CH 91

Whole Chapter is from a 3rd person POV.

Thump, thump, thump. It was something Toby always felt when he was running away from something.

But today, it was stronger than ever. It was only natural, since he was running away in what could only be considered a reckless way.

A hundred cavalrymen were in front of him. Even if he ran alone, he would end up being trampled. Although he should have known that, for some reason, Toby could not imagine himself being caught at all.

(I can go…!)

The first thing he did was to strike the sound ball in front of the approaching cavalrymen. Well-trained warhorses were not distraught by this, but they were at least startled when a loud sound suddenly rang out in their vicinity. Toby’s own hearing would be affected, but as long as he was prepared for this from the start, losing sound for a few seconds would not be a big blow.

“Haa!”

With a short exhale, he slid his body between the horses. While determining the position of the horse’s body, which would be lethal to the rider, he avoided a deadly attack from overhead which took advantage of the height of being on a horse.

(I know…I can see…!?)

Before he knew it, Toby’s vision had turned blue. Time moved slowly in this world, and somehow he could see the future trajectory of the attacks. Toby moved his body to avoid the trajectory, and as a result, he barely dodged all the attacks that poured down like a torrential downpour.

(I can go… I can go! I can go! I can escape this time too!)

Toby moved forward, sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, and sometimes even through the crotch of the horse who was crouching down to run past. He ran through the frantic world by finding where he was supposed to be and fitting his body into that place without missing a beat.

(Just a little more …, just a little more …)

As they charged toward each other, Toby and the cavalry crossed paths for only a few seconds. The short time stretched into what felt like hours, and Toby’s vision, shaking off tens of thousands of possibilities of death, soon saw a blue other than the trail of death. He was through the cavalry.

(I did it!……I can’t say that yet)

On the other side of the cavalry, was Prince Lowell, who was looking at Toby with a reproachful gaze, and was surrounded by five cavalrymen who were guarding him. Wearing luxurious armor that distinguished them from the others, they were probably the prince’s personal Imperial Guards.

“Tch, you incompetents! Kill him!”

“”Ha!””

At Prince Lowell’s command, the Imperial Guards rushed toward Toby. Two knights flanked him from the left and right, and dozens of blue trails… were etched in front of his eyes.

(T/N: Trail Of Blue probably means Death)

“Hu…….”

Toby responded to the crushing pressure by exhaling deeply. He had been on the run for most of his life since he became an adventurer at 15,…. or even before that, but this was the first time he had felt death so close to home.

Yet, Toby’s mind was rather calm. It was only in extreme conditions that one’s talent, which was awakened only in the extreme, could find a way to live, even if they were close to death.

“Huh, Ooo!?”

“Impossible!?”

Jumping, crouching, shifting, dodging. Toby’s evasive maneuvers, not just his physical skills, as he passed by, startled the two members of the Imperial Guards. He quickly turned around to face Toby, but by that time, Toby had already reached Prince Lowell.

“Don’t dodge and come towards me! It’s fine, I’ll behead you myself!”

(I have no intention of doing that!)

Since the opponents were all cavalry, running straight and at full speed had a better chance of survival than making a bad turn and slowing down. He screamed inwardly at being misunderstood for doing just that, but his heart’s voice did not reach Prince Lowell. Rowell, his face contorted in abhorrence, unsheathed the sword at his waist and swung it down at Toby.

“Hyaaahh!”

With a dumb cry, Toby spun his body around and dodged the sword. He was almost knocked off his feet by the complicated steps, but since a fall would have killed him almost instantly, he held on just in time and succeeded in slipping past Prince Lowell.

Incidentally, Toby would have died had the Imperial Guards beside him thrust his sword at him. However, there was no way they would have thrust their sword at the prince and it was precisely because of that Toby, who could not see the track of death, ran with a once-in-a-generation determination that he survived.

(I did it! I did it! I did it this time!)

There was no longer any enemy in sight. There were only 100 meters left to the stone gate of the checkpoint. If that thick door were to be closed, everything would be over, but since it would require an agreement between both countries, it would be impossible for Lowell to do it on his own, even if he was the prince.

(This is…!?)

Just as he was thinking of his victory, the first Imperial Guard to pass him cut back, chased after Toby, to strike him with a body blow that would send its horse tumbling down. That desperate blow couldn’t be dodged no matter what because the effective range was too wide.

(What should I do? What should I do! What should I do!?)

Even in the midst of his inner turmoil, He could see the blue trail that would lead to his death. However, it had already completely wrapped him up, and the power that saved him had promised his death.

Toby, however, did not give up trying to escape. In order to escape death as much as possible, he grabbed a small ball out of the bag at his waist and dropped it on the ground.

“Bahhhhh!?”

The horse was about to fall down, reeling itself in because of too much momentum. The ball that rolled under his feet was trampled, instantly sending smoke into the area.

It was an extremely minor difference. The horse slipped just a fingernail’s length from stepping on the ball, and the horse’s body leaned a hair extra as it turned its head away, not liking the smoke that had blown out.

That difference was not enough to escape the trail of death.  It only extended the time until his own death by about one blink of an eye. A last ditch, last minute display of the pathetic misadventures of a Escaping Hero .. that changed Toby’s fate.

“!?”

There was something that pushed Toby’s back. A gust of wind was supporting the horse’s body, which should have fallen over. An explosion erupted right under the nose of the screaming prince, and the second Imperial Guard, who had been following close behind, was blown off his horse.

“Go!”

“go!”

“Just go!”

“Please go!”

He heard the voices of his traveling companions. No, I don’t think it’s fair to call them half-companions, but at least here they were supposed to be allies, and the voice pushed Toby back and turned his feet.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

Run, run. To escape, to protect.

“Don’t let him escape! Anyone, stop him!”

“Shut up! I’m in the middle of something here, so shut the fuck up!”

“Gooooo!?”

Each step was unbelievably far and each moment was unbelievably long. And yet, Toby heard the exchange behind him so clearly that it made him smile inwardly.

Almost there, almost there. Ignoring his heart that felt like it was about to burst into pieces, Toby raised his legs that felt like they would break into a thousand pieces, and ran straight ahead with only the goal in his gradually narrowing field of vision. Usually there would be several people waiting for their turn, but now there were only guards standing quietly guarding the gate.

Ten … more steps to go,… three more steps to go,…. and then the last step,…… with all his might!

“Haaaa…… Haaa …… Haaa …………… ………”

The moment he passed through the gate, Toby fell face down on the spot. With the last of his strength, he turned his body onto his back and sawan unremarkable stone ceiling.

“My…… win! I’ve escaped!!!”

“Umm…”

“….?”

“It’s a rule, so could you go through immigration procedures?”

“Uh, yes. …”

Toby the Hero, who had mastered the art of escape. The afterglow of his victory also escaped him in a mere two seconds.