-----Narrator POV-----
Average horses reach speeds between 25mph and 30mph, their bodies shaped through generations of selective breeding to maintain long gallops across open terrain. The American Quarter Horse, known for its explosive acceleration, can surge toward 55mph in short bursts because its hindquarters contain dense fast‑twitch muscle fibers that fire rapidly enough to propel the animal forward with remarkable force.
However... Donkeys have evolved under differently. Their compact frames and endurance‑oriented musculature restrict their natural top speeds, and even the Onager, the swiftest donkey species found on the Central Continent, rarely approaches 43.98mph miles unless pushed into extreme circumstances.
Laws had no way of knowing that the golden carrot he fed the Onager was not a magical artifact but a strong stimulant: the carrot contained concentrated pheromones that heightened the donkey's instinctual responses, pushing its senses and muscles into a state of urgency. Instead of triggering fear, the stimulant activated the donkey's mating drive, and the animal locked onto the strongest scent it could identify. That scent came from the food reserves.
Driven by instinct rather than discipline, the donkey surged forward with a level of determination that surpassed its natural limits. Its strides lengthened, its hooves hammered the dirt with increasing force, and its speed climbed past 50mph, then 55mph, and finally reached 60mph. No humanoid in the Central Continent had ever ridden a ground animal moving at that velocity. The world around Laws blurred into streaks of color as the donkey carried him forward with overwhelming speed, becoming a creature propelled entirely by instinct and chemical influence.
There is a phrase known across Earth that claims one cannot make a racehorse out of a donkey. The phrase remains true. A donkey cannot be shaped into a horse, trained into one, or bred into one. Yet under the influence of the golden carrot, the animal became something far more unpredictable, a mount that did not understand caution or restraint, and a force that carried its rider directly into danger.
-----Laws POV-----
This is too fast. The wind is hitting my face so hard I can barely keep my eyes open, and the ground ahead is rushing toward me faster than any sane rider would accept. I spot a mound of dirt rising in front of us and pull the reins to turn the donkey away, but the idiot snaps his head back and refuses the command like he's the one in charge.
I shout at him, but he keeps charging straight ahead. We slam into the mound, and the dirt bursts outward as the impact shakes my entire body. Stones bounce off my arms and shoulders, leaving small cuts, and dust smears across my face until my eyes sting and water. I wipe it off and force my eyes open again.
The donkey lifts his head and shows those crooked teeth of his. I swear he's laughing at me. A vein pulses in my forehead, and for a moment I seriously consider planting an arrow right into the back of his skull. Before the thought settles, a sound cuts through the wind. It's faint at first, but the donkey keeps sprinting, and the noise grows clearer.
I look ahead and see the storage house engulfed in flames, the roof collapsing as the fire eats through the structure. The heat reaches my skin even from this distance. Greywolf riders circle the building, throwing spears at villagers who run for their lives. I watch one of them fall, a spear driven straight through their back, and the sight tightens my brow until it aches.
I take a long breath and force my thoughts into place.
-----Narrator POV-----
The fire from the storage house spread quickly into the wheat fields, the flames crawling through the golden stalks until the entire edge of the field glowed like a rising wall of heat. The donkey moved with frantic speed, slamming through every obstacle in its path yet avoiding the flames with an instinctive precision that Laws recognized immediately. He shifted his weight to the side and forced the animal into a sharp drift, guiding it along the outer ring of fire that expanded outward from the burning storage house.
The heat intensified as he rode along the edge of the flames. Laws reached behind him and grabbed two pouches, pulling them in front of him and pouring their contents together. He shook the mixture until it thickened, then leaned off the side of the donkey and poured the substance along the ground. The liquid reacted instantly, swelling and hardening into a massive barrier that expanded like polyurethane foam, rising into a thick stucco wall that separated the advancing fire from the remaining wheat.
Two goblin wolf riders spotted him from the food reserves. They smirked as they lowered their spears and whipped their reins, sending their mounts charging toward the elf. Laws prepared himself as they closed in. He reached for a short dagger and threw it with force, but the donkey's speed threw off his aim and the blade missed its mark.
The goblins laughed and lunged at him. Laws lowered his body close to the donkey's back and shifted his weight, guiding the animal into a sudden maneuver that dodged the incoming strikes. The wolf riders rushed past him, snarling as they turned to pursue. The donkey's speed kept them from catching up, but Laws's attention snapped forward when he saw two more goblin riders approaching from the front, attempting to intercept him in a pincer formation.
He reached for a weighted capture rope, spun it with practiced force, and hurled it toward one of the wolves. The rope wrapped around the creature's front legs, locking them together. The wolf stumbled and collapsed under its own momentum, tumbling forward and knocking the second rider beside it off balance as he swerved to avoid the impact.
The fallen goblin scrambled to his feet and turned toward Laws, only to meet the elf's fist. The strike landed with brutal precision, snapping the goblin's head back and sending him flying across the dirt. The remaining two goblins rushed past their fallen comrades, their eyes wide with fear as they realized how quickly the tide had turned. Their hesitation lasted only a moment, but it was enough. Two daggers flew across the space and struck their skulls, knocking them from their mounts and leaving their wolves scattering in confusion.
