Chapter 22
Escape.
Behind the blue-haired woman, dozens of men walked dejectedly, their wrists loosely tied together with rope.
If nothing had happened after leaving Guis, they should have long since arrived at Kelton by now, but she was still walking along the road toward the city.
It was all because of an unexpected encounter. On her way from Guis to Kelton, she had crossed paths with a few members of the notorious "Snowbear Bandits," and that had been the start of all this.
Thanks to that chance meeting, she ended up a little inconvenienced—and the Snowbear Bandits, all eighty-three of them, were utterly wiped out.
At the end of the procession, a man kept glancing at the blue-haired woman walking ahead and made up his mind. No matter how strong she was, she was still human. If he sprinted at full speed and put enough distance between them, he could definitely escape. There was no way she'd abandon dozens of prisoners tied together just to chase after one runaway. If she did, the rest would surely scatter.
The man moved quickly. He had already slipped free from the loose bindings around his wrists.
Holding his breath, he carefully backed away a few steps. The woman didn't notice. Encouraged, he tried to increase the distance even more.
Thwip.
"Aaargh!"
A thrown dagger pierced his thigh. The men, still loosely roped together, watched with pained expressions as the man collapsed to the ground. They opened their mouths to speak, but the blue-haired woman slowly turned and began walking against the procession. Instantly, everyone fell silent.