Chapter 16: Troubles

“Sir, out of respect for all the times we’ve obeyed your orders along the way, please spare our lives. We have elders to support and children to care for…” The two pilots pleaded with Neo.
They were in a valley lake in the hilly area southeast of Hylfanis. All around were nothing but soil and rocks—not even a single tree in sight. The aircraft was parked by the lake. Coming to such a desolate place in the dead of winter, the two pilots clearly realized this wasn’t some emergency mission at all.
“Stop talking nonsense. You’ve done well. I won’t kill you. Go.” Neo said calmly.
“Thank you! Thank you!” The two pilots thanked him before running away at top speed.
Swish! Swish!
Thud! Thud!
Two flying knives struck their backs, sinking deep into their skulls, killing them instantly. Neo walked over to the corpses with indifference.
“Lies and ambush killings—by human standards, such actions are the most shameful,” Nancy said, having gained vast knowledge and a kind temperament. She teased Neo.
“I don’t see it that way. First, lies can reduce their fear. Second, killing them instantly means they suffer no pain. Third, I didn’t take their souls. Compared to other ways of dying, this is already a favor.” Neo said as he stepped forward, turning the two into ashes. He piled their clothes and belongings together, raised his hand, and with a flash of flame, set them on fire. Once reduced to ashes, he dug a hole and buried everything. Their clothes and items were top-quality but unsuitable for use, which led to their exposure—a costly mistake.
Removing his disguise and returning to his true form, Neo headed straight to the center of the lake, chiseled a hole in the ice, and jumped in with a thud.
It was warmer beneath the ice than on the surface, though the water was still quite cold. But after his adventures in dark places, ordinary water couldn’t harm him. Using his aquatic mimicry ability, he descended to the lake bottom and planted the latest strain of Aberrant Thorn Vines.
Thanks to the effects of the thorns, this new strain of vines possessed the “Hawthorn Thorn Growth Effect”—in other words, just like poisonous hawthorns that produce thorns, they could grow rapidly if energy was sufficient, reaching half an arm’s length in as fast as two or three seconds. Additionally, influenced by the thorns’ effects, these vines also had the “Ice-Cold Speed Boost Effect”—the same effect that allowed the massive Thorn Forest to form. Coupled with Neo’s use of life force influenced by the Power of the Sacred Tree, their growth rate was absolutely insane, much faster than that of ordinary poisonous thorns.
The thorns grew densely underwater, intertwining to form a net-like structure. Neo then focused on nurturing one main vine while summoning Water Guardians to prepare for support underwater.

Soon, Neo, who had risen from the lake bottom, pulled two vine-like strands that resembled ropes and headed straight for the aircraft. These vines had originated from the main vine and kept being produced; Neo used them as ropes to tie up the cargo boxes, then used thorns and spines to drag them toward the ice cave in the center of the lake. Underwater, the Meatwater Guard assisted in neatly arranging them.

The ice surface was smooth and covered with snow, sparing Neo the trouble of moving things around. Despite the large amount of supplies, the loading speed was fast. The only thing that took longer was several important instrument components equipped with positioning devices. Nancy had already analyzed the functions of these instruments, but finding the non-instrument components needed for tracking required careful investigation. Moreover, some of these instruments couldn’t be exposed to water, so fine vines had to be grown to wrap them tightly, and then sealed and hidden with the help of the Ice Spirit.

After much effort, by the time the ice cave was sealed again, daylight had already broken. He didn’t delay further, erased any traces, and rushed into the cockpit to fly the aircraft away.

The aircraft had a two-seater layout but could still be piloted by one person. The flying method wasn’t difficult to master, especially with Nancy, a brilliant deputy who understood the aircraft’s principles, guiding him. Neo quickly got the hang of it, flying low over the ground to the south, occasionally hovering to scatter the removed positioning devices. Although these magical locators could emit energy in special frequency bands, they had a limited range, making it tough to locate them.

After scattering all the positioning devices, Neo flew straight northwest. Whether it was the Migrant Tribe Valley, the Hurricane Airship, or the stronghold occupied by the Windstorm Squad, they were all in that direction. Victor already knew the Windstorm Squad was hiding in a bandit lair not far from the Migrant Tribe’s camp and understood that they would never abandon those people and flee on their own. With this in mind, Neo wasn’t worried about exposing their location. He believed time was of the essence—after joining forces with the Windstorm Squad, thanks to the rugged terrain of Hillfanis, even if the Fang Army came with less than 2,000 men, or even 20,000, he was confident they wouldn’t be able to catch a single one. On the contrary, if he didn’t return soon, the Windstorm Squad members trapped in one place might encounter trouble.

Viewing the terrain from above was vastly different from identifying paths from the ground. Fortunately, with Nancy around, Neo could roughly gauge direction and distance. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure if Rajef’s supply convoy had escaped, nor could he rely solely on sealing the airship’s compartments to completely prevent its air knights from searching. After much thought, he decided to abandon the aircraft and parachute. Under normal circumstances, the aircraft could fly steadily for a while without a pilot, and the longer the better for Neo.

Parachutes weren’t anything new in this era—after all, air knights and aircraft had existed for many years, and people had researched them whenever needed. From leather parachutes to fine linen ones to the current silk ones, they had evolved over more than a dozen generations. It was Neo’s first time using one, but he handled it quite well.

He landed on a ridge. After touching down, he determined the direction while unloading his belongings, then bundled them up and set them on fire, reducing them to ashes.

