The Soldier Shouted Save

Chapter 4

― You have died from a ??? attack. [Confirm]

― Reloading from the last save point. [Confirm]

― Hint: Use fire to subdue the darkness. [Confirm]

I was dead.

From what?

“Sei… Save? Brother, what did you just say?”

I turned my head toward Rian.

“Brother?”

I wanted to ask.

What was ‘that’? How did I die? But asking Rian was pointless.

I turned away.

Instinctively, I clicked the [Confirm] button, clearing the words, but I paused.

― Hint: Use fire to subdue the darkness. [Confirm]

‘Darkness?’

It wasn’t just any ordinary darkness.

A darkness that could swallow people whole? I had never heard of such a thing, even during my time in the royal palace.

“The torches coming down the mountain… Are they okay?”

Rian’s words made me glance toward the mountain trail.

The lights from the goblins were descending.

But the goblins weren’t the priority.

The important thing was something else.

I retraced the steps of my previous life.

Ignoring the goblins, I killed the crossbowman and saved Croa, who was in the village.

Then Rian and Croa had fled to Tallin Village.

The unsolved mystery began after that.

‘The darkness…’

I couldn’t afford to rush.

One step at a time, calmly and decisively.

The task now was to do everything I had done so far, but without mistakes.

“Listen carefully, Rian. There’s an enemy behind us.”

The same words I had spoken in my previous life.

This was good.

I stopped Rian from turning his head by applying pressure with my right hand.

“When I give the signal, pretend to run toward the village. Do you understand?”

Rian nodded.

I took a deep breath.

The enemy was the crossbowman—someone I had already defeated before.

But I still needed to give it my all.

The version of myself that killed him last time had used everything I had.

I gently pushed Rian’s back.

Tap!

At the signal, Rian began sprinting toward the village.

And then, the bushes would rustle.

Rustle, rustle.

I didn’t need to listen for it. I already knew which bushes he was hiding in.

The torch I had been holding was already flying through the air, headed for the bushes where the crossbowman was hiding.

Fwoosh.

The flames quickly caught on the crossbowman’s robe.

He wouldn’t have been able to avoid it.

I threw the torch the moment Rian started running, almost simultaneously.

The crossbowman had briefly shifted his attention toward Rian, giving him no time to react.

“Aaargh! Aaaaaah!!”

I didn’t even need to stab him.

The fire had spread from his shoulders to the rest of his body, engulfing him in flames.

His robe, which covered his entire body, made it difficult to remove.

But even so…

Thud!

I stabbed him in the chest, twisting the hilt clockwise to ensure his heart was pierced.

“Brother… who is this man?”

Rian, who had followed my instructions to pretend to run, pointed at the now charred man.

“He’s a bandit.”

That was the answer I gave, but there was still doubt.

Were these men really just ordinary bandits?

Why had they attacked our village?

Was it simply because it was defenseless?

There was no need to burden Rian with such questions.

Even with the simple explanation of “bandit,” his face had gone pale.

“Rian, I’m going to the village to save Croa.”

“Is Croa in danger?!”

Hearing Croa’s name, Rian’s eyes filled with anxiety.

I looked him straight in the eyes and said,

“Listen carefully. When I get to the blacksmith’s, there will be a bandit targeting Croa.”

Rian’s expression darkened, his lips trembling in anger.

“Whatever state Croa is in, you need to control your emotions. No need to reload or aim carefully.”

I handed him the crossbow the man had been holding.

“You’ll only get one chance. Hide your body and get close enough to shoot the bandit from behind.”

I didn’t ask if he could do it.

Since I was entrusting Croa’s safety to him, he had to succeed.

“Do you understand?”

“I… I can do it.”

Satisfied with his answer, I patted his shoulder firmly and turned away.

“Let’s go.”

Rian and I sprinted toward the village.

Rian lagged behind, unable to match my pace, but I didn’t worry.

Our tasks were different.

I reached the village slightly ahead of Rian.

But I didn’t head for the blacksmith’s.

I ran deeper into the village instead.

“Isn’t that a palace soldier? Does that mean Crbo is already dead?”

As I moved through the streets, three bandits with smug grins approached me.

They had already figured out that their crossbow-wielding comrade was dead, but they didn’t seem to care, laughing among themselves.

I couldn’t waste time with these men.

I needed to learn more about that eerie darkness.

Thud!

I pushed off the ground, charging at them.

At that moment, I noticed a fourth bandit hiding in the shadows, and I quickly rolled to the ground.

Whoosh.

An arrow whizzed past, landing where I had been standing.

“Damn it.”

“Kill him!”

At the signal of the arrow, the three bandits rushed at me.

They were experienced fighters, spreading out to the center, left, and right to surround me.

Three against one.

I couldn’t afford to fight carelessly.

But I also knew that catching them off guard while they were overconfident wasn’t reckless.

“Ugh… urgh…”

Blood sprayed from the body of the bandit on the right as I slashed him.

His body buckled, his neck twisting as he fell to the ground.

“You bastard!!”

The bandit in the center raised his sword high for a downward strike.

The one on the left prepared to stab me.

The opening was on the right.

But I didn’t go that way.

Raising his sword high had been a mistake, designed to limit my movement.

I charged straight forward.

