Chapter 322 - A Traitor

It was happening so fast. In seconds, everyone saw Vloz surround the lead invader in mist, somehow create a tornado with terrifying force, and remove the greatest immediate threat against his side. 

Two of the invaders hesitated and began to question their ability to win. The other two, however, had already begun to retreat in differing directions. 

"Get back here!" Gar shouted as his opponent managed to create an icy cage around the lynx before fleeing. The cage was quickly shattered though as the lynx gave chase.

When Puula's fie tried to run, she gave no such opportunity. Like Vloz, she created a dark mist surrounding the foe and circled him with pestering strikes. They wouldn't be able to damage the man. But it would force the man to slow down and buy time for Vloz to strike next. 

Sarpo acted similarly, offering no opening for his slower foe to escape from. But he didn't wait for Vloz. The moment the weaker opponent left an opening, the jaguar charged and dealt a grave blow to the invader's leg. Now, there was no chance of winning or escaping. There was only struggling to survive moments longer. 

Sending Liz to help Sarpo contain his opponent, Vloz eyed Gar with a frown. But he waited a moment to see what would happen to the tornado. 

Against his beliefs, Vloz was astounded by the force generated in that tight vortex of wind. There was no core to seek shelter from thanks to it being barely wide enough for two people and the woman inside was unable to disrupt the windstorm despite her explosive flames. 

Noting that the attack wasn't stopping anytime soon, Vloz rushed to Puula's aid. He quickly arrived and silenced her slowed opponent.

"Thank you…"

Blinking, Vloz noticed the blood dripping down Puula's side and her shaking stance. "Rest. You did good holding them off."

"Right…" Puula laid down but didn't take her eyes off the surroundings. She watched as Sarpo dealt the finishing blow to the crippled foe begging for mercy.

Vloz, on the other hand, was on standby for another few seconds. He waited to react in case the tornado suddenly collapsed and it was time to face the woman yet again. But before the tornado eventually collapsed, the flaming essence around the woman's body died out. 

Amazed, Vloz watched the essenceless woman's body get slashed and torn to ribbons of flesh. Not looking away, Vloz asked the nearing woman, "Is your dad a king?"

"Yeah… Kinda obvious now, isn't it?" Liz chuckled with a nod.

"Well… I had a feeling when I first met him. But this confirms it. We'll pay for a new one." The leopard blinked once more before his predatory senses kicked back into gear. "Now then, I have new prey to hunt since it seems Gar has failed again…"

"I can--"

"All of you, rest and gather the corpses before heading toward the camp," Vloz ordered, honing his gaze on the last place Gar was spotted. "Head for the main road. I'm sure you'll run into scouts and get taken to the army camp, knowing Rathe."

"Will do," Puula replied, standing back up. "We can leave now to--"

"Gar is mine."

While Puula wasn't surprised by the statement, both Liz and Sarpo were startled by Vloz's seriousness.

"I'll snuff out the invader while I'm at it, but keep an eye out for him. If he presents himself to you, act with caution…"

With that, Vloz shrouded himself in dark essence as he sped after the lynx and Gar's supposed foe. 

Letting his pent-up rage out further, Vloz sniffed out the fleeing human. Without any skills or affinities specializing in speed, the man was nothing but an easy target waiting to get plucked out of existence. It only took a few minutes. 

Vloz located the man and didn't even bother hiding his presence. The leopard simply charged the low-perennial and ripped through all failing defenses the invader could put up. Before the man could figure it out, Vloz rushed out of the man's shadow and tore through the man's spinal column with his fangs, chomping through his throat with ease.

Storing the lifeless husk of flesh without batting an eye and not bothering to clean the blood dripping from his fur coat, Vloz returned to the hunt. His next prey was much larger and unaccustomed to being prey. But the truth was obvious to Vloz. The tracks said it all. 

Gar was fleeing at top speed. And he was heading toward the main road. Gar wasn't done playing traitor.

*****

"CHIEF?!"

Stopping immediately, Gar turned his head and sighed in relief at the sight of a fellow lynx. "What are you doing out here? They're not wasting your talents with a scouting mission, are they? And out here of all places?"

"Chief, we--"

"You should join me. We need to hurry and--"

"Join you for what?"

Gar almost bit his tongue when he heard the unfamiliar voice. Blinking, the lynx chief nodded to the fox who had now revealed himself. "Well… I could use his help with something. We--"

"Our orders are to escort anyone we find back to the camp. We should get going as quickly as possible," claimed the fox, unfazed. "Your report on the battle will be the top priority for Commander Hurman."

"Commander Hurman? What about Master Rathe?" Gar asked.

"He and Master Nixt both left after a brief strategy meeting in Iron Town, not too long after your group," the lynx scout mentioned. "They went off to delay the army while everyone else gathered and prepared a military camp on the main road."

"Ohhh… I see. Then let's get going! Let me report to Hurman at once!" Gar nodded emphatically. "We need to hurry as fast as possible. I have bad news and we need to act fast!"