Step was exhausted. She had been running for a few minutes now while carrying both Asher and Milas. They were pretty deep in the forest right now and the sound of battle was very distant. "You can put us down right here."
That was exactly what Step was waiting to hear. She dropped the two teenagers without caring for their landing as she fell on her back. Taking a bottle of blood from her bracelet, she chugged down the sweet liquid and sighed with relief. The trio remained silent for a few minutes as everyone was contemplating their next move. "Step, do you know anything about that wolf that we can use against it?"
"Sorry to break it to you but I don't. I only memorized the basic information of the species in our surroundings. That wolf isn't even from the Darklands. It's from the branch of the Foresaken Desert that separates us from the human land. The only reason I know about it is because it shows up every time during the wolf hunt."
"Then I guess we just have to fight it." Asher said with a sigh. His body was constantly twitching as he healed.
"It can't be that bad. It's only an intermediate tier beast I've killed one before. The only thing that's different is that this one is an elemental beast." Milas said as he took off his remaining shoe. His other shoe was destroyed along with his leg and it made little sense to walk with only one shoe. It was better to be barefoot.
"Where did you even find an intermediate tier beast?" Asher asked.
"It was in the mines when I was fighting for my freedom."
"If you're talking about the slave tournament then that doesn't really count. The beasts their are usually drugged and under the effects of the charm skill. The intermediate beast there can barely fight off a basic beast from the wild. I hate that they do that to those poor creatures." Step said. Her knowledge as a beast loving daughter of a noble was shining through.
"Poor creatures? Are you talking about the beasts or the slaves?" Milas asked jokingly.
"Ignore him. It looks like the only way to survive is to hide away."
"That won't work, Asher."
"And why is that? "
"Because you killed more of its underlings than anyone else. It's why it attacked you first. Beasts from the Foresaken desert are famous for being vengeful. It won't stop hunting you till it personally eats you. It's probably tracking us down right now. " Asher sighed when he heard that. The two boys were already healed but they didn't know what to do.
"Step, you need to split up with us go out on your own. That wolf will keep chasing Asher and we plan on permanently leaving the settlement. You just need to find a safe place to stay till the wolf hunt is over. We will run around in circles and buy time till midnight. Once we get those horses, we'll be home free." Milas said as he stood up. He lightly hopped around to test his mobility with his newly healed leg before nodding with satisfaction.
"I guess this is goodbye. If you guys survive, promise me you'll come visit. Atleast once a century should be fine." Step said as she pulled the two boys into a group hug. The farewell was short as she soon left. Left alone, the two teenagers started planning their next move.
"That wolf is most likely tracking you down with the smell of wolf blood. We should find a source of water for you to wash off so it can be harder for it to find you."
"There's the river that brings water to the settlement. The only problem is that we have to get past Bald Ridge to reach it. Either that or we go back to the settlement to get water. Which will lead to us being caught and labelled deserters."
"We have a little over three hours till midnight. We can get there and back before midnight." Milas said as he started to walk.
"Dude, the rivers this way." Asher said as he led the way.
Two shadows were silently gliding through the forest. One moved in the treetops. Leaping from branch to branch with practiced ease. The rustle of leaves caused by his movements was silent enough to be mistaken for the sound caused by a gentle breeze. The other shadow moved on the uneven ground without losing pace. The only indication of their passing was the smell of blood left in the night air.
Milas and Asher came to an abrupt halt. Before them was a cliff and at the bottom was the raging river. Their eyesight allowed them to clearly see the foaming water as it formed rapids. They could also see the enormous serpent hiding amoung the rocks. Milas whispered to Asher who was looking for a way to get down the cliff. "Be careful, that's a Bone Devouring serpent. It can spit poison that melts flesh in an instant. It's also an intermediate tier beast."
The two boys chose to go further downstream. They managed to clean up and change their clothes. They had completed their objective with a lot of time to spare so they decided to pass the time in their own way. Asher went fishing by using himself as bait. He made a cut on his hand and let the blood attract fish. He ended up catching an arm sized basic tier fish which he ate raw right where he caught it. Milas was circulating his blood energy in his body while watching Asher.
The two boys silently approached Bald ridge as midnight drew closer. The smell of blood became overwhelming as they got close to the clearing. They could hear shouting and growling which meant that there was someone fighting against the wolf. They silently entered the clearing and bore witness to the hellish scene.
Mutilated corpses of students were strewn all over the clearing. Milas could see Veruca, who was missing an arm, trying to force feed blood to Claus who was an unrecognizable mess of mangled flesh. He also saw Aileen struggling to free herself from a spear-like spike of rock that had impaled her. In the middle of the clearing, the arrogant student was facing off against the wolf on his own. He was wielding a sword that glowed a blinding red. Every swing of the blade unleashed a slash of blood energy. The wolf was avoiding these slashes carefully. It had a large gash on its side from when it failed dodge.
Milas and Asher immediately rushed to help Aileen. They freed her and gave her a few bottles of blood. Asher picked up a large hammer and charged at the wolf. The wolf had noticed Asher but it couldn't dodge his attack. A slash of blood energy was blocking its path of retreat. The wolf decided to tank the attack in order to deal with the pest that dared to launch a sneak attack. The hammer landed and the wolf yelped as its ribs cracked. It didn't expect such a heavy blow.
Milas was feeding blood to Aileen when she suddenly stopped him. "Help my brother kill that wolf. I can drink blood on my own but we can't let the wolf win. If it kills him, we won't stand a chance."
"Your brother?"
"The lord's son is my brother. I'm actually the lord's last born daughter. But that's not important right now. You need to help him win that fight. His sword is the only weapon strong enough to easily kill that wolf." Milas stood up and summoned the short swords he got from Deogratius. He observed the battle for a moment, waiting for an opportunity to join before leaping forward.
The wolf was backing away from the relentless attack of the lord's son when Milas slashed its hind leg. This created an opening for Asher to land another blow. The wolf was now suffering from attacks from three sides. Milas was sticking close to it like a second skin. His short swords weren't strong enough to significantly damage it but the wounds were piling up. Asher kept the wolf distracted whenever it tried to target Milas. The lord's son kept attacking from a distance allowing them to form a cohesive team.
The wolf suddenly stomped its front paw and multiple spear-like spikes of rock shot from the ground. Asher managed to dodge one of the rock spears but another pierced his thigh. He swung the hammer and smashed the rock freeing himself but the injury greatly affected his mobility. He braced for an attack from the wolf but it never came. The wolf was charging at Milas who was in a worse condition. His torso was skewered by two rock spears that held him in place.
The wolf would have bitten Milas' head off if the lord's son hadn't interfered. He stood between Milas and the wolf, swinging his sword wildly. He used the sword to shatter the rock spears holding Milas and continued to hold it back. Milas pulled the spears out of his body and stood up while healing. He was about to help the lord's son when his body moved subconciously. The lord's son was adjusting his stance when a punch landed on his back, pushing him forward. He instinctively turned to face his attacker.
Milas knew that he had messed up. In his rush to help fight against the wolf, he had forgotten about Deogratius' order. His second punch landed cleanly, pushing the lord's son into the jaws of the furious wolf.