I plunged my blade into the side of the center bandit’s torso.

“Ugh!”

I didn’t stop.

I immediately threw myself to the ground and rolled.

Whoosh.

An arrow whistled through the air, embedding itself into the ground.

“D-damn it!!”

Their teamwork had been decent for a group of bandits.

But it was wasted on them.

They were just thieves, and their swordsmanship was pitiful.

I took a moment to prioritize.

The most bothersome enemy was the one shooting the crossbow.

However, I couldn’t turn my back on the bandit with the sword, who was aiming for my neck.

There were several opportunities to strike the sword-wielding bandit down. But I held back, suppressing my actions.

I moved minimally, focusing only on deflecting his strikes with my sword. My attention needed to be elsewhere.

‘Four seconds… five seconds….’

When I reached seven seconds in my head, I quickly pushed off the ground.

Whoosh.

Seven seconds.

That’s how long it took the crossbowman to reload and aim.

Despite their claims of being “free and unrestrained bandits,” they were predictable in their actions.

I dodged the attack and gained seven seconds of freedom.

Now I had seven seconds to focus on the enemy in front of me.

The bandit lunged with a thrust aimed at my torso.

I pivoted on my left foot to dodge.

It was the perfect timing to counterattack.

But I stopped my hand.

The thrust was weak—he had never intended for it to land. He had anticipated that I would dodge it.

‘Two seconds.’

No need to rush.

I still had five seconds left.

Next, he raised his sword for an overhead strike.

I lifted my sword to block, positioning it horizontally.

Clang!

The familiar sound of metal clashing echoed, but this time, it was different.

It was the sound of my sword breaking.

His blade was coming down toward me.

I felt a strange calm wash over me, as if I had accepted my fate.

‘Am I going to die again?’

That calm acceptance filled me with rage.

I was willing to give up because I knew I could revive.

But I refused to give in this time.

Rustle.

A sound came from behind the bandit.

“Brother!”

Rian, trembling, aimed the crossbow with unsteady hands.

The bandit flinched at the sound, giving me an opening.

“Ugh!”

His sword didn’t pierce my shoulder. Taking advantage of his hesitation, I spun my body and smashed my elbow into his face, shattering his nose. In the same motion, I grabbed his sword.

Thud!

I drove the sword through his stomach, the blade bursting out of his back.

The bandit convulsed and crumpled to the ground.

“Brother! Are you okay?!”

Rian stood nearby, still holding the crossbow.

I wanted to ruffle his hair, to show my gratitude, but there was still work to do.

Kicking the lifeless body aside, I pulled the sword free.

Then I hurled it with all my strength toward the crossbowman aiming at me from a distance.

Whirr.

The sword spun through the air.

Though it was a long distance and I knew it wouldn’t hit him directly, it served its purpose.

“D-damn it!”

The threat of the sword was enough to rattle him. The fear of being struck threw off his aim, and he fired prematurely.

Whoosh.

The bolt missed.

Seven more seconds until he could reload.

More than enough time for me to rush at him and land a solid punch to his face.

The force of the blow knocked him to the ground.

I didn’t let up. I kept hammering his face with my fists.

He tried to push me off, his hands scrabbling for his discarded crossbow, but my relentless punches soon left him motionless.

“……”

I stood up and turned around.

Croa was standing there, staring at me.

When I took a step toward her, her body flinched.

I stopped in my tracks.

‘Of course, she’s afraid of me.’

I was her older brother, 10 years her senior. In her memories, I had always been the distant brother who trained in swordsmanship instead of playing with her.

Now, after eight years of absence, I had returned, only to be beating men to death with my fists.

Regardless of the situation, this would have been a terrifying sight for her.

I understood her fear.

“…Let’s go.”

I said the words briefly and walked past her.

But I couldn’t go far.

Thud.

Croa grabbed my wrist.

Her hand was trembling as she spoke in a shaky voice.

“Don’t… die… brother….”

At her words, my body moved on its own.

I reached out and gently patted her head.

“…Ah.”

As my hand rested on her head, her trembling slowly subsided.

‘It took long enough.’

She had finally called me “brother,” not “sir.”

It was a simple word, but hearing it made me happy.

“This… this…”

Croa handed me a small dagger with trembling hands.

The handle was adorned with a dangling string, poorly made and neither practical for battle nor decorative.

But I knew exactly what this dagger was.

It was the same dagger she had used to take her own life in my previous life.

The one I had also used to end mine.

“I bought it for you….”

Realizing this was supposed to be a gift for me left me feeling a bit hollow.

I had known that Croa occasionally traveled to Tallin Village, where the lord’s castle was located.

She must have bought the dagger there.

‘Was she waiting at the blacksmith’s to give this to me?’

I had always stopped by the blacksmith after my patrols to maintain my sword.

“The merchant said I wouldn’t lose to anyone with this….”

I found it a bit endearing that she had been fooled by a merchant’s sales pitch.

There was no way this crude dagger could defeat anyone.

Especially not *him.*

“Ah…”

I accepted the dagger and pulled her into a light hug.

Resting my head on her shoulder, I made a vow.

“…I won’t die in this life.”

I gently pushed her away.

Leaving her behind, I walked toward the center of the village.

Toward the source of that strange and unsettling presence.