The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 59

Fortunately, Gaon stopped himself from handing over the letter and began asking the other man something instead.

 

‘Now!’

 

I hurried to take a stone from my pocket and loaded it.

 

‘If I fire the slingshot, he won’t be able to hand over the letter—at least not right away.’

 

With that thought, I swept my gaze around once.

 

‘Huh? Those people…?’

 

Behind Gaon, inside the tiled-roof house, men dressed in military garb were hiding. Crouched low behind the crack of the main gate, they were secretly watching him.

 

The way they concealed themselves so suspiciously—anyone could tell something was off.

 

‘They must be the Prime Minister’s private soldiers!’

 

It was a detective’s instinct.

 

Gaon’s family and the Prime Minister were in league.

 

Which meant that not only were they trying to pry out the stronghold’s location—they might even be planning to capture him alive.

 

If that was the case…!

 

Swish—!

 

I twisted my wrist slightly and shifted the slingshot’s aim. Toward the gate where the soldiers were hiding.

 

Whoo. After taking one deep breath, I released the band without hesitation.

 

Thwack—!

 

The stone flew straight and struck the gate, producing a resounding crash.

 

“Who’s there!”

 

The startled soldiers burst out, swearing under their breath.

 

“…!”

 

Gaon, too, startled at the sound and turned around.

 

Taking in the situation at once, Gaon shoved the letter back into his chest and began running without a moment’s hesitation.

 

“Hey! You have to leave that—!”

 

The masked man called after him, but Gaon was already gone.

 

“Chase him!”

 

The soldiers began to move in unison. The problem was that Gaon’s leg hadn’t fully recovered yet. 

 

Since he was being chased by a group of nearly fifteen people, there was a high chance he would eventually be caught. 

 

Without pausing, I loaded another stone into my slingshot.

 

Thwack, thud—!

 

The stones flew true and struck the men squarely in the head.

 

“Urgh!”

 

“Ghk!”

 

The men who were hit clutched their heads in shock, looking around frantically. 

 

And soon enough, they spotted me up in the tree.

 

“You little—! Over there! Catch that brat first!”

 

Just like that, their target shifted to me.

 

‘I need to hurry.’

 

It was as expected. I immediately scrambled down the tree at breakneck speed.

 

There was some distance between them and me—but my small frame wouldn’t outrun grown men for long.

 

So.

 

Tap-tap-tap—!

 

Finding an escape route came first.

 

I recalled everything I had learned over the past five years from Master Dupil and ran with all my might.

 

“Once you’ve fired accurately, you must escape quickly. That is how you utilize your talent.”

 

His words flashed through my mind.

 

That was why I had spent most of my time training to run.

 

To run faster—just a little faster—I had even tied sandbags to my legs and trained on my own.

 

‘Even though I’m still lacking compared to an adult… right now, it’s enough.’

 

More than anything, I had learned how to use the terrain to escape!

 

Like this!

 

Whoosh—!

 

I squeezed through a narrow doghole and darted into the alley on the other side without looking back.

 

“What the—where’d she go?!”

 

“She definitely came this way!”

 

“Damn it, we lost to a mere child?!”

 

I could hear the soldiers scrambling in confusion. Seizing that gap, I ran with every ounce of strength I had.

 

‘I have to get to the Chief.’

 

There was only one goal.

 

Get to the Chief and alert him to what was happening.

 

‘I have to tell him quickly. At this rate, everyone in our Seolhwa will be in danger.’

 

Breathing harshly, I glanced back over my shoulder.

 

‘What the…!’

 

There were far more soldiers than before.

 

At least twenty now. It seemed the others stationed elsewhere had all gathered here.

 

Thud—!

 

At that very moment, an arrow struck the ground at my feet.

 

Startled, I jumped back.

 

‘There’s an archer?’

 

This was bad. Where was it coming from?

 

I searched frantically for somewhere to hide. At this rate, I was as good as dead.

 

Whoosh—!

 

Another volley came. Not just one or two, but nearly ten arrows sliced through the air toward me.

 

‘I’m going to die…!’

 

There was no way to dodge them.

 

I curled up and dropped to the ground.

 

And then.

 

Whoosh—!

 

Suddenly, my body was lifted into the air. At the same time, a brilliant light filled my vision.

 

The greatest sword of the Great Ho Kingdom.

 

I saw the engraved characters along the broad blade, gleaming in the light.

 

Clang—!

 

With a sharp metallic crash, every arrow that had been raining down split cleanly in midair.

 

I lifted my head to look at the person holding me.

 

It was the Chief.

 

* * *

 

Tap-tap-tap—!

 

The Chief began running with me in his arms. Though men pursued us from behind, they could not easily match his speed.

 

At the base of the mountain, members of Seolhwa lay in ambush.

 

Fwoosh—!

 

The moment the Chief passed, they launched spears and arrows as if they had been waiting.

 

Most of the pursuing private soldiers were struck and fell.

 

“First Commander! Hurry!”

 

And belatedly, from the distance, Gaon came running.

 

Fortunately, though he was limping on one leg, he was safe without any major injuries. 

 

“Scatter!”

 

At the Chief’s command, everyone dispersed in perfect coordination—just as we had trained countless times.

 

“From the mountain onward, they cannot pursue us. Unless they know the location of our stronghold.”

 

These were words the Chief had said during a meeting in the past. 

 

And as if to prove those words, the footsteps of the pursuers gradually grew distant.

 

By great fortune, we returned without a single casualty.

 

* * *

 

After climbing the mountain for half a day, the dispersed members of Seolhwa regrouped at a midway rendezvous point.

 

Before we knew it, the sun had set and the surroundings had grown dark.

 

“Yeong-ah, rest here for a while.”

 

“Yes. I understand.”

 

The Chief carefully rolled up blankets to make a soft place for me to sit.

 

Next, he instructed Dupil to confirm the headcount and prepare camp.

 

Finally, he summoned Gaon.

 

“I clearly entrusted Yeong to you. Why was she left alone?”

 

The Chief’s voice was calm, but heavy with restrained anger.

 

“My deepest apologies.”

 

Gaon paused and lowered his gaze.

 

“I left her briefly with Gaeddong and stepped away for a moment… I never imagined such a thing would occur.”

 

For now, Gaon concealed the truth and reported only the rest.

 

Judging from his expression, he seemed torn about how to handle this situation.

 

‘Ah… so it really was at least partly a reckless decision. Should I just tell the Chief everything right now?’

 

The situation was different now.

 

Clear evidence remained in Gaon’s chest.

 

I had even witnessed him attempting to hand the letter over.

 

If the Chief searched him here and now… Gaon’s intentions would be laid bare, and the original course of events could be stopped.

 

In other words, the Chief’s life could be secured here and now.

 

‘But….’

 

I stole a glance at Gaon. The image of him speaking alone with the Chief in the tent kept rising in my mind.

 

As I bit down on my lip—

 

“Chief.”

 

Gaon’s eyes sparkled as if he had made up his mind. He clenched his fists and looked straight at the Chief. 

 

“I shall report in detail the reason why I had to step away for a moment.”

 

For an instant, I widened my eyes in shock.

 

‘Surely… he’s not about to tell the truth!?’