At the Northern Fort

We were running so fast that the fairy sitting at the tip of Ilus' nose had started to stretch out like a piece of mochi from the wind pressure.

However, the men in black chasing behind us didn't show any signs of giving up.

Seeing that, Branch Captain-san gave everyone orders.

"We're not making any progress. Get ready for battle! Take Mil and Kugalg, Commander!"

You're gonna fight? Will everything be alright?

Growing frightened, I looked up at the One-Eyed Knight, but he was focussing on confirming the positions of Branch Captain-san and the men behind us, so he didn't meet my gaze.

After Branch Captain-san gave the signal and stopped his horse, the other four also quickly decelerated all at once and descended to the ground.

The One-Eyed Knight passed Kugalg and I over to Commander-san, pulled out the sword that was hanging at his waist, and went to the forefront together with Kix.

Behind him, Branch Captain-san and Tina-san stood with their swords also in hand.

While it was dangerous to be too close to them, being too far meant that they wouldn't be able to protect us if it got dangerous. Thus, Commander-san and the two of us stayed about 3 metres behind them together with the horses while watching the progress of events.

There weren't any other pedestrians on the highway and vast farmlands spread out on the left side of it. The right side was a wild plain, and deeper into the plains there was a forest leading into a small mountain.

The suspicious group drew near in the blink of an eye, and the two people at the front stabbed at the One-Eyed Knight and Kix with the momentum of their running horses behind them.

However, the One-Eyed Knight and them skillfully managed to dodge that attack.

As expected, there were a total of five men in black.

"Who are you?"

Branch Captain-san questioned in a harsh tone of voice, but not a single person would answer him obediently.

They all silently dismounted from their horses and started to come this way head-on.

This might just be my imagination, but it felt as though the gazes of the five enemies were directed towards Kugalg and myself, which made me scared.

Commander-san placed us onto the One-Eyed Knight's horse, Leader. Then, he stood in front of us, trying to hide us behind him with his back, but since I was curious about the situation, I peeked my head out from behind him to watch.

Kugalg was also peeking his head out from the other side in a slightly nervous manner.

After the two parties glared at each other in the middle of the highway, Kix made the first move as he rushed ahead, sparking the beginning of the four-versus-five people combat.

Commander-san didn't participate in the fight and stayed with us, so our side had the disadvantage in numbers.

As the sharp clanging sounds of swords clashing reverberated from here and there, I drew my body back in fear. This was the first time I had ever seen the One-Eyed Knight and everyone fighting enemies.

The impact and sense of urgency from true combat could not compare to training battles. Sweat would not stop pouring out from my paw pads.

The One-Eyed Knight was fighting two people at once, but his powerful swordsmanship that suited the title of 'Iron Man' looked to be dominating over his opponents.

Each of his swings were heavy, causing the enemies who received his blows with their swords to be blown back a step.

On the other hand, Kix who was fighting next to him was as light as an acrobat, and his swordsmanship was swift.

While he made a lot of unnecessary movements, he'd dodge the enemy's attacks like a cat, flying backwards, swinging his sword downwards as he jumped, and at times making unexpected actions. Thus, the enemy was unable to read the pattern of his attacks and was struggling.

Branch Captain-san was generally good at avoiding the enemy's attacks, and like Kix, aimed to disturb the enemy without making any large move, simply dodging with minimal movements.

And then, when the enemy grew short of breath, he silently swung his sword.

Tina-san seemed to have used Branch Captain-san's way of fighting as a model, but her swordsmanship was not as polished. However, the fundamental motions were the same in that she'd dodge the enemy while leading them to self-destruct.

The One-Eyed Knight's brute force way of fighting and Kix's way of fighting that seemed to exclaim about his high physical abilities probably wouldn't be very helpful for a woman like Tina-san.

The One-Eyed Knight was a given, and Branch Captain-san and Kix were also pretty strong, and Tina-san was by no means weak. I'm sure that if the enemy were some random hoodlums, they'd just have to swing their swords two or three times to achieve victory.

However, the black-cloaked men that were attacking us currently were no such small fry.

The five of them had average slender physiques, and they didn't have muscular builds like the One-Eyed Knight or Commander-san.

However, they were without a doubt, masters that were practiced in combat, and did not look like they'd be taken down easily.

"What are you trying here?"

Wearing his icy mask, Branch Captain-san interrogated the enemy with a cold voice.

"Don't you guys want to defeat us?"

For a moment I couldn't understand what he meant by that, but after looking at the current situation with Branch Captain-san and the enemy, I somehow understood what he was saying.

In the beginning, the enemy had aggressively initiated the battle, but now Branch Captain-san's opponent was maintaining a moderate distance with him, and didn't show any signs of going on the offensive.

Even when Branch Captain-san swung his sword at him, the opponent simply caught the blow and slowly backed away.

And when I observed the situation more carefully, I could tell that the attacks of the other four enemies had also eased up.

They basically stayed on the defensive, as though they were trying to examine the attitudes of our side.

"Bring it on!"

After avoiding another horizontal swing from Kix's sword, his opponent once again took a distance from him.

Just what in the world is the enemy's goal?

At the very least, they didn't seem to be intending on massacring us all.

If the enemy saw Kugalg and I in the town of Gouda, then perhaps they're aiming for us after all?

(But right now we're not in our human forms…….)

Do they know that our fox and panther forms were the same as the children who they saw in town?

An ominous silence enveloped the surroundings.

Unable to sit still any longer, I began to pace around on top of Leader's back, when Commander-san placed his large hand on my head to calm me down.

"No matter what their intentions are, stay calm and watch. Grail's my student. He won't lose. Cromwell's also gotten a lot stronger compared to before, and those other two also have good moves. It's okay. Even if it does get dangerous—"

"Kyaa……!"

When I turned towards the direction of the small scream, I saw that Tina-san had been counterattacked, causing her sword to be knocked out of her hand.

Tina-san's favourite slender sword fell to the ground, and the enemy approached her defenceless self.

The instant I saw her crisis, I immediately broke into a run.

"Sorry, Leader!"

Running up Leader's long neck and stepping onto his head, I jumped off the tip of his nose.

It's said that you can gain superhuman strength in a crisis. Even though I hadn't even been able to jump over the small creek before, before I knew it I had landed right on the face of the enemy facing Tina-san.

"Mil-chan!?"

"What the-!?"

The enemy that suddenly had a furry object clinging to his face desperately tried to tear me off it.

Ow ow, the fur on my back is gonna be ripped off!

If I go bald, my charm'll be halved, so stop!