Chapter 21: The Tracker

Nio felt that Bels shared a similar temperament to his own. If not for intentional training, he thought he would also be as reserved and direct in his speech as Bels. Though he wanted to forge a friendship, the Titan Capital couldn’t be built in a day. Nio still sent Bels away. Since there was a “Food Guard Squad,” there were also a “Nest Guard Squadron” and a “Corpse Guard Unit.” For Bels, the place Nio was heading to was too dangerous, and Nio bluntly stated that Bels would be a burden.

“We’ll meet again soon,” Nio said as he tossed a bag of money at Bels. It contained gold collected from those werewolves—100 gold pieces packed into the small bag.

“What does this mean?” Bels was clearly displeased.

“This isn’t payment for you. It’s a request for your help to buy some items—salt, spices, cooking stones (to replenish minerals), and dried vegetables. At current prices, this amount won’t buy much, but it’s best to use the pretext of purchasing for a community to avoid suspicion.”

“Okay, I’ll take care of it as soon as I return. It should take about 10 days,” Bels agreed readily. What he feared most was Nio expecting a share of the profits. Honestly, just the activation of the Life Wave’s potential and the infusion of power already made him feel he’d gotten a great deal. He wasn’t ready to serve Nio wholeheartedly yet, and he believed their relationship wasn’t close enough for him to take benefits without giving anything in return.

“I wanted to pick out some useful gear for you, but all these items are too eye-catching and have markings, which could cause trouble. Next time we meet, I’ll definitely choose some good gear for you.” Nio didn’t mention his skill as a blacksmith.

“Then I thank you here first,” Bels said. He knew those spoils from the Claw Wolves were easy to obtain but hard to use effectively. Nio’s cross swords and throwing knives, with their unassuming yet razor-sharp design, impressed and made Bels envious. What pleased Bels even more was that, though it was a small thing, it showed Nio’s thoughtfulness and his attitude toward their relationship.

Waving goodbye, Nio watched Bels walk away until he disappeared from sight before setting off toward the dungeon bandit lair. Making friends with Bels was also part of connecting with those on the fringes. Although the Gale Team didn’t face a shortage of food at the moment, it was still necessary to think ahead.

Not long ago, Ji had brought back the latest news. As Nio had predicted, the only Air Knight who had escaped had joined the Claw Wolves near the Migration Team’s camp. Clearly, the identity of a Seer wasn’t suitable for high society, so the Air Knight preferred to face punishment rather than become a deserter and completely end his chances of advancement.

Without any eyes in the sky, Neo made the journey quite easily, taking about two hours to reach the area where the dungeon bandits’ lair was located. This speed wasn’t slow, but he believed the Claw Wolves could transmit messages even faster, as they had specialized message-carrying Carban Eagles. However, Neo had no intention of entering the bandits’ lair at all; no matter how capable the Claw Wolves were, they would only be wasting their energy.

The red soil in Hylfanis was extremely sticky, with a dense soil layer. It was said that many of the earthen caves here had existed for thousands of years. Neo was now in such an ancient earthen cave, located over 5 kilometers away from the dungeon in a straight line. It was a relatively small cluster of earthen caves.

This cluster of earthen caves was essentially a network of various sizes of caves connected together. The one Neo had entered was already abandoned for a long time, with cobwebs everywhere and dust covering the ground. Walking through it gave the impression of being inside a large tomb in the desert.

Polyface moved ahead like a beast. Its vine-like skin, resembling tendons, emitted a cool blue glow in the darkness, creating a strange luminous outline that looked extremely eerie.

“Sssss!” Polyface made a sound similar to a snake hissing, but much louder. Hearing this sound, even Neo, who usually remained in a state of light meditation, felt disturbed.

“Ooooh!” An Iron Pig couldn’t bear Polyface’s strange sonic attacks and rushed out from the darkness. Bang! The Iron Pig collided violently with Polyface, its two thick tusks sinking deep into Polyface’s chest and knocking it over. The Iron Pig resembled a calf, with short, thick legs and an armadillo-like back armor. Although it wasn’t a magical beast, it had a fierce temper and was a highly aggressive animal.

After being knocked over by the Iron Pig, Polyface let out a series of hissing sounds. Neo knew well that this sound meant pleasure—as if it, with its evil sense of fun, had begun to indulge in its pleasures once again.

Like an infatuated lover, it wrapped its limbs tightly around the Iron Pig, then extended bone-like vines from its flanks to pierce the Iron Pig’s relatively soft abdomen. The Iron Pig howled and struggled, rolling around on the ground along with Polyface, blood flowing and mixing with dust to form mud.

