The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 101

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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 101
My vision lurched violently. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the trembling was so severe it made me dizzy.
I felt Sisrain’s body, holding me firmly in his strong arms, collide with something blunt and heavy.
Had he not shielded me with his embrace, I would surely have broken bones in at least one place.
Then came the desperate war cries of men.
“…!!!”
When I managed to lift my head, I saw an armed hand wielding a sword above the shattered carriage roof.
The thug who had ambushed our carriage had decorated his face with bizarre markings—as if he were a creature of The Forest, painted in camouflage.
His teeth gleamed black as he grinned—a terrible smile that only someone from hell could wear.
“…Ah.”
Slice—
In that instant, Sisrain’s blade cut through the threatening man’s arm without hesitation.
Blood scattered through the air like cherry blossoms falling on a spring breeze, or like something from a dream—impossibly unreal.
―Yet it was real.
A cold, urgent reality crashing down upon us.
“Stay here, Anette.”
With those words, Sisrain leaped from the moving carriage.
Turning to look behind, I saw dozens of pursuers chasing us with desperate determination.
Like a starving pack of wild dogs pursuing a piece of meat.
‘This is insane.’
Help me, please.
Wouldn’t it be better to just run, Sisrain?
‘How can he charge through that with such confidence?’
―And yet, in that very moment, I watched Sisrain cut down three men simultaneously.
…He has every right to be confident.
“Your Highness, be careful!”
All the thugs bore the same bizarre markings on their faces.
‘I know those markings.’
―The Belcain Peninsula tribes!
They were literally tribespeople dwelling in the Belcain Peninsula—relatively uncivilized—and were known to practice cannibalism.
Specialized in combat, they were hired by the Empire’s nobility to conduct their dirtier wars.
…But why does an ordinary bakery owner know about this?
Well, this is something any model student of The Forest would know. I recalled learning this in class.
Our Sisrain probably didn’t study much during those lessons.
“…Your Highness! They’re from the Belcain Peninsula!”
There were two key points emphasized when we learned about the Belcain Peninsula tribes.
First: always run if you encounter them.
Second: though they possess powerful offensive capabilities, their rear defense is weak, so target their backs (I still don’t understand why they taught a twelve-year-old this, and it even appeared as question three on the written exam).
―Either way, it’s proving useful.
“Attack from behind!”
“…!”
In the same breath, Sisrain’s form leaped high into the air behind them. Landing at their rear, he swept across the pursuers in a horizontal arc, cutting them down in rapid succession.
“Well done, Sisrain!”
In that instant, those crimson eyes met mine, and he smiled faintly.
It felt exactly like we were partners (though I’d only played a supporting role so far).
‘How strange.’
Normally in a situation like this, I would have been trembling with fear.
But now that I understood capture meant death, I found myself oddly calm—even watching people fall before my eyes, their blood spilling onto the earth.
―Or perhaps it was because Sisrain was here.
‘Were the Belcain coming for Sisrain?’
A crown prince would naturally have many enemies in the Empire.
‘…No.’
The pattern of their assault made it clear.
They were pressing past Sisrain, trying to reach me.
Which meant—
‘Trackers sent by Gerard!’
Under Kirke and Larva’s protection all this time, the reality of it hadn’t truly sunk in until now.
‘Could I be of any help?’
I reached out, attempting to summon fire or light, but the urgency of the moment made it far more difficult than usual.
―It was precisely then.
“Krhrhrhh.”
“…!!!”
Whether they’d been hiding in the Forest Path beforehand, a Belcain suddenly climbed atop the carriage.
‘I’m going to die.’
―The instant that thought crossed my mind.
A brilliant light flashed before my eyes.
Just like that time when I inherited the soul of Exordium.
* * *
“I’m completely bewildered—where in the world are all these mongrels coming from?”
Number 19 scratched his temple with his rifle as he spoke.
This was the outer reaches of the Fris Empire, where they’d been holding back Gerard’s pursuit.
The sudden flood of trackers in overwhelming numbers had begun just this morning.
Originally, the standing garrison had been sufficient to hold them off, but requests for reinforcements had come from multiple Larva strongholds.
It had been ages since Kyle and the other Larva members had come out to the outer perimeter.
Bulk flashed his gold teeth in a grin and fired a shot—bang!—sending the head of an attacker flying in the distance.
