The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 88

Clang—!

 

A sword flew in immediately. Uncle Gaeddong quickly hid me behind his back and blocked the sword.

 

“You b*stards…!”

 

Uncle’s brow furrowed tightly as he poured strength into his entire body. His opponent was larger in build and stood at least a full head taller.

 

However, Uncle wasn’t pushed back in the slightest.

 

“Gaeddong is trustworthy. He has trained harder than anyone else all this time, and you could consider him next to Dupil and Gaon in our stronghold.”

 

I remembered the Chief’s passing remark when he assigned Uncle Gaeddong to me.

 

As if to prove those words weren’t wrong, Uncle Gaeddong fully displayed his outstanding skills.

 

The veins in his sturdy arms bulged, and he forcefully shoved away the five or six warriors rushing at him all at once.

 

“Ugh!”

 

They were thrown back and fell on their bottoms with a thud.

 

I quickly raised my slingshot from behind Uncle Gaeddong’s back.

 

But before I could do anything.

 

Uncle Gaeddong’s stern voice rang out loudly.

 

“Go! Hurry!”

 

I bit my lip hard.

 

During the past four years while training under Uncle Dupil… I would sometimes train together with the Four Ddong uncles as well.

 

And the first time I went hunting, it was also with the uncles.

 

“The most important thing is to shoot and run. Never forget that running away is the most important thing.”

 

Uncle Dupil always emphasized that to me.

 

Since I was a child, a head-on battle would be difficult, so it was vital to shoot from a distance and hide quickly. 

 

So.

 

“Go! Yeong-ah! Run!”

 

The uncles always shouted like that.

 

This training wasn’t meant to make me stronger. It was solely to protect me.

 

I shot my slingshot and ran.

 

The repeated training of running far away to hide, and returning after watching the time.

 

Therefore, my uncle’s shout was no different from a signal flare to me.

 

To run away.

 

To survive.

 

‘But… what about the uncles?’

 

Even while receiving that training for a long time, I had never once considered it.

 

What would happen to the uncles left behind after I ran away.

 

But right now, I couldn’t help but think about it.

 

Because.

 

Warriors started pouring in like a tide through the wide-open door.

 

“What are you doing! I said go! Do as you were taught!”

 

Uncle Gaeddong shouted at me while tenaciously blocking the enemies.

 

I bit my lip hard once again.

 

Tears welled up in my eyes.

 

I barely managed to run to the window, recalling the training on how to escape through a window.

 

But…

 

‘Even so, I can’t just run away right now and leave Uncle behind.’

 

I didn’t obediently follow what I had been taught.

 

Swoosh-!

 

Without hesitation, I climbed onto the windowsill, turned around, raised my slingshot, and started shooting the loaded stones.

 

Smack! Smack! Smack!

 

The flying stones accurately hit the enemies’ vital spots, their eyes.

 

It was brief, but that moment was enough to create a gap in the fierce flow of battle.

 

Thanks to that, Uncle Gaeddong, who was in a precarious situation, escaped the crisis and barely regained his balance.

 

He started swinging his sword even more fiercely.

 

“Capture that child first!” 

 

However, the problem was what happened next.

 

Warriors started running to catch me from the edge of the wooden porch outside the window as well.

 

The sense of crisis that it would be the end the moment I was caught outside overwhelmed me. 

 

Naturally, Uncle Gaeddong, who was blocking the front, couldn’t protect my back as well.

 

“You must never be caught. If you are caught, we will all be in danger. Do not hesitate when the time comes to run away. Understood? The uncles are much stronger than you think, Yeong. You don’t need to worry.”

 

The words Dupil had emphasized several times came to mind.

 

‘I really have to go now.’

 

If I stayed here, it was obvious that I would be caught and Uncle Gaeddong would be in danger.

 

I made a firm resolve and jumped straight out the window.

 

And started running as fast as I could in the opposite direction of the enemies.

 

“Oops!”

 

“Watch where you’re going!”

 

“What is this…! Those people are…!”

 

At the sight of me dodging and weaving through the people, the bystanders jumped in surprise.

 

‘How did they find us? What happened to Gaon? Could it be… something happened to Gaon or the Chief? Then, what about Uncle Gaeddong…?’

 

Countless anxious thoughts chased each other while I ran.

 

Tears welled up and eventually wet my cheeks, but I didn’t stop running.

 

I couldn’t stop even though I was gasping for breath. 

 

‘I know clearly now. The moment I am caught, it’s all over.’ 

 

The Chief, and the family at the mountain stronghold.

 

I knew very well now how much they had cherished me over the past years. 

 

At first, I doubted it. I even questioned whether running away training was really necessary.

 

But now, I felt like I knew.

 

The reason I had to run away was because I was someone precious to everyone.

 

That all of this was to protect the people who cherished me.

 

Tap, tap, tap, tap-!

 

“Hah, huff!” 

 

My breathing became rough.

 

I stopped for a moment, hid behind a tree, and carefully scanned my surroundings.

 

‘…I’ve already been caught up to?’

 

I thought I had shaken them off by slipping into a small alleyway, but I could see the dark blue clothes of the warriors fluttering in the distance.

 

‘Where do I go now?’

 

I quickly looked around to find an escape route. However, there were only tile-roofed houses around.

 

‘If they are people of high status… there’s a high chance they are the Prime Minister’s people.’

 

In other words, jumping over the wall of a tile-roofed house could be a dangerous choice.

 

‘What do I do?’

 

I desperately racked my brain, but I couldn’t easily think of a place to hide.

 

“Check over there!”

 

Just then, I heard the sound of the enemies approaching.

 

Feeling urgent, I stomped my feet. Just as I moved my feet to hurriedly run away.

 

Grab—!

 

Someone suddenly grabbed my arm from behind and pulled me somewhere.

 

Startled, I jumped and raised my slingshot above my head, but.

 

“Huh…?”

 

However, at the face that entered my vision, I stopped my action.

 

A pale, slender boy who looked about twelve years old.

 

A familiar face was looking down at me, panting as if he had come running.

 

‘Park… Dohyul?’

 

He was the youngest son of the Prime Minister, and the protagonist of the story.

 

Park Dohyul.

 

Clench.

 

His hand gripping my arm tightened.

 

Park Dohyul slightly lowered his head and met my eyes.

 

Having grown significantly since then, he now had to bend over to reach my eye level.

 

The boy’s youthful yet handsome face was fully reflected in my eyes.

 

“Shh.”

 

He placed his index finger over his lips and whispered.

 

Then, he gently held my hand and started running.

 

“Uh…”

 

I absentmindedly moved my feet, following him.

 

I stared straight at his back, which had become incomparably larger than when we met before.

 

Unlike his composed face, an excessively hot body temperature was transmitted through my hand.

 

Swoosh—!

 

Park Dohyul suddenly threw open the gate of a tile-roofed house and went inside. After quickly closing the gate, he carefully observed the outside through the crack.

 

“It seems there’s no one here?” 

 

“I definitely thought I saw her around here. This is strange.”

 

“Check over there! I’ll look the other way.”

 

Outside, the warriors were still looking for me.

 

I covered my mouth tightly with the hand that wasn’t being held by Park Dohyul, my shoulders heaving as I desperately held back my breathing sounds.

 

And when their presence completely disappeared.

 

“…Hello.”

 

Swallowing his heavy panting, Park Dohyul whispered with a neat smile despite his sweat-drenched face.