Chapter 129: Nearby Needle

The broken branch showed Zach and the others that they were on the right track. It also showed them that whatever had taken Rierdan wasn't infallible. It made mistakes. They had found one trace. They would find another. And another.

Until they finally found Rierdan.

Hopefully, they wouldn't be too late.

Finding the broken branch had given the group more energy, and they worked like ants to uncover the next trace. They kept moving in the very same direction without faltering.

Any doubts they had were pushed aside, regardless of how long it felt they walked and looked without finding another sign. Eventually, they walked so far that Dukiel was starting to get worried about where they were.

They weren't heading deeper into the forest since they were walking parallel to the edge. But sooner or later, the scenery would change. They had even got so far that there were traces of other animals moving around.

"Schh."

Zach held up his hand and shushed the others.

Although it was night, there were still faint sounds in the forest, like the wind rustling the leaves, chittering insects, and animals settling into their nests.

Zach's senses, strengthened through training and leveling up, might have picked up something that was neither of those sounds. He looked at his two familiars, both of whom had superior physical attributes.

Alzara looked in a specific direction with a gaze that said there was something in that direction. She didn't say anything since Zach didn't want anyone to know his familiars could talk, but that look was enough.

They proceeded in that direction.

As they did so, the trees they walked past became progressively smaller and grew more sparsely. It was like they were approaching the edge of the forest.

Zach and the others frowned. They hadn't walked in the direction to come out on the other side. The fact that they reached another edge of the forest, and in this specific direction, could only mean one thing.

Zach wasn't sure, but the others had an idea.

They confirmed that idea as soon as they walked out from the treeline.

The Academy City, Basilia, lay on top of a hill not too far from the forest. There was even a road a stone's throw away that led to the city.

"Guys…" Zach didn't need to say anymore. The rest of the club could also tell the implications when the city lay at the other end of the string of clues left behind by whatever took Rierdan.

First and foremost, it wasn't a 'what.' It was a 'who.' No monster or underworld, especially not one smart enough to kidnap someone without killing them instantly, would bring Rierdan toward the only populated city within several leagues.

Secondly, it would be as difficult to find Rierdan in the city as it would be in the forest, if not more difficult. In the city, any traces of Rierdan and his abductor would vanish in the crowd immediately, and there were countless places for them to look at, even more than they knew to look at. They wouldn't have access to a majority of the places where Rierdan could have been taken, either.

It would be worse than looking for a needle in a haystack.

It was a big city, after all.

Zach and the others stopped for a moment to gather their thoughts and just look at the city.

They felt hopeless. Would they even be able to find Rierdan in this lifetime?

"...hh."

Where could he be? Why had Rierdan of all people been taken?

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Was it because Liam and Rierdan were the weakest duo, even if Liam had two familiars? And of those two, Rierdan was the weaker. He was the easiest target.

"...hc…"

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He was also on the ground not far from them, stuffed inside a bush and hidden by a couple of thick branches. At first glance, especially in the dark and from slightly further away, it was no different from the rest of the tree line.

But the raspy breaths, like he was panting after running a marathon but with his jaw clenched, still reached them. It was what Zach had heard before.

As soon as they realized, Zach and the other helped Rierdan out of the brush. They quickly untied Liam and pulled off the black hood from his head. He was still unconscious and breathing heavily through clenched teeth.

"This…" Julius picked up a bag similar to the one that had been over Rierdan's head that had been lying in the bush next to him. But unlike the one over Rierdan's head, it had straps drawn tight to seal it closed.

With a hesitant and cautious expression, Julius slowly opened the bag.

As soon as he did, a cloud of underworld energy burst out like smoke. It quickly dissipated in the air, but the club members had been in contact with underworld energy more than once or twice. They could tell it had been a lot of underworld energy for such a small bag.

What was surprising, however, was that the bag contained the underworld energy without leaking so much as a fart of it. Nothing they had tried to contain the underworld energy with worked. It leaked through walls, albeit slowly.

Julius frowned and stuck his hand in the bag to pluck out Rierdan's familiar. The Runic Moss Butterfly was in an even worse state than Rierdan. It didn't look like it was about to die, not yet, at least. But it lay limp in Julius' hand, and its breaths were shallow, in stark contrast to Rierdan's deep and heaving ones.

Julius cupped the Runic Moss Butterfly with both hands and tried to extract the underworld energy that had infiltrated its body, but it wasn't very successful. He managed to extract some, but it seemed to only cause the butterfly pain, so he stopped.

Rierdan and his familiar were both in bad shape. The Club didn't waste any time.

They could find treatment in the city. But it would be far from as good as the one they would get at the Academy's infirmary.

They could, however, get a carriage in the city and rush back to the Academy. So, that's what they did.