Chapter 28: Climb up a tree
The sun, which minutes earlier had crowned the sky with its golden glow, was now drowning beneath a blanket of gray clouds. The last rays clung to the snow, tinging it with a dying glow, before the shadow devoured everything.
The snow-covered meadow was transformed into a leaden landscape. The biting wind whistled through the dry stalks peeking out from under the snow, while a pack of silver wolves sliced through the air with their jaws half open. The vapor from their breath formed ghostly wisps as it collided with the cold.
Two figures ran across the plain at a rapid pace. They were Kael and Eren. Behind them, the silver wolves pursued them closely; their growls pierced their ears like the echo of a nightmare. Each step seemed to take them a little further away... but not far enough.
They continued running at full speed, breathing heavily. Eren’s legs were burning. Sweat clouded his vision. His gaze moved quickly, getting closer and closer to the forest.
With just three seconds of analysis, Kael opened the image of the Kiran mountain map and calculated the angle of entry into the forest.
If he ran in a straight line, he would enter boar territory. Detouring would cost him ten more seconds... but the wolves would give him twenty.
He noticed that Eren’s resistance was waning, but he didn’t let panic take hold of him.
Despite the desperate situation, he remained calm, thinking about the best option for surviving the crisis.
The silver wolves, with their large bodies, were incredibly fast and agile. They moved through the snow with unsettling ease. They drew closer, their elongated shadows looming over the two like omens of death.
Then they entered the forest again, where they had the advantage of the terrain. Kael glanced at Eren to see how he was doing, and it wasn’t looking good: the wolves were about to catch up with him.
There were at least twenty wolves in the pack. Kael ordered Eren, "Climb up a tree."