Chapter 152: [151]
Heavy footsteps moved along the narrow path cutting through the rocky forest, leaves brushing softly as the hunting party advanced in a long formation. Twilight had passed, and the moon began to rise slowly over the treetops, casting light on tense faces illuminated only by magical field lamps and the soft glow of small lanterns.
Flad walked in the third row, his eyes half-closed from fatigue and the creeping boredom settling in. His slim frame—typical of a mousedeer beastman—looked starkly out of place next to the large weapon slung across his back: a double-headed electro-spear still wrapped in protective cloth.
He turned to the left, breaking the silence.
"Are they serious about this? We’re really going up against another Penal Plains Tiger?" he muttered in disbelief, his voice muffled by the night mist.
His companion nodded, face half-covered by a leather mask. "Yes. Last time, Lord Trek was very pleased when we captured one. You know how rare they are, right?"
"Oh, you mean the fur..." Flad nodded slowly. "The one that adapts to extreme environments."
"Exactly. Their fur isn’t just beautiful. It’s adaptive. It keeps them warm in sub-zero weather and cool in desert heat. That kind of natural magic... it’s worth a fortune."
Flad clicked his tongue softly, a bitter tone in his voice. "No wonder the damn things are almost extinct. Every year their numbers drop, just to satisfy the obsessions of insane collectors."
Above them, high in the trees and sky, not one of them noticed a small drone hovering silently. Its deep red lens rotated slowly, recording and transmitting data directly to the central terminal not far from the old ruins—where Ren was waiting.
---
Amid the darkness of the ruins, an iPad screen glowed brightly inside the main camouflage tent. Map data, heat signatures, and enemy movement pulsed in red lines across the display. Ren stood before the field console, draped only in a thin cloak, his hair messy and dark circles beneath his eyes from lost sleep.
"Hm... I wake up in the middle of the night just to greet a siege?" Ren yawned briefly, then offered a faint smile. "They’re really going all in on this."