Chapter 107: Circle of Predators.
They also had archers. The archer stayed to the left flank, bow in hand, an arrow loosely knocked but not yet drawn. Her sharp eyes scanned the underbrush, watching for movement.
At the rear, the last two members, the mage and the healer watched the path behind them, ensuring nothing followed.
The group moved through the forest as if they were a single cautious creature, each member alert and ready to respond to danger.
Their formation was tight but flexible, keeping enough distance to avoid crowding yet close enough to protect one another.
Hearts pounded quietly in their chests, the unspoken tension connecting them more strongly than any words could. Every footstep felt heavy in the damp soil, and each small sound—a crunch of leaves or a crack of a twig—echoed in their ears.
At the front, Edwin’s eyes never stopped moving. Every few steps, he scanned the dense shadows between the trees, alert for any flicker of movement: the faint glint of predatory eyes in the darkness, the subtle shiver of a branch that might betray a hidden beast.
His grip on his sword tightened instinctively whenever the wind brushed the leaves the wrong way.
The Eastern Forest was alive with a silent, invisible danger. Nothing attacked yet, but the forest itself seemed to be watching. Every whisper of leaves overhead, every soft rustle in the distance, felt like a warning.
It was as though the entire woodland was holding its breath, waiting to see whether these intruders would survive—or become prey.
Directly behind Edwin, the twin mages, Mira and Talia, moved in practiced harmony.
Mira, the fire mage, held a slender staff that glowed faintly, the light pulsing in rhythm with her steady breaths. Now and then, tiny embers flickered at the tip of the staff, casting faint sparks into the mist.
"I am scared... I am practically not used to it", she said with a low voice.