Chapter 304 – We Finally Meet
As Elena pursued Paveluc towards the Kingdom of Jenar, she recalled the last battle she fought in her last life.
The Battle of Whirlena.
It was a battlefield where Elena painstakingly planned an operation to kill Paveluc. She was confident she could win. Every advantage was in her favor, and her sword fighting abilities were at their peak. And yet…
There, Elena was beheaded and killed by Paveluc. She would never forget those final moments.
Compared to then, Elena was in a worse position now. She hadn’t slept well recently, and neither had much to eat. While she was much stronger than when she first returned to the past, she wasn’t confident enough to say that she could beat Paveluc.
But there was one significant change—the situation now was more urgent than ever before.
‘…I can’t lose.’
In the past, she had hunted down Paveluc to extract her bitter revenge, but she was the only potential casualty. This time she had people who were important to her—people that were living, and people that she had to protect. The difference was enormous. Elena couldn’t die here.
She and her troops continued to sweep every path from the state of Lunen to the Kingdom of Jenar. At last, Martin approached her with an urgent look on his face.
“Your Majesty, we have finally located Grand Duke Lunen.”
“Where is he?”
Elena’s jewel-like eyes suddenly flashed in the night. It was finally time to settle the decades-long grudges.
***
Elena spotted Paveluc’s party from a distance. As expected, he and about fifty or so soldiers were swiftly moving towards the Kingdom of Jenar. Normally they might have been too quick to catch up with, but they were unaware that another group was in hot pursuit.
That didn’t mean Elena was left with much time. Only a little longer, and Paveluc would soon be at the Jenar Kingdom. She had to kill him before then.
One of her knights approached from behind and gave a report.
“I scouted the terrain as you ordered, Your Majesty. The roads ahead are only forest roads.”
“Thank you.”
When she finished speaking, the knight gave a respectful bow. Time was short, but their movements had to be careful.
Elena mentally mapped out what actions she should take, and she soon made her decision. She looked towards her knights and spoke in a calm voice.
“From here on out, we’ll sneak ahead into the forest. There aren’t many Lunen soldiers, so we can confuse and scatter them while concealing our numbers. It will give us an advantage in the beginning of the fight.”
Tracking Paveluc up to this point had been an exhaustive journey, and it wouldn’t be easy for the Ruford knights to overtake him. Nevertheless, now that victory of the war depended on the Ruford knights, the increased impossibility of the task only made them more determined to succeed.
Elena’s plan was clever as well. It was easier to surprise a smaller group of enemy soldiers, and the Ruford forces could remain well-hidden within the trees. The uncertainty of an invisible enemy was far more terrifying than an open battle. If the Ruford knights could remove as many of the soldiers away from Paveluc as possible, they had a better chance of killing him.
Martin gave a quick nod of admiration.
“That’s a good plan.”
Elena looked around at the knights she had become familiar with in a short period of time.
“Until they get near us, we’ll attack them with arrows as much as possible. Once the battle inevitably moves to close combat, however…try not to get hurt as much as possible.”
Elena not only worried about the success of the operation, but of the knights’ lives as well. The men looked at her in silent surprise. She opened her mouth to speak again, making eye contact with each one of them.
“Let us all return alive.”
Her words held many meanings. It bore Elena’s ultimate wish.
In the past, she once thought of her life as disposable. She would easily sacrifice one person to stop all misfortune.
But not now.
She would live and return to her family. Her dream was to spend a long and happy life with them.
Kuung!
The knights bowed their heads simultaneously to express their deep gratitude to Elena.
***
The forest darkness pressed in on all sides of the soldiers who traversed it.
Paveluc and his men traveled swiftly with minimal rest. Their destination was not long now, and so they forewent stopping for the night. One of Paveluc’s men looked worriedly at him.
“My Lord, is your wound alright?”
“There is nothing to worry about. I won’t die from this.”
Paveluc had suffered an unexpected injury, but he continued the difficult journey without any proper rest. His men’s concern was natural, but getting to the Kingdom of Jenar was of greater importance. Paveluc’s wound would heal in time, but losing the war was irreversible.
“Let’s hurry. I’ll have to finish talking with the Kingdom of Jenar before General Aegi loses any more of his nerve.”
It hurt Paveluc’s head to think how much Jenar would demand, but he had to reach a deal as soon as possible before returning to the border. It would soon be obvious that he wasn’t there.
“Yes, My Lord!”
The subordinate then turned to bark orders to the rest of the soldiers.
“A little more speed—!”
But then.
Swiiiiig!
Puuk!
Before he even finished speaking, an arrow embedded itself though his throat.
“Keueug!“
He gave a gargled choke and rolled down from his horse, before landing bodily on the ground. Dead.