“I’d say Prince Gerard is paying handsomely for meat today.”
“Terrifying, absolutely terrifying. They’ve got their eyes rolled back, completely mad. At this rate they’ll all die—these bastards.”
Number 19 fired ceaselessly at the mercenaries rushing at him, muttering complaints all the while.
The composition of the forces attacking from the outer reaches was remarkably diverse.
Gerard’s original personal forces from Eldorado had been exhausted long ago in the grueling pursuit, so now he was primarily sending hired mercenaries bought with gold.
Each and every one was a lethal weapon perfectly suited for slaughter.
Kyle fought expressionlessly in the heart of that battlefield.
Around him, the mangled corpses of enemies piled up like mountains.
Bang!
“…They’re throwing themselves at me as if today were their last.”
It was wasteful enough to be considered a squandering of troops.
‘Why is this happening?’
Kyle pondered as he surveyed the blood-soaked battlefield.
Why send strays to multiple defensive positions?
What was the purpose of this meaningless war of attrition?
At first, I focused on defense, but as the grueling battle wore on, my thinking changed.
Suddenly deciding victory through sheer numbers?
This was nothing more than a war of attrition, and such a tactic didn’t suit Prince Gerard, who usually acted with meticulous precision.
“…!”
It was at that very moment—a thought struck Kyle like lightning.
―They’re throwing themselves at me as if today were their last.
If that were the answer.
If this pointless war of attrition itself wasn’t the objective, but rather a means to another end.
If the goal was to draw away the core forces protecting Anette on Bayonere Island by forcing troop requests from various strongholds.
“…Damn it.”
His eyes, as dark as deep forest green, turned cold and sharp.
“The core forces return with me!”
“Pardon? Master, where are we going?”
To Bulk’s question, Kyle shouted as he sprinted forward with all his might.
“To Miss Anette’s side!”
The Larva gathered at the perimeter moved as one body at their Master’s command.
―They rushed back like the wind. To the side of the one they truly needed to protect.
* * *
“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”
When I came to my senses, something extraordinary was happening.
The flames gathering in my hands were completely incinerating that horrible creature.
“Gasp.”
It was my first time using Um’s power. And such a vicious offensive ability at that.
‘―I can use something like this?’
It’s incredible.
This is actually pretty cool.
“…!!!”
Was I finally going to earn a new title beyond ‘Master of Pot-Swinging’?
Sordi and Um hadn’t returned yet, but I could almost hear the saccharine voices of that ‘gay couple who had a late-in-life child’ cooing in my ears.
“Our little one, I knew you could do it! You’re the best~”
“Chapssalsal, I’m finally using my power properly. Hahahaha! Magnificent, simply magnificent! At last I can escape the Bakery and conquer the world!”
―I’m sorry, Um, but world conquest is off the table.
I found myself apologizing.
I stared down at my own hands, still unable to believe what I’d just accomplished.
That was when it happened.
Another Belcain clung to the carriage.
‘Let me try again.’
I thrust my hand forward with all my strength.
“….”
“….”
Nothing happened. All that materialized was one person staring at me with eyes that screamed ‘what is this fool doing?’ and another person—myself—drowning in embarrassment at the reaction.
―I’m afraid that’s all I have, it seems.
“Anette!”
In that instant, Sisrain’s black power surged forth and hurled the Belcain away from the carriage.
“…!”
Neigh!
The horse’s cry pierced the air, and the carriage—which had been running without a driver—suddenly lurched sideways.
“…What?”
This had the stench of disaster.
And I was right.
The horse, its reins now severed, bolted off on its own, while the carriage—its roof torn away—spun its wheels with violent momentum.
―And in a very ominous direction at that.
‘…There’s a cliff ahead!’
My heart plummeted.
Hair whipping wildly around me, I braced myself against the carriage and pushed upright.
“―Sisrain!”
“Anette!”
Our eyes met head-on—his crimson gaze locking with mine.
Sisrain, recognizing the runaway carriage and the cliff ahead, slaughtered the remaining Belcain with frenzied desperation and threw himself toward the carriage with every ounce of his strength.
“…Ah.”
And in that moment.
The carriage reached the cliff’s edge, teetered, tilted, and plummeted into the abyss below.
My vision flashed white as it inverted; my body lifted into the void, and everything slowed to a crawl.
The sky stretched before me.
The last thing I saw was Sisrain hurling himself after me.

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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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