Chapter 137: Hidden Paths and Silent Moves
Frank stood at the edge of the dense forest that bordered the crystalline plains of UR. The early morning mist clung to the gnarled tree branches, muffling sound and cloaking sight. The map etched in his mind built through weeks of silent observation and strategic detours was almost complete. Each contour of the land, each distorted mana field, and each illusion-wrapped glade had slowly aligned in his mental reconstruction.
But even in silence, Frank wasn't alone.
He had grown increasingly wary of Uche, the supposed new addition to his hunting team. Frank had never confronted him, nor did he show any outward signs of distrust, but he had noticed things too many coincidences. Uche always took the post nearest to Frank during patrol. He was the only one who never asked for direction, never missed a shift, and his eyes… they lingered. Always watching.
Still, Frank played the fool. Feigned trust. Let the man believe the cover held.
With the Okoli family distracted by political infighting and the beast quota relaxed, Frank seized the opportunity. He gave the squad a week off, claiming he needed solitude for spiritual cultivation. The team welcomed the break weeks of mana harvesting and controlled beast hunts had worn them thin. No one asked questions, not even Uche.
At dawn, Frank slipped through the perimeter. His cloak was old, stained with dried mud and seemingly mundane but it had been soaked in crushed mana-disrupting vines, powdered root ash, and dried mist moth scales, forming a veil that warped spiritual senses. His breathing followed a carefully learned rhythm pulse-controlled circulation that muted his internal fluctuations.
The forest welcomed him with eerie silence, broken only by the occasional rustle or distant chirp. Frank moved in arcs and feints, never in straight lines, leaving misleading traces of his passage: a misplaced footprint here, a snapped branch there, faint mana echoes mimicking other directions. Even if Uche tried to tail him, he'd be chasing ghosts.
Every few kilometers, Frank stopped beneath a tree, climbing to the upper branches and vanishing into the canopy. He noticed something odd when he stood still atop certain ancient trees and aligned his posture with the ambient mana, he blended so thoroughly into the surroundings that even beast scouts passed right beneath him, oblivious.
It was during one such pause that Frank noticed something else. Below, a procession of low-ranked beasts herbivores and predators alike were moving westward in a hurried, coordinated migration. Dozens at first. Then hundreds. They stampeded silently through the underbrush, avoiding conflict and staying in herd formations.
Frank narrowed his eyes.
"A beast tide?" he murmured.
He didn't know the cause, but since the migration path didn't lead toward his base, he simply marked it on his spirit scroll and sent a coded message to the Okolis. If the tide was coming from the south, it might be linked to hail that fell two days ago, or perhaps something far older had stirred underground. Not his problem for now.
He resumed his journey, collecting high-quality herbs along the way mana-veined thistles, stone-leaf ferns, and stalks of whisper-root. He was careful, never approaching herbs that were obviously guarded unless the guardian was below Rank 3. For the few watched by Rank 3 beasts, he used Phantom Step to appear beside the herb, snatch it, and vanish before the guardian even noticed.
Time passed in stillness and shadows.
After nearly three hours of travel, the terrain shifted subtly at first. A rocky slope curved into a familiar crescent. A dried waterfall marked by glowing purple fungi appeared in the distance. Frank's pace slowed, heart steady but alert. He was close. Very close.
He dropped to one knee, touched the soil, and felt it: the same strange warmth beneath the surface… the same silent tug in the air. The mana here vibrated in harmony with something deep underground. He was almost there. And this time, he wasn't stumbling upon it he was claiming it.
But even now, in the back of his mind, he wondered… was Uche still watching?