<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Chapter 55>

“Ugh!”

Each time the tip of the sword brushed my hair, a shiver ran down my spine like electricity.

If I get caught, I’m dead.

I couldn’t figure out why Madam Marens was acting like that, but I was sure of one thing: if caught, I’d definitely be killed.

“What the heck is going on?!”

Eden noticed that things were off.

The appearance of a low-level monster, Chupi, in a high-tier hunting ground, a suddenly crazed horse, and Madam Marens attacking me as if she’d been waiting where the horse brought me…

In that moment, lightning struck above Eden’s head.

“…!”

Only then did Eden realize where things had gone wrong.

‘It was me…!’

Eden gasped as the conversation he had overheard the night before between Kiris and an unknown man flooded his mind.

“Are you sure the control magic is ready?”

“Of course. Once the magic is cast, they lose their rationality, and their physical abilities jump fivefold, ensuring the target won’t escape.”

So, the magic the man mentioned that would cause loss of reason and lead to an attack wasn’t luckless Marquis Ogdon; it was Madam Marens, and the target she needed to hunt wasn’t Asmun, but me, Eden.

‘Damn…!’

Eden realized he had completely fallen into Kiris’s trap.

Kiris had surprisingly figured out that Eden was helping Asmun and had devised a plan to eliminate me before getting to Asmun.

Eden lacked the ability to defend against Madam Marens, and even if he managed to avoid her attack and suppress her, he would undoubtedly be framed.

Eden was a commoner, and attacking a noble was a clear death sentence.

So this was a perfect trap.

“Damnit! Damn that Kiris…!”

Cursing Kiris felt pointless after the fact; I was already caught, with no ability to escape.

Eden stopped breathing, realizing he was at a dead end.

Turning back, he saw Madam Marens charging at him with a fierce, unwearied expression.

‘Is this how it ends…? Getting stabbed to death…?’

For the briefest moment, one teleport scroll floated into his mind, but it was already too late to pull it out and use it.

Madam Marens raised her arm again. This time, I knew I couldn’t dodge.

As Eden resigned himself, closing his eyes tightly, it happened.

“Ah!”

Madam Marens’s scream pierced his hypersensitive ears.

Wait, what? Madam Marens’s scream…?

Eden’s eyes popped open in astonishment at the incredible sight before him.

“Your Highness!”

Asmun rushed in at the last second, stepping in front of Eden to confront Madam Marens.

Madam Marens, struck on the back of her hand, stumbled back, using the tip of her sword to steady herself, while Asmun stood before Eden with his sword raised.

“Did Hamun not inform you about this situation?”

Asmun cracked a grinless joke in a serious tone.

Furious, Madam Marens readjusted her grip on the sword and stepped closer.

“Your Highness, you mustn’t attack!”

Eden shouted, paling with fear.

Madam Marens held far more power than the Marquis Ogdon. If she went wrong and Asmun took the blame instead of him, Kiris’s plan would be too successful.

Asmun seemed to vaguely understand that fact too.

“Ugh!”

Madam Marens lunged like lightning, and Asmun managed to block her attack.

Clash, clash; the sound of blades meeting rang sharply.

Madam Marens’s strength under the control magic was unlike anything normal, leaving Asmun barely able to defend against her relentless attacks.

Caught in this madness, Eden clutched his head with both hands and tightly shut his eyes.

‘Quickly think of something, a way out…!’

The only way to escape this situation was to run away.

But with Madam Marens’s enhanced abilities, she was undoubtedly going to catch up fast. Running away without saying a word to each other was impossible.

‘The best way would be to teleport…!’

Eden again thought of the teleport scroll.

But…

‘Will the scroll handle two people?’

What if he used it hastily and ran away alone, leaving Asmun behind?

It would be better to stay behind himself. But if he stayed, he’d definitely die.

‘If only we could teleport together…’

In an instant, Eden’s eyes widened.

“There should be secret portals scattered throughout the hunting grounds.”

A cold, emotionless voice echoed in his head like a divine prophecy.

“Where the blue hyacinths bloom. Plucking that flower will activate the portal, but it’s one-use only and will disappear immediately. The monster can’t teleport with you.”

Desperately, Eden looked around. Could there be a portal even here?

‘Please…!’

As he fervently searched through the brush, his dilated pupils suddenly froze at one spot.

