Chapter 1522
[ 631 words ]
Claire’s aim was decent enough to hit the wolf, but she missed its vitals, sending the beast into a frenzied rage.
Dane seized the opening and fired a precise follow-up shot.
The wolf froze mid-lunge and crashed heavily into the dirt.
It was a brutal, exhausting battle.
Even though they managed to break the pack’s formation as quickly as possible, they couldn’t take down every single predator.
Realizing they were outmatched, the alpha let out a piercing howl, commanding the surviving wolves to retreat into the shadows.
Never chase a desperate enemy.
The sleep-deprived group was now thoroughly drained, running on nothing but adrenaline and fumes.
Tracking the pack through the dark was out of the question.
With the campsite now a literal battlefield, sleeping until dawn was no longer an option.
Leaving the carcasses scattered around would only lure even deadlier predators to their doorstep.
The soldiers quickly divided the labor, efficiently clearing the area of the bloody
mess.
Meanwhile, Claire and the others prepared to move out ahead of the main group.
But before leaving, Claire stepped back inside the ruined cabin.
The interior was completely trashed, though the massive bear had already been dragged out.
The campfire she had doused with bottled water wasn’t completely dead; faint embers pulsed under the ash, threatening to reignite if a strong gust of wind caught them.
Most of the firewood had burned away, leaving behind no obvious clues.
Being deep within the Aila Highlands, miles away from any laboratory, she had no way to test the charred remains and had to rely entirely on her medical expertise.
She picked up the last unburned piece of wood, noting a strange smear of unrecognizable animal droppings crusted on the bark.
Claire brought it close to her nose and took a careful sniff. “This is Frenzy Dung.”
Dane appeared beside her, producing a plastic bag from his gear, and held it open for her to drop the evidence inside.
The two spoke in hushed tones as they walked away.
“Does this Frenzy Dung serve a specific purpose?”
As always, Dane’s sharp mind went straight to the core issue.
“Yes, it acts as a potent attractant that drives predators completely insane,” Claire explained openly.
Now, the real question was whether
someon
had accidentally gathered
tainted wood, or if it had been a
deliberate act of sabotage tent
.net>
If there was a Sundara sleeper agent hiding among their ranks, finding the Dreamweed was about to get a lot more complicated
“This firewood was already stacked in the cabin when we got here. It might just be a terrible coincidence,” Dane noted, though he didn’t sound convinced
Still, the wood had definitely been gathered by whoever had used the shelter before them.
There was an unspoken rule for survival cabins like this: if you use the supplies, you restock them for the next traveler.
Failing to do so could easily be a death sentence for someone seeking refuge in an emergency.
Trying to track down exactly who had harvested that specific piece of tainted wood was nearly impossible now.
However, there was one person who might have answers.
“Where’s Zeke?”
Claire and Dane clearly shared the same suspicion.
“He took a hit,” Dane said, glancing toward the local guide.
Zeke had apparently taken a vicious blow to the lower back from one of the bears.
He was currently limping heavily, grimacing with every step.
If they didn’t desperately need him to navigate the terrain, he would have already been sent back with the other wounded men.
“Zeke,” Claire called out as she and Dane approached him.
“Are you holding up okay?” she asked, assessing his posture.
Zeke shook his head. “I’m alright. My back is killing me, but I can still manage to walk.”
“If you trust my expertise, I can take a look at it for you.”
Zeke waved her off dismissively. “Now’s not the time, Claire. We need to get out of this sector first.”
“This whole area reeks of blood. If we don’t move immediately, we won’t make it out alive.”
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.