Freedom [2]

Meanwhile, when Eren arrived at the second-floor exit, he was unable to properly control his body and collapsed, leaning against the wall.

Looking from the other side of the training ground, this was the first floor, and the entrance was full of horses ridden by Tripolas members.

"Gasp…." Even breathing was difficult.

His back and shoulders continued to bleed, and perhaps because he moved so vigorously in a short period of time, his body could no longer handle Eren's will.

At that time, Eren saw the black horse that Bhatia had been riding.

He mustered all his strength and climbed onto the horse. Then, he skillfully pulled the reins and started running toward the east towards the desert.

Horses had been a familiar animal to him since he was a child accompanying mercenaries. It certainly seemed like a famous horse.

The horse's speed was the fastest he'd ever ridden.

Perhaps that's why Tripolas's troops couldn't easily catch up with him, and the distance began to widen little by little.

The body being lighter than that of an adult may have also played a role.

But he couldn't let down his guard.

If he wasted even just a few seconds or minutes, they would quickly come after him and swing their spears and swords.

As they left the city and passed through a wide plain, desert-like terrain began to appear little by little. But Eren never stopped.

Although it was quite a distance away, he could feel the presence of Tripolas chasing him so intensely that it touched his nerves.

It was no use trying to change direction to see if anyone was good at tracking.

As it turns out, there is only one way left: going into the desert.

"Whoop, whoop."

As they entered the desert, Eren's breathing became increasingly heavy.

His pupils dilated, and his whole body lost strength, and he almost fell on the back of the horse.

The scorching hot sunlight further accelerated his fatigue.

He rode the horse for nearly three hours. Of course, he was tired.

The problem was that the horse was also extremely tired. The sinking sand depleted their stamina, and the hot, dry air made it difficult to breathe.

Thud!

In the end, the horse collapsed for some reason.

The horse that had been breathing heavily suddenly quieted down.

It had either passed out or died.

"Ugh…."

Eren, who was thrown onto the sand, used all his strength to get up and started walking step by step.

Although there was no sign of Tripolas' troops, he never let down his guard.

As long as he didn't lose his mind, he kept walking. And in the end, he fell down a barren sand dune.

---

Flash!

Eren opened his eyes.

Then he realized he was lying face down.

What he felt in his hand was a bed made of twisted dry grass, and what he could see was a wooden pillar the size of his forearm and a thick gray cloth.

Smoked meat and dry grass were hanging here and there.

There was a strong smell that stung his nose, and looking at the smoke billowing out, it looked like something was burning.

'I was definitely in the middle of the desert?'

Instinctively, he spread energy to check his condition.

Fortunately, he could feel all the nerves in his fingertips and toes.

At the same time, he checked the energy around him, but he could not sense any energy that contained life. He let out a sigh of relief and tried to get up.

"Ugh!"

A moan escaped him without his knowledge.

As he moved his body, he felt extreme pain in his back and shoulders.

It was a wound inflicted by Marku and Bhatia.

He had no choice but to lie down again and try to feel the extent of his injuries.

Flap!

At that time, he felt the surroundings becoming brighter.

A sudden warm wind dispersed the smoke, and someone came into the hut.

When he turned his head and looked, he saw an old man with a gray cloth rolled up all over his body.

The old man had fine wrinkles and a long white beard.

And behind him, a small boy was looking at him with his head halfway out.

"It looks like you've finally woken up."

The voice of the old man was as if mixed with phlegm.

As Eren scanned his body with wary eyes, the old man pulled out a chair at an appropriate distance and sat down.

They were at eye level while conveying that they had no intention of posing a threat.

The boy also sat next to the old man and looked at Eren curiously.

"Rest assured. If I had meant to harm you, I wouldn't have taken you out from the sand in the first place."

That made sense. In that case, they saved his life.

After Eren had finished living to some extent, the old man sighed lightly and continued.

"A tribesman found a dead horse and was dragging it away when my grandson found you. I thought it was dead because only one hand was sticking out of the sand, but it was still alive. It has a very strong vitality."

Eren was able to fill in some of the empty space in his memory that was interrupted by the old man's words.

Then he naturally became curious about how long he had been here. The old man continued speaking as if he could see clearly.

"He lay motionless for three days. If he hadn't been breathing, you would have thought he was a corpse."

Three days.

The fact that Tripolas could not find him for three days meant that he had been lost.

While Eren was inwardly relieved, the old man glanced at his back and continued speaking.

"I've put chopped herbs on your back and shoulders, so you'll have to lie down for a while. But the speed of recovery is amazing. I can't believe it's already healing."

Only then did he realize what the cool energy felt on his back was.

Now that his curiosity has been satisfied to some extent, his physiological desires have soared. He felt thirsty.

"Son, go get some water." This time too, the old man read Eren's mind like a ghost.

"Yes. Grandpa." The kid seemed so excited that he ran outside. It seemed like Eren was happy to wake up.

Even small changes brought great enjoyment to the boring desert life.

However, with a living corpse lying in his house like this, he couldn't help but be intrigued.