Chapter 128: Three Hours

The Underworld Research and Extermination Club didn't want to waste any time during their Rierdan rescue operation, but they still had to grab the bare minimum before leaving for the wood.

Encased in Zach's barrier, the club stuck together for safety as they marched to where Liam and Rierdan had been attacked. Zach's barrier was the only thing that would keep them safe from something that could surprise even Liam.

Through the darkness with nothing but a couple of torches to light their path, the club arrived at the scene in an hour. But with the time they had wasted before leaving, a couple of hours had passed since Liam returned to the Academy with his injuries.

At least three hours had gone by since Rierdan was taken.

If it were done by something that was fast enough to overwhelm Liam, it could have crossed the entire forest by now.

The only thing they could hope for was that its lair wasn't too far away and that they could track it.

Zach expanded his barrier as much as he dared. If it was too big, it would break and not do a thing to stop an attack, but if it was too small, it would be difficult to find anything, even if they all carried enough torches to mimic the sun.

With enough space between them for all club members to look for traces of the scuffle, where Rierdan and Liam had been attacked, Zach and the others methodically shuffled around, careful not to disturb their surroundings. It would suck if they ruined any traces Rierdan's kidnapper might have left behind.

They found the exact location. They found scuff marks on the ground and blood spatter from both Liam and Rierdan. It was like the scene of a quick boxing match.

It also seemed like Rierdan had been taken in a certain direction.

But beyond that, there were no signs, traces, or evidence. It was like a ghost had come and kicked their asses before hauling off Rierdan.

Zach glanced at Liam's familiar, a tiny, translucent fish swimming next to his head. It looked a little like a ghost. It was a Ghost Fish, after all.

Zach narrowed his eyes slightly.

"...Is there something on my face?" Liam asked when he noticed Zach staring at him.

"Neither of your two familiars noticed anything?"

Liam's eyes widened slightly, and his eyebrows rose. He shook his head.

Zach glanced around.

"What and where is your second familiar, by the way?" They had seen Liam's second familiar a couple of times before. It was apparently shy and preferred a more independent life, but Zach was pretty sure it was a crow of sorts.

Liam pointed at the sky.

"I've had him flying above and around us to see if he could find anything."

"I see." Zach nodded as if that explained everything. He then looked in the direction it seemed Rierdan had been taken. He faced the opposite direction.

"Let's see if we can find anything if we follow this direction." Zach gestured for Dukiel to lead the way, but he hesitated.

"...Shouldn't we go that way?" He pointed in the direction it seemed Rierdan had been taken.

"Why, if all other traces are gone, is there an indication of where he was taken? It's a misdirect. Or we're missing something. But my hunch says it won't lead anywhere."

Dukiel exchanged looks with Julius and Nessa. They were the ones who were most familiar with Zach's hunches and gut feelings when it came to directions. He wasn't sure whether to trust him on this one.

Nessa nodded decisively. This wasn't a matter of pure direction. It was a matter of trickery and deception. She wasn't sure how good at lying Zach was, but she knew he was good at seeing through such things. She trusted his decision. Julius glanced at Liam for a moment too brief for anyone to care before nodding. Your next chapter awaits on m v|l--NovelFire.net

They went along with Zach's gut feeling and proceeded in the direction he told them to with their eyes as sharpened as possible. For a while, they didn't find anything. The forest was as untouched as the peak of a mountain.

It didn't even look like any monsters had moved around in the area.

But that only confirmed that it could be the right direction.

Why would bloodthirsty, crazy, contaminated monsters avoid a location if not because something there had spooked them? Something that could clear an area of monsters would have no trouble kidnapping Rierdan right in front of Liam.

The group walked for ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes. They didn't cover much ground and moved at a snail's pace. Combined with how intensely they focused on looking for signs of anything passing through while carrying a possibly injured Rierdan, it felt like they had searched for Rierdan for hours and walked miles.

It also felt like it was a futile endeavor. There wasn't the slightest sign of even the wind breezing past, much less something that had taken Rierdan.

Dukiel was sure he had led the way in the direction Zach had pointed out. The others also didn't doubt him.

They did, however, doubt Zach's decision. No one had voiced any objections when he first suggested it. But now that they hadn't found anything, it was easy to hold opposing opinions. Searᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

It was while thinking such thoughts with a frown that Anerias pushed a branch out of the way to prevent it from scraping against his leg. It snapped and dangled.

Anerias' frown deepened and he looked at the branch. While it was flattering to think that his mere touch had broken it, the branch hadn't been that snappable. It was like it was already on the verge of breaking and just needed a gentle nudge to finally break and hang by a thread of thin bark.

"Guys, wait a moment. I think I have something."

The others stopped walking and gathered their torches to shed light on the branch Anerias had found.

With the concentrated light, it was easy to see an unclear boot print and a branch that had gotten hooked to something and lost a leaf or two and then bent to the verge of breaking.

It was like something or someone had run past there and brushed against the branch.

They had found a lead.