stjorthotic Chapter 36 The Chase
Chapter 36 The Chase
As the teams ventured deeper into the forest like a giant net being cast, Hick no longer lingered.
He flipped himself onto a monster carefully raised by the wizard's tower—an eagle-headed bat.
This creature possesses an eagle-like head and sharp talons, but its body is covered in tough bat-wing leather. It has a relatively docile nature and is a reliable flying mount that even apprentices can handle.
With a low hiss, the eagle-headed bat, carrying Hick, flapped its wings and rose into the hazy sky.
Among the scattered ranks, discussions about Klar spread like wildfire.
"Hey, what treasure did that kid steal? The Tower Master is furious, and Senior Hick is personally leading the charge—this is terrifying!"
An apprentice lowered his voice, unable to hide his curiosity.
"Who knows? But... I really admire Krall's audacity! We avoid the old apprentice like the plague, and he goes straight for the Tower Master!"
Another apprentice's voice was filled with disbelief and amazement.
"Who cares what they stole!"
A slightly gruff voice broke in, brimming with undisguised greed, "He's just a newcomer who came in with us, what can he possibly be capable of? Catch him, and a fortune will be yours!"
Jona walked silently in the group, the surrounding noise seemingly separated from her by an invisible barrier.
A mere new apprentice? The tower master's tacit approval? Such a grand mobilization…
This in itself was highly unusual! Kurt's reminder before his departure further confirmed her unease.
"Klar... have you already acquired a trump card that would make a second-level wizard wary, even requiring the entire wizarding tower to be mobilized to eliminate you?"
Jona's gaze deepened.
"What...is hidden in that ring?"
She remained secretly vigilant, determined never to be at the forefront. If Nakrar truly had a backup plan, those who rushed in first would likely meet a grim fate.
"President!"
A young member of the mutual aid society, oblivious to Jona's serious expression, excitedly leaned over. "So, with so many of us, who do you think can be the first to kill that kid? I bet we new apprentices are only good for running errands and delivering messages."
"You can't say anything definitively."
Jona composed herself, a reassuring smile appearing on her face, without revealing her true thoughts—that would only demoralize and be futile.
"What if we're lucky and one of our people runs into them?"
"Exactly!"
The other boy immediately puffed out his chest, his face full of anticipation.
"Maybe it'll be me! I'll throw a fireball at that jerk, take him down, and then go claim my reward from Senior Hick with his head!"
"Pshaw—you?"
Immediately, merciless laughter erupted from the sidelines.
"You can't even cast a light spell properly, and you want a fireball? Dream on!"
Laughter erupted instantly within the mutual aid society's small circle, making the boy blush with embarrassment and causing him to awkwardly shrink back into the crowd.
Jona did not participate in this pointless frolicking.
She tilted her head slightly, her gaze piercing through the gaps in the forest to the blurry figure riding an eagle-headed bat in the sky, her expression complex and unreadable.
Deep in the dense forest, another small team.
"Click...click..."
A mutated spider, the size of a hound and modified by witchcraft, scanned every inch of the land with its compound eyes that shimmered with an eerie green light. Its eight metallic appendages nimbly moved among the decaying leaves and roots, searching for any suspicious scent.
The short, stout apprentice controlling the spider suddenly opened his eyes, his face filled with disappointment: "This area is spotless, not a single hair out of the way! That kid isn't here!"
"Damn, this rat is such a good hider!"
A tall, thin apprentice nearby kicked away some pebbles in frustration. "We've done a thorough search of the monsters, but the detection items haven't done anything, and there's no news from the other teams either... Did he really grow wings and fly away?"
"Fly?" another apprentice carrying a longbow scoffed. "Hundreds of eyes are watching from above! If he dares to show his face, he'll be riddled with bullets!"
"Someone next to me complained."
"Stop talking nonsense! With so many of us, do you think we'd let a little mouse get away!"
Upon hearing their complaints, Kurt reprimanded them.
The three complaining individuals reluctantly shut up and urged their monster-hunting skills to work even harder, searching through the bushes and rock crevices.
"Kurt, how big is the teleportation range of this rat's spatial artifact? We're so far from the Wizard Tower, and we still haven't found a trace of it."
Dila was clearly also puzzled, as the aerial propulsion range had probably already covered a rough area within tens of kilometers.
Although the apprentices underground formed a large group, they were really just filling in the gaps and making sure that some areas could escape the detection of the props, since this was the Silent Forest, even if it was only the outer perimeter.
Kurt slowly shook his head, his eyes grave. "How could we possibly fathom the depths of spatial artifacts? All I know is that we'd better not run into that kid." He paused, lowering his voice even further, "What happened on the top floor... have you forgotten?"
Upon hearing this, Dila seemed to recall some extremely unpleasant scene, and subconsciously shrank her neck, her face turning slightly pale.
"...Yes, please don't let us run into them."
Andy, standing to the side, didn't seem to care and casually chimed in:
"What's there to be afraid of? Didn't the tower master say that the rat's ring is ruined? What trouble can a new apprentice with a broken hand possibly cause?"
Kurt and Dilla exchanged a knowing glance, neither refuting the other, but both saw the deep apprehension in each other's eyes.
They all understood the logic, but recalling Hick's cautious attitude towards Klar from the beginning until now...
They would never do anything that involves risking their lives!
Meanwhile, deeper within the Silent Forest.
After hastily treating his wound, Clara was gripped by excruciating pain and dizziness from blood loss, but he dared not stop for a moment.
After determining the direction, he gritted his teeth, dragged his battered body, and ran for his life toward a forbidden zone in the forest that was feared by all!
He had no idea how many pursuers there were, nor what kind of inescapable trap they had laid.
All he knew was that only by escaping into that deathly place, which even formal wizards feared, and by utilizing its complex and eerie environment and deadly natural traps, could he possibly survive those fatal six hours!
Drag it out until the ring seal is broken! Danger?
Clara's bloodshot eyes were filled with nothing but madness and desperation!
Behind them were pursuers who were certain to kill them, and ahead lay a perilous zone where only one in nine lives could be saved!
He was at his wit's end, with no other options left!
Even jumping into an abyss is better than falling into the hands of the wizard's tower and being reduced to ashes!
Just as Krall felt he was getting closer and closer to that place, a sound from afar made his nerves tense!
The pursuers are here!
Feeling the inexplicable pain in her body and hearing the increasingly close voice, Clara's face grew even more pale.
The target is not far away, but can I get there?
"Hick---Lane--!"