We moved toward the Zero Ice region. The carriage rolled with complete smoothness amidst an eerie, heavy silence. The closer we got to the edge of the pine forest, the clearer the sensation became that someone was tracking us.
Suddenly, a blue flash tore through the forest canopy.
"Is that you, little hero? Here your journey ends," a masked man with a rough voice announced from the trees, simultaneously firing an arrow of pure lightning at the carriage.
The arrow descended with devastating speed, shattering the wooden cover of the carriage, piercing the driver's seat, and striking the horse. The beast fell to the ground, bringing the carriage to a violent halt. The masked man walked confidently toward the wrecked carriage, looking at the driver's seat where his arrow had landed. He smiled maliciously.
"I thought you were smarter than this," the man said, waving to his men. "You four, get down! I applaud your idea, little hero: to disguise yourself as the driver and try to trick us. But unfortunately..."
The man's words caught in his throat, and his smile vanished when he peered through the smoke. There was no corpse. Instead, there was a wooden dummy covered in blood, masterfully crafted to look exactly like me.
"What is this? A dummy?! How is this possible? The carriage didn't leave our sight for a single second!" the mercenary leader shouted in angry confusion.
From the dark trees, in a fraction of a second, a sharp blade attached to a metal chain shot out like a venomous snake. The blade pierced the neck of one of the four mercenaries, then was yanked back with blinding speed to vanish among the branches, leaving behind a faint gleam every time its wielder moved.
"What was that?! Did any of you see anything?" one of the mercenaries screamed, stumbling backward in terror.
I dropped lightly from a high branch and stood before them, blood dripping from my blade.
"Congratulations on what you did," I said with a cold smile. "You destroyed a poor carriage. But unfortunately, by revealing yourselves now, you are as good as dead."
The mercenary leader roared and lunged at me. "We will see who dies first, you dwarf!"
I ignored his words completely. I flicked my wrist, and my weapon—the Fundo—launched forward. It wasn't just a blade on a chain; it was enhanced with a magical wind stone. The wind energy increased the blade's speed to the point where the eye could barely track it. The blade pierced the second mercenary's skull, then wrapped around the third one's neck, crushing it. The fight escalated for mere seconds. With brutal, precise movements harvested from a lifetime as a butcher, I killed them all, leaving only their trembling leader alive.
I flicked the blood off my blade and called out loudly, "Good, you two can come out now."
A hidden trapdoor in the floor of the wrecked carriage opened, and the merchant Marco climbed out, dusting off his clothes, followed by his daughter Diana, who was giving me her usual look of absolute coldness.
"Finally!" Marco said, panting heavily. "We almost died down there. What if they had targeted the bottom of the carriage with their arrows? How did we survive?"
"Simply because they targeted the roof and the front of the carriage, while you were hiding in the reinforced bottom," I answered while tying up the mercenary leader. "And the credit goes to your daughter, who sensed the direction of the arrow and warned us."
My mind flashed back to a few minutes before the ambush. I had been sitting next to Marco when I whispered to him, "Stop. Someone is following us." Diana had asked me then if I could read the tracker's thoughts, and I told her I couldn't unless I saw him. So, I asked Marco to use his magic to craft a dummy that looked identical to me. Then they both hid in the armored bottom while I slipped into the trees, leaving the horse to continue on its path as bait.
"So you knew about us?" the tied-up mercenary leader asked, looking at me in sheer terror. "But how? We didn't make a sound!"
"I heard your footsteps," I answered coldly. "I possess a sixth sense."
Of course, I couldn't tell them the truth. In my original world, when I lived on the streets, I didn't sleep like normal humans. I trained myself to let my body rest while my mind remained awake and my senses alert, out of fear of the police or the gangs hunting me. As for the lightning arrow, I possessed no magic to sense mana, but I was able to feel the "vacuum" created by the mana gathering in the air just before the shot was fired.
"Let's drop this," Diana said, interrupting my thoughts. "We want to know who sent this person after us. Let me read his mind to find out."
