Chapter 82: Hunt Begins [1]

The wagons moved slowly through the narrow pass, their wooden wheels creaking over frozen earth.

Frost clung to the edges of the canvas covers, and the horses’ breath came in thick, cloudy puffs in the pale pre-dawn chill.

Inside the front wagon, an woman merchant rubbed her gloved hands together near a lantern, trying to warm her fingers.

Her name was Lila, and she’d made this trip a dozen times—Draken Duchy to the northern frontier and back again.

It was supposed to be easy. A routine delivery of spices, fabric, and some enchanted trinkets. Light cargo. Quick turnaround.

…And it was.

At least on the surface, Lila knows that anything can happened in the north, that’s why she had picked five professional escorts guard.

If anything happens, she knows that they can take care of it.

Lila opened the small, frost-rimmed window of the wagon and glanced back.

Five silhouettes on horseback rode in a loose formation behind her convoy, their figures cloaked in layers of fur and leather to shield against the biting cold.

Their breath misted like the horses’, but their eyes—sharp, alert—swept constantly across the snowy ridgelines and treelines.

She recognized each of them even at a glance.

At the front was the leader, Halven, a scarred man with a longsword strapped across his back and a reputation for never letting a client die on his watch.

Next to him rode Mira, younger, but faster than anyone Lila had ever seen with a bow—her quiver never seemed to empty.

Behind them were the twins, Fen and Rusk, hulking mountainfolk who rarely spoke but moved with the eerie coordination of men who could finish each other’s thoughts.

And lastly, the quietest of the group: Eren. Small, hooded, and barely noticeable unless you were looking—newst member she picked on her way when she entered the north.

At first she was going to ignore him but she decided to pick him when he said that he knows Swordmanship.

She had him spar against one of twins and to her surprise he held himself pretty well and that match ended in draw with Lila stepping in.

Aside from Eren, four of them were expensive, but worth every coin.

Even so, her stomach refused to unclench.

Because something felt wrong.

Not in the way most merchants feared—no looming ambush or distant howl. No. It was quieter than that. Heavier. The air itself felt… tense, as if the sky were holding its breath.

Lila closed the window and leaned back, trying not to let her worry show. The wagon jolted gently as it hit a patch of ice.

Maybe it was just the cold getting to her. Or maybe the stories she’d overheard in taverns—about disappearances near the border, about glowing eyes in the snow, about strange magic stirring in the ruins—were getting under her skin.

She was a seasoned merchant. She didn’t believe in superstition.

****

“I have to say, you hold yourself pretty well against Fen, kid.”

“Haha! It was nothing. I just learnt few things here and there, I’m sure that if match had been continued Fen would have won the match.”

“Hahaha! You sure are humble one kid. What do you say, after this trip is over, would you join us?”

’This kid seems to be around 16 years old. It’s to waste to potential like him staying hear in north.’

Eren with his large forest green eyes and black hair chuckled nervously.

“I am not sure about that.”

Halven, the leader of the escort group, rode beside Eren with an easy confidence, his breath steaming in the cold as he let out a chuckle.

“I’m serious, kid. Rusk likes you, and Fen didn’t complain after that spar. That’s rare,” Halven added, casting a glance toward the twin brothers riding a few paces behind. “Means you’ve earned some respect.”

Eren gave a modest smile, though he didn’t look away from the snow-covered path ahead. “Appreciate it. But I’m not sure if I’m the right type for mercenary work. I just go where I need to go.”

Halven tilted his head, eyeing him. “That so? And where are you headed, exactly?”

Eren hesitated for a moment. “Nowhere in particular. Just… North. I’ll be staying here in North. I can’t leave this place…not yet”

Halven raised an eyebrow but didn’t press.

Everyone had their reasons for traveling.

Some talked. Some didn’t. As long as the kid held his own, Halven didn’t need his life story.

Behind them, Mira pulled her hood tighter and rode up beside the two. “Wind’s picking up,” she said, her voice sharper than the breeze. “And the birds are quiet.”

“That’s not good,” Halven muttered, his expression tightening. “Could be nothing. But we’ll keep pace steady and stay alert. Mira, take point. Eren, with me.”

Eren gave a nod, shifting slightly in his saddle as Mira urged her horse ahead.

The path narrowed as the convoy entered a canyon-like stretch, the snow higher along the rocky sides. The wagons slowed, wheels crunching through the hardened frost.

From inside the wagon, Lila peeked out again. Her breath caught in her throat.

The treeline up ahead was too still.

“Halven…” she called out through the small window. “Do you feel that?”

“I do,” he said without turning.

He raised a hand, signaling the others.

The wagons came to a halt.

The horses stomped nervously, their ears flicking, eyes wide.

The silence stretched.

Then—

Crack.

A soft sound. Barely there. But every trained ear in the group heard it.

A branch. Snapped.

Not by a horse. Not by the wind.

Something was moving.

After few moments —

Crack.

That single sound was all it took.

Halven’s sword was already in his hand by the time the second branch snapped.

“Formation! Guard the wagons!” he barked, voice sharp and clear.

The twins moved first, dismounting in unison with heavy thuds, their large frames immediately shielding the rear wagon.

Mira slid from her saddle and dashed to the high ground on the side slope, bow already drawn.

Eren dismounted slower than the rest, eyes narrowed. He didn’t draw yet. He was listening.

And then it came.

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