CHAPTER 251: CHAPTER 250 - THE RESCUE PLAN.

The Great Forest of Hector was still... too still.

Branches swayed despite the lack of wind. The chirps of birds had gone quiet.

No one knew what was happening, except for the beasts in the forest, who had sensed that predators above their class had stepped into the forest.

Above all, those predators were moving in groups, covering the whole forest.

In a situation like that, all the beasts could do was escape.

Every being that could feel it left this section of the forest, moving to another.

After all, there were about six groups.

............................

Group 1: Raven and Lia (Leafy).

Raven silently dashed through the canopy, Lia hopping after him like an oversized leaf ninja. Her leafy disguise fluttered like a ridiculous cape, her arms stiff like she was playing a bad version of tag.

They were looking for assassins, and Raven, whose senses had improved a lot, was leading the group.

He could feel Lia’s anxiety, and he was sure she would be worried.

This matter involved her family, after all.

She had been missing for more than fifteen days in the eyes of others, as she was also part of the group who were said to have died as heroes.

She didn’t even want to think about what her parents would be going through with her missing and declared dead.

But she, despite feeling all that, had been smiling and behaving normally because she knew that once she grew strong enough, she could finally protect everything that mattered to her.

However, now, she discovers that her sister has been abducted—someone from the precious family she wanted to protect was in danger.

This had rattled her so much that she felt like she couldn’t think of anything else.

But Raven had told her to trust him, so she had been keeping herself in check.

Raven, who had been keeping an eye on her since they started moving, could tell everything by looking at her, but he didn’t know if there was something he could say to make her calm down.

He didn’t think he would be calm if any of his family—his group—were abducted like that.

Worse, he didn’t know where the young princess of the Hector Kingdom could be.

Fighting was an easy feat for him now, as he was confident that he could defeat anyone, but how would he defeat someone when he couldn’t even see them?

How would he rescue Lia’s sister when he didn’t even know where she was being held?

So, for now, he tried to keep his cool and acted as he had always done.

"There’s a squad up ahead," Raven muttered, eyes glowing faintly.

Lia nodded, trying to keep her composure as a vine slipped over her foot and she faceplanted.

Raven didn’t react—except for the faintest smirk.

They landed amidst a half-ambushed squad. Three assassins were descending from the trees like wraiths.

A tendril of wind whipped from Raven’s palm, slicing through one.

Lia held out her leafy hand, vines erupting from the ground to bind the others.

"Photosynthesize that," she muttered, trying to sound cool but earning a mild coughing fit from inhaling her leaves.

The soldiers blinked. "W-What the hell is that!?"

"She’s a plant," Raven said.

"Oh," they said, completely unhelpfully.

............................

Group 2: Selena and Graye.

Selena and Graye moved on a flying devourer beast, as it was easier to track people from a height.

Raven had distributed the groups, keeping in mind that all of them had at least one person who could keep an eye out for dangers.

Selena, however, had one more task on her hands.

Raven had asked to search for any possible hideout in the forest that could be housing the rest of the assassins and possibly the young princess of the Hector Kingdom.

He had concluded that the princess wasn’t far from the forest, more than likely in the forest.

After all, she was sighted here, and even if she disappeared right after, she had to be here.

Yes, there was a chance that someone had made an illusion of the young princess, but Raven didn’t think it was.

No matter how much one underestimates the Hector Kingdom, there are people even in this weakest kingdom who are competent.

One of those people is immune to all types of poisons and illusions, and that person is a part of the king’s guards.

That person must have been mobilized for the verification since the king of Hector wasn’t a fool.

So, Raven was sure that the young princess was somewhere in this forest.

It was Selena’s job to find where.

"There!" It was then that Graye exclaimed, pointing toward a clearing.

Five assassins were encircling some soldiers while others lay dead beside them.

It was clear that the remaining soldiers would also die if not interfered with.

So, Selena raised an undead wolf from the ground, and it bit off a leg. Graye spun through with twin flaming swords, giggling.

"Hot enough for ya?" She cackled.

One assassin lunged at Selena, who merely tilted her head, and a shadow barrier covered her.

"How rude," she whispered as a spectral claw shredded him.

One soldier fainted. Graye offered a high-five to his unconscious body. "Tough crowd."

They were handling things well.

............................

Group 3: Siris and Clara.