"That's a good idea," I said.
Diana replied with childish arrogance, "Of course it is. Better than any idea that comes out of your skull. You almost got us killed with your schemes."
"I apologize," I sighed.
Diana raised her nose. "Your apology is unacceptable."
I looked at Marco in disbelief. "What is wrong with this little girl?"
Marco laughed nervously. "It's okay... my daughter is always like this. Could you calm down, Diana? What did you see in his head?"
Diana's eyes gleamed as she answered, "He was hired in a tavern. He only agreed because the man offered him a lot of money."
"Is that true?" I asked the mercenary eagerly. "How much did you get?"
The man answered, trembling, "Three hundred silver coins."
My eyes widened with greed. "Three hundred?! Where is it?"
I reached out and quickly searched his pockets until I pulled out a heavy pouch. "Ah, here it is! I will consider this a tax for sparing your life."
I smiled internally. Haha, I can't believe I haven't changed at all when it comes to loving money. Who is the fool that leaves such a fortune behind?
Marco suddenly cleared his throat and said, "Ahem... what about us? My carriage and horse were damaged because of your plan, and we need compensation."
I glared at him. "Thanks to me, you are still alive! Even so... how much do you want?"
"Two hundred and fifty silver coins," Marco answered quickly.
"Are you joking with me?" I shouted. "No. How about we make it two hundred and close the matter?"
Diana raised an eyebrow and snatched fifty coins from the pouch. "I will keep these fifty coins with me."
"Impossible!" I yelled at her. "You have nothing left from me!"
"No, this is my money now," Diana said coldly. "We will use it to bring food to the poor people living in the Zero Ice region."
I crossed my arms sarcastically. "And how will fifty silver coins feed an entire village? Tell me, genius. The Ice Commander doesn't wait for your charity to feed his men."
"Of course the Ice Knights bring food, but extra is always better," Diana answered confidently. "We will combine the two hundred and fifty to buy supplies. True, the food will be less, but it will at least satisfy their hunger a little."
"You are really kind," I sighed.
She raised her chin. "Of course I am, unlike some people."
I ignored her insult and asked, "So, how are we going to set off without a carriage?"
"We will walk," Marco said. "There is a village nearby, about three kilometers from here." He looked at me playfully. "Can you walk that distance? Or are you an old man?"
"What?" I replied with fake anger. "I am ten years old... I am still in the prime of my youth! Won't your feet get tired?"
Diana intervened, "Don't worry, father, I have a solution. Do you remember that paper the Ice Deputy Commander gave you?"
Marco pulled out a folded magical paper. "Yes, we will send it as a message and walk until help arrives."
"That's a good idea, but how will it reach them? It's just a piece of paper," I asked curiously.
Diana gave me a condescending look and said, "Of course an idiot like you wouldn't understand. Even if I explained it, you wouldn't get it, so I will show you practically. First, we press mana into the paper so it transforms into the shape we want, like a bird. Then, there is a seal on it that carries a magical signature directing it to its original bearer. After that, we release it and it takes care of the rest. Do you understand?"
"No, you idiot," I said sarcastically.
Her face turned red with anger. "No, you're the idiot! If you don't have magic, then you are a failure and stupid!"
I sat down next to a tree, lamenting my luck for having to travel with this annoying child.
At the same time, from a distance atop a snowy hill, someone was watching us from the trees.
"So, your trap failed?" a figure hidden in the shadows asked.
The masked man, Maurice, answered with a terrifying, hidden smile. "What are you talking about? The trap hasn't even started yet. Those mercenaries were just level-one pawns; they are nothing compared to what I really wanted. I wanted to force them to abandon the carriage and head toward the forest and the mountain on foot."
"Are there other mercenary groups waiting for them there?" the other figure asked.
Maurice chuckled softly. "No... Silver Ice Monsters. Those creatures don't just eat human flesh; they even eat each other when necessary, and they are highly aggressive. But there is a more refreshing part... I will leave it to you. When Andrei arrives there, be ready. I will make you taste true terror