Chapter 198

Ethan’s POV The moment the trap triggered, the grave robbers on the hillside visibly quickened their pace. Two of them immediately put down their shovels and pulled out guns from their lower waists. They looked like modified large-caliber gadgets and warily headed towards us, or rather, towards Jacob, who was hanging in mid-air and struggling frantically. “Hang in there, bro!” I growled, my heart pounding with frustration. Jacob was suspended too high, I couldn’t possibly reach that damn knot from the ground. I had to climb a tree! I spotted a big tree with thick branches beside me, and with my sharp claws, I shot up in no time. Standing on the swaying branch, I fixed my eyes on the main rope hanging the net and calculated the distance and angle. Damn it, all or nothing! I gave a sudden kick on the branch with my hind leg, and my entire wolf body soared into the air, precisely pouncing on that large net! My weight, combined with the momentum of my descent, made the originally taut rope produce a jaw-aching “creaking” sound. “Jacob! Pull together!” I roared. Jacob inside the net instantly understood my intent. The two of us—two adult male wolves, with a combined weight of several hundred pounds, began to struggle and shake desperately in the same direction! “Snap! Snap snap!” With several sharp cracks, the ropes strained to their limit finally gave way, snapping one after another! “WOOF!” Both of us crashed through the shattered net, tumbling down from over ten meters high and landing in a heap. Grass clippings and dirt flew everywhere. As I hit the ground, I shielded my injured shoulder, but the pain still made me wince. The commotion was deafening. The two men with guns over there clearly heard the loud bang. Without a moment’s hesitation, they immediately fired several shots in the direction of the bushes where we were. The bullets hit the tree trunks and the ground, splashing up a piece of broken wood and soil. At the same time, they began to take turns covering and retreat rapidly backward. Immediately after, a pickup truck that looked dilapidated but had a roaring engine, like a wild beast out of control, suddenly rushed out from the other side of the hillside, ran over the bushes, and came to a sudden stop beside the group of grave diggers. Those people moved quickly and lifted a long, thin object wrapped in thick black plastic sheet, which was clearly a corpse, onto the back of the vehicle. “No!!” Jacob, who had just wriggled free from the net, let out a desperate howl. But it was too late. The pickup screeched its tires, spun around, and accelerated madly along the path it had brutally carved out earlier, vanishing instantly into the dense forest, leaving only swirling dust and crushed vegetation in its wake. Jacob’s POV Those damned, hellbound bastards! By the time I frantically wrenched myself free from the damn broken net lines still tangled around me and reached the edge of the hillside, all I could see were the pickup’s two red taillights—like the mocking eyes of demons, flashing through the trees before vanishing completely. I sprinted after it with all my strength, but how could I possibly outrun four wheels? The truck plowed through every obstacle, disappearing into the distance. I slammed to a halt, my heart clenched by an icy fist. A terrifying thought surfaced. I spun around and sprinted back to the desecrated hillside like a madman. Empty. Brett’s headstone lay toppled over. Where soil and turf should have covered the grave, now only an ugly, roughly dug-up hole remained. Wet, turned earth and broken grass roots lay scattered beside it. And an open coffin. Brett… was gone. They had taken his body. Why? Why would they steal a corpse?! Endless rage, confusion, and a bone-deep sense of helplessness instantly overwhelmed me. Thıs content belongs to.net