While the battle raged on, the Princess raced through the forest in front of the golden knight.
She had managed to escape from an ordeal that would have most likely got her captured or killed.
If it wasn't because of Lanzo, she knew there would have been no escape from her fate.
While the horse sped through the path, the princess kept on looking backwards, hoping the young man was riding just right behind her.
"He's… Not following us, Yvain. Should we turn back for him?"
Yvain glanced back for a second, before sighing and answering. "No, princess, we are not out of danger ourselves. We should quickly check if there are any surviving knights and, if there are, we will definitely return for him."
It worried her to hear that answer, as If Lanzo really did not manage to escape, coming back later would probably mean retrieving his corpse instead of rescuing him.
There was no way he could fight against those two golden knights by himself.
The sun had peeked out from the eastern horizon, heralding the arrival of dawn. Right as the forest started to brighten with the soft golden light of the morning sun, sounds of horse galloping could be heard getting closer.
Yvain pulled the reins of his horse and grabbed the handle of his sword, prepared to fight against the new threat. But when they came closer, he realized they were the Lioness knights.
There were only a handful of surviving knights, among them was Marc, the new knight who told them about how Lanzo saved them only to go ahead to save the princess.
The princess became even more worried and she looked back at Yvain. "Yvain, we better head back for Lanzo, now!"
Yvain opened his mouth and was about to disagree, but the princess kept cutting him off before insisting on it. The other surviving knights agreed and, together, they returned to the place where they last saw Lanzo.
As the horses dashed closer to the place, the princess' heart beat faster and faster.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they arrived at where the carriage was. Princess Gwen stared at the scattered bodies of two dozen knights in slight discomfort and Yvain jumped down from the horse to confirm their current status. As they expected, apart from the unconscious Prince Edward, the others had been killed.
As they were about to wake the unconscious prince to ask what happened, loud sounds and tremors could be heard deep within the woods.
"What is that, Yvain?!"
"My lady, I am unsure, but that sounds like trouble. We should get out of this place as soon as possible." Yvain walked towards his horse, while staring at the trees on the side of the road.
One of the knights following them called out and pointed at two trails of footsteps leading to the woods, right towards where the sounds came from.
Once more, the princess insisted on seeing it.
"That must be where Lanzo went! We have to go, he could really be in trouble."
"Yes, my lady." Yvain nodded and looked deep within the woods, as if trying to see something deep within. "But, we have to be really, really careful"
Everyone agreed to go and the group of six knights, along with Yvain and Gwen, rode slowly deeper inside the woods. When they were closer, enraged roars of a beast could be heard from afar.
Knowing there was no point, Yvain no longer tried to stop her, instead, he decided to always stay at the front, to ensure he could protect the princess more easily.
They walked deeper and deeper, through twisting paths, bramble bushes and trees so closely packed together, it was almost impossible to pass through with a horse. The roaring became louder and louder, but right as they reached a clearing where the sounds presumably came from, all went quiet and the tremors disappeared without a trace, except for the destruction left.
In the now destroyed clearing, each knight jumped down from their horses. Everywhere they looked, the place was in bad shape, trees uprooted from where they were, bits and pieces of destroyed land, splatters of blood… Whatever battle took place here, it was beyond what they imagined.
When the princess was busy examining a dried splatter of blood on the ground, Yvain suddenly shouted while carrying a body on the ground.
"Princess! Here he is! Lanzo is here!"
Princess Gwen immediately looked at Yvain and asked. "Is he alright, Yvain?!"
"No, princess, he is bleeding really badly."
"Then, what are you waiting for? Save him!"
Yvain kneeled and placed the bleeding body on the ground before turning it over to dress his wounds, only to see that despite the similar posture and clothes, this person was not him. It was a different young man.
"This… Princess, look. These are definitely his clothes, but it's not him."
Curious, Princess Gwen decided to come closer and take a look. Her eyes widened when she saw the young man's face.
"That… This is… This can't be!"
Witnessing the young man's face was perhaps the most shocking experience in her entire life. The bleeding young man lying there, wearing what appears to be Lanzo's clothes, was her late friend, who was supposed to have died two years ago.
Seeing his bleeding body, barely alive in the middle of the forest, felt like a bad dream that came true.
"My lady, are you alright?!" Seeing the princess' pale face and horrified stare, Yvain stood up to comfort her, only for her to stop him.
"No, Yvain, more importantly… Is he… alive?"
Yvain gently placed his hand on the body's chest.
"Yes, he is alive, but he is dying. We need a physician right away!"
Gwen was still unable to contain the disbelief of her childhood friend she thought dead being alive, albeit barely, in the middle of nowhere and with the clothes of someone she knew, but his critical condition was a priority.
With hurried steps, Marc came and approached the man with a bottle of paste he said was given to him by Lanzo. The green paste was apparently effective for external wounds.
Gwen quickly grabbed the paste, without much thinking, she tore up the edges of her dress, and laid the paste on the fabric before covering the wound.
After the man was safely covered in makeshift bandages, she asked Yvain to put him into the carriage.
In total, from 45 men of the convoy, 18 of them died. One group would go with her to the nearest town, another would go straight to the Lioness Castle with the captured prince and the rest would stay and double-check the area.
Along the ride to find the physician, the princess kept on staring at the young man, questions running rampant through her head. How was he still alive? What happened?
But, the young man was unable to answer. All she could do was wait and hope he would survive, else her questions would never be answered.
The next hour passed by and they stopped at the nearest village
Unfortunately, the physician there could only shake his head. Though the young man's wounds had miraculously closed thanks to the green paste, there was something else ailing him. From what he saw, the physician warned it might be poison.
"I can't believe he is still alive, princess… I apologize, but there is nothing I can do."
The princess kept on racking her brain, stressing what was happening right in front of her eyes. Right as she was about to panic, she heard the young man mumble a few words.
"Ve…nn… ta… Quin…tins…"
Gwen didn't think much of it. She hurriedly told the knights to head towards Venta town.
Authors Note
(no cost of coin will delete later)
Recently I read many comments, disappointment from the last fight. How stupid, idiotic, and how readers think it's just a way too prolonged the chapters: So here is my response
I actually have many plans for Granny. for me I dont like to create a new enemy out of nothing. Granny was not only his Aunt, she has the secret behind what happened 20 years ago. It really wasn't about prolonging the chapter. At the moment I can't think of any better/stronger/worthy enemy on Earth other than the witch. Except maybe his own friend.