Ramp, who had been ignoring Yozen’s danger up until this point, fired a signal and landed under the tree. At his signal, the mercenaries who had been hiding behind the grass, trees, and rocks sprang to life and surrounded the goblins.

In an instant, the beleaguered goblins were on their feet, screaming and raising their weapons. Yozen cowered helplessly at the sight of the mercenaries. But even that didn’t last long.

“Kill them! Don’t miss a single one!”

There was no time to spare in the battle between mercenaries and monsters. While they were busy swinging their weapons at each other, there was no time to protect the child, who was nowhere to be seen.

Yozen ducked to avoid an axe flying over his head and began to crawl out of the fight. Dirt and stones scraped against his flesh as he crawled, and he grunted in pain but fought to stay alive. But just as he was about to leave the battlefield, a voice called out.

“Where are you going, *sshole?”

Ramp, who was slaying a goblin nearby, grabbed Yozen by the back of the head. With his non-axe hand, he lifted Yozen off the ground and glared at him with a bloodied, murderous face. Yozen whimpered, his voice trembling.

“I’m, I’m scared…….”

“What the f*ck are you doing?”

“What……?”

“How did you know I was there, huh?”

Ramp scowled at Yozen with arrogance as if he were looking at a pest. Yozen met the violent stare, full of hostility, and he didn’t know what to do.

“It, it’s just……. I heard a sound…….”

“That’s bullshit! I went far away on purpose, climbed the tallest tree to stifle my breathing, and you found me in such a short time? How is that possible? Tell me what you’ve been up to, you freaking monster.”

“I, I heard you, I just heard you, Commander……!”

Ramp shook him roughly, not even pretending to hear Yozen’s words. He was going to push Yozen until he got the answer he wanted.

“Say it right or I’ll kill you right here because I have no intention of letting a creepy *sshole like you stay in my mercenary corps.”

“I mean it! Please!”

He showed no mercy to the scarred child, only selfishness to fulfill his own needs. It was the worst kind of inexcusable scum.

Ramp threw Yozen to the ground, screaming for help. Then he raised his axe, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

“I can hunt without you, and what do you think you’re going to be when you grow up and join my men? I have no reason to keep you alive if you’re going to keep your mouth shut.”

Ramp meant it, and he swung his axe without hesitation, and Yozen screamed as his body jerked in pain, and Cadel looked away, unable to bear to watch. And then the next moment.

“Ramp! What are you doing?!”

Cyron, who had just finished off all the goblins, ran up and blocked his attack. Cyron panicked and swung his axe at him, and Ramp shouted in a furious voice.

“Get out of the way, I’m going to kill him now.”

“Are you crazy? You’re going to kill him now after Yozen made the hunt successful?”

“It’s my instinct. He’s a monster if left alone. He’ll put us in danger.”

“You know how much harder the hunt would be without Yozen!”

Cyron spared Yozen’s life, but only for the benefit of the mercenary corps. He only wanted to keep Yozen alive because of his usefulness as bait, because his presence would make the hunt easier and make them more money.

If Yozen lost his value as bait, Cyron would no longer protect him from Ramp. That fact was obvious even to Cadel, who had only been watching the mercenary corps for a few days, so it was hardly surprising that Yozen, who had grown up being watched his whole life, would not realize it.

Yozen gasped and looked back and forth between the two men. Slowly, he raised his upper body, blinking several times in panic. Pushing and pulling at each other, their writhing reeked even more disgusting than Yozen’s blood-covered body.

It was only a matter of time before he died, and when Yozen realized that, he had only one option.

“That……! Shit, get out of the way! He’s running away!”

“Please, hold on! He’s got nowhere to go anyway. He’ll find his way back”

Yozen ran, even more impatient and desperate than when he was fleeing the goblin’s pursuit. He had no destination, no idea what he would do after he escaped. Just trying his best to get away from the hell that was right in front of him.

Yozen ran relentlessly down the mountainside. He didn’t know where his stamina came from, and he never rested, until night fell, when it was pitch black and he could barely see where he was going.

Another adult appeared in front of him.

“Kid, why are you here at this hour……. Are you lost, where are your parents?”

The man in front of Yozen was a young man with medium height and a sullen expression. He held up a lantern with a luminous stone and shone it at Yozen. The faint glow revealed a tangled mess of blood and leaves. The man gasped in horror and took a step toward him.

“Are, are you okay, are you badly hurt? Did you roll somewhere……. Wait! Where are you going?!”

But Yozen had become too sensitive to accept anyone’s attention. To him, an adult was not someone to protect him, but someone to fear, someone who could use and kill him at any moment.

The man began to chase Yozen, who fled in terror. Yozen’s running skills were considerable, as he had been acting as bait for so long. But Yozen had already been running for a long time, and the darkness of the night made it impossible for him to navigate as easily as he could in the daytime.

The man, on the other hand, had been closing the distance between him and Yozen at a rapid pace, illuminated by his lantern. But instead of grabbing Yozen by the throat, the man was trying to prove his harmlessness.

“I’m not trying to hurt you! You seem to be injured, so let’s get you some medical attention! I have a house nearby. It’s late at night, so let’s rest there, and as soon as the sun comes up, we’ll find your parents. I’ll help you, kid.”

Somehow, Cadel could tell he was being careful not to scare the kid. His sincerity must have gotten through to Yozen because Yozen’s eyes trembled slightly as he gritted his teeth and ran. A hint of hesitation crossed his face, but it didn’t last long.

“Even if you help me, I can’t do anything!”

“What? You don’t have to do anything! No, kid, stop running and……!”

Talking while sprinting took a lot more stamina than he’d realized. Out of breath, the man gave up trying to convince Yozen and seemed to contemplate grabbing him. But he didn’t have to. In his frantic rush, Yozen tripped over a rock and fell.

“Oops, kid!”

Yozen fell hard enough to make a puck sound, but he still struggled to his feet, and the man who had overtaken him grabbed him and hauled him to his feet. He threw down his lantern and hurried to assess Yozen’s condition. The man didn’t seem bothered by the stench of blood in the air.

The light of the lantern flickered over the man’s face. The light caressed his face, revealing only warm concern, without pretense or calculation. It was a feeling Yozen had never received from anyone in his life. All the more reason to recognize it. There was something different about the man in front of him, something unlike any other adult he had ever met.

His innocent demeanor let Yozen’s guard down a little. Yozen answered the man’s questions with a nod, but he no longer tried to run away. Instead, he obediently climbed onto the man’s back and headed for his home in the mountains.