Chapter 160: The Rescue Team’s Push And Neve’s New Plan!
"Is that the last wood?" Cael asked Sable who threw the last piece of wood into the crackling fire.
The flames danced and crackled, providing their only source of warmth in the freezing wilderness. The fire was not much, but it was enough to keep them from freezing to death during the night.
"Yes," Sable replied, checking the surroundings carefully. His fox eyes scanned the snowy landscape for any dangers. "That was indeed the last one. We’ve burned through all the wood we collected."
The fire was already starting to weaken. The wood would not last much longer. Soon they would be back in the cold darkness with nothing but their body heat to survive.
Aldric sat close to the fire, rubbing his cold palms together desperately for warmth. His bear form was naturally thick with fur, but even that was not enough against the brutal winter conditions.
"At this pace, we won’t survive," Aldric said, his voice filled with doubt and fear. "The cold is too much. The snow is too deep. If we keep pushing like this, we’ll all collapse before we reach the outcast territory."
Cael’s expression became harder and more determined.
"We will survive," he said firmly, dragging his palm down his face in frustration. "We have to save Neve. He’s probably waiting for us right now. He’s probably suffering. What if they are torturing him? What if they’re hurting Popi? What if something worse is happening to them?"
The thought drove him forward. The fear for Neve’s safety pushed him past his own physical limits.
"The snow in this area is so thick," Sable said, his voice carrying the weight of the journey they still had ahead of them. "If we are able to get out of this region and push forward, by two days, we’ll get to the desert region before reaching the outcasts territory. The desert will be easier to cross than these snowy mountains."
"It sounds like a long time," Sable mumbled, clearly worried about how much longer they could endure.
Cael looked at both of them, seeing the exhaustion and fear in their faces.
"Let’s rest for today and hope that tomorrow will be better," Cael suggested, his voice carrying what little optimism he could muster. "We’ll get some sleep. We’ll regain our strength. Tomorrow, we’ll push harder."
"What if there’s a blizzard tomorrow?" Aldric asked suddenly, his voice carrying a fear that everyone shared.
Everyone became silent.
The question hung in the air like a curse. What if? What if the weather got worse? What if a blizzard hit them tomorrow and made travel impossible?
They were already complaining about how heavy the snow was. They were already struggling with the current conditions. What if the worst was about to start tomorrow? What if they got caught in a blizzard with nowhere to shelter?
"Fine," Cael said after a long moment of silence. "Once the wood burns out and we’re warm enough, we’ll head back into the snow. We can’t wait. We can’t afford to wait. Every hour we spend here is an hour Neve spends in danger."
They all agreed. There was no choice. They had to keep moving.
.
.
It took three hours for them to rest and for the wood to completely burn down to ash. The fire died slowly, taking their warmth with it.
Then they entered the snow again and started running.
Throughout the past week, they had been running non-stop. They would only pause briefly to catch their breath and rest their muscles. Then they would run again. They needed to get to the outcast territory as soon as possible. They needed to find Neve and bring him home.
They could not imagine what Neve and Popi were both going through in the place they had been taken to. What if they were being starved? What if they were being forced to eat nothing but air? What if they were being tortured? What if they were being used for things too horrible to think about?
They could not think about it. But the thought of whatever evil things might be happening to Neve and Popi made them run faster. The thought drove them forward past pain and exhaustion and fear.
.
.
Meanwhile, in the outcast territory.
"So, you’re saying Maren was the one sharing his life force with his mother?" Neve asked, trying to process the information Popi had gathered.
Popi shrugged, unsure about most of what she had learned.
"That’s what Varek said. It seems like just as the snake king has the teleportation ability, the shark king is able to share life force. He can take his own life energy and transfer it to another person to keep them alive."
Neve’s mind was working to understand this new information. Maren was literally sharing his own life with his mother. That was why she had survived for ten years despite the poison destroying her body.
"But sharks can only live for twenty to thirty years," Neve muttered, trying to remember what he knew about marine life. "At most, maybe seventy years. Well, except for some sharks that can live up to five hundred years in legends. But even so, just how much life force does he have to share?"
Neve had to remind himself that Maren was not an ordinary shark. He was a shark beastman living in a fantasy world. People in this world lived much longer than humans in his original world. They had different biology. Different lifespans. Different abilities.
He folded his hands and rubbed his chin, thinking deeply.
"Did that information help to get close to him?" Popi asked, curious about whether her effort had been worthwhile. She had gone to meet Varek, a man who terrified her, just to gather information that might help Neve.
Neve sighed deeply.
It didn’t help directly. But surely, Popi had gone to meet her worst enemy just to assist him. He owed her a lot for that.
Neve smiled and nodded his head appreciatively.
"I think I know how to get close to Maren," he said confidently. "I think I understand what I need to do."
But inside, Neve was not as confident as he sounded. He did not know if his plan would actually work. Especially not now that Zyreth was keeping his eyes on Neve constantly. Zyreth was watching his every move. There was no way Zyreth was going to let him meet Maren again, not after his jealous declaration in the chamber.
Then Neve suddenly snapped his finger as an idea popped into his head. A brilliant idea. A plan that just might work.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, excitement in his voice.
"I know just the perfect thing."
Popi raised her eyebrow, confused by Neve’s sudden excitement.
"What?" Popi asked, her brow furrowed. "What are you thinking? What’s the plan?" She definitely does not know what’s happening in Neve’s mind right now. She could not read his thoughts. She could not understand his intentions.