CHAPTER 73: A PLAN

Some moments later, the four were moving along the northern stretch, slower than they ordinarily would. Without Na-Ri’s floating orb to guide them, the weight of their safety had fallen entirely upon Orion’s poor shadow scout, which had already suffered death once before.

The scout, however, made no protest in continuing as their anchor, having long borne that burden. It drifted about fifteen paces ahead, its outline faint in the dim light as they advanced.

For half an hour they had yet to reach the first turning, nor had any threat presented itself. The monotony of the march was beginning to gnaw at them, and human frailties such as hunger steadily eroded their stamina.

’Ugh...’

Kyle scowled as he trailed behind Na-Ri, who walked with composed steps, Adela keeping close beside her. To his right strode Orion, his eyes drifting now and then towards the folds of his dark cloak.

His shadow scout scaled the height of a tree, slipped through the breadth of its branches, and moved to another before halting at the crown of the tallest in sight to survey the land ahead. It possessed every human trait of perception and thought, a remarkable intelligence even without its master’s guidance.

Before it, a pack of Cursed-rank creatures lurked. They were the size of a lioness, six-limbed with mandibles jutting where mouths should have been, their frames marked for speed by mutation. Around thirty of them circled, their focus fixed on a hollow into which one of their number burrowed.

As was natural, only beasts of the same kind could coexist without preying upon one another. Here, they acted as a pack, striking in synchrony and covering one another’s motion.

With their speed, their numbers, and the strength granted by rank, the four travellers would be crushed in an instant. Even Na-Ri, with her formidable skill, would be hard-pressed to stand against them, and her stamina and spiritual reserves were already depleted. Any thought of her unleashing her Ice skill was entirely out of the question.

It glanced back and saw the four heading straight towards the pack of creatures. Orion was not linked to its vision at that moment. If he had been, his own sight would have gone dark and his movements would have stalled, yet he needed to keep moving. The scout was therefore left to operate freely, its task being to return and report, which it was now doing.

Without delay, it descended from the branches and darted towards Orion. The shadow halted before them and swept its arm in a wide arc across the path, both to block their advance and to mark a diversion.

Orion stiffened, understanding at once what it meant.

"Wait. There is danger ahead."

He studied the scout, then after a brief silence said:

"A great deal of it. We must change route."

Kyle glanced about and caught sight of the shadow already leading them towards another path. They all followed without question. The scout held the path in memory, and though it adjusted their course, it would still guide them accurately to their destination.

In other words, it served as their GPS for the road.

Kyle’s gaze drifted back to the route they had nearly taken.

’That is corner one, then.’

He marked it before falling into step with the others with a sceptical look.

He tried applying the same logic of survival he had relied on in the Green Zone. If a pack of beasts occupied a given area, then others must be positioned at measured distances around it, holding their own territory.

In that sense, if there was already a first corner, there would surely be ten more scattered through the region. Such deductions were the perks of surviving alone in a hostile world for nearly ten years. At times, it almost made one feel omnipotent.

Kyle could not be entirely certain which direction the next pack would lie, but the probability of proximity was high. His theory was confirmed when the shadow soon signalled another pack ahead.

’Now claim your reward, Kyle,’ he told himself.

The creatures were Scraggers, Enraged-ranked Brute-types. Their strength was not the issue, only their numbers.

Orion’s face hardened.

"Fifty. Scouty counts fifty of them."

Kyle’s eyes nearly retracted with a grimace. That was a lot, even if they were Brute-types they could handle. The numbers were overwhelming, and the shadow scout had found no other route, so they had to pass through them at all costs.

They needed a plan. He was about to speak when Na-Ri cut in first.

The beautiful stranger’s gaze swept over the trees ahead before settling on the others.

Her voice carried no hesitation as she laid out the plan:

"We are not going in together. Orion and I will draw them in small numbers and break them down piece by piece. While we do that, you two hold back. The moment we clear a path, you move through at once and do not delay. We will meet you on the other side."

"Good plan, Lee."

The handsome youth responded with a brief nod and a smile, adjusting the folds of his cloak while the shadow scout remained beside him. He instantly agreed to her plan after noting the careful dots within it.

Kyle listened with sharp focus and weighed every point. A frontal push would collapse under sheer numbers, but the creatures lacked cohesion and would be drawn into scattered engagements. If Na-Ri and Orion kept them occupied and unbalanced, the others could slip through before the horde gathered its strength. It was not without danger, yet it was clear, and for the moment he found no better choice.

The grey-haired beauty gave her assent with a steady look fixed on Na-Ri, while Kyle held his silence and set his stance, committing himself to the plan.

He cast one last glance at the uneven ground, noting the vines that would catch careless feet and the narrow gaps between the trees where escape would either succeed or fail within seconds. The position offered no retreat once the charge began. Every detail lodged itself in his mind, the distance to cover, the pace required, and the threat of Stragglers breaking from the main group.

The handsome youth shifted his footing closer to the shadows and summoned his weapon. Na-Ri too called her blade to her side. The scout melted against the treeline, waiting for the signal to move with its master.

Not to attack directly, for it lacked the qualities to do so as a shadow, but to act as support in the moments to come.

Na-Ri lowered her hand, and with that signal the four braced themselves as the clearing widened ahead and the pack of Scraggers began to stir.