Daggers flew like raindrops. Siris danced through a storm of blades, each string-bound dagger returning to her fingers with haunting elegance. Clara’s illusion swords surrounded the field like a sea of silver.

"You go left, I stab straight," Siris called.

"Make it pretty," Clara replied.

Ten seconds later, the assassins were lying on the ground, groaning as some had their limbs frozen while some had them blasted off into gore.

The soldiers who were saved, however, didn’t know what they had to do.

Should they thank Clara and Siris?

They should, but as they looked at Siris, who almost licked her dagger if not for Clara stopping her, they took a step back.

’Aren’t heroes supposed to behave like one?’

This was the only thought in their heads as Clara and Siris did save them like heroes would, but they needed to work on their manners.

Finally, the girls turned to the soldiers.

"I gave you art. Appreciate it," Clara muttered to the baffled soldiers.

"You both terrify me," one soldier whispered.

"Thank you!" They chorused.

............................

Group 4: Jessy and Jake.

Jake was pure shadow, melting into the ground, reappearing to decapitate, and vanishing again.

Jessy, in full metal armor, floated like an iron goddess, sending magnetic shards spiraling through enemies.

They didn’t speak.

Because they didn’t need to.

Jake was someone who rarely spoke, and Jessy was someone who replied in a snarky manner.

If Jake didn’t say anything, then Jessy couldn’t reply with anything, so they merely did what they were asked to.

A squad of soldiers blinked at their silent rescuers.

"Who are you?" One asked.

Jake shrugged.

But Jessy, who had finally met someone who spoke, didn’t.

She glanced at them once before she replied. "Travelers. That’s what we are."

The soldiers could only exchange glances, as they didn’t know what else to say.

............................

Group 5: Alex and Rufus.

Alex’s symbiote swirled over his arms, turning him into a living lava golem. Rufus, clad in his sleek red-black suit, fired bursts of light like a disco-themed sniper.

They weren’t elegant, but they were loud.

One assassin tried to sneak up behind Rufus.

The light wielder turned, grabbed him, and yeeted him into orbit.

"Don’t mess with nanotech," Rufus muttered.

Alex nodded. "Blargh is hungry. More?"

The soldiers backed away.

"No? Okay," Blargh said, using Alex’s mouth.

With those words, they moved again.

Everyone was tasked with this rescue mission, but if one were to ask who had rescued the most people, it would be this group.

They merely craved more fight, so after rescuing a group, they didn’t even wait to exchange words and moved to the next location.

............................

Group 6: Cluckles, Nibbles, and The Panther.

Screams echoed in the forest.

The giant corrupted panther burst into a clearing, leaping through flaming branches with regal poise.

On its back stood Cluckles, flapping his wings heroically, while Nibbles pointed forward with a stick like a saber.

"CHAAAAARGE!" The squirrel’s sign read.

The soldiers screamed in horror. "It’s a monster—!"

"Fear not!" Cluckles cried, puffing his snowy chest. "Cluckles has tamed the beast!"

The panther stopped beside the soldiers, licked one, then wagged its tail. The soldier fainted.

Cluckles flapped once. "Now... who summoned danger in this neck of the woods?"

Nibbles held up a second sign: "Squirrel Extermination Squad, at your service."

"...I want to go home," one soldier whimpered.

However, before this group could move forward, Nibbles raised a paw, his expression serious.

"Halt, Cluckles’s steed." The chicken stopped the panther as it saw that.

Then, from the woods, a small ball of fluff jumped out, rolling on the panther’s back before standing before Nibbles with a salute.

Squeak!

The moment that squeak left that squirrel’s lips, Nibbles’s expression changed.

It wasn’t just Selena’s summoned beasts that were in charge of searching for any clues related to the young princess.

There was another, equally, if not more, capable group at their disposal that was perfect for this type of job.

They had continuously proved their competence by completing several tasks and always looking out for Raven and his group.

It was the two squads of squirrels that worked under Nibbles, the Clawtail Recon Squad and the Nutfang Rapid Strike Unit.

From the serious expression on Nibbles’s furry face, one could tell that the news this squirrel delivered to him wasn’t something to scoff at.

Even Cluckles had turned serious as he understood everything.

"Beasty," the chicken said to the panther, patting its back with his claws. "Cluckles would like you to lead us back to the leader."