Chapter 45 Treasure?

Roar…

Howl…

Screech….

Noises assaulted Duncan's ears rousing him from the drunken stupor he was in. Duncan blinked blankly trying to tune out the noise that he was hearing all around. Duncan's head was pounding like a drum as he sat up and looked around.

Duncan didn't exactly remember where he was. The wine had done a good number on him. He didn't even finish it before he had fallen into a stupor. For the first time in his life, a wine had gotten the best of Duncan.

It truly deserved to be called a cultivator's wine.

Memories rushed back into Duncan's mind as he slowly gathered his wits. Duncan shot up to his feet in alarm as he realized what the noises he was hearing meant. The Beast Tide was in full force outside.

And he had failed to make it out of the Grasslands.

There were still a few miles to go to get truly out of the Grasslands. Duncan knew that trying to do so now would be suicidal. Just a pack of wolves and a tiger beast was able to truly put him through a ringer. The injuries…

Duncan's thoughts paused as he realized that he wasn't feeling pain any longer. He was sure that he was gravely injured before he passed out due to his drunkenness. His memories also said the same.

And yet, he didn't feel pain anymore.

Duncan hurriedly looked down at his body. The rashes that were supposed to be present on his arms and torso were nowhere to be found. His entire body had been filled with them as he had dragged himself into the cave by crawling here.

While he knew his regeneration capabilities were stronger compared to normal humans, it was one of the perks of having an almost superhuman body; he had never seen his body recover this quickly from these kinds of injuries.

It would have normally taken him a week or so for him to recover from it. Now, he wasn't even sure how long he had been in his stupor for. But, he was sure of one thing. It was just nearing dawn now. At most, a couple of hours would have passed and he was already clear of any rashes.

This boggled Duncan's mind.

Duncan hurriedly took a look at his legs. His legs were the area that had suffered numerous injuries. The wolves had almost chewed through them during their melee. And he had even stabbed it with his sword to rouse himself from his fear while coming towards this cave.

Normally, it would have been too difficult for him to even get up with such injuries, but he was now able to stand without any pain. It was so abnormal that Duncan had to check to make sure that it was true.

Duncan's legs were not as clear as his hands and torso. The bite marks were still there and they looked as if they were half cured. And the stab wound looked as if it was a week old. Strangely enough, the cut on it never closed like the bite wounds.

But, Duncan's mind was not on that. He was already surprised to note that his wounds have cured to this extent. As if reminded by something, Duncan felt the back of his shoulders, where one of the wolves had lodged themselves earlier during the fight.

The wound was similar to the bite marks on his legs. They had cured halfway as well. Duncan tried to swing his arm and found it moving along without any pain. He just couldn't put too much strain on that shoulder as the wound stood.

This bedazzled Duncan so much that he even forgot about the commotion that woke him up. Duncan was now sure that there must be some sort of treasure present in the cave. If not, he wouldn't have been cured this much.

Immediately, Duncan set about scouring the cave to see what the treasure was. With the size of the cave being small, Duncan was confident that he wouldn't miss it even if he didn't recognize it.

Duncan slowly combed the entire surface of the cave with his eyes and found nothing but rocks and gravel. There was some moss present there as well, but Duncan ruled it out after determining that it was normal moss.

When his eyes failed, Duncan didn't become disappointed. The visibility inside the cave wasn't that great. So, Duncan knew that there might be a chance that his eyes would have missed the treasure. He had heard stories about some treasures even having the capability to stay invisible.

So, he searched the cave with his hands. He started feeling each and every inch of the cave in the hopes that his hands would stumble upon the treasure. Duncan was so immersed in his search that he completely tuned out the noises coming from outside.

As time passed, Duncan was beginning to get frustrated with the lack of result. The cave was really not that large. It was just a temporary shelter that had been erected on the mountainside. So, the person who did it didn't widen it much.

The cave was just enough for one or two people to comfortably rest in. Even the ceiling wasn't sculpted or anything. It was just a place someone had created to rest their feet for the night.

But, the fight that had occurred nearby a few hours ago has truly shaken it. There were cracks all over the ceiling and debris and gravel were littered all around the ground.

Duncan had to clean the debris first and then set about checking the cave manually each nook and corner. And with so many cracks in the ceiling, Duncan had to carefully inspect each and every one of them hoping that the treasure was there.

By the time he did a complete round of the entire cave for the third time, Duncan was beginning to feel dejected. No matter how he searched, the treasure eluded him. He didn't know where it was or if it was even there.

Only his guess that without being in the proximity of a treasure, his body wouldn't have healed so fast, kept him going. Duncan knew that this was a rare opportunity for him and didn't want to let go because he was too lazy to search one more time.

But, the dejection was still there.

Despite his attempts to convince himself that the treasure was present, the evidence suggested the opposite. Duncan didn't know what to do at this moment. He could only stubbornly carry on with the search despite his misgivings.

Duncan was so engrossed in his search that he failed to notice some noise coming from the entrance to the cave. The entrance was not wide, but it was enough for a man of normal size to enter easily.

While Duncan was searching for the treasure, the blood trail he had left when he crawled inside the cave was spotted by a pack of hyenas. One of the hyenas split off from their pack and started sniffing toward the cave.

If Duncan was alert, he would have heard it coming. But, he was so engrossed in the search that he completely forgot about the beast tide that was occurring outside.

Even without a beast tide, leaving a blood trail was tantamount to inviting hunters into his location. So, it was only natural that one such hunter had caught his trail and followed it to the cave.

Duncan had a split second to react as his body screamed danger. He ducked and rolled away just in the nick of time. The hyena had pounced towards Duncan's neck from behind. If Duncan hadn't moved, it would now be latching on to his neck.

Duncan cursed inwardly at his stupidity and rose up to face the hyena. His sword was on the ground where he had left it while cleaning the debris. He was weaponless and most importantly still injured while facing a predator.

If Duncan had his sword, he wouldn't worry about the hyena much. He was confident enough to cleave it into two within a minute. However, he was now weaponless and very vulnerable.

And he was trapped in an enclosed place as well.

The hyena jumped at Duncan, sensing the prey's weak state. This time, Duncan didn't dodge. He caught the hyena's jaws in his hands and tried to hold it at bay. However, the hyena's paws landed on his chest a moment later sending them both crashing down.

Duncan rolled around not letting go of the hyena's maw. He tried to twist it but had limited success. The more he twisted, the more his grip became loose. The hyena's twitching legs weren't any help either.

So, Duncan pressed the hyena to the floor with one hand on its face and started searching for something… anything… nearby that could give him an edge. His hands brushed across a block of ceiling that had fallen down.

Duncan lifted it without hesitation in one hand and brought it smashing down on the hyena's head. He bashed it repeatedly, even going as far as to use both his hands to add some power to his blows.

The hyena's head was crushed by the repeated blows to its head. Duncan let out a sigh of relief and rolled away. The hyena hadn't been quiet while he was bashing its head. Duncan knew that hyenas always traveled in packs.

So, it was most likely that other hyenas would come searching for it. And the sounds the hyena had let out in its death throes would surely bring them to his cave.

Duncan hurriedly picked up his sword and rushed to the entrance to see if he could escape. At this moment, Duncan's mind didn't register he couldn't escape anywhere as there was a beast tide surging outside. In the heat of the moment, Duncan forgot about that one vital piece of information.

Unfortunately, Duncan had to come to an abrupt halt before even getting out of the cave. At the entrance, a pack of hyenas was standing looking at him with hunger in their eyes.

Duncan knew that he was in for another fight for his life at that moment.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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