Laws looked back briefly, watching the bodies fall behind him, then turned forward again. His hand reached for the bow at his side while the other reached for an arrow. His expression tightened, filled with anger and the rising heat of bloodlust as he aimed himself toward the source of the destruction ahead.
"Death awaits..."
Laws and the donkey burst from the white smoke, the sudden emergence snapping every goblin rider's attention toward them. The elf rode upright with a perfect draw, his arm extended, the string pulled tight, the bow angled like a blade ready to strike. The first arrow flew with a violent hiss and struck a goblin's head, snapping it backward as the body dropped from the wolf and rolled across the dirt.
Another goblin pointed his spear and shouted, but an arrow punched through his throat before the call finished. His hands clawed at the wound, his legs kicked weakly, and he slid off his mount, collapsing in the dust.
Six riders surged forward. Two broke ahead and hurled their spears. The donkey snorted and sidestepped one, its hooves kicking up a burst of dirt. Laws dropped his body close to the animal, letting the second spear cut through the air above him. He rose in a single fluid motion, drew, and released. The arrow pierced through a goblin's armor and folded him backward off his wolf.
The second rider closed in with a dagger. Laws spun his bow and slammed it against the goblin's skull. The creature's head jerked sideways, its body collapsing instantly as the wolf sprinted past without a rider.
More screeches rose behind them. Laws swung his bow sideways, drawing it while his other hand pulled three arrows from the quiver. Four goblin riders approached with speed, their wolves tearing through the dirt as they lowered their spears.
The goblins laughed as they closed the distance, their voices sharp and eager. The donkey bared its teeth. Its limbs tightened, veins rising beneath the skin. Its hooves slammed the ground and the animal launched forward with a burst so violent the earth cracked beneath it. The distance vanished in a heartbeat. One moment the goblins were lowering their spears, the next their faces jerked in shock as the donkey appeared beside them, the sudden shift snapping their heads sideways and breaking their formation.
Lawls pushed off the saddle and launched himself upward, his body rising into the air with a sudden burst of momentum. The world stretched beneath him as he flipped backward over the donkey's spine, his legs cutting through the air while his torso rotated toward the sky.
Time slowed.
Lawls's back arched as he reached the peak of his flip. His chest faced the clouds, his hair trailing behind him, his legs still falling through the motion. His bow remained steady in his left hand, extended downward toward the riders below. His right hand pulled the string tight, three arrows loaded and angled toward their marks.
The air around him tightened.
The tension snapped.
A sharp twang burst through the stillness.
The bow recoiled in his grip as all three arrows exploded downward in a single violent release. Their hiss tore through the air, slicing toward the riders with brutal speed. The shafts streaked beneath him like silver lines drawn across the battlefield.
Three impacts landed at the same instant.
Each arrow struck the back of a goblin's head with a heavy, sickening thud. Their necks snapped forward together. Their bodies folded off their wolves in perfect unison, collapsing into the dirt with three staggered crashes that echoed across the field.
Lawls completed his flip and landed on his feet behind the falling riders, the donkey already circling back toward him with dust rising around its hooves.
The wolves skidded and scattered, confused by the sudden absence of their masters. The field fell silent except for the fading hiss of the arrows and the thuds of bodies hitting the ground.
Lawls straightened his posture, bow still in hand, and stepped forward through the settling dust.
The sudden silence left only the sound of the wolves skidding and scrambling without riders.
The field thinned.
The last goblin turned, his head whipping around at the sudden silence. He saw Laws framed by fire. His hands trembled. His spear slipped from his grip. He yanked the reins and fled toward the forest.
An arrow hit his shoulder and spun him off the wolf. The mount bolted into the trees without him.
He crawled across the dirt, dragging himself forward. Another arrow pinned his hand to the ground. His body jerked from the impact. A shadow fell over him. He turned and saw the elf standing above him.
Laws set his boot on the side of the goblin's head and pressed until the creature's cheek touched the dirt. The goblin's arms trembled as he tried to push himself up, his fingers clawing at the soil. His voice cracked into a desperate plea, the words broken and frantic as he begged for the pressure to stop.
Laws pressed harder.
The goblin's breath hitched. His legs kicked weakly. His hands slapped against the ground in panic. His voice rose into a sharp scream as the force increased, the sound tearing through the field. The pressure built beneath the elf's boot, the creature's head sinking lower into the earth.
A sharp crack echoed across the field.
The goblin's body went still beneath Laws's foot.
Laws lifted his boot. The goblin's head lay unmoving, the imprint of the elf's step pressed deep into the crushed shape.
...
Laws let out a slow sigh as he looked across the food reserves. Green bodies lay scattered across the dirt, some twisted where they fell, others slumped beside their wolves. The smoke from the burning building drifted low, curling around the corpses and rising into the sky in dark coils.
He turned his head. The injured villagers were gathered near the edge of the field, leaning on one another as they were pulled away from the wreckage.
Laws shifted his gaze again.
The donkey was busy mounting another donkey beside the burning structure, completely unfazed by the flames licking up the walls.
Laws exhaled through his nose.
He looked toward Buena Village in the distance. A thick black cloud rose above it, spreading across the blue and white sky like ink bleeding through water.
The elf tightened his grip on his bow.
"Sylphiette... Honey... Please be okay..."