Chapter 18

The next day, while the last stragglers finished packing their bags, the troop prepared to leave at daybreak.

The night gradually begins to give way to the sun.

In the forest, Edward was examining the traps he had set the day before, after setting up camp, he had taken advantage of some free time to set several traps in the forest so as not to rely exclusively on Marius for food.

Early in the morning, the song of birds was his only companion in the solitude of the forest.

He had already captured 1 rabbit and 1 fox, however he had released the fox because it was not yet adult.

Sylvano had long told him to respect the cycle of nature, unless it was essential, he should only hunt adult prey.

As Edward checked another of his unfortunately empty traps, he heard a noise about twenty meters in front of him.

Instinctively, his hand went to the sheath of his sword and he moved into the shadows of the trees setting down the rabbit he had captured.

Hidden, he controlled his breathing and focused all his attention on the source of the noise.

After a few seconds spent analyzing the sound, he decided to sneak closer to the source of the noise.

Edward walked slowly through the forest, his senses were sharp, long accustomed to the forest, it was not a problem for him to move silently among the vegetation.

Finally, Edward came face to face with the source of the sound, in front of him Jacob, the same man who had intrigued Edward the day before stood in the forest in his hand, he held a white rabbit by the ears.

What surprised Edward the most was not the unexpected encounter, but rather the state of the rabbit, in Jacob's hand, the rabbit was totally bloodied, its insides hanging outside its body. The rabbit's injuries appeared to have been caused by a wild animal.

In front of him, Jacob finally noticed Edward's presence and instantly pointed his knife at him as if waiting for him.

Jacob's reaction, as if he was setting a trap, made Edward shiver.

Without wasting a moment, Edward drew his blade, and moved at high speed pointing his blade under Jacob's neck.

A mid-rank sword god style practitioner should not be underestimated!

"Drop your knife." In a cold voice, unsuitable for a 7 year old, Edward spoke calmly to Jacob.

Edward's reaction may have seemed disproportionate, but Edward's strange attitude and instincts told him not to take any chances with Jacob.

Jacob swallowed heavily and dropped his knife, slowly raising his hands in the air, his face was already covered in cold sweat. "Y-You're a monster too..!"

'You're a monster too ?' Edward frowned, he questioned Jacob, his blade still pressed against his neck "Why did you raise your knife at me just now?"

Jacob shivered as he felt the cold of the blade against his neck and uttered with difficulty "I-I was wrong, I thought you were dangerous… I thought it was you who did that to the rabbit."

'How could he have thought that a human could have committed such an injury? it's strange…' Edward didn't believe Jacob's words,

"What are you doing alone in the middle of the forest, and why weren't you surprised when I showed up?"

Jacob's face stiffened, he remained silent for ten seconds before responding weakly "I came to hunt for my son and me…. And when I saw the corpse of the rabbit, I thought that whoever had killed it wouldn't be far away, I just wanted to protect myself!"

Edward frowned even harder, Jacob's words seemed coherent but many details still bothered Edward, however he couldn't stay in this situation any longer.

Removing his blade from Jacob's neck, Edward took a few steps back "It's okay, you can leave but don't threaten me anymore"

Jacob sighed audibly and gently picked up his knife putting it back in his bag, he turned towards Edward with the bloody rabbit still in his hands. "Sorry for earlier, but be careful in the forest, return to camp without wasting time, whoever killed the rabbit may not be far away."

Confused by Jacob's caring words, Edward waved him off.

Jacob hesitated for a moment, he seemed not to want to leave Edward alone in the forest, however seeing Edward's look he sighed and turned towards the camp.

Now alone, Edward rubbed his head, a lot of things bothered him, to begin with, Jacob had said he thought he was dangerous, however Edward was certainly concealed, but the moment Jacob noticed it, it was clear that he was acted like a human child, even though his face was partially hidden by the shadows of the trees, Jacob's reaction seemed too strange and prepared in advance...

On the other hand, Jacob seemed not to be telling the whole truth, he also seemed to imply that the rabbit's injuries came from a human despite Edward's first impression to the contrary.

Edward remained thoughtful as he looked in the direction Jacob had taken to leave, on the ground, the rabbit's blood marks formed a clear trail of the path he had taken.

'Maybe he really thought I did that to the rabbit…'

'Or maybe there is a creature in this forest and Jacob knew it, hence his insistence that I return to camp…'

Choosing not to stay longer in the forest just in case, Edward did not check the other traps and retrieved the rabbit he had hidden earlier going straight back to camp.

On the way back, Edward kept his hand carefully placed on the sheath of his sword, ready to slash at the slightest danger.

Edward was a mid-rank practitioner of all three sword fighting styles, and very close to advanced rank in the sword god style, he was not really afraid of an enemy who attacked simple rabbits, however he didn't want to take any risks in such a strange situation.

Once back at camp, Edward took a quick look at Jacob's carriage, the latter was standing in front, he was staring at the forest with a look of apprehension in his eyes.

Looking at Jacob, Edward was certain, 'Jacob is definitely hiding a secret!'

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hey, it's been a long time... I wrote this chapter quickly, I hope you like it. If you like the story give me your opinion or rate the story, it really motivates me!