443 Chapter 443: Human traces

Brown didn't spend too much time elaborating. Under Feng Hai's orders, we retreated deeper into the forest, doing our best to avoid the monsters that were gradually emerging over the horizon. I caught a glimpse of a massive silhouette – the hi-tech sensors installed in my glasses displaying a visual on my lenses. When I zoomed in, I saw that it was a Medicinal Mastodon.

Yeah, I definitely didn't want to stick around.

There was movement to our left, and adjusting my glasses, I caught sight of a Phantom Tiger stalking out of the woods, sniffing around for prey.

Yup, I didn't want to get caught by that terrifying monster either.

It might strike some readers as odd as to why we chose to retreat from these monsters instead of killing them. After all, the Silver Wolves possessed the formidable and impenetrable Colossus class CEA and incredible firepower. They definitely had the potential to defeat monsters even as powerful as the Medicinal Mastodon or the Phantom Tigers. Eventually, anyway.

However, the Combat Exoskeleton Armor was powered by the user's mana. And the mercenaries did not have infinite mana. They would run out of mana eventually. Even if they defeated the Medicinal Mastodon and Phantom Tiger, more monsters would come crawling out of the woodwork and continue attacking. We couldn't fight forever – we would run out of mana eventually, the armor would get damaged, and the injuries would mount.

That would prove to be deadly, especially since we couldn't solely rely on Doctor Dorden to heal everyone. Also, it would be difficult for us to pull a fighting retreat with the wounded, especially when more and more monsters showed up.

"Stay down, and keep quiet!" Feng Hai ordered softly. He didn't need to tell us twice. The mercenaries were deactivating their combat armor and hunkering down by the trees, using the roots as cover. We lay low and crawled through the dirt. I was surprised that Melina did so without complaint, though she couldn't avoid making a grimace as her skirt was soiled by the muddy forest ground. Even so, she kept up with the mercenaries stoically.

I was impressed. This girl was to be my student? Wow…I didn't know if I could live up to her and her father's expectations.

"Gr…"

For a moment, I froze. I could almost feel the breath from the Phantom Tiger as it stalked near the edge of the forest, growling in a predatory manner as it tried to seek us out. The atmosphere grew tense and so thick I could almost cut through it with my sword.

"Everyone, stay still."

At Feng Hai's orders, everybody complied. Even Adrian and Melina immediately stopped, though I suspected they were like me and had paused momentarily from fear rather than because they were anticipating the Silver Wolves leader's orders.

Behind us, the Phantom Tiger continued lurking about, and sniffed the air. It swiveled its head from side to side, its yellow eyes narrowing as it swept its gaze through the forest. Even though it could clearly sense our presence, it saw nothing.

While the Phantom Tiger swept the area, the tremors from afar grew increasingly heavier. The unmistakable trumpet of a Medicinal Mastodon echoed through the air. The Phantom Tiger whirled about, its lips peeled back in a feral snarl, but then it decided to lope away after a momentary hesitation. Even though it was confident of defeating the Medicinal Mastodon, it didn't think the risk was worth it. In a duel between two high-ranked monsters, both would suffer severe injuries for sure, regardless of who was the victor.

With that in mind, the Phantom Tiger vanished into the forest, passing by just several meters left of our furthest outlying mercenaries. As it strode, it paused for a moment, crushing a paw into the ground and ripping up the earth with its jagged claws. The black stripes, combined with grey fur, allowed it to blend seamlessly into the shadows of the forest, almost rendering it invisible. Even so, if we gazed up, we could see its glowing yellow eyes, and the faint, rippling outline of its massive bulk as it tensed. Then it turned and strode away in a graceful manner, somehow managing to avoid snapping twigs and being almost silent despite its tremendous weight and size.

"…hu…"

I finally exhaled, realizing that I had been holding my breath this entire time. From my left and right, I could hear Adrian and Melina doing something similar, relaxing now that the immediate threat was gone. They weren't alone. A few of the mercenaries gasped in relief, with some rolling over and staring warily in the direction where the Phantom Tiger disappeared to.

Still, the danger wasn't over yet. We didn't know if the Phantom Tiger was still lurking nearby, luring us into a false sense of relief, and then ambushing us the moment we rose. Feng Hai thought similarly, for he ordered us to remain down.

"The threat isn't over yet," he reminded us.

By now, the tremors were growing ever heavier, and the Medicinal Mastodon finally showed up. Its trunk swayed gently as it probed for any signs of trespassers. It was also cautious, no doubt having picked up the scent of the Phantom Tiger from earlier. Despite its superior size and physical power, the Medicinal Mastodon lacked the agility of the nimbler Phantom Tiger, and even its thick hide was not proof against the latter's deadly claws. One of the more intelligent monsters, the Medicinal Mastodon was thinking along the very human lines of better safe than sorry.

It strayed for a bit longer, never quite entering the forest. Studying the ash and piles of Killer Bee corpses curiously, the Medicinal Mastodon looked around for the killer, and then finally decided to lumber away. I could still feel the slight quakes as it stomped through the plains, returning in the direction from where it came.

Even after the tremors had fully disappeared into the distance, Feng Hai had us remain in our sprawled position. He was not taking any risks at all. A few more tense minutes passed, and after several hand signals between himself and the scouts, he finally rose to his feet.

"Back up, everyone," he instructed, and everyone immediately complied.

"Wow, that was scary," Adrian remarked, but he didn't look shaken at all. Rather, he seemed pretty excited and bright. Similarly, Melina was nodding with a small smile.

