The 9 of us ran ran past the main gate.
After about 3 minutes, we heard sounds of galloping from the town.
"They’re making an appearance too!" Gheyna warned us.
They found out we went outside.
The enemy light cavalry are rushing out one after the other. Several dozens of horses were several hundred meters from us.
"Let me stay behind and be a decoy!" Myla who had been quiet until now suddenly shouted a crazy idea.
Was she mad? This stuck-up girl..
"Shut up! I allowed you to accompany me although you are not fully recovered because you promised me you wouldn't risk fighting!"
Myla looked down after being barked by me.
"I will finish my arrows!" Gheyna yelled and slowed down her horse.
Mirai, Irijina and me also slowed down.
Malty's mother who just saved from the enemies was hugging Clarice whose horse had left us the furthest.
Myla seemed frustrated but she accelerated her horse.
Sekrit, Gretel, Reina adjusted their speed so that they wouldn't be too far from the rearguard.
Gheyna shot her first arrow and it hit neck of an enemy. He fell from his horse and blocked the route. Two horses stumbled on him and crushed to the ground.
She shit another and the the killed man fell and caused another horse to trip. The same incident happened every time she her arrow hit an enemy. Her accuracy rate from over 200 meters was 100%.
After losing nearly twenty men, the enemies realised Gheyna's lethal threat. They dispersed to wide formation so that they became harder to be targeted. That also to avoid stumbling against fallen horses.
"Gheyna. Your shots won't work anymore. Run faster!" I bellowed.
Gheyna ran past us. Irijina and Mirai also accelerated. I chased the two girls. Blood dripping fast from my right hand which was pierced earlier by a bolt.
Luckily, their crossbows couldn't reach as far as Gheyna's arrows.
Our pursuers were extremely light weight, wearing no armor and wielding swords―― and the annoying crossbows.
To us, who could do nothing but run, that’s the worst set of equipment.
"If we let the person who murdered the army commander get away, it would be a terrible shame on all of us! I’ll finish you off for sure!"
"I’ll tear you apart limb from limb!"
They’re close enough that I could hear their angry bellows. This was getting pretty bad.
I purposely maintained my pace so that my horse would always behind the 9 women.
In that moment, I felt a hot pain shoot into my back.
"Ugh."
"Bullseye!"
I was finally in range of the enemy’s crossbow and ended up taking a shot to my back.
It takes a considerable amount of skill to use a bow and arrow on horseback, whereas it’s not so difficult to use crossbows while riding horses.
Despite the excruciating pain, I gritted my teeth and kept riding, determined not to let it slow me down. The enemy was gaining on us, while the girls in front of me were not running any faster.
Irijina who was 10 meters ahead of me, looked at me with a worried expression.
"Girls, don't turn back. Just make your horses run like a wind!"
I bellowed until two more arrows stabbed my back and practically forced my face to distort in pain.
Taking these hits without any armor was hard.
For now, I would lower my head as much as possible to hide my medulla oblongata and the back of my head.
No amount of muscles would help if I got hit there.
More importantly, I had to be careful the girls didn’t get hit by making me the moving target for enemies' crossbows.
As I struggled to keep riding despite the pain, I could hear the girls in front of me shouting words of encouragement to each other. They were determined to outrun the enemy and make it back to safety.
"What's that thudding sounds? Are you fine, Hiro?" Sekrit yelled without turning to behind.
That’s the sound of my back getting hit with the bolts.
I got hit in my waist, shoulder, thigh and back.
"Enough, just be quiet." I barked at the tall woman.
"W-we’re hitting him and he’s not falling off....."
"Taking so many hits and still nothing...... is he even human?"
I heard the enemies' shoutings.
Don’t be ridiculous, it hurt like hell. If I relaxed a little bit, the bolt would dig into my organs and everything would be over.
Not only were they shooting on horseback, both parties were travelling at full speed so the accuracy rate was poor despite crossbows being easier to use than bow and arrows.
I’d rather become a pincushion than letting an arrow stab the girls.
The chase lasted for a long time, eventually the enemy’s horses slowed down one by one.
Their stamina was drained after the extended pursuit.
Some horses even collapsed suddenly on their sides or stumbled forward due to exhaustion.
The last enemy horse stopped moving and we’d finally shaken them off successfully.
"Haa...... we somehow made it out."
As we approached the gate of Val Royeaux, I could see the guards on the walls looking down at them in surprise.
I pulled up beside Gheyna, who had slowed down to wait for him. "You did it," she said with a smile.
I managed a weak grin. "We did it. All of us."
We rode through the gate and into the safety of the city.
I slid off my horse and collapsed onto the ground, finally allowing myself to feel the full extent of my injuries. The girls gathered around me, their expressions filled with concern.
"We need to get him to a healer," Myla said firmly.
The others nodded in agreement, and they lifted me onto a makeshift stretcher.
For now, I just wanted those bolts in my back to be taken out gently by the pretty ladies.
