! Reus, Sunny, search him thoroughly. Don't worry. I have no intention of risking your lives. The moment he makes the slightest move or even gives you a strange look, this arrow will end up right between his eyes," Grey coldly gave another order.
Dave shuddered at those resolute words and chose to shut his eyes.
What the eyes don't see, the heart doesn't grieve over. What was this pathetic humiliation compared to his life?
The faces of his mother and little sister flashed through his mind, finally driving away the last of his doubts.
He had joined the patrol for their sake. So how could he die here? What would happen to them after he was gone? Would they survive the harsh winter, when food was scarce, without the wages he brought home?
Sunny and Reus weren't exactly thrilled to have the honor of patting down a grown man. Still, they didn't dare ignore Grey's order, so they finished the search quickly.
"He's clean," Sunny reported. "We didn't find any hidden weapons."
"Because I don't have any!" Dave almost shouted. At that moment, he felt like crying.
"Grey, isn't this enough?" Achill couldn't bear to watch any longer.
"Quiet. I know what I'm doing!" Grey barked. "Tie his hands behind his back."
He had no intention of explaining himself. They had already wasted enough time. They were so far behind schedule that Senior was growing anxious. With every minute of delay, it felt as though the noose around his neck was being pulled tighter.
Once the boys finished tying the ropes securely, Grey walked over to Dave, pulled a clean cloth from his bottomless pocket, twisted it into a strip, and tied it behind the prisoner's head to use as a gag.
"Follow us and don't cause any trouble," he whispered into his ear. "If you behave yourself, you'll keep your life. But if you try anything clever, don't blame me when you meet the devil."
Grey stepped away from Dave and even gave him a light pat on the shoulder before addressing everyone else.
"It's time to move. We've already stayed here far too long. Be extremely careful and don't make a single sound. I suspect the City Lord's sudden raid is connected to the search for our group, so it's better to be safe now than regret it later."
Grey glanced at the short dark-haired boy he trusted the most. Reus had the necessary skills and never asked unnecessary questions.
"Reus, you'll escort our new friend all the way to the estate. Don't take your eyes off him, and keep your dagger ready. If he dares make even the slightest unnecessary sound, cut off his head immediately. His death won't be your responsibility. You'll only be carrying out my orders. I'd rather stain my own hands than put the lives of the comrades who chose to follow me at risk."
Reus nodded, and his gaze turned resolute. At last, he understood Grey's motives and had no intention of wasting any more time thinking about them.
The teenagers moved in short dashes, splitting into groups of five.
Kai and Achill led the way.
Back in the slave camp, Kai had trained as an archer. Scouting the terrain and identifying safe routes had been among the very first skills he was forced to master.
The only thing he lacked was real experience, so he quickly adapted and naturally took on the role of scout.
Kai still blamed himself for Leo's death. It was his failure to lead the brothers far enough away to keep their pursuers from finding them. Because of that, he swore he would never make the same mistake again.
He would become such a masterful archer that his group could escape pursuit even from Artemis herself.
As for Achill, he was so gifted that he could fill any role the team needed.
Tank, scout, assassin... Replacing any member of the squad would be effortless for him. He was such a versatile and powerful warrior that only the role of healer might give him some trouble.
Grey was capable of doing the same, but as the commander, he preferred to stay at the rear and issue orders. He had no intention of taking every responsibility upon himself. After all, he hadn't created this organization to look after all its members. He had created it to ensure his own safety. Taking unnecessary risks without gaining anything in return would have been foolish, something Senior never grew tired of reminding him.
During the past two weeks, while the group hunted down the cultists, Grey never neglected his subordinates' training.
Of course, they couldn't go on morning runs or do their usual exercise routine, but long marches across rough terrain were just as physically demanding.
Not only did Grey constantly push them to move at a fast pace, but everyone in the group also kept an eye on one another to make sure no obvious traces were left behind.
They had been ordered to walk in each other's footprints, avoid breaking branches, and watch their clothing. If anyone failed, the others were to punish the offender without mercy by striking them with a switch coated in nettle sap.
The order gradually turned into a way for the teenagers to blow off steam after the intense stress they had endured over the past two weeks.
Grey had even considered abolishing the rule when he thought it might lead to bullying. Instead, everyone opposed the idea unanimously, because those who had been punished wanted revenge more than anyone else. They knew their tormentors would eventually make a mistake, and naturally, they eagerly awaited their chance to let off some steam.
