4: Near Death

"Cheep—cheep—"

The Halfling scouts' alarm whistles suddenly rose, one after another, piercing the surrounding silence.

These days, I had heard their alarms whenever they encountered beast attacks.

Was it another beast attack?

I instinctively gripped the mule saddle, my knuckles turning white from the effort.

"Whoosh!"

It was the sound of an arrow cutting through the air.

This time, it wasn't a beast ambushing the group!

Someone was hit by an arrow!

The person leading the mule in front of me fell, clutching his throat, and warm blood splattered on my face, carrying a salty, metallic smell.

As more arrows whistled through the air, people in the group were successively hit and fell.

Screams and shouts of people filled my ears.

I was terrified, my body trembling uncontrollably.

To my front-left, the Female Mage Lavinia seemed to have located the archers hidden in the shadows.

The group began to fight back.

Someone quickly formed a circle with the mules and horses, hiding inside to shoot arrows and cast spells outwards.

The bad thing was, just as I was about to dismount from the mule's back.

With a "thud!", a sharp arrow pierced my chest.

"Ah!!!"

The intense pain made me scream uncontrollably, and the arrow's immense penetrating force caused me to fall backward onto the mule's back.

"Whoosh…"

Another arrow grazed my forehead and flew past, and I quickly shut my mouth.

"This is killing me!"

I thought indignantly, but the pain was unbearable, what could I do?

I had never experienced such pain in my life!

I bit down on a corner of the nearby saddlebag, forcing myself to suppress my cries of pain.

Just then, I heard singing.

An ethereal female voice, with an enchanting melody, yet I could discern a hint of murderous intent within it.

Accompanying the singing, there was a rustling sound from the beach not far to my front-left.

Then came the roars of beasts and a foul, Fishy smell smell.

The pain made my vision blacken, and my sight began to blur.

I couldn't see what was happening where the sounds were coming from.

All I could hear were arrows, singing, the roars of beasts, the terrified neighs of mules and horses, people's shouts, and occasionally the sound of someone being hit by an arrow and falling.

The smell of blood grew stronger in my nostrils, and a piercing pain came from my chest.

Some people in the group started to go mad; judging by the sounds, they seemed to be attacking their own comrades.

There were also sounds of mules and horses being gnawed by beasts, and the tragic neighs of horses, as if they were being dismembered by the beasts while still alive.

Blood flowed down my chest, over my neck, face, and arms, finally dripping onto the mule beneath me and the grass, making a soft dripping sound.

Slowly, I felt dizzy and cold, and by the sounds, the horse team's defensive circle had been breached, and the enemies had charged in.

"Buzz…"

It sounded like a magical sound, deafening.

Shouts came from a distance, and the Female Mage in the group seemed to be responding.

Were reinforcements coming?

At that time, I could no longer clearly see the situation on the battlefield; I had lost too much blood, and I fainted again.

...

I woke up in the middle of the night.

My nostrils were still filled with the smell of blood, and I heard intermittent coughing.

I slowly opened my eyes and found myself inside a dark cave, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling like the fangs of a giant beast.

The damp air was filled with the scent of decay, mixed with the smell of blood and some indescribable stench.

I found myself still lying on the mule, but this mule, which had carried me all the way, had been hit by several arrows, and its body had grown cold.

There were also two humans, four Halflings, and several deceased adventure team members around.

Besides the Female Mage and the male hunter, the other two male Halflings were unfamiliar faces.

Were they the reinforcements from before? I wondered to myself.

One of the Halflings was facing the cave wall, praying devoutly.

The other, older Halfling was relatively taller, holding a long staff, the tip of which continuously emitted a soft glow.

From deeper within the cave, a "thump-thump" sound occasionally echoed, as if some large person or animal was walking around.

The arrow in my chest was still there, and the pain seemed somewhat numb.

The Female Mage looked to be in a bad state, and the male hunter was frequently touching her forehead.

In this cave, my dark vision seemed very useful; I could clearly see the beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads.

They didn't speak much, and the atmosphere was heavy.

They must have lost the battle. Strangely, a male human and the mage were both coughing and feverish.

How did I get into the cave? Were they now unable to treat me?

I was lost in thought, and soon fell back into a daze.

When I woke up the next day, my breathing was heavy and rapid, and besides the wound pain, my whole body ached.

I tried to raise my hand to get up, but it pulled at the wound again, and after a fit of coughing, I found myself coughing up some blood.

Not far away, the light coming through the cave entrance illuminated a small area inside the cave.

I could see the worried expressions on everyone's faces.

The young male Halfling who had been praying last night handed me food and water.

I wanted to express my gratitude to him, but as I raised my hand, it pulled at the wound in my chest again, making me wince in pain.

He waved his hand at me, put down the food and water, shook his head, and turned to leave.

I gritted my teeth, enduring the immense pain, and slowly reached for the water bottle.

After drinking the water and eating the food, I felt a little stronger.

I tried to move, wanting to get off the dead mule's back.

But this time, the wound was pulled even more severely, and I lay back down in pain.

This time, I didn't know if I had fainted or fallen asleep.

I woke up again on the third day.

I felt increasingly weak and had started to develop a fever.

Many arrows were stuck in the ground at the cave entrance; a battle seemed to have occurred near the entrance while I was unconscious.

I looked around; all six people from yesterday were still there, but more of them were coughing and feverish.

When the young male Halfling saw that I was awake, he again handed me food and water.

This time, seeing that I couldn't move, he personally fed me water and food.

I thought, this person is really kind; if I could survive, we might become friends.

But I had been hit by an arrow three days ago, and I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker.

Today, I saw the young male Halfling, while running a high fever, cast a divine spell.

Later, I learned that he was a priest, and he was casting one of the few divine spells he had left.

For some reason, all his prayers these past few days had not received a response from the deity, and the divine spells he possessed were one less each time he used them.

I had always thought he was also a mage, casting wondrous spells.

After he finished casting the divine spell, a group of people, delirious from fever, gathered again for a meeting.

The strangest thing was, they all looked surprised and awkward as they turned to look at me.