Betrayal At Eldritch Mountain

Grrr—!

The coyotes growled as they slowly marched towards the young girl's direction, making her step back a few inches.

"What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?" Layla's mind raced as panic slowly seeped into her bones. She was used to being a thief, not a hunter.

Any mistake against these oversized dogs could be the death of her.

Taking the last knife from her backpack, she tossed the heavy bag side and looked at the two beasts.

Layla remained unaffected by the rows of sharp teeth coming out of the two beasts' mouths and the slow, calculated claws coming at her.

Tensing up her small legs, Layla wasn't going to stand still and let herself be prey to the two dogs. She didn't possess any knowledge about fighting beasts, but she was determined to live until she was over a hundred.

Swish...

Her eyes picked up on the movement of the two coyotes before her eyes could. Nonetheless, she was quick to roll on the ground and pass in between the two dogs.

Bam—!

Missing their target, the coyotes' front legs hit the ground, making sand raise in the air, which became a huge advantage for the young alien.

"If I were faster, I would have used this chance to run away," Layla complained about her lack of strength.

However, it didn't get to her that much. Making fast and silent strides, she walked over to one of the coyotes' hind legs and fiercely stabbed its ankle.

Thack—!

Howl—!!!

The dog cried loudly as blood started to drip from its injured left ankle. Since it was not a zebra known for its hind leg kicks, Layla took this chance to maintain the distance between them.

Out of rage, the coyote quickly turned around and charged at the pitiful girl's nape. Reacting quickly, the girl lowered herself to the ground and let the attack pass just right above her head.

Instead of rolling away like the previous time, she took her knife and stabbed the dog's neck, but her attack wasn't strong enough as it bounced back.

Bang—!

Using the back of its claw, the coyote slapped Layla's side, sending her flying towards its partner, who had its mouth wide open for a free meal.

Not wanting to lose her life to stupid dogs, the young girl threw her dagger directly at the coyote's eye.

Cha—!

As the softest part of its body, the eye was stabbed, and blood quickly poured out.

Howl—!

The coyote released a loud howl, which echoed throughout the whole desert as it shook away the knife from its left eye.

Bam—!

Layla's body fell loudly on the ground, as she couldn't make a perfect landing thanks to her broken bones from the previous attack.

With blood coming out of the ends of her heart-shaped lips, the pink-skinned girl quickly stood up and rushed over to where her knife fell.

The moment she picked it up, she heard a sound she never expected to hear in this part of Verdienst.

Roar—!!

Only one animal in Verdienst could make such a loud roar. Even the coyotes' tails quickly faced down as they recognized it.

The strongest beast in Verdienst had just woken up.

Realizing this, the two dogs ignored their meal and started running with their tails between their legs.

"Damn it! What is the king of the jungle doing here?"

Layla didn't have time to ponder such useless thoughts as she grabbed her backpack and rushed towards the direction of Eldritch Mountain, which was a few miles away.

"I'm just a young girl from the desert's heat,

Never tasted desserts, a life so incomplete.

All I want to do is flee this burning sand,

Gaze at the rising sun, with a heart so grand.

I'm not chasing shadows, I'm running free,

Into the land of honey, where sweetness spills on me.

A world of cheese and dreams, where my heart can roam,

And the bitterness of this place is finally gone."

After two hours of running, Layla reached the end of Eldritch Mountain, which was overly shrouded by cholla cactus shrubs.

As a native of Verdienst, Layla knew that Eldritch Mountain was sacred and a lot of weird phenomena could happen.

At one time, she even encountered a soup taking a bath and also not forgetting the time she got bitten by a potato.

It wasn't called Eldritch for nothing.

Like there was nothing in front of her, Layla started walking towards the spiky cactus.

With each step she took, the silver-eyed girl's feet were pierced as if she wasn't wearing any shoes at all.

The next steps, and the ones after that, were the same. Yet, Layla endured it all as she continued to move forward.

Blood covered her small feet, but she took that blood as a shield against the cactus's spikes.

The sun came and went, and suddenly Layla found herself being slapped by invisible hands and feeling as if her whole leg was chopped off.

However, Layla didn't give up and kept on moving.

In the end, Layla found herself at the peak of the mountain, staring back at the Dukedom she had come from.

"I did it!" She jumped up with joy visible on her face. "I have finally escaped from that god-forsaken place!"

However, an unfamiliar disembodied voice came to disrupt her joy like a demon from hell.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Layla Jett, the thief."

She wanted to turn back and look at the person who was behind her, but couldn't, as her own shadow had started moving.

Its dark hands gripped her face and pulled her down to kiss the ground.

Someone stepped on her back and coldly informed her, "Duchess Bergling has reported all of your crimes to the military."

She did what?

Layla couldn't believe that her adoptive mother had betrayed her.

Nonetheless, the woman behind her couldn't let her have such pleasure, as her shadow covered Layla's mouth, forcing her to pass out.