Morning ca slowly to the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest. Mist clung low to the ground, caught between roots and fallen leaves, turning the camp into a pale blur. The small fire from the night before had been smothered early, leaving only cold ash and a faint smoky scent.
Robert was awake before the others. He sat on a flat stone, rolling his shoulder to loosen the stiffness from the previous day. The fight with the wolf-type beast had not left serious wounds, but the strain lingered in muscle and bone. Real combat always did. Training bruises faded quickly. Survival left deeper marks.
He listened. The forest had a rhythm. Insects, distant birds, and the occasional movent of small creatures in the undergrowth. This morning, that rhythm felt broken. Not silent, but uneven. Like a song missing notes.
Behind him, soone shifted. Eissa rose quietly, brushing dirt from her sleeves. Her eyes were already alert. She scanned the trees before speaking in a low voice. The air feels tight in the surrounding. Robert nodded slightly. He had felt it since waking.
Sai stirred next. He did not stretch or yawn. He simply opened his eyes and focused on the surroundings, as if sleep had only been a lighter state of awareness. After a mont, his gaze dropped to the ground near the edge of camp.
He crouched. There were tracks in the soil where the mist had not yet settled. Not deep, not obvious. Pressed grass. Slight depressions. Not from their group.
Four points of contact. Then a drag. Then nothing. A beast circled, Sai murmured quietly. Eissa stepped closer. Too light for a large predator. Too controlled for a grazing animal.
Robert joined them. The signs were subtle, but once seen, they could not be unseen. Sothing had approached during the night, tested the area, then withdrawn.
Taylen finally woke, rubbing his neck. He started to speak, then noticed the mood and kept his voice low. Trouble. Maybe, Robert said. Maybe not. We will move soon.
No one asked further. The tone was enough. They ate in silence. Dried at, a little water. No cooking. No wasted motion. Sarah kept glancing into the trees, her usual agility replaced by careful restraint. Ronan checked his spear twice before slinging it across his back.
When they moved, Robert adjusted their spacing. Not the tight grouping from yesterday. More distance. Harder to ambush all at once. Easier to react when anyone attacks them.
He did not explain the change. They adapted naturally. Above them, branches swayed though the wind was faint. Qi in the forest drifted strangely, gathering thick in so pockets and thinning in others. Cultivators relied on sensing flow, and here the flow lay.
Far behind, hidden among dense brush and shadowed trunks, ten figures moved in patience.
Two carried the steadiness of Spirit Root Level 7 at a low stage. Their presence was compressed and restrained. The other eight were Level 5, disciplined enough to suppress their qi signatures to near nothing. They did not speak. Signals are passed through small gestures. A lifted finger. A shift of weight. A glance.
They avoided areas where beasts road. They also avoided dry leaves that cracked loudly. Their path curved wide when needed. They were not chasing. They were guiding the distance, waiting for fatigue or separation.
One of the Level 7 cultivators watched Robert particularly. The way he positioned himself was slightly ahead but never too far. The way he checked the rear without making it obvious. This was not a reckless youth.
The assassin marked him as a priority. Back with the Osborn group, unease grew without a clear cause. Twice, Robert paused for no visible reason. Twice, he changed direction slightly, as if following instinct rather than a map.
Taylen noticed but did not question. He trusted the pattern even if he did not see it. Near midday, they reached a shallow stream. The water was clear but slow-moving. Robert allowed a short break.
Eissa knelt by the bank but did not drink imdiately. Her reflection rippled. Then she frowned. The qi in the water is disturbed, she said softly.
Sai joined her. Sothing passed upstream recently. Robert's gaze lifted toward the trees. That was when the forest shifted again. Bird calls stopped mid-pattern. A ripple of pressure rolled outward, subtle but heavy to those sensitive to it. The kind of pressure that belonged to a predator confident in its territory.
Ronan straightened. Sarah's hand moved closer to her blade. From between two thick trunks, a shape erged. It walked on four limbs but carried itself low, shoulders rolling with restrained power. Its hair was dark grey, streaked with faint lines of silver where qi traced beneath the skin. A ridge of short bone-like protrusions ran along its spine. Its eyes were a dim amber, focused and unblinking.
Not starved. Not desperate. Alert. Robert asured it in one glance.
Spirit beast. Roughly equal to a human at Spirit Root Level 6, low stage.
Stronger than Taylen. Comparable to Sai cultivation level. Dangerous if mishandled.
The beast did not charge imdiately after seeing them. It observed and waited for the first move from opponents. No one moved suddenly.
Retreat would invite pursuit. Aggression might provoke a full attack. Robert lowered his voice. Spread slightly. Do not surround it. Give it one line to watch.
They adjusted. Slow. Controlled. Unseen by them, the assassins had also frozen. A beast encounters complicated plans. If the Osborn group was weakened, it helped. If the fight drew attention, it risked interference. The leading assassin signalled to hold position.
Wait. The beast sniffed the air. Its gaze lingered on Eissa, then Ronan, then settled briefly on Robert. Instinct recognized the leader. Robert felt it then. Not just the beast.
Sothing else. A faint chill across his senses. Like being asured from afar. Too controlled to be an animal curiosity. Human. His eyes shifted slightly, not enough to betray awareness. Two threats. One visible. One patient.
Bad timing. He spoke without raising his voice. If it lunges, break right, then regroup. Do not chase.
Taylen flexed his fingers, grounding himself. The beast's muscles tightened. The forest held its breath. Leaves trembled as the creature took one step forward, then another. Testing distance. Testing fear.
Robert angled his body, preparing Shadow Step but not yet committing. Too early, and he would reveal his rhythm to both beast and watcher. The pressure in the air thickened.
Behind the greenery, one assassin adjusted his grip on his weapon, ready to move the mont chaos opened a window. The beast finally bared its teeth. Not a roar. A low vibration in its chest, a warning.
Robert's heartbeat slowed instead of racing. Fear narrowed the world. Training sharpened it. He sensed the hidden eyes again. Closer than before.
The beast coiled. Robert shifted his weight. And in the space between one breath and the next, the creature launched forward. At the sa instant, Robert knew with certainty they were no longer alone in this hunt. His voice cut low and sharp.
Ready. The first clash was about to begin. The forest, the beast, and the unseen killers all moved toward the sa mont. Then everything tipped into motion.
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