“Run! Keep running! Why’d you stop?”
The beastmen stood in a circle, surrounding Ximo right in the middle. The lead beastman towered a head above the others. It grinned ferociously as it approached, glanced at Ximo’s blood-drenched right ankle, and snorted coldly.
“Humans are so fragile. Chasing this little bug wasted so much of our time.”
The beastman reached out and snapped the rusty beast trap apart without any effort, then lifted Ximo off the ground like a chick.
“Let go… hiss…”
Ximo didn’t finish her words because the lead beastman deliberately gripped her right ankle. The intense pain left her speechless.
“This must be the one Chief Samuer wants. Check her carefully. We can’t afford any mistakes.”
One ugly face after another leaned in to inspect Ximo up and down—but in their eyes, Ximo now wore Xiliya’s appearance.
“That’s her, right? That Camberlan family young miss. No mistake.”
“On closer look, this human is pretty good-looking…”
The lead beastman shot a glare at the beastman who spoke, grabbed Ximo by the collar, and dragged her aside.
“Don’t get any funny ideas. This is the chief’s target!”
“Hey, boss, Chief Samuer just said to bring her back alive if possible. He has questions for this human—as long as she can still talk when we deliver her, isn’t that fine?”
One beastman patted Ximo’s face. She felt like it could crush her skull with one hand. The surrounding beastmen burst into laughter, and Ximo couldn’t help trembling as she squeezed her eyes shut.
Though she had seen beastmen before, falling into their hands made her truly feel the terror of this barbaric race.
They weren’t human—not even remotely. They lacked any moral compass a normal human would have.
“Even so, let’s take her back first. Do you think the chief would want one that’s been toyed with by you lot?”
The lead beastman even used the word “deliver,” treating Ximo like an object.
With that, the lead beastman hoisted Ximo and called to the other beastmen to head back to the Northern Beastmen Clan’s territory.
“Boss, wait! Someone’s coming!”
The beastman at the rear of the group suddenly shouted. A figure in a black cloak raced toward them.
“Tch, we’ve wasted too much time on this human already. Deal with it quick—don’t drag this out!”
Xiliya spotted Ximo and breathed a sigh of relief. She had made it in time. Luckily, these beastmen had snapped countless branches along the way, leaving a trail for her to follow.
“Leave the girl, and I’ll let you go.”
Xiliya restrained her tone as best she could. Ximo was still in their clutches, which gave her pause.
Xiliya sized them up: about eight or nine beastmen, dressed like roadside bandits. It made sense—Masha could pin the blame on the beastman bandits who routinely ambushed caravans outside the city.
But in reality, these “bandits” were probably Samuer’s men in disguise. That meant this group wasn’t a ragtag bunch of bandits but a squad of well-trained beastman soldiers.
At her current intermediate mage level, without a staff or any magitools, taking on these beastmen… Xiliya weighed her odds. Saving Ximo should be doable.
But at Xiliya’s words, the beastmen froze for a second before erupting in laughter.
“You saying we should beg you for mercy? Hahaha…”
“Wait, hold on. Doesn’t this human look just like the one the chief wants?”
“Who cares? Grab ’em both!”
To these martial beastmen, Xiliya was just another frail human. None took her seriously. The lead beastman tossed Ximo into the snow nearby, not even bothering to use her as leverage.
“Wuu…”
Pain brought tears to Ximo’s eyes. She wanted to call out to Xiliya for help but held back, afraid of getting her involved.
That’s when Xiliya noticed Ximo’s injury. Blood poured from her right leg, quickly staining the white snow crimson in a spreading, eye-catching patch.
The anger Xiliya had been suppressing erupted in an instant. Her gaze turned icy enough to kill.
“You don’t get to leave now… Every one of you dies here!”
Suddenly, Xiliya felt that slaughtering all the beastmen present wouldn’t be so hard after all.
“Little girl, put up or shut up!” The beastmen charged.
…
Ximo didn’t see how Xiliya dealt with all the beastmen. Her attention was consumed by the agony in her right leg. She only heard their roars turn to pleas for mercy, then to dead silence.
“Wait, wait! We can talk this out! I’m Chief Samuer’s man. Let me go back, Sa—”
The lead beastman scrambled backward, but Xiliya ignored its babble and ended its life with a backhand strike.
“Master…”
Ximo managed a weak smile at the anxious-faced Xiliya. Her leg hurt terribly, but she knew she was safe now. Just endure a little longer.
Xiliya flung off her bloodstained cloak. Guilt solidified in her eyes.
“I’m sorry… It’s all because of me. My fault…”
“It’s because I had you leave the city in my place…”
Ximo wanted to say she was fine, but just as she opened her mouth, the System’s mechanical voice rang in her mind.
【Plot deviation detected. Plot task “Dragged down by Malisi during the winter hunt and scolded by Masha (Failed).” Settling failure penalty for host.】
The words caught in her throat. When she spoke again, Ximo coughed uncontrollably. The wrenching pain in her heart was worse than ever.
“Hang on, Ximo! I’ll take you back right now!”
Seeing the blood on Ximo’s lips, panic flashed in Xiliya’s eyes. She hurriedly hoisted Ximo onto her back and prepared to head back to the city.
Masha… and Samuer…
Those two names burned in Xiliya’s mind, along with an unnamed rage.
Fine, Masha. I didn’t expect you’d collude with the beastmen clan just to kill me, trying to hand me over personally.
Before this, Xiliya’s vengeance had been for herself alone. Now, she etched Ximo’s debt into her heart as well.
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky, the crystalline flakes silently settling deep in the forest, blanketing the bloodstained snow.
