Chapter 533  Mountain Fire 2

“Right! Encircle the flames with trenches,” Zion continued sharply. “Once that’s done, start a fire on the other side of the trench. That will help stop the wildfire from spreading farther.”

Hearing this, the warriors became even more baffled.

To them, it sounded absurd, using fire to fight fire.

They didn’t understand that when two fires coming from opposite directions meet, they consume the available fuel between them. Once that happens, the flames weaken, contradict each other, and eventually die down because there is nothing left to burn.

The warriors had never learned such a method before.

But Zion had.

Back on the frontlines of the battlefield, they had often used similar tactics to survive brutal situations. The vampires they fought were notorious for using dirty tricks and destructive strategies, sometimes even setting fires to flush the werewolves out of hiding.

Because of that, Zion and the others who had fought on the frontlines had been forced to learn methods like this.

After all, if they hadn’t adapted and learned a few harsh lessons during those hellish battles, they wouldn’t have survived long enough to stand here today.

“Understood!” the warriors responded in unison.

Even though they didn’t fully understand what Zion was trying to accomplish, they trusted his judgment. With Maxwell already leading by example at the front, they immediately followed his actions and continued digging and preparing the trenches.

Meanwhile, Zion remained at the side of the clearing, carefully watching over everyone.

His role wasn’t only to command.

First, he was supervising the warriors to make sure they were carrying out his orders correctly. At the same time, he kept a close eye on the spreading flames, ready to redirect the warriors if the fire suddenly surged in another direction.

But there was another reason he stood back and observed.

Zion was watching for anything suspicious.

The forest fire had appeared far too conveniently. No matter how much he tried to dismiss the thought, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the work of their enemies, a deliberate act meant to sabotage their mission.

Yet during their entire journey through the forest, he hadn’t noticed anyone among their group acting strangely. No suspicious movements, no secret signals.

That left him uncertain.

Was there truly a spy within their team?

Or had the enemy simply been tracking their movements from afar?

If the latter was true, then the enemy must have already known that the Luminous Night Daisies were the final material they needed. Burning this clearing would prevent Zion and Maxwell from gathering the last ingredient required to open the teleportation portal.

And if they failed to activate the portal…

They would have no choice but to travel back to the borders of the Royal Capital on foot.

That alone would give their enemies plenty of time to prepare an ambush.

Fortunately, Zion’s group had arrived earlier than the enemy had expected.

Although the fire had already devoured nearly sixty percent of the flower field, some Luminous Night Daisies were still left untouched along the edges of the clearing.

The flames had started in the densest part of the field, the very center, where the flowers grew the thickest.

It also appeared that the Luminous Night Daisies themselves were highly flammable. Because they contained dense concentrations of mana, that energy likely made them burn even more fiercely once ignited.

The enemy must have taken advantage of that.

They probably expected the entire field to be reduced to ashes by the time Zion and his party arrived.

In fact, Zion could still sense faint traces of other people lingering in the area, residual signs left behind only a minute or two before they had arrived.

Whoever had done this had left in a hurry.

And the act itself felt almost like a deliberate taunt.

As if their enemies wanted Zion to know that they had been one step ahead, destroying the field right before he could claim what he needed.

A move meant to frustrate him… and provoke his anger.

Perhaps the enemy had also intended to wound Zion and Maxwell’s pride, letting them believe their mission was already within reach, only to watch them fail at the very last moment.

After all, who would pass up the chance to humiliate two powerful Alphas?

If the entire flower field had burned down before their arrival, it would have been a heavy blow to their reputation and confidence. Zion suspected that this might have been exactly what their enemies were hoping for.

Although the situation frustrated him, Zion knew they had been fortunate.

They had arrived just in time.

Nothing was truly lost yet.

With Maxwell working seamlessly alongside him, Zion quickly directed the warriors to finish digging the trenches around the wildfire. Before long, a large circular trench, which was two feet deep, encircled the raging flames.

Once the trenches were completed, Maxwell and several warriors moved to different points along the barrier and ignited new fires, exactly as Zion had ordered.

The warriors then watched carefully as the newly lit flames spread toward the wildfire.

Soon, the two walls of fire met.

As they collided, the oxygen between them was rapidly consumed. With no fuel left to burn, the flames gradually weakened until they finally died down, leaving behind nothing but scorched earth, blackened soil, and drifting ashes.

Seeing this, the mages, who had been busy digging up the Luminous Night Daisies, let out quiet sighs of relief.

But none of them stopped working.

Even after the fire was fully contained, Zion and Maxwell quickly directed the remaining warriors to assist the mages in salvaging the flowers.

The group worked tirelessly.

It took them nearly two hours to gather every remaining glowing flower that had survived the fire.

In the end, all of the Luminous Night Daisies were handed over to the mages.

Zion and Maxwell didn’t mind.

Aside from being used to activate the Teleportation Portal, the remaining flowers would most likely be taken back to the Mage Tower for research and other magical purposes.

And that was far better than leaving them here, where their enemies might return and use them against the werewolves instead.

“Alright! Now that we’ve gathered the materials, let’s return to the temporary camp!” Zion roared.

Without further delay, he shifted back into his wolf form. Maxwell followed immediately, and the rest of the warriors quickly fell into formation behind them.

The mages, who now carried the largest haul of materials, couldn’t hide the satisfied grins on their faces.

Since they no longer needed to search for materials along the way, their return journey became much smoother than expected. The group carefully avoided unnecessary confrontations with monsters and wild animals, moving swiftly through the forest.

Strangely, they didn’t encounter any hostile creatures at all.

In fact, the trip back was far easier than either Zion or Maxwell had anticipated. Both of them had been prepared for fierce battles, ready to fight off packs of wild animals or even entire monster communities if necessary.

Yet the entire journey had been almost… peaceful.

Too peaceful.

Still, they considered it nothing more than good fortune. Perhaps luck was simply on their side today.

Or so they thought.

But the moment they arrived at the temporary camp, their expressions changed instantly.