"I can't believe we escaped their notice! Such high-level monsters…they should have been able to detect our presences."

"Your stealth device," I reminded her. "And don't underestimate mercenaries. They have been trained to suppress their mana to the point where monsters can't detect them even if they are right under their noses. Provided the monsters don't spot them with their eyes or hear them with their ears, anyway."

"Heh…are you able to do the same, Brother Richard?" Adrian asked, his eyes sparkling in amazement.

I shook my head sheepishly. "Nope. I had to rely on your stealth device to mask my presence."

Unfortunately, I had not reached the level of professional mercenaries yet. I lacked their Spartan training and other punishing regimens that they went through when they joined the Silver Wolves. I had a lot of catching up to do…granted, these professional mercenaries had several – or many, in some cases – years' worth of a headstart over me.

After posting sentries around the vicinity of the forest we currently resided in, Feng Hai then gestured toward Brown and his officers.

"Tell me what you found," he ordered without any preamble. Brown nodded and stepped forward, projecting a hologram. It was a picture of the Belfrost Flower field, but other than that, I couldn't tell anything.

"We found tracks…human tracks. Evidence that someone had been here, picking Belfrost Flowers just recently. I would say three days, maybe four. They are no longer fresh, but from the absence of flowers in this patch, and here, it feels like there was a deliberate…picking of flowers. Not to mention we found several footprints in the soil. Faint, but still there."

"That's good. So there's somebody in Yao Cai Mountains other than us." I noticed that Feng Hai wasn't quick to instantly conclude that these belonged to Ling Dan. After all, the footprints could literally belong to anyone. While people rarely set foot here because of the dangers and monsters, that didn't mean there wasn't anyone foolhardy enough to try.

However, that presented a sort of dilemma. This could turn out to be a wild goose chase. We could follow those tracks, only to discover that they belong to another group of mercenaries, or a bunch of workers risking their lives to collect the Belfrost Flowers, and then having already left a few days ago after their job was done here.

Brown, fortunately, put paid to that suggestion.

"There are no signs of any vehicle tracks nearby, no immolation from the plasma jets of hovercraft, nothing…so we suspect that these pickers came on foot."

"That makes it likelier that they may have something to do with Ling Dan," Feng Hai mused as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Do you know where they lead to?"

"Yes, sir." Brown nodded sharply. "The prints all lead southwest of here. At least the trail did. There were zigzags and detours here and there, but they all eventually lead in the general southwest direction."

"Excellent." Feng Hai beamed. Seeig his expression, I felt hope flare up inside my chest, and I was sure that many of the other mercenaries felt the same. "It might not be much, but it's a start."

"Should we scout ahead, sir?" Brown asked. "We'll try to recover the tracks and reconnoiter ahead to see where they lead us to. It might be a trap."

"You do that, but first…" Feng Hai raised his head and turned toward me. "Richard. Can you send your Soul Beasts to do an aerial reconnaissance first? Have them all fly in the general southwest direction and get a visual."

"Yes, sir."

"If they were picking flowers here only three or four days ago and didn't have any transport, then they shouldn't have gotten very far," Brent remarked thoughtfully as he rubbed his temple. "Maybe they set up camp somewhere nearby."

"Or maybe they parked their vehicles further down, in the valley of the mountains, or at the top, because they didn't want to accidentally ravage the field of Belfrost Flowers" Redfield grumbled sourly. He jolted when he noticed that everyone was staring at him, and frantically waved his hands. "But it doesn't hurt to try, right?"

"I'll look out for any signs of vehicles, or landing scorches or whatever."

"You do that." Feng Hai nodded at me, and I shut my eyes. It didn't take me more than a few seconds to summon a flock of Corvus, and I sent them in the southwest direction. Unfortunately, my sense of direction wasn't the best, so I also summoned Pyxis. The Constellation compass appeared in my hand, pointing me in the right direction. Actually, I didn't even need to summon Pyxis because I had an in-built compass in my glasses, and at a thought-click I could bring it up on display on my lenses, but I felt as if I owed it to my readers to give Pyxis a cameo. That, and I just wanted to show off my knowledge of constellations (which was a major failure, given that I should have summoned Pyxis like several hundred chapters ago when I complained about my poor sense of direction).

"That way, huh?"

The flock of Corvus took off as one, their wings fluttering in the air as they soared high up. They sped toward the southwest, the rustle of their wings barely audible amidst the cricket cries and chattering of insects in the forest (thankfully not monster insects, or bugs that had not mutated because of the mystical energies that suffused the planet in the wake of Emergence events). I kept my eyes shut as I monitored the terrain below through their perspectives, trying to take in a much of the scenery as possible.

Fortunately, with a clear direction, I could send more of my Corvus out further. They soared over mountains and forests, sweeping their sharp gazes across valleys and plains, trying to look out for any sign of human encampments or transports, or at least signs of where their transports were. It was a long shot, but it was quite possible that these people were hired by Ling Dan himself to gather ingredients for whatever spirit mediine he was concocting.

Might as well try…an improbably lead was better than no lead at all.

"!!!"

It took another fifteen or so minutes before something caught my eye. Right at the foot of mountains, the distinct shape of a manmade structure stood out glaringly, its metallic surface gleaming in fierce contrast against the verdant scenery that surrounded it. There were people moving in and out of the structure, a bustling crowd that appeared to be ferrying cargo into the interior. Cargo that most probably possessed flowers and medicinal herbs, given the location.

Opening my eyes and grinning as tentative hope swelled up within my chest, I turned to Feng Hai and the mercenaries and reported the possibly good news.

"I think might have found something."