To prevent theft and smuggling, military goods undergo strict oversight and control during production. Take the silk fabric used for manufacturing, for example—its stitching and weaving methods differ from ordinary ones. Even experienced experts can tell whether the material is military-grade just by taking a glance or touching it. As for items like armor and aircraft, unique identifiers are embedded within them. So, despite their quality, without sufficient time to conceal them properly, Neo had no choice but to give them up reluctantly.

Leo, Gordon, and the CEO’s identities had all been destroyed. Neo was still wearing the same clothes he had when he was imprisoned in the earthen pit the previous night. His weapon pouch had been taken away at the time, but since Gordon was guarding the pit, it remained there, so it was still with him. Once he determined the direction, Neo quickly transformed and, in his werewolf form, rushed at speeds comparable to those of a fine horse, crossing ditches and ravines straight toward the dungeon.

Meanwhile, Victor had recovered from his hysteria. He did not punish the officers who had been manipulated by Neo and caused heavy losses to his troops. On the contrary, he publicly declared that it was right for soldiers to carry out orders, but the real fault lay in serious flaws in the higher-ups’ systems…

Victor’s actions not only calmed the crew of the Hurricane but also allowed him to seize control of the ship. Before this, he only had a few bribed pawns on the Hurricane, similar to his control over the Fangs Regiment before the massacre in the valley. It was through that incident that he used his power to make a series of personnel adjustments under the guise of rewards or punishments, further extending his control over these two military forces.

Although Victor had taken active steps to make amends, Neo’s destruction and looting still dealt him a heavy blow. Victor’s ability to become the commander of this emergency operation was partly due to a hefty “sponsorship fee” he paid. He had to cover 80% of the total loss for both the stolen and destroyed supplies, not to mention the aircraft, which was entirely his personal property.

Millions of gold coins vanished like that—more importantly, it wasn’t just a simple loss; it strengthened the enemy, weakened him, and wasted precious time. After suffering such a huge loss, Victor naturally wouldn’t give up easily. After reorganizing the military, he issued a series of orders, which boiled down to one thing: find them—everywhere, in every ditch and ravine in the vicinity—no matter what, bring out all the remnants of the migrating group.

“Your Highness, over in the valley…”

Victor, whose eyes gleamed darkly, glanced at the cautious Claw Officer who asked him. “Use the Eye of Magic to record everything accurately. Don’t handle the corpses yet. Mark the supplies for tracking. Then, withdraw all troops back to the Hurricane.”

“Record accurately…?”

“It’s just some civilians who were accidentally killed. Everyone was there at the time. I think, even if the Fangs Regiment’s handling was improper, it was just a minor mistake. Just record everything accurately. If the higher-ups blame us for it when they return, I’ll fight for justice for my soldiers.”

Victor’s words made the senior werewolf officers around him straighten their backs and lift their chins; many of them thought, “His Highness the Prince is truly honest in his duties…” It was precisely such attitudes that ensured Victor’s order to “search for the remnants of darkness” was carried out without compromise. In addition to searching the open areas, air knights headed straight for the Shelter Valley, where they used various channels to gather information about the gang that had kidnapped Milien, hoping to determine the exact location of their lair as soon as possible. At the very least, they sought out those familiar with the terrain to speed up the search.

Around 10 a.m., after running nonstop for over two hours,Neo had covered nearly 100 kilometers. He decided to stop running along the ridge and instead move through the valley. As expected, caution paid off—his estimates were once again accurate. About half an hour later, air knights appeared in the overcast sky: Carban Giant Eagles. If he had continued running on the open ridge, illuminated by the snow, the air knights with their eagle vision would have spotted him first. Once locked down, he would be at their mercy, and they could summon allies via magical signals, making escape extremely difficult.

“Huff! Huff!”Neo puffed out white breath as he watched the air knights fly away before stepping out from beneath a Umbrella Tree. By now, he had reverted to his human form. The reckless running was over—navigating the valley terrain while keeping an eye on the sky required too much energy in werewolf form.

Sadness, anxiety, anger…Neo tried his best to control his negative emotions as he moved cautiously through the valley. The hills of Silfanis weren’t just home to Umbrella Trees and small animals; they were also inhabited by carnivorous beasts like grizzlies and wolves. Even encountering magical beasts wasn’t unusual, especially in such a bitterly cold climate, where most animals needed to eat more to survive the cold.

The paths in the valley were equally difficult—rocks covered in snow and ice were slippery and prone to causing sprains. Worse still, one had to be wary of traps set by hunters. There was no way to know whether a trap was effective without testing it oneself.

After walking briskly for another two hours, covering over 10 kilometers—though in reality, only about 5 kilometers due to the valleys—no more air knights were seen, likely because of the limited visibility. He did encounter a grizzly weighing around 1,300 pounds. Such a bear wasn’t particularly large, and judging by its appearance, it had likely just had a good meal and wasn’t desperate enough to see anything moving as food. It stared atNeo for a moment, spat white breath, and then wandered off.

Since the night before yesterday,Neo had hardly stopped moving, resulting in significant energy loss. Yet he had eaten his fill at dinner. With his stamina, he could keep going like this for another 30 hours without issue.

Around 1 p.m., next to a rock about two people tall, Neo stuffed snow into his mouth while keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings. Suddenly, his movements froze.
“Trouble!” Neo cursed inwardly.
One of the peculiarities of the valley’s rugged terrain was the unpredictable direction of the wind, which meant there were no such things as upwind or downwind areas. In the valley, Neo’s sense of smell and hearing were greatly impaired. Right now, he could hear footsteps and detect scents, but it was already too late to hide. The cliffs on both sides of the valley were steep, at least 70 meters high, and the more than 400 meters of this section were almost completely visible. There was a near-90-degree turn not far ahead, but the footsteps were coming from that direction.