Chapter 551: Traitor hit like child.

The area near the Stonefang quarters had stronger patrol presence for one simple reason.

Tension.

No matter how much ’unity’ the Authorities tried to promote, they understood one thing well. The hatred the two sides held for each other was deeply ingrained into their very beings.

While most could and were controlling it, there was always a chance that someone, on a bad day, might do something irreversible.

And to prevent that, stronger patrols were deployed.

Not only were there more patrol teams here—three teams even had communication crystals, a rare artifact the Velmourns had traded from the merchants that visited them throughout the years.

One crystal was with the Velmourn Patrol, the second with the Stonefang Patrol, and the last was with the only mixed patrol group. This last one was mostly given to report anything that happened—not in the area, but within the patrol party itself.

Right now, however, Gruumak had contacted the second main patrol, the Stonefang group.

“Hold?”

The Stonefang patrol leader tilted his head, confused, but from the other side—

[Fast.]

Gruumak’s strict voice was heard again and in an instant, not just the patrol leader, but all other members of the party stiffened.

“Yes.”

The patrol leader nodded. Gruumak cut contact, and the patrol leader looked at the rest of his men. They all stared back at him.

There were only 500 Stonefangs in total, so basically, they all knew each other. The name Fraza wasn’t foreign to any one of them.

And while the men were confused as to why the Chief wanted them to capture him, none of them questioned it.

They just nodded at each other and rushed toward the Stonefang Quarter, without any questions, debates, or delays—just like their Chief had told them to.

Within a minute, the Stonefang Quarter was already within reach. The Stonefang Patrol did not stop; they hurried in.

More than half of the Stonefang population was currently at work. The rest that were here were children, the old, and those who worked at night.

Stonefang people looked up as the patrols ran in, confused.

A woman holding a bowl stepped back, a warrior lifted his chin, a child pointed at the elderly man he was with and whispered in his sharp, rough tone.

“What happen? Who die?”

“Not know. Something important.”

The elderly answered, observing the patrols silently.

The patrol party did not stop either—

“Move! Out way!”

The patrol leader shouted in a rough voice.

People stepped aside.

A man growled, a woman pulled her child back, a few warriors glared dangerously, but no one did anything.

The patrols pushed deeper into the quarter and soon, they were there—

In front of Fraza’s house.

By now, a crowd had formed behind them.

It wasn’t a loud crowd.

Stonefangs didn’t gather like Velmourns did.

They gathered like wolves did—silent, watchful, and… ready in case something happened. Even children were no different.

Fraza’s gate was shut.

The house itself was simple, similar to all others in the quarter—stone walls, a roof weighed down with stone slabs, a narrow door that opened inward so the wind couldn’t rip it away.

There was no smoke coming out.

No firelight.

No… sound.

The patrol leader stared at the gate for one second and then looked at his men.

“Maybe he sleep,”

One muttered.

Fraza was chosen for night shift at the Wall. It shouldn’t be long since he returned from work, so it was a very likely possibility.

But despite that, nobody even thought of being gentle.

Their Chief had not said ask.

He had not said check.

He had said hold.

Hold fast.

That was all.

The patrol leader lifted his fist and slammed it into the gate.

BANG

“Fraza!”

He shouted in a rough voice.

“Open!”

No answer.

He slammed again.

BANG

Still nothing.

The patrol leader’s mouth twisted, then—

“Break,”

He ordered.

Two Stonefangs stepped forward and kicked the gate together.

CRACK

The wood snapped, the latch gave in an instant, and the gate swung inward with a hollow sound.

The crowd behind them leaned in, their eyes narrowed, bodies ready for anything that might happen.

After all, if they were confused before, now it was clear.

Something was definitely wrong.

The patrol leader entered first, moving carefully as if he was expecting an ambush.

The second Stonefang followed.

Then the third.

Then the last.

Four patrol members.

Broad shoulders, hard breaths, and hands already near weapons.

And the moment the patrol party walked in, they stiffened as their eyes fell on Fraza.

Because Fraza was not sleeping.

He stood near the far wall, half-turned, like he was about to leave through the back, and when he realized the patrol party was already in, his eyes went wide, his mouth opened as he froze.

The patrol members looked at him, then they looked at the thing in his hand.

A communication crystal.

A faint shine pulsed inside it, telling them it was active, and the moment the patrol leader realized it, his stomach tightened.

