Chapter 62: Difficulties Of a Hunter

Zaos navigated the streets and made his way toward the hills surrounding the city. The small hills formed a circular enclosement around the city, bordering it from the world beyond the rocky barriers.

Beneath the hills and on it were guards who diligently patrolled the perimeter. The area with the most guards was, of course, the city's entrance. The entrance was a tunnel going through a hill that led to the outside world. It was blocked by two large metal gates which limited passage into the city to those recognized by the guards.

Before long, Zaos was right before the metal gates. He explained his purpose to the guards and was let into the spacious tunnel leading outside the city.

As he walked through the rocky tunnel, Zaos' danger sense tensed as if detecting something in the walls. Having felt this sensation multiple times during his trips to and fro the city, Zaos was fairly relaxed.

He instead analyzed the source.

[According to the rumors, the tunnel walls are fitted with explosives that would be set off in the event of an invasion. The tunnel would collapse, killing whoever was in it and sealing the main entrance into the city…] Zaos sighed in admiration at the city's defensive mechanism.

It was a ruthless and effective method to force their enemies to scale the hills if they wished to gain access to the city. However, for the Larek City guards who had the higher ground, this was an advantage.

Zaos soon exited the tunnel and his senses finally relaxed. He sighed and proceeded down the path leading away from the city. Once he was a fair distance away, Zaos activated his teleportation and his figure disappeared.

He rematerialized on a path leading into a dark forest shrouded by thick fog. Zaos nonchalantly followed the path and entered the forest.

As he observed his surroundings, he thought, [The fog can barely impede on my senses now. This will make exploring here much easier.]

This discovery delighted Zaos. He expanded his senses to the limit allowed by the fog and was able to observe details 600 meters away from himself. Although this was a downgrade from his usual 1km radius, it was still better than nothing.

Zaos stealthily navigated through the forest, skillfully avoiding large hordes of Savage Beasts while also observing any tracks he found on the way.

After almost a day of constant searching, he finally came across a set of footprints leading deeper into the forest.

[The tracks are still relatively fresh, I might as well investigate them,] Zaos erased his presence by turning invisible before silently following the footprints.

After tracing the steps for a while, Zaos finally came across their owner. It was a male with spiky, short dark hair and a toned physique.

The individual was currently being chased by a group of winged Savage Beasts.

When Zaos, who was a few hundred meters away spotted the individual's features, he stopped his chase.

[It's not Zente,] He moved in another direction, ignoring the elf's screams as the Savage Beasts caught up to him.

Zaos continued his search for a few more minutes but was unable to find anything.

He eventually decided to rest for the day as the stars had already begun illuminating the pitch-black sky.

During the day, he had stumbled upon a cave suitable for camping and had made a few markings on the trees to help him locate it. So after deciding to end his search for the day, Zaos followed the markings back to the cave's location and set up a camp.

[Hopefully, I can find Zente tomorrow so I can officially begin my investigation into this forest,] Zaos thought as he drifted into a slumber.

The next day, Zaos awoke early and continued his search. He spent the entire of his morning searching but was unable to find any useful clues.

As the frustration slowly kicked in, Zaos finally found some signs of elven activity.

Besides a small stream of water was some firewood still emitting plumes of smoke. The area around the firewood looked tampered with compared to the rest of the forest. There were even a few footprints that hadn't been erased properly.

[A group of mercenaries or bounty hunters?] Zaos couldn't decide. He observed the environment carefully and eventually got a general direction the group was heading.

[Following them might yield some benefits…] Making up his mind, Zaos headed in the same direction as the group.

A few minutes passed and he eventually caught up with them.

The group consisted of three dark elves, two males and one female. Their attire prioritized stealth rather than defense, something uncommon for mercenaries who constantly fought battles. This prompted Zaos to believe they were bounty hunters.

Seeking to confirm his guess, he got a bit closer to the group to spy on their conversations.

"The target this time sure is crafty. Even after three days of searching we have only managed to gain a few clues but haven't caught a glimpse of him," The female dark elf with a slender figure spoke begrudgingly.

"It can't be helped. You can't escape the pursuit of a clan without being sufficiently skilled in concealment," The male dark elf in front of the group consoled.

"However, It wouldn't be long until we find him! The clues we found show his methods aren't without flaws," The other male dark elf chimed in.

"You're right," The female dark elf sighed as he silently followed behind the group.

[So they are bounty hunters, they have even made significant progress during their time here!] Zaos was delighted. All he had to do now was stealthy follow the group and reap the fruits of their labor.

With a smile on his invisible face, Zaos silently trailed the group of bounty hunters for a few hours before they finally came across something.

"Blood, claw marks, and footprints. I think there was a struggle here," The male dark elf who led the group spoke as he scrutinized his surroundings.

"The markings seem fresh too. The involved parties might still be nearby!" The other male dark elf with short dark hair spoke enthusiastically.

"Then let's investigate it quickly! I'm sick of roaming around this forest!" The female dark elf urged.

The leader nodded gently and followed the faint trail of blood and footsteps.

Zaos on the other hand was a step ahead of the group. Due to his superior senses, he had already identified the trail before the group and had begun following it.

A few minutes later, he arrived at a cave deeper into the forest. The trail stopped a few meters away from it, Zaos had deduced this was the most likely location of his target.

As he silently observed the surroundings, the group of bounty hunters arrived at the location too. It seems they had a similar judgment to Zaos.

[I should let them go in first, if the target is in there then I can take them out once they eliminate him…] Zaos mused as he skillfully blended into his environment.