Chapter 37: Slaughter
In the middle of the day, the blazing sun beat down, wilting the grass two people high on either side of the road.
George was digging a pit in the ground with a shovel. Just as he finished, the celestial warhorse eagerly lay down on the damp soil, lazily stretching its legs. After digging the pit, George, following the manual’s instructions for an “ambush,” took off his bucket helmet and crouched in the bushes, concealing himself well.
Eve Frostleaf wore a hooded cloak of emerald green, as if woven from green leaves, her figure completely hidden in the greenery.
After completing the standard ambush actions, George stayed completely still.
Cicadas called out in the distance as a gentle breeze rustled through the forest, producing a sound of rustling leaves everywhere.
The entire world was very quiet. Since that succubus, George’s lover, had come, it hadn’t been so quiet for a long time—quiet enough that it felt as if only she and George remained in this world.
Eve Frostleaf’s emerald-like eyes gazed at George hidden in the bushes.
She suddenly realized that it had been too long since they had been alone together.
Should she ask that question?
The question burned like a fire in her chest; she wanted to voice it.
However, Eve Frostleaf opened and closed her mouth several times, ultimately falling silent.
George broke the long silence:
“Eve Frostleaf, can you hear me?”
“I can. Even if you buried yourself in the ground, I could still hear you.”
“We’ll prioritize taking out the war dogs, then kill the centaurs, if those are the only two types of mobile units in this beastman warband,” George said. “Please cover me with your ‘Frost Mist.'”
“And then?”
“Report the location of the head beast so I can retreat at any time.”
Eve Frostleaf wanted to remind him that due to a certain vile and deserving of death demon lord, she was cursed and could not shoot various elemental arrows.
But George couldn’t have forgotten, so there was only one explanation.
“George, I am not a delicate woman; I have two swords.”
“You’d better cover me,” George said. “I won’t exhaust myself; there’s still a horse. Save your strength for the fight later.”
“Short-lived.” Eve Frostleaf’s voice turned cold. “Only in terms of weaponry. I have trained for a time three times your lifespan. I am not a helpless succubus; do you think I can’t use a bow?”
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Eve Frostleaf’s heart trembled slightly as she said, “There will be many battles ahead; I cannot afford to live leisurely in the rear…”
“Then please protect my back.”
“Alright, that’s your greatest weakness.”
After the battle plan was devised, the two fell silent again.
What else was there to say?
Uncertain how much time passed.
Eve Frostleaf couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful, feeling George was like a stone, lying motionless in the bushes, never taking the initiative. Even the sleeping celestial warhorse had more vitality than him.
“George.” Eve Frostleaf asked, “When did you meet Jima?”
“A year and a half ago.”
She slightly turned her head, trying to speak casually, “What are you planning for marriage?”
“Not yet; she has always disagreed,” George said. “But within a few years.”
“That’s fast.” Eve Frostleaf suddenly said, “What about Jenna?”
“Marry them together,” George said. “After Jenna finishes her service to the imperial emperor, we’ll find a time for the wedding. I am glad to have met them in my life.”
Was he that proactive after all?
Eve Frostleaf was momentarily speechless.
George asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Hmph, I didn’t expect that.” Eve Frostleaf said, “I thought a righteous paladin would only choose one.”
George remained silent.
Eve Frostleaf continued, “I’ll help you think of a reason. If you only choose one, the other girl will be hurt, and you don’t want to hurt anyone who loves you.”
“That sounds a bit hypocritical.”
“My father—the champion knight of Her Majesty, the queen, once told me. When he was young, he had many fleeting lovers, and that’s how he said it.” Eve Frostleaf said, “Very shameless, but perhaps not without merit.”
“Indeed.”
“And what about you?”
“Me? That’s a private matter.”
“We’ve fought together for a short time.” Eve Frostleaf’s ears perked up, straightening more and more. “The feelings between us have also exceeded friendship.”
“I remember you once told me that a year for elves equates to a month for humans, and between you and me, we’re more like strangers who know each other.”
“You have a good memory.” Eve Frostleaf said, “That’s right.”
“Mm.”
George fell silent again, like a stone.
Eve Frostleaf’s long legs itched to kick him, to turn him over, hoping to see a goblin-like smirk on his face.
He must be teasing her—how could a mere human, a race that had just escaped barbarism not long ago, dare to…
Eve Frostleaf took a deep breath, put her foot down, and said, “But now it’s different. Your tragic birth and rude family have successfully aroused my sympathy.”
“That should be called empathy.”
“Anyway, it’s different now; at least… Hmph, it has surpassed friendship.”
“It’s embarrassing to say, and I hope you can keep it a secret.”
“Don’t be shy like a fourteen-year-old human girl.” Eve Frostleaf’s ears were standing straight up, “Quick, tell me.”
George said, “Because they don’t mind, and I find that I want to wake up in bed with them.”
“I understand; men are all like that. If wives won’t quarrel, then the bed can be as long as a street.” Eve Frostleaf said as she took a step back, distancing herself from George.
But the fire in her chest rose even higher.
“Frostleaf, laugh as you please.”
Eve Frostleaf had another question.
Would George look for a third? Or even a fourth?
Jenna had a soft temperament, and as for the succubus Jima, she seemed like she might care, otherwise, she wouldn’t keep clinging to George, asserting her claim over and over again.
But she looked like a succubus who was thoroughly subdued by George.
She asked, “Will you marry a third or a fourth?”
“Probably not,” George said. “That’s enough. I don’t want to hurt them, and I don’t have the energy to love that many women.”
The fire in her heart was extinguished by half.
Eve Frostleaf’s long ears drooped as she said, “Oh.”
The surrounding air turned cold. Eve Frostleaf wished the sun could be a little more intense to warm her body.
At that moment, the sound of hoofbeats and barking dogs reached them in the wind.
Eve Frostleaf looked toward the source of the sound, but it wasn’t from the dirt path where they were lying in ambush; the noise came from behind them.
Not far away, in the woods, groups of beastmen appeared between the trees, marching forward.
George said, “Woodland beast paths?”
Eve Frostleaf realized that they had made a mistake. Paths walked by humans are different from those of beastmen. Beastmen did not necessarily follow the paths humans took. It was said that beastmen had countless animal paths in the forest, allowing them to take shortcuts and cross the forest quickly.
They had chosen the wrong ambush position; attacking now would not be an ambush but a frontal assault. However, searching for a better opportunity might mean losing track of the beastmen.
George had already made a decision, preparing to charge on foot. Just as he patted the celestial warhorse’s head, he said, “Old Bai, old Bai, it’s time for battle.”
With a crisp sound of rustling leaves, George turned around to see Eve Frostleaf had nimbly dashed out ten meters, swords raised, charging toward the beastmen with a fierce momentum.
The centaur-beastmen leaped agilely between the roots of trees and bushes on the flanks of the warband, serving as scouts. One centaur noticed the rushing Eve Frostleaf; sporting brown horns, carrying a shield in one hand and a spear in the other, he turned his head and shouted loudly:
“Enemy—”
Before he could finish the word, Eve Frostleaf pounced onto his back in an instant, plunging one sword in and slicing; the centaur was severed.
Such a brutal attack came suddenly, momentarily shocking the beastmen. It wasn’t until the second centaur’s head fell that one of the beastmen shouted:
“Wood Elf!!!”
Only the hated wood elves would strike so viciously against the beastmen.
