Chương 27: Found

It took nearly a week of searching before Blick saw any sign of soldiers. He of course didn't find the tree he was looking for. There was an absolute sea of the things and most looked identical. Most of his day was filled with reinforcement practice and trying to grow a bundle of vines from a small pouch of dirt he began carrying on his hip. The new project wasn't exactly useful but if he wanted to get better at using his mana then he needed to keep up with practice.

The first time he spotted something he thought it was just an animal off in the distance. With brush and trees blocking the sight line it was just glimpses of fast movement here and there. As he approached he could make out the hooded figure moving at a steady pace through the jungle. Remembering the arrow he caught not long ago, Blick moved slowly and all but hunted the man. With his own hood up he could easily be mistaken for just another scout in the woods so it wasn't the most risky move getting close.

He nearly froze solid when he noticed the second scout a bit further away following the same direction as the first in a parallel path. They both moved swiftly but clearly keeping their head on a pivot. Their problem was Blick was really good at holding still when they turned his way. He decided the risk was too much if there were two people and he still wasn't sure if he was being hunted or if that arrow was a frightened reaction.

Waiting for them to get further away before he moved, Blick turned and tracked his way back to the river to find a different spot to search for the gate. Walking the river bank another mile down before returning to the jungle he spotted movement on the other side. Being the first people he had seen across the river he wasn't sure if these armored men were here with his group or a new group all together. Four soldiers were clearly collecting water while the others stood guard facing out with bows ready.

When they collected enough they hurried back into the brush. Always the curious creature, Blick moved to cross the river and follow. The swim was fairly simple as the current carried him down river as he swam across and he landed just a little bit past where the soldiers had been. He climbed out and took his cloak off to wring the water from it before throwing it back on and moving into the wood after the men. He caught up to them fast and it wasn't hard.

They walked a casual pace not expecting any soldiers on their side of the river as scouts had cleared this area several times. Scouts are quiet, soldiers are loud. Blick followed them by sound alone. Instead of staring at the men he kept his head on a swivel and scanned everything as he moved forward in small sprints before freezing to scan more. He heard it clearly when they made it to their camp. Camps were extremely loud places. This is exactly why Blicks people did not gather.

He found them this easily and if he had been a powerful predator he could have easily taken many people for food. Honestly as he was now he could probably just harass them and pick off a few coming and going from camp. It was good for them he didn't know who the hell they were. The military he followed out here had a grey color to most of their uniforms or armor. This group had normal clothing with a red patch on one shoulder.

He saw some scouts meet near the edge of the camp and they all wore the normal deep green to brown colored cloak he had grown use to seeing scouts wear. That meant from a distance even the scouts wouldn't realize he wasn't with their group. So long as he played it safe he could get a better look. There were as many people in this camp if not more than the Crater group he came with. Similar military structure. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Sir, we have an enemy scout in the trees. Trent confirmed it's not one of ours and he hasn't moved in over an hour, likely gathering numbers." The soldier reported to the captain of the Versale army. The black haired man lifted his cup and took a drink before responding.

"Alive is the goal. Surround him and capture him. Let's try and salvage being found first by getting a location out of this idiot." Moving to stand up from his desk he had to bend his head down just a bit to dodge the beam overhead. Structures meant for normal people were annoying to the giant of a man.

"Tell Trent to come get me when they have him."

"Yes sir!"

The hair on Blicks neck raised as he realized he was noticed. One of the guards refused to turn his head in Blicks direction after randomly freezing during a scan. While he watched the man he could see the man's eyes didn't scan with his obviously exaggerated head movements. They were locked onto Blicks tree branch. And that meant that even if the man was pretending not to notice, he would see Blick climb out of his tree.

When the guard was met by another facing away from Blick he could see lips moving in conversation but not hear what was said before the new soldier walked calmly away and entered the camp. Ok think think… how do I get out of here without raising an alarm. Looking at his immediate surroundings wasn't very helpful. He couldn't just drop from this tree without hurting himself he was sure. Too high to risk it. Not down then… could I just jump from tree to tree?

Surely they would be faster than that but I could lose them in the canopy and circle back disappearing into the jungle. Yeah that's good. Deciding on his plan he dashed off the way he had came reinforcing his jumps and clawed grip on the branches as he jumped from one tree to another. He could hear the shouting as soon as he moved and heard shuffling leaves below him. How had he not noticed they were already surrounding him. Too focused on the camp and not enough on his surroundings. Foolish.

Thinking to himself how much he still had left to learn, Blick moved as fast as he could. Most of the bodies far below kept pace and spread out.

"Fucking hell there's no way that's human."Catching a glimpse of a clawed hand grasping a branch before throwing its body forward onto a larger one, Trent shuddered.

"Someone go back and inform the captain this thing is not human. We can keep pace but if we engage we will likely loose some people. And make it fast." Thinking to himself he couldn't come up with a name for a man shaped beast with claws. What terrified him most was only one story book kept popping in his head. It was a work of fiction read to children. Monsters in the form of men that came in the cold nights to steal bad kids. A lie told to scare bad kids into acting better. But it was a fiction.

This wasn't even a debated topic. But above him, moving almost as fast as he could run, was a beast wearing a scout cloak.

"Arrows ready, try not to kill it but we bring it down. Volley left flank then right. Alternate and pin it down." That was a mistake. Trent saw the moment he yelled it out. This thing understood their language. And it was not happy at his words. The eye contact they made when it stopped on the next branch nearly made him piss himself. A furry grey face with big black eyes stared down at him with clear anger.

"Shit"