Distracted, Cecily didn't notice that the Kazak had approached her. She only felt a strong impact on her chest that sent her rolling dozens of meters backward across the ground.

Ryan ran to her and helped her up, while trying to circle the enormous mutant beast.

"We're in trouble," he said.

"You don't need to tell me what I'm seeing," she scolded him and jumped aside to dodge the beast's first attack.

One of its long arms slammed into the ground, while the rest of its arms tried to chase them, but it didn't have enough range to grab them.

"We have to run. I'll throw you, and you run in the opposite direction from me. If these bastards join forces to attack us, it'll be impossible to do anything," she said, and without waiting for Ryan to react, she threw him into the air, and he fell spinning to the ground.

When they thought about running, they found themselves between a rock and a hard place.

Ryan had one of the Kazaks in front of him, who had predicted his movement.

Cecily was about to be hit by that beast, which was also quite fast in addition to being giant.

Ryan tried to move aside, but the Kazak's claws dug into his shoulder, pushing him dramatically backward. His body rolled further across the ground, and he witnessed what could be his death if he didn't do something.

With all its weight, the Kazak was coming to attack him from above.

'This will dislocate my shoulder,' Ryan thought, smiling to himself, and raised his sword with terrifying precision until it dug firmly into one of the Kazak's hooves.

The strength and weight of a Kazak was not something that someone as untrained as he could withstand. Even so, his sword was quite good and managed to dig in firmly, preventing the Kazak from getting closer.

Nevertheless, Ryan's shoulder hit the ground from the weight he was lifting, and he was overcome with terrible pain. It felt as if every bone in his shoulder had been broken, but his determination to survive was stronger than the pain, and he was able to lift his legs to kick his enemy in the stomach.

Although it was heavy and tough, it was in an unprotected position. It fell to one side, gasping for air for a moment.

Ryan takes advantage of the time to get up and tries to escape, but another pair of hooves comes into view.

And they were too close this time: one meter away and heading for his head.

He didn't have time to react.

'Is this my fate?' he complained internally, realizing.

Or perhaps it was a fate that had been set for him.

A radical change in what should have been his way of dying, after surviving.

Or maybe... it was just fate trying to kill him because he should have died many days ago.

He didn't know, and it didn't do him any good to know. He was going to die.

The claws approached his body and in less than a second, they rammed into him...

He didn't close his eyes the whole time, so he witnessed everything.

CLANK*

The impact between the claws and a spear that stood firm before his gaze. The same claw that instantly pushed the Kazak away from his sight came along with a voice.

"Sorry, Prince, I'm late," said Martin, looking him up and down. "You're okay, right?" he asked.

Although Ryan was taken aback, he smiled when he saw him arrive and nodded. "You're right on time, leader," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder to put it back in place.

"Don't do that, it will hurt more. He broke all its bones, so we'll have to heal it with spirituality," Martin advised, and Ryan listened to him.

"Cecily?" he asked and looked back. His face was filled with surprise.

"She created a giant to fight that giant. She's an amazing girl," he smiled.

"Haha, as expected of the greatest genius in the East. But she won't last long, and the Kazaks are watching us angrily," he said.

"The Kazaks are the least of our worries. They're actually here to protect something," Ryan said suddenly.

"The treasure?" Martin asked.

"No, it's not the treasure."

"What is it then?" He frowned.

If those things weren't protecting the treasure, then what were they doing here?

"They're protecting the person controlling that thing," he said, pointing to the giant beast. "To the one who orchestrated all this, his 'controllers' are more important than the treasures themselves."

If they were more important, why did they steal in the first place? Wouldn't they be better off without getting into trouble with the kingdom? Although Martin wanted to ask that question, he was smart and quickly realized what was happening.

The orchestrator was simply testing his strength. Perhaps his mission was much greater than just stealing treasure.

That's why he frowned. "Do you know who the orchestrator is?" he asked.

"There's no point in asking me that right now," Ryan said as he grabbed his sword with his remaining good arm and bandaged his right shoulder (the injured one).

"Right now, we need to kill that thing to find the controller's whereabouts. If we get rid of the controller, everything will be much easier. After all, that bastard can easily replace the beasts, and they'll continue to be a problem," he pointed out.

"Our mission isn't to get rid of a controller, it's to find treasure," Martin told him with a deep voice.

Ryan turned to stare at him.

"I'm not asking you that, am I?" Ryan asked, clearly annoyed. "I'm in your organization, but don't forget who I am."

"I am a prince, and you are a minister serving my family. I may not have backing, but I am fighting for the throne, so you will listen to me. Recovering a treasure is important, but killing a controller will take me to the root of everything."

"So right now, you're going to help me fight that, we'll kill him, and then we'll look for his controller. Forget about the treasure, I'll recover it on my own and give the organization credit for it," he concluded, not wanting to hear any more about it.

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