With a light leap, Neo jumped over the two creatures tangled together and continued deeper inside. He knew the Iron Pig was already dead, and those tortured to death by Polyface had nothing left to eat. Polyface wasn’t feeding itself—it didn’t have a digestive system like a beast. It was simply enjoying itself, listening to the dying screams and struggles; it loved this evil ambiance.

“Hmm, it’s here!” Neo’s target was a well. There was no water at the bottom, but there was a path.

After descending to the bottom of the well, Neo continued to walk slowly. This place wasn’t as spacious as the underground tunnels in Watzburg. For Neo, many sections required crawling. Compared to that, the oppressive feeling caused by the narrowness made him even more uncomfortable, as he still hadn’t gotten used to living in caves.

Before long, Duomian rushed up. Neo asked Duomian to go ahead, and they stopped in a larger natural cave. He knew well that there was a stretch of path ahead that needed to be dug out, as he couldn’t transform into a mass of vines like the mutated heather larvae that had explored the area before, allowing him to move like a snake.

Duomian was a competent laborer. It quickly took on the form of a long worm resembling a centipede, digging while using its many legs to carry soil and rocks into the large cave where Neo was. Its ability to change freely according to needs had been developed during the round trip to deliver Jeff and the others to the continental road. Neo was very curious about what had happened to Duomian, but unfortunately, he couldn’t get answers directly from it.

This was an exploratory journey. There were as many as seven digging sites over 10 meters long in total, and many areas consisted of hard rock. Duomian, who only possessed secondary combat abilities, found it somewhat difficult to work. By the time the path was cleared, it was already 11 p.m.

With a clatter, debris fell as Neo and Duomian entered a large rocky passage. The passage was somewhat damp, with clusters of fungi on the ground. The slightly stale air carried a faint animal scent… Neo knew that this marked the entry into the dark regions of Hylfanis.

Neo took out a vine ball that resembled a ball of yarn from his backpack. A dark green glow appeared in his other hand, which was then poured into the vine ball—this was the power of magic, not life force. Driven by this power, the tightly coiled vine ball loosened up, coming to life like snakes waking from hibernation. Neo threw the mass of vines onto the ground. About five minutes later, it had transformed into a small creature the size of a rabbit—this was the larva of the exotic heather.

Since Neo had raised his shamanic level to 4 by obtaining the Water and Fire Element Monuments, his magical skills had improved rapidly, with new changes every day. After gaining extensive knowledge of plants and potions from his beautiful adjutant, his already rapid growth accelerated even further. Skills like vine manipulation, heather control, and the use of Shadow Moon magic were all things he hadn’t mastered before.

This exotic heather was one of those that Neo had ordered to explore other routes leading to the dungeon’s stronghold. Its role now was to act as a guide.

The terrain in this dark region was relatively primitive, yet it still had many forks. Animal activity was frequent, and animal droppings could often be seen. What surprised Neo even more was that he encountered howlers here, and not just one.

As magical beasts, howlers had minds far superior to ordinary animals. After failing to lure Neo deeper into the darkness, two howlers fled—one escaped, while the other stayed at a distance, watching like a lion monitoring antelopes on the grassland, neither too close nor too far.

Although howlers mostly operated alone, it wasn’t impossible that they were gathered by a howler leader or controlled by more powerful magical beasts. Neo believed the escaped howler had gone to warn others, meaning it was likely to bring more of its kind or powerful predators to carry out a hunt.

Neo decided to eliminate this tracker. He scattered magically charged thorn seeds along a path, then moved forward at a steady pace while timing his actions carefully. The Wild Howl sensed the uniqueness of the magically activated thorn seeds but didn’t understand their purpose and chose to carefully leap over that area. After watching for a while longer, the Wild Howl saw its target turning back toward it. Though the aura emitted by that serpent-like creature made it wary, it remained calm—knowing the importance of keeping a distance. When Neo quickened his pace, it would take a few quick steps; when Neo slowed down, it would walk while observing. But this standoff didn’t last long, as the Wild Howl eventually found its path blocked by wildly growing thorny vines. It tried to tear through the vines with its energy-laden claws, but they were far tougher than it expected. By then, Neo had caught up, and a mass of dark green energy thrown at the vines completely ruined the Wild Howl’s chances of breaking free. Forced to retreat, it became entangled in the overgrown vines. The Wild Howl acted swiftly, turning to attack Neo—not to fight to the death, but to escape. Yet Neo had anticipated this and had also planted thorny vines on the other side, with the serpent-form of Polyface closing in. The Wild Howl could only fight desperately within the increasingly confined “prison” it was trapped in. The brief but intense battle ended with the death of the Wild Howl. While recovering energy from its corpse and the thick clusters of thorny vines, Neo pondered the new problems posed by the appearance of this beast. With magical creatures lurking here, establishing a foothold and surviving would require relentless combat. Neo took out another mass of vine balls, activated them, and threw them on the ground. This time, Thorn remained to control the young heather creature. The octopus-like young heather climbed up the ceiling of the cave and spread out, becoming a hidden observer. Neo wanted to see what surprises the previously escaped Wild Howl might bring. The serpent-form of Polyface saw its skin and a section of its tail withering and falling off, eventually returning to its usual humanoid appearance. Compared to reptiles or insects, it was more accustomed to this form. Neo rarely restrained Polyface but mostly observed it. This being wasn’t just evil; it often exhibited thought-provoking behavior, especially its ability to change forms—a subject worthy of study for Neo. The journey that followed was relatively uneventful. Polyface remained evil, using its hissing noises to summon moles, killing them, attracting insects, and crushing them—all simply because it found it amusing. Neo knew Polyface’s soul was becoming increasingly twisted, and its continued existence would only make it harder to control. Yet he still felt it necessary to let Polyface stay for a while longer. “At least, it gives me time to achieve balance among the four elements,” Neo thought, his heart burning at the thought of the seven Storm Crystals in his arms.

