The Encounter

"Where did he go? Why are they so fast?" said Vical worried about Zed's safety.

"I don't know, I can't sense them. Let's deactivate the formation first then find Zed, I think he will manage" Replied Owin.

Zed in Vical and Owin's eyes is like a 'Jack in a Box' because he is full of surprises, the youngest level six Knight rank that steps into level three Noble Knight rank in his fifteen, Bizarre fight changing skill and mysterious bloodline that can negate the Tirtas. The longer they stay with Zed, The more surprises that Zed will give them.

"Quick, The beasts are getting down from the top. We need to move"

Vical and Owin run to the formation that is exactly the opposite direction of Zed's fight.

Meanwhile, Zed is leaning to a tree with heavy breath.

The fight between him and a Superior Predatory Beast is the hardest fight he ever fought, This win can be considered lucky because if the beast didn't assume that Zed is dead and caught by a surprise attack, Zed probably will be the one on the ground.

Superior Predatory Beast can only be killed by a group of Noble Ranks, Zed killing one can be considered a miracle because normally if a beast reaches Mesial Predatory they will have some kind of final skill that deals devastating damage to their enemy but the wolf before was caught by surprise and died because of its carelessness.

The wounds all over his body are healing due to Draugar bloodline but it will not go within one or two days, As Zed rest, he suddenly vomits. Zed still cannot bear with the queasiness that comes from changing his body because he rarely uses his Doppelganger bloodline.

Oomph!

Zed grunts after he vomits and his mouth is leaking blood, The Doppelganger bloodline suffers some kind of backlashes because of the Tirtas making Zed enter a weakened state in his Doppelganger bloodline.

The roar of beasts can be heard by Zed that is near or far, He decided to take the enlivening pill and transform his body into a small rat as he climbs the tree to rest for a while.

Meanwhile, Vical and Owin just arrived at the formation site.

"Owin ask the Captains what should we do with this formation"

Owin nods his head and takes out a crystal, "Captain, We got the wind core so what should we do?"

After a buzz, the captain answered, "Channel the wind frevor inside it towards where the formation takes place, and forcefully destroy it after the formation core materialized"

Owin and Vical did exactly that as they saw a core materialized in the middle of the formation and Vical grips it intending to destroy it but the wind frevor becomes concentrated and attacks Vical's hand as it destroyed.

Ouch!

"Captain you didn't say that there will be a backlash!" said Vical questioning the captain while looking at his bloodied hand.

"You can bear with it, It's just a support formation, not an offensive formation so the backlash is nothing" replied the captains leisurely.

Vical harrumphs in displeasure, 'Although my werewolf bloodline has healing properties it's still better to not get hurt' Vical thought.

"Captain we got a situation, As we are finding wind Predatory Beast we encounter another Superior Predatory Beast but Zed stall it as we take the wind beast core but now we lost him..." said Owin timidly.

The captain was shocked "WHAT?! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?! You guys wait for backup, I will send a team to help you find Zed. No matter what you must find him even if he's dead" Ordered the captain.

After a brief pause, the captain continues, "You guys be extra careful, They will notice something is wrong with their plan in a bit, we cannot afford to lose you two so be careful as you wait for backup"

"Yes, Sir" replied Vical and Owin simultaneously.

--------------------------------

In the campsite near the border of Dierge Caldera Valley and The Asitadian Kingdom, The campsite is quiet as the soldiers are sleeping with patrolling guards that can be seen walking around but there are still activities inside the main camp.

"How was our plan going?" a rough-looking man questioned with his shiny white armor with lion-shaped pauldrons*.

"Reporting Captain Stavros, The flank soldiers in Filmmis Prairie has been set, the trap in Bronze Rift Mountain is not responding which means it is still not set yet" answered a soldier clad in dark blue armor that is kneeling in front Captain Stavros.

"Make sure to tell them to finish in ten minutes, Send a group to check if they don't respond in ten minutes" ordered Captain Stavros.

"Considered it done, Sir"

------------------------------

The nasty wound on Zed's shoulder that's have been bitten is healing at a visible rate, Thanks to the level five Enlivening Pill.

Zed after twenty minutes of rest can finally stand again but his shoulder wounds and his cracked bones on his hand is still not healed yet, Another two hours was needed to heal the cracked bones.

He looