NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Chapter 13 - An Eye For An Eye

My hands flipped the rope, hurting the horse's back to increase their speed. The swishing sound of the cord touching their robust back blares through my ears. I felt the burning pain sliding from my fingers, but I cannot lose my grip. With a booming neigh, the ass galloped forward as if there was no tomorrow.

Lucky for them, these creatures knew it all along. Nobody was stopping us now, not even the players.

We hastened our speed and passed by the knights and bandits in combat. Thousands of magic spheres and rays flew from the skies, and few projected in our directions. Our wagon eluded the swings from the battle as we headed onwards to the forest's end.

However, it had not been too long when the raining arrows hit the roof.

Archers and mages from miles away launched their straightforward attack. These long-range groups did not care about their comrades in battle. They only wanted to instil damage to our forces.

Each of these darts had arcane imbued at the tip. It almost illuminated the surroundings. The prominent ones I saw were the embers scorching the fabric of the cart. Some of them even had poisons coated on the tip. A shot from the bolts would secure a kill and render us paralysed after the battle.

This scene was not my primary problem. Despite the arrows hitting the car, the carriage continued forward. I glanced to my right and saw the young lad running towards us with immense speed. He was even quicker than the speed of sound. I saw his figure popping in front of me before I heard the audible gush of wind resonating through my ears.

It was the same youngster who had the level one status like me.

He was the talented man who kept protecting the royalties. For a second, I thought he was an ally whom I can trust. However, it was too soon for me to believe such an absurd idea. While he pursued our carriage, he slew dozens of the bandits getting in our way and hurled them over to the side. The corpses tumbled through the ground, even creating blockages that obstructed the chasing players from behind.

"I am sure that he is not an ally for me." My mind thought as I focused on the uneven road.

The player had finally caught up to our speed. He ran across the plains and was now beside the spinning wheels. He looked at me with scrutinising eyes.

"By the orders of the king, I need to take them to safety!" I announced, hoping that the player would realise.

My disguise proved helpful until now. It never got through the elite guards or the player before me.

He curled up his forehead and eyebrows, showing his distrust of me. The man wanted to raise his weapons, but the royalties were still behind, watching every detail in the scene. If he had caused trouble, then the king and queen would lose their trust in the lad. But the man kept his calm and guided the carriage onwards.

We passed through the endless army of bandits and players from the hill to the warriors on the land. The player dashed forth and revealed his dagger, cutting down the enemies he saw.

Everything was moving according to my plan.

We saw another set of myriad arrows launching from above. It was the same attack from before, but with added spears and blades. The darts shone in the night, showing everyone present in the location. Around a moment, we would perish from the arrows.

The lad knew what was coming, so he withdrew from the battle and jumped through the carriage. He stood at the top and pointed the tip of his blade at the descending bolts.

Around ten thousand darts crashed into our cart. The player deflected and destroyed some arrows, but others pierced through the car.

I used that chance and went inside the carriage and met the three royalties. Each of them had despair painted in their eyes.

"Is everything alright?" The daughter croaked while clasping her fingers.

Her mother, the queen, braced her tiny body. The king tried shielding her with his arms stretching towards the door. He wanted to protect her, but the king could not.

He had no power here in this world. The ruler only had the wisdom and charisma to rule the land.

"Everything is going to be fine, princess," I answered.

But as soon as we hit the bumpy road, I used my [shadow walk] and hid behind the king. I revealed my dagger and slit his throat, similar to what I did from the original coachman. The crown did not have any room to escape the pain as I pierced through his neck, cutting through his veins. I snatched the arrow stuck on the roof and acted as if it was the weapon that killed the crowned man.

I did not stop there.

My system introduced the guides, which enabled me to move freely and acrobatically. It did not take complete control over my body, but it could move around whenever it sensed danger. As soon as the setting handled my reflexes, I saw another light from the world surrounding me.

I felt my eyes radiate out from my lids, wishing to escape. The broken shards beside me revealed my face and the colour of my orbits. My eyes turned colourless or white, not the usual hazel hue. Every fibre inside my body became as light as a feather. I did not even feel anything at all except for the tranquil wind.

I used my latest prowess and went inside the cart. When I entered, I lifted my hand and chopped the head of the two women. They were the princess and the queen, unconscious inside the wagon.

All that happened within a mere second. After using my ability, I perched through my previous seat and flung the ropes once again.

Little did I know that my disguise wore off at just the right time.

"You are not the coachman, are you?" The player announced, but it was already too late.

I wiggled the wagon, disrupting his balance, and eventually careered through the road. The player fell on the floor but quickly got up and chased us down to the ends of the Code.

Nothing was holding me back since the royalties were already asleep, and one of them was dead.

The man was persistent enough to track us down as we reached outside the extensive forest. He was not the only one behind my tail, wanting to stop the cart. Other players, the elite knights, and bandits noticed us fleeing the area and joined with the hunt. They trailed us down while firing multiple arrows and whatnots in our directions.

The player who had protected the royalties had no other way but to defend the carriage. He stayed benevolent to his actions and stopped from the road.

He glanced in my direction for the last time before blocking the attacks coming from the rear. The man mumbled something to himself, but I was in no position to understand or hear his voice. I deduced that the words he said were of no importance to me as I continued driving on the road.

Our current location was around the monstrous forest. But the knights would not choose a road for escape infested with monstrosity. Somewhere along this path must lead back to the village and avoid getting into contact with the beast living in this territory.

After travelling kilometres away from the battlefield, I parked the carriage to the side. I yanked the corpse out of the cart and threw it near the bushes, where nobody would notice. It would take a few moments before the deceased body will become pixilated particles. All I had to do now was to let the body rot on its own. That event would give us some spare time to leave this place alive.

The two royalties inside the cart were still soundlessly sleeping beside each other. They did not know what happened after beating my hand on their face. I could even see the pinkish mark of my hand imprinted on their necks.

I resumed travelling the road and followed the instincts. But before I could even complain, my system presented a screen in front of my view.

A map of some sort showed in front of me and marked the areas I visited. It was the location of all the landmarks and terrains inside and outside of the kingdom. The shades of black were the parts where I left unexplored. It even showed succinct descriptions, names, and creatures within the vicinity.

The dots had distinguishable colours: red were enemies, blue were allies, and white for neutral individuals. Match, who was inside the kingdom, had blue ink coloured on her dot.

[Where do you wish to go?] The automated voice asked.

"Near the gates, where there are fewer guards or people," I answered.

The system stained the map and located an isolated place near the kingdom. It was near the ruined bridge, where merchants and other villagers claimed to be haunted by ghosts and supernaturals.

Those beings did not exist in the game. My system confirmed it to me.

After parking the carriage near the wrecked building, I returned inside the kingdom's walls and fetched Match inside the inn.