Since the punishment wasn't particularly harsh and the teenagers wouldn't dare go beyond the limits he had set, Grey decided to turn a blind eye to it. They could sort it out themselves. Maybe it would teach them to move quietly.
The second group, consisting of the swordsman Alan, Josh with his poor eyesight, Sunny, Lily, and a boy nicknamed Zebra, was calmly making its way through the forest.
Zebra had once been one of Achill's subordinates. They had been captured together and ended up in the same group. There was nothing particularly remarkable about him except for his dark skin, a trait common among some of the barbarian tribes of the Pratos Continent.
However, he hadn't earned his nickname through any achievement, or even because of his skin color. One day, after Grey had baked a pie, Zebra was ordered to clean the kitchen. Without paying attention to the sack of flour, he tossed it onto the top shelf, causing the leftover flour to spill right over his head.
Grey had been furious because flour was expensive, so he forbade the poor boy from washing himself until evening.
Covered in white patches, the boy endured his companions' laughter all day long. From that day on, the nickname Zebra stuck with him.
The second group followed in the footsteps of the first, so their position was relatively safe. They didn't have to scout the route themselves, and their comrades guarded their rear. Because of that, everyone relaxed a little.
Zebra got distracted and didn't notice himself catching his shirt on a bush, tearing it.
He didn't even have time to regret his mistake before a thin switch struck him across the arm.
"Ow..." Zebra groaned under his breath. "You're so ruthless, Alan! I only hit you once when you almost stepped into that swamp, and you've already hit me five times!"
"Get lost," Alan replied mercilessly. "Who's fault is it that you keep screwing up? The boss ordered us not to leave any traces, so what did you do? If I hadn't hit you for tearing your shirt, with your level of focus you wouldn't even notice yourself leading our enemies straight to our base!"
Two more sharp whistles cut through the air.
Alan and Zebra both grabbed their butts as the switches burned into their flesh. Their faces twisted in pain. Even their clothes couldn't protect them from the sting of the nettle sap.
"LILY!" they both shouted with hatred.
They had spent two weeks in the same group and had punished each other countless times. They had even gotten used to the rule, treating it as a bit of fun that helped break the boredom of the march.
But every rule had its exception.
Lily was the only person in the second group who had never been punished even once. At the same time, she never missed a chance to punish someone else for making a mistake. Her strikes were always merciless and completely unexpected. She aimed only for their butts, treating them like naughty children.
Sunny, Alan, Zebra, and Josh had suffered so much at her hands that during every rest stop, they preferred to eat standing up and sleep on their sides. They wanted revenge on Lily so badly their teeth clenched every time they thought about it, but the girl never made a single mistake.
It got to the point where the boys made a gentleman's agreement with each other, promising that when Lily finally slipped up, they would punish her together without caring that she was Grey's friend rather than one of his subordinates.
"You idiots, could you shout any louder?" Lily hissed at them, though a smug smile was clearly visible on her face. "Or are you afraid nobody heard you?"
"Just as ruthless as ever," Zebra muttered. Still, he had nothing to argue with. Lily always punished them for a reason, and that only made it more infuriating.
"Demoness! One day I'll get my revenge!" Alan cursed.
He had no idea how right he was. Because of Lydia's illusion magic, Lily looked like an ordinary little girl to him. In reality, she was so vicious that everyone called her Demoness or Thorn.
"Hehe, Alan, how old are you? Don't you want to become a master swordsman? Then why are you acting like an offended little girl?"
"I'm thirteen!" Alan answered, though he didn't dare raise his voice again. "I'm older than you. Shouldn't you be showing me some respect?"
"Heh, judging by the way you talk, you seem much younger," Lily never missed a chance to tease someone.
"Um... Thanks?" Alan replied uncertainly.
Sunny and Josh rolled their eyes but chose to stay silent. This idiot knew nothing except his sword. He hadn't even realized Lily had just indirectly called him a fool and had taken it as a compliment.
How had they ended up in the same group as him? The saying was absolutely right. A foolish ally was far more terrifying than a clever enemy. How were they supposed to get revenge on the Demoness with an idiot like this on their side?
In that atmosphere, after eight hours, they had covered roughly a dozen kilometers toward the estate when they suddenly heard the sounds of battle ahead.
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