The counter-ambush plan had been put into motion.
Azpen emerged from the camp, accompanied by several mercenaries. Their objective had changed. They were no longer simply hunting lizardmen.
They wanted to display their kills.
Like predators marking their territory, they intended to show the enemy how brutally they could slaughter anyone who challenged them.
"We need to show them how cruelly we can kill their people," Azpen declared.
As those words reached me, something inside me shifted.
Duracal's words came back to mind.
Have I lost my humanity in pursuit of strength?
Until now, I had killed monsters. I had killed people, too, but never for amusement or to send a message.
Now they wanted me to display my kills.
Some of the mercenaries offered suggestions. They spoke casually about hanging bodies from trees, mutilating corpses, or skinning and burning the dead. Others suggested pinning the victims' skin to trees as a warning.
My body shivered.
I knew these were monsters, but the thought of treating their bodies that way made something deep inside me recoil.
Do I really have to do this?
I left the camp on Rusty's back, riding into the forest.
I kept my Sensory Field active, but my thoughts were elsewhere.
Do I need to kill them this brutally?
The question kept repeating in my mind.
As I rode deeper into the forest, an alarm suddenly rang through my thoughts.
Something was approaching.
Before I could react—
Whoosh!
An arrow passed close to my cheek, grazing my skin.
I felt warm blood trickle down my face.
I looked up.
Two lizardmen stood in the trees, each armed with a bow.
One of them had already nocked another arrow.
I pulled the reins.
Rusty shifted to the side just as the second arrow flew past.
The first lizardman released another shot.
I leaned to the left, nearly lying across Rusty's back, and narrowly avoided it.
"Rusty, move!"
I tugged the reins, guiding him away from the archers.
The arrows continued to follow us.
I needed to respond.
I have to kill them.
But another thought interrupted me.
At what cost?
I hesitated.
That hesitation nearly cost me everything.
An arrow struck Rusty's side.
My mind went blank.
Rusty!
I pulled the reins hard and turned him around, heading back the way we had come.
The lizardmen seemed surprised that I was retreating.
They continued firing, expecting me to flee.
But I wasn't running away.
I was preparing to fight.
I leaned forward and urged Rusty to move faster.
As we approached the trees, I reached into my pouch and pulled out a potion. I soaked a piece of cloth with it and pressed it against Rusty's wound.
"Hold on, Rusty."
I kept one hand on the reins while treating him with the other.
My heart pounded.
I couldn't afford to lose him.
After making sure the potion had begun to take effect, I wiped the blood from my cheek and drew my bow.
I nocked an arrow.
Then I turned Rusty around.
The two lizardmen were still in the trees.
They hadn't expected me to come back.
By the time they realized what was happening, I was already riding toward them.
I raised my bow.
The first lizardman was still perched on a branch, preparing to shoot.
I released.
Thwip!
The arrow struck him in the head.
His body fell from the tree and crashed into the swamp below.
The second lizardman quickly nocked another arrow and aimed at me.
I kept riding.
Rusty closed the distance between us.
The lizardman released.
I shifted my body to avoid the arrow, then nocked another of my own.
This time, I didn't hesitate.
I released.
The arrow struck him directly in the throat.
He dropped from the branch and fell into the swamp.
I rode beneath the trees, my bow still in hand.
Two lizardmen were dead.
But I didn't feel victorious.
I looked down at Rusty.
The wound on his side still worried me.
I need to make sure he's all right.
I tightened my grip on the reins.
The hunt wasn't over.
And neither was the choice I had to make about what kind of person I wanted to become.