After all, only the Chief, Velmourn elders, and a selected set of people had communication crystals.

And if Fraza had one… that meant he had taken it, or been given it.

And if it was active… it meant he had been talking.

To someone—probably the one who gave the crystal to him.

The patrol leader thought of the worst possibility, and Fraza staring at them like a beast caught in a trap did not help his case.

Just then—

The crystal slipped from his fingers.

It hit the ground and—

Crack

It cracked. The glow inside it died instantly.

But the damage was already done.

The patrol leader’s face hardened.

“Hold him!”

He barked.

Fraza moved.

He obviously did not fight— even if he was strong, going against four alone was foolish—so he ran.

Or at least he tried to.

He threw himself sideways, toward the back door, but the second patrol member was already there. The man slammed his shoulder into Fraza’s chest and drove him back.

“Rgghh!!”

Fraza snarled.

He swung his fist.

The patrol member took it on the jaw, spat blood, and grinned like it meant nothing.

“Traitor hit like child.”

He muttered with a bloodied mouth.

Fraza’s eyes darted.

He was surrounded.

He wouldn’t be able to run, not like this—

So,

“Rrraaggghhhhh!!”

He roared, and in an instant, the air around the house shifted as the space around him trembled and three shadows spilled out of his Sanctuary.

Three beasts.

Fraza’s Bonds.

The first was a rock-lizard, as long as a man and twice as thick. Its body was covered in layered stone plates, like armor made from a mountain. Its eyes were red and flat. When it moved, the floor trembled.

It opened its mouth and breathed out a low rumble.

“KRRAAAKKKKK!!!”

A heavy, crushing sound that made the bones feel tight.

The second was a white-fanged hawk-beast, but not a normal bird. Its wings were torn-looking, like blades of ice. Its feathers were not soft—they looked like sharp shards. Its beak was long. Its talons clacked against stone like metal.

“KRRIIIEEKKKK!!”

It screamed.

The scream cut through the air like a knife, making whatever furniture there was inside the room tremble.

The third was a shadow-stag, tall and thin, with horns like black branches. Smoke rolled off its body as if it was made of night. Its hooves didn’t make a normal sound.

It made no sound.

That was what made it worse.

The patrol leader’s eyes narrowed.

“So you fight.”

He growled.

But Fraza did not care. He shoved past the second patrol member, using the rock-lizard’s rumble to make the man stagger.

Then he pointed toward the door.

“Go!”

He snapped at his beasts, voice shaking.

“Make way!”

The hawk-beast snapped its wings outward.

WHOOSH

A slice of cold wind burst through the house. It wasn’t just wind—it carried ice-dust, sharp enough to cut skin. It hit the patrol members’ faces, making them flinch.

The shadow-stag lunged forward, its horns lowered as it moved fast and… silently.

The rock-lizard, on the other hand, slammed its tail against the floor.

BOOM

The floor cracked, the entire house shook, and the crowd outside stumbled back, startled. Yes, they were ready for anything, but this still surprised them to some extent.

They did not think Bonds would be called out.

But in the end, Fraza’s actions left the patrol party no choice.

The space around them trembled as well and suddenly, the small house became too small as more and more Bonds appeared.

The Patrol’s Bonds.

Ten in total, filling the space with heat, breath, claws, and power.

The first patrol member pulled out a lava-hound, a black dog-beast with cracks of orange light running through its body like magma veins. Its mouth smoked. Its paws left faint burn marks on the stone.

The second patrol member pulled out a bone-ape, tall and pale, with arms too long and ribs showing like armor. It moved in jerks, fast and… ugly. Its fists were like hammers.

The third patrol member pulled out a storm-goat, broad and thick, with horns wrapped in faint blue sparks. Its fur stood up as if the air itself was angry around it.

The fourth patrol member—quietest of the four—pulled out something that made even the crowd gasp:

A glass serpent.

It was long and thin, its body see-through like frozen water. Inside it, faint light swam like trapped stars. Its eyes were calm. Too calm.

And that was just four.

More came.

A spike-tortoise the size of a table, shell covered in long black spikes.

A fire-moth with wings like burning paper.

A steel boar with tusks that looked freshly sharpened.

A wind-cat, small but fast, with a tail that split into two streams of air.

A mud bear, thick and heavy, skin always wet, always shifting like clay.

A needle crow, a dark bird with feathers like thin darts.

Ten Bonds in total, ready to capture the traitor, no matter what it took.

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