Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

"They should be around here!"

Holding torches, the cavalry stopped before a large logging yard. The sky was dark, and even with the torches, the stacked logs and scattered branches cast large shadows on the ground.

Such terrain was disadvantageous for cavalry.

Because horses couldn't gallop in this environment, it would waste a lot of time!

"Hmph, running recklessly... trying to slow down the pursuit this way?"

The cavalry captain snorted, holding a small transparent glass bottle in his hand. Inside, a strand of fluorescent hair floated slightly in one direction!

The direction was guided by the Blue-Red Witch's magic, cast using Hans's severed hair.

Although it was subtle when close, it was enough to confirm their approximate location.

"They're just dying slowly."

As a knight of the city, this officer was naturally very familiar with the city's terrain. Although this logging yard was large, there was nowhere to hide around it.

Unlike before, near the city center, there were many houses of varying heights.

In other words... as soon as Poro and the others exposed themselves, being surrounded would be instantaneous!

"Dismount and search!"

With a wave of his hand, the officer had dozens of knights dismount and draw their longswords!

"Three in a group, signal if you encounter the enemy, and focus on delaying them!"

The officer pointed and quickly divided his men into several teams, which began advancing towards the other end of the logging yard from several directions.

Finally, he left four soldiers behind to guard the horses.

The logging yard was dark, and only the cracking of branches underfoot and the chirping of insects in the shadows could be faintly heard.

But these soldiers were well-trained, far superior to bandits and brigands.

Even in this environment, they cautiously held their swords, guarding against every corner where someone might be!

But... many times, being prepared doesn't prevent accidents.

And this was especially true in such a complex and dark environment!

In one corner, three soldiers searching turned around a stack of logs and saw a distinct red cloak in the darkness ahead!

"Found them!"

"They're over there!"

"Someone——"

As the officer had instructed, they immediately shouted loudly and charged towards Leake!

They didn't see the other two targets, but they didn't care, because in fact, their mission was to capture the criminal with the red cloak!

As for the other two?

Their lives didn't matter; it didn't matter if those petty thieves weren't caught!

Catching the person who killed the Duke was the top priority!

Leake was very fast, and with just a flash, the red shadow disappeared into the log piles.

The three soldiers drew their swords and charged!

Running in the dark made it extremely difficult to notice the condition of the ground——

Just a few steps away, one of the three soldiers fell to the ground with a thud!

"You go on ahead!"

The other two didn't slow down and continued chasing after the direction Leake disappeared in——

The fallen soldier limped to his feet.

Although he was wearing chainmail, perhaps due to his posture, the fall was quite severe!

"Damn it! What bad luck!"

Just as he was about to pick up his longsword from the ground and continue the pursuit, a dark shadow pounced out from under a log nearby!

In an instant, it knocked the soldier to the ground!

This time, his bad luck was even worse. Before the soldier could resist, the greater impact made his head buzz!

He only saw a pair of ghostly green lights staring straight at him in the darkness before he passed out!

"Looks like you're the unluckiest of the three!"

Seeing the soldier faint, Poro quickly began stripping off the soldier's helmet with Hans, who was hiding on the other side.

Dozens of seconds later, several more teams of soldiers rushed in from various directions.

The bright longswords scattered deadly cold light under the torchlight!

"Where are those wanted criminals?"

"Over there, hurry, my two teammates are stalling them over there!"

"Where's the target?"

"Over there, hurry——I'm injured in the leg and can't chase!"

Poro pointed decisively in the wrong direction. Seeing the familiar face under Poro's helmet, the soldiers didn't doubt him and rushed over quickly!

And Poro, disguised as a soldier, walked in the opposite direction towards where the horses were!

……

Outside the logging yard, several soldiers guarding the horses were chatting idly.

"So troublesome, we're stuck watching the horses again."

"Sigh, with this kind of setup, those thieves probably won't escape, but there's not much credit in watching the horses!"

But just then, they noticed a figure walking out of the dark logging yard!

"Why are you back?"

The four soldiers watching the horses looked at Poro, who had returned alone, with some confusion.

But seeing the face under Poro's helmet, they were relieved and put their longswords back into their scabbards.

"The enemy is too strong, I injured my leg and had to come back first!"

Poro showed the four soldiers his bloody, seemingly fractured knee.

[Little Red Riding Hood - Wolf's Disguise] was very useful, disguising the injuries of the fallen soldier perfectly!

"Hiss——you can still walk back alone like this!?"

"You're a real tough guy!"

The soldiers left behind exclaimed.

Poro nodded, with an urgent look on his face:

"Those criminals are resisting fiercely and their magic is very powerful. You guys hurry up too, surround them and don't let them escape!"

Not giving the others time to think, Poro added,

"I can watch the horses here alone!"

Hearing this, the four soldiers looked serious. Now that the three bandits had been spotted, there was nothing to worry about, so they nodded in agreement:

"Okay!"

"Rest well here!"

With that, they drew their swords, raised their torches, and rushed into the logging yard in the direction Poro pointed!

On the other side, Hans ran out of the shadows.

Poro untied the reins of the horses, mounted a few of them, and after a while, Leake also appeared from the darkness.

She wasn't wearing the bright red cloak, but rather a black night suit.

The girl leaped lightly and mounted a horse. Only then did the bright red cloak appear from the air!

In such a dark night, the pursuing soldiers could not have anticipated that Leake's cloak could switch between invisible and visible in an instant.

So... their pursuit, from the moment Leake's figure disappeared from sight——

Had already failed!

"Go! Head directly east out of the city!"

Before leaving, Leake waved her dagger and slashed the remaining horses on their buttocks, causing them to panic and run in all directions!

Then, Poro flicked the reins, and the three galloped along the road!

Yes, from the beginning, Poro didn't expect to block or counter the pursuers through the logging yard. The road was still long, and to escape further, they had to use some vehicles!

Until the figures were swallowed by the darkness, a blaze of fire quickly rose on the edge of the logging yard!

"Bastard!"

The cavalry officer held the glass bottle, his face green and black.

He looked at the disappearing horses, and then looked back at a soldier in the team who was being carried, stripped naked, and instantly understood what had happened!

"Are you blind!? Couldn't you see who was in the armor!?"

The four soldiers guarding the horses were also a little confused——

And even began to doubt their own memories:

"Sorry, sir, maybe it was too dark... we were mistaken?"

The officer put his sword back into its scabbard with anger, staring at the darkness at the end of the road——

He knew that now, the situation had reversed.

The fugitives had horses, but he and the others had lost their mounts!

This mission, which should have been a sure thing, had failed!

"They went to the eastern forest. Tell the second team to send horses over!"

He said with a dark face, gnashing his teeth, "Try to stop them midway!"

Even so, the officer understood that once he failed this time, he would be even less able to stop them next time.