Nio had no intention of going to the dungeon bandit lair; he merely wanted to find the Wind Team and those slaves. Even before fully taking control of the dungeon bandit lair, Nio had been pondering one question: what if the bandits gathered more of their kind and launched a counterattack? It was because of this consideration that he later planned to explore new paths and settle in the dark regions. Since the bandits he had anticipated never arrived, he managed to avoid being hunted by the Claw Wolves.

Although the Wind Team had moved away again with the slaves, thanks to the secret markers left by the Wind Squad, Nio was able to reunite with them successfully in the early morning.

Nio’s return gradually awakened many people. “Boss, you’re finally back! The brothers are going crazy. What’s going on outside?”

Ever since Frank and the two druids arrived, the Wind Team had lost all contact with the outside world. Barret strictly followed Nio’s orders, restraining his subordinates from conducting any explorations on the surface and waiting quietly for Nio’s return. Otherwise, the Wind Team might have already been wiped out by Victor’s men.

Facing those expectant eyes, Nio’s reply was simply, “I’m tired. Let me sleep first.”

Four hours later, around 8 a.m., there was no distinction between day and night underground, but the Wind Team still maintained a regular schedule using hourglasses.

The Wind Team’s camp consisted of several connected halls. With so much supplies, it was too cramped for over 300 people, and there was a lack of effective ventilation. The entire camp felt stuffy and suffocating. Apart from basic needs like eating, drinking, and using the restroom, the slaves mostly lay or sat around, with nothing to do.

The members of the Wind Team were gathered together, and Nio solemnly announced the tragic news: everyone in the migration group had died at the hands of the killers, including the families of the Wind Team members who hadn’t had time to leave.

There were no scenes of stomping, beating chests, or wailing. After all, four hours earlier, when Nio said he needed to sleep, it was already a signal. No one was foolish; if there had been good news, Nio would have told them right away to ease their worries. Those four hours had been both a torment and a time for emotional adjustment. Now that Nio had revealed the truth, he had snuffed out their last hope.

“Revenge!” The cries grew louder, but Nio remained silent, allowing them to vent their emotions while carefully observing their reactions. He already had a large amount of energy stored within him and decided to use it to boost the combat strength of the Wind Squad members. From the start, he hadn’t intended to distribute this energy evenly. Who would get more or less depended not only on ability but also on character. This great disaster was precisely a good opportunity to reveal everyone’s true nature, and Nio certainly wouldn’t miss it.

Some were blinded by hatred after losing their loved ones. A few members clamored to fight to the death. Fortunately, among them were not Barret, Boglem, and Bichir, whom Nio valued highly. Nio ordered those emotionally unstable members to be held down, tied up despite their struggles, and their mouths covered to silence their cries. Only then was the whole story explained in detail.

Finally, he said, “Lord Manmoris is dead, the Hurricane has been destroyed, and Victor has suffered heavy losses. Though I have avenged those who died, I have also incurred a great feud with Victor. The Duchy of Sanveste, and even the entire alliance, no longer offer a place for me, Neo Daknis. From now on, the threats of battle and death will always be at my side. When the Storm Team was first formed, we swore to create a world of freedom and happiness for ourselves. Now, the foundation of that oath no longer exists. Today, you all have another chance to choose—whether to follow me down a bloody path or pursue a different course. Think it over carefully. I don’t need an answer now. Give me your reply in 3 days.” What can be done in 3 days? For Neo, it is exactly the time needed to absorb the energy of the Storm Crystal and establish a monument of wind elements.