The Forgotten Field - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 44
Pushing through the disoriented soldiers clutching their weapons, I glimpsed several mangled corpses wedged between the collapsed tents—their forms crushed beyond recognition.
Terror seized my stomach in a vicious grip. Yet the thought that Barcas might suffer the same fate made it impossible to stop moving.
I careened across the campsite strewn with debris, chasing after Barcas, who had already grown distant.
Then came a thunderous crash.
I turned toward the sound, my face draining of color. A Wyvern had landed not far away, and it was swallowing a soldier whole.
Each time the creature’s massive jaws worked up and down, blood cascaded from its blackened maw, drenching its chin.
The scene was so surreal that even terror eluded me. My legs trembling violently, I stumbled backward—until I spotted Barcas among the soldiers rushing forward with spears, and I cried out with all my strength.
“Barcas! Barcas!”
I bolted toward him like a child who had found their parents in a crowded marketplace. Barcas, who had been issuing commands to the Knights, turned to face me.
The moment our eyes met, his widened slightly before narrowing again. He looked furious that I had abandoned his orders and rushed out.
His gaze sharpened, and a chill ran through me—yet I didn’t stop. My mind held only one thought: I had to reach safety with Barcas.
Don’t fight. Leave that to your subordinates. You should be at my side.
The childish words tumbled incoherently from my ragged breathing.
Impossibly, amid the chaos, Barcas seemed to understand me. He strode forward with long, purposeful steps. I reached out toward him.
In that instant, a thin, piercing scream tore through the air.
“Barcas!”
His head snapped backward immediately.
Following his gaze, I spotted Aila abandoned in the center of the chaos, and my eyes widened. Separated from her escort in the pandemonium, she stumbled forward—and a dark shadow loomed over her head. Without hesitation, Barcas threw himself toward her.
Watching him vanish from my side in an instant, I stood frozen, my mouth agape. A pathetic plea escaped my constricted throat.
Don’t go.
Don’t go to her.
A sob like molten lava erupted from my throat, burning as it rose.
He swept Aila into his arms and rolled away with barely a moment to spare.
The creature, robbed of its prey at the last instant, raked its black claws across the ground with savage fury, releasing a bestial roar.
Barcas drew his sword to shield Aila from the enraged monster, positioning her behind him. But the creature showed no lingering interest in a target it had failed to capture once. Its massive head swayed side to side as it sniffed the air—then its eyes suddenly fixed on me.
I stood frozen, staring into that pair of glowing red eyes. The creature’s pupils dilated with excitement at discovering a new target. In the next moment, its enormous body hurtled toward me like a serpent gliding across water.
The movement was so swift I had no time to scream. I was lifted into the air, my body caught on its hook-like talons.
As the ground receded at dizzying speed, I rolled my eyes in panic. The disoriented soldiers below shrank to the size of my palm in an instant.
Seized by overwhelming dread, I thrashed my limbs desperately. But the force crushing my chest only grew stronger. I felt certain those razor talons would pierce my flesh and tear me apart at any moment.
With terror-stricken eyes fixed on the creature holding me, I screamed.
“H-help me! Someone please!”
But my voice sounded impossibly faint even to my own ears.
I gasped roughly, then forced my mouth open again with great effort.
Then, from the dim blue darkness, a flash of light erupted, and a wave of searing heat scorched my face. I shrieked. The creature that had seized me shrieked in turn and began thrashing violently.
The crushing force threatened to snap my spine. My vision went white for a moment. A sudden weightlessness overtook me, and my limbs went limp. Then my body was flung through the air before plummeting downward.
After what felt like seconds, a heavy impact struck my entire body, and everything dissolved into darkness.
I couldn’t tell if I was conscious or unconscious. I wondered if I was dead. But then, as if to deny that possibility, overwhelming pain crashed over me.
I gasped like livestock moments before slaughter, my body wracked with anguish.
It hurt. Everything hurt. But I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the pain originated.
“Ugh… hnngh…”
Desperate to escape the weight crushing down upon me, I clawed at the cold earth, but the intensifying pain became unbearable. I buried my forehead against the frigid soil, only to catch the acrid stench of smoke. Gasping, I forced my head upward.
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I made out the limp form of the Wyvern. Terror-stricken sobs escaped my lips as I realized the creature was dead, and confusion clouded my thoughts.
The monster’s wings were half-charred and shriveled as though consumed by flame, and embers still smoldered across its massive hind legs where scales had been stripped away.
I stared blankly at the sight before pressing my palms against the ground and struggling to push my upper body upright.
Only then did I notice the enormous boulder and heap of earth pinning one of my legs. It seemed I had tumbled down the slope during the fall.
‘I have to get out of here…’
As I twisted desperately to extract my lower body from the rubble, the excruciating pain forced me to collapse again. My trapped leg, my chest, my shoulders, my arms—nothing remained unbroken.
Had every bone in my body shattered?
That was the least of it. In truth, I couldn’t fathom how I was still alive. Or perhaps… I was dying right now.
I gazed around with eyes wide with terror.
Thick darkness had settled over everything. Was this what it felt like to be buried alive? Breathing grew harder with each passing moment.
I wanted to lose consciousness, yet strangely my mind only grew sharper. Unable to bear the mounting agony, I clawed at the ground with broken nails, tears streaming endlessly down my face.
“It hurts… it hurts so much… Barcas…”
I couldn’t understand why I was whispering his name. The image of him turning away from me, rushing toward Aila, surfaced in my mind.
I could never be important to Barcas. The only ones he must protect at any moment were Aila and Gareth.
Hot tears soaked my cheeks.
“No… even so… he’ll come looking for me.”
I whispered to convince myself. I was the Emperor’s daughter. He was a responsible man—surely he would search for my body at least. He wouldn’t simply abandon me like this.
Clinging desperately to that thought, I stared into the deepening darkness.
Soon the embers smoldering on the monster’s skin faded, and the world plunged into absolute blackness.
As no one came to find me no matter how long I waited, I forced words through my parched, cracking throat, speaking louder.
“It’s fine. It’s fine. He’ll come soon. Soon…”
But my voice was swallowed by the sobs that burst forth.
I bit my lips and covered my mouth with trembling hands. I didn’t want to cry.
Crying would be admitting it. That no one would come for me…
I forced down the bitter wail of pain and despair, swallowing it deep. Then I repeated the words again.
If I just wait a little longer, Barcas will surely come. And just as he once pulled me from the mud, he’ll help me now.
He will. Surely…

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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