About 30 meters away stood a blue flower unnaturally bobbing in the wind. White mist flowers hugged the blue hyacinth, forming a subtle circle.

It was a portal.

‘There it is…!’

Seeing the portal, it felt like a cold waterfall washed over his tightly strung heart, releasing the suffocation he had felt before.

We can survive!

“Your Highness!”

Eden turned to Asmun, still locked in combat with Madam Marens, excitement bubbling in his voice.

“This way! There’s a portal over here!”

A portal?

Asmun glanced at Eden while fending off a blade that was almost at his neck.

Eden dashed towards the distant spot, stopping there to signal wildly with both hands raised.

“Quickly!”

As Eden pleaded frantically, Asmun focused his power, trying to create an opening. But getting rid of the relentless Madam Marens proved to be a challenge.

Asmun gritted his trembling arm, focusing all his strength.

At that moment, green flames erupted at Madam Marens’s feet, startling her into stumbling back.

Now was the time.

Asmun pushed Madam Marens aside and began sprinting towards Eden.

“Ugh!”

Madam Marens quickly regained her balance and sensed his movement, hot on Asmun’s heels.

“Your Highness!”

Eden stamped his feet, reaching out to Asmun, who was drawing closer.

Please…!

But Madam Marens was even faster than Asmun now. Changing her target, she zoomed past Asmun towards Eden standing at the portal.

Eden and Asmun’s eyes went wide in unison.

“Gah…!”

In the instant Madam Marens swung her sword, Asmun barely slipped through the portal, wrapping around Eden just in time as the sharp blade dug into Asmun’s shoulder.

“Ugh…!”

The jarring sensation shot directly through Eden’s body, stealing his breath away.

As Madam Marens pushed down, Asmun’s knee buckled, and together, they collapsed to the ground, Asmun still clutching Eden without leaving an inch exposed.

“Ugh!”

Madam Marens ruthlessly pulled the sword from Asmun’s shoulder, preparing to charge again, but this time, Eden wouldn’t allow it.

Clinging to the groaning Asmun, Eden scooped up dirt with his left hand and tossed it at the charging Madam Marens’s eyes.

“Ah!”

Caught off guard, the dirt hit Madam Marens square in the face, making her stumble and roll outside of the portal, and Eden seized the chance to snatch the flower.

In the blink of an eye, Eden and Asmun vanished.

“Ughhh!”

Furious over missing her prey, Madam Marens let out a dreadful screech and leaped towards the now inactive portal, but it would not function again.

Both their bodies tumbled into the frayed brush where Madam Marens’s wails could no longer be heard.

Feeling the change in the air against their skin, Eden knew the plan had worked. Still, he clung tightly to Asmun, not wanting to lose him.

“Ha…”

Asmun’s painful groan seeped into Eden’s ears.

Opening his tightly shut eyes, he saw Asmun nearly collapsed against him, resting his head on Eden’s trembling shoulder.

Madam Marens was gone, and the surroundings had fallen eerily silent.

Overwhelmed by the relief of being alive, Eden felt a lump in his throat.

“Your Highness…”

“How did you know about this…?”

Asmun mumbled in disbelief. It was clear he too realized they’d successfully escaped from Madam Marens. His entire body sagged with exhaustion.

Eden touched Asmun’s shoulder where the sword had struck. Feeling the hot blood seeping through, his heart sank.

“Your Highness, you’re bleeding too much!”

Asmun exhaled softly, gradually lifting his head to look at Eden.

“Don’t worry, I won’t die from this.”

His eyes showed no sign of fatigue at all. For some reason, tears welled up at those calm words.

Asmun pushed himself off Eden and took a small step back, pressing against the continuing flow of blood from his shoulder.

Eden looked at Asmun, sniffling, before bursting into tears.

“I thought I was going to die!”

“This much is…”

“No, I mean that guy, that Kiris!”

“…”

“Damn Kiris! Damn him!”

Eden exploded with frustration, tears pouring down as the tension that had been building erupted. Hate for Kiris surged within him, like blood from a severed neck.

I had nearly died for real. In a place where no one knew, and so futilely.

I had jumped before monsters and even entered the bodies of beast-like creatures, but standing against someone wielding a sword determined to kill me was entirely different from those surreal situations.

Eden looked at Asmun, weeping pitifully.

If it hadn’t been for Asmun, I’d have had no chance to block Madam Marens’s sword and would have been dead in an instant.