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Paveluc and his men were momentarily stunned by the sudden attack, but half a second later, they rose up and snapped into battle mode.
“The enemy! Get in formation!”
Many of the soldiers encircled Paveluc to guard against hail of arrows flying towards them.
Tas! Taas!
The soldiers who couldn’t block the arrows with their swords, blocked it with their bodies. Paveluc was confounded as a flurry of attacks poured around him and his men. It was as if someone had been waiting for them.
‘Who the hell…’
Jenar hadn’t been in his plans from the start, and had only been a last-minute decision. Even if information had been leaked, no one could have pursued him in such a short amount of time. The immediacy of the attack meant that the enemy was already in Lunen, not from any other country.
‘Impossible. Where did these people come from?’
However, Paveluc didn’t have time to speculate. The invisible assassins were taking out his soldiers one by one. In the pitch-black darkness, he couldn’t figure out how many enemy soldiers were there, or where they were hiding. Perhaps that was what they planned all along.
Paveluc gritted his teeth in anger and then shouted.
“Set fire to a tree to light up the forest! Locate where the arrows are coming from and destroy the enemy!”
Paveluc’s soldiers quickly obeyed his orders, and threw their torches to set the forest on fire.
“Fire at will!”
Because the forest was dense with trees, even a small flame grew to a fierce blaze. Paveluc’s quick plan banished the darkness and helped the soldiers determine the direction of the arrows, and they rushed towards the enemy. Nothing was more disadvantageous than a continuous volley of arrows.
Chaeng! Chaeaeng!
Paveluc’s soldiers and the enemy clashed. Paveluc determinedly pulled out his sword. Although his left hand was injured, fortunately he was right-handed. He shouted into the burning night air.
“Find those rats and kill them all! If they don’t come out from their hiding places, set the forest on fire to drive them out!”
“Yes, My Lord!”
Although the fires were bad for both sides, Paveluc was concerned because he only had a few soldiers.
Suddenly—
Hwiiiig!
A sharp arrow flew towards Paveluc at an unexpected angle.
Kaaang!
Paveluc struck it down with his sword, but another arrow flew towards him again as if the mysterious enemy had anticipated it.
This was no ordinary skill. Paveluc sensed it as he blocked a succession of arrows.
Unlike a battlefield with a large number of enemies, this person seemed to be moving as an individual, and they had particular interest in Paveluc’s life. He realized that if he didn’t stop them, an arrow would eventually find its mark.
“That way! Find the enemy hiding there!”
“Yes, My Lord!”
The soldiers close to Paveluc rushed in the direction he pointed. The sound of swords clashing in the dark rang in the air.
Kaang! Kang!
But soon arrows began flying towards Paveluc again.
Siiiiiig—
Paveluc sensed that all the soldiers he sent were dead.
‘Who the hell has this ability?’
The soldiers he brought with him were the strongest in Lunen. However, it was clear they were not as good as the mysterious figure attacking him now.
Paveluc resented the injury on his left hand, but he could not continue to leave this battle to his subordinates. His opponent was a powerful one, and he had to be the one to get rid of them.
Paveluc looked in the direction where the arrows came from and spoke.
“I’m going there.”
“Yes, My Lord. I’ll follow.”
Five soldiers total followed Paveluc as he strode ahead.
Swiiiig!
There was another whistle in the air, an arrow embedded itself in the center of a soldier’s forehead. Paveluc’s guards went from five to four. His mouth twisted, but anyone could tell it wasn’t a happy smile.
He held out his hand towards a soldier and spoke in a grim voice.
“Your torch.”
“Y-yes!”
The soldier immediately handed his torch to Paveluc, who took it with his bandaged left hand. Another arrow flew towards Paveluc.
Piiiiii!
Taaag!
Paveluc blocked it once again with the sword in his right hand, and then he tossed the torch in the same direction of the arrow. The torch arced in the air before striking a tree, causing a greater fire. It revealed the face of the person hiding in the darkness.
They had yellow hair that shone like the sun, fair skin, and delicate features like a doll.
Paveluc was so surprised that his eyes widened in shock, but he soon gave a perverse smile.
“So it was you that was after me, Empress Ruford.”
He had foolishly assumed that she fled to the border. He never anticipated her turning around to take his life.
Elena spoke in a low voice, looking straight at Paveluc.
“We finally meet.”
Since returning to the past, Elena encountered Paveluc several times, but she always had to hide her desire for vengeance. This was the moment where she finally faced him.
Elena had spent countless nights dreaming of Paveluc—and now it was time to make it a reality. She aimed at him with her bow.
“Let’s end this today.”
Elena had already died by his hands once…
She had no intention of dying again.