Chapter 123: Inviting The Group leaders [4]

Mud squeaked, and twigs crunched under Karhun’s feet as he made his way towards the settlement of the group leader, Grathar.

He was currently in the forest, about two kilometres west of the Great Divide — the tunnel connecting the Redwood Basin to the Redwood Den.

As he walked, mud stuck to his feet, and he muttered, “Why is there so much mud?”

Annoyed, he gritted his teeth and threw a leisurely punch at a tree.

Thud!

The ground shook as the tree fell down.

His eyes widened in disbelief, and he exclaimed, “Blasted hell?!”

Pew!

Suddenly, an arrow whistled towards him.

But just as it was about to hit him, he grabbed the arrow and roared, “Courting death?!”

Fwoosh!

His aura flared, and he scanned his surroundings with vigilance.

A few seconds passed, and the forest fell silent.

Rustling of the leaves and the sound of the animals fell in his ears, but his eyes were focused on the direction of the arrow.

Pew!

Another arrow flew towards him from a different direction.

His sandals scraped the ground as his aura ran to his feet, and he dashed towards the arrow.

The arrow whistled past his head, his aura moved towards his fist, and he punched at a tree.

Boom! Thud!

The tree’s trunk exploded into splinters before it fell, and with it, the bowman who was standing atop it also descended to the ground.

Karhun shifted his feet, threw a punch at the bowman, and the bowman jumped back. He threw another punch, which the bowman dodged with a cartwheel to the side and nocked an arrow on their bow.

Pew!

Another arrow flew towards him, and Karhun moved to dodge.

Sleek!

But he moved too late.

“GWAAAH!” Karhun screamed and fell to a knee as the arrow dug into his shoulder.

The bowman nocked another arrow, aimed at him, and Kahrun was finally able to see the bowman’s face.

His eyes widened in disbelief, and he muttered while fighting back the pain.

“W-what are y-you doing, Thrain?”

The bowman was one of the redwood guards.

Thrain didn’t reply and freed the string.

Pew!

The arrow flew towards him, and Karhun rolled onto the ground to dodge.

Thuk!

It struck the ground, and Thrain began to nock another arrow.

Seeing that, confusion and shock filled Karhun’s eyes, and they fell on the barely noticeable purple veins bulging at Thrain’s head.

“W-What has happened to you?” He asked, but silence was the only answer he got.

Thrain finished nocking the arrow and looked at Karhun with a hollow gaze before he let go of the string.

Pew!

The arrow widened in Karhun’s vision, his aura flared and wrapped around him as he shot up to his feet.

Thuk!

He grabbed the arrow and threw it away.

Crack!

The ground beneath cracked as he shot towards Thrain and swung a punch with half of his aura to Thrain’s abdomen.

THWACK!

The punch connected, and Thrain was sent flying towards the trees.

Karhun followed.

Thrain crashed through a few trees, his green aura flared, and he flipped midair to land safely.

His feet touched the ground, and he quickly aimed at Karhun, but suddenly, a fist widened in Thrain’s vision and landed squarely at the centre of his head.

Blood spurted out of his broken nose, and he fell unconscious to the ground.

Karhun slumped down, took a few quick breaths and mumbled while staring at the arrow lodged into his shoulder, “It feels like shit…”

He took a deep breath, and suddenly, a shadow dwarfed over him.

He quickly turned his head to the side, and his eyes widened in horror.

Purple veins bulged all over Thrain’s body as he stood over Karhun while holding a dagger above his head.

’How?!’ Karhun screamed inwardly and tried to force out his aura, but he had already burned out all of it.

He froze and watched the dagger descend towards his head.

Tkk!

Suddenly, an arrow hit Thrain’s hand, and the dagger flew out of his hand.

Before Thrain could move, Karhun picked up the dagger and plunged it into the back of his leg.

“Scream in pain, you wretch!” He bellowed and twisted the dagger.

Hot blood poured out and covered his hand.

Thrain looked at him with his lifeless eyes and swung his fist at him, but suddenly a heavy voice rang throughout the area.

“Begone.”

Karhun fell, a chill ran down his spine, and hot rain fell on him.

He wiped off the raindrop that wet his face and looked at it.

His lips trembled, and he mumbled with a horrifyingly puzzled expression, “Blood…?”

His head turned towards Thrain, his eyes widened in both horror and disbelief, and he muttered, “Where is his head?!”

He dragged himself away from Thrain, who stood without a head, and a voice reached him.

“What are you doing here?”

Karhun turned towards the voice and his gaze landed on a heavy man with a broad chest and arms that were covered in marks of his valour. His amber eyes were steady. His dark hair was kept short with sides trimmed closely, and a war hammer rested on his shoulder.

He was none other than group leader — Grathar, the one with strength rivalling that of Zoka, and he was covered in Thrain’s blood.

Seeing him, Karhun mumbled, “A-Are you group leader Grathar?”

Grathar gave him a calm nod and said, “I am.”

He wiped off the blood from his face and added, “Tell me. Why are you here?”

Karhun shot up to his feet, placed a fist on his heart and stated, “I am Karhun, a squad leader under group leader Rion Del Haden, and he has ordered you to join the feast two days from now!”

Grathar frowned and muttered with a hint of anger, “A group leader dares to order me?”

Karhun waved his hands in panic and stammered, “W-Wait! I mean, he has invited you to the feast!”

Grathar smiled, pointed a finger at Thrain’s headless body and said, “Take it away, Kumra.”

“As you command,” a voice echoed from the trees, and Kumra, one of Grathar’s squad leaders, appeared beside Thrain.

Karhun looked at Kumra and remarked in his head, ’He is that one who had shot Thrain’s hand.’

Grathar turned around and commanded, “Follow me.”

Karhun glanced at him, nodded quietly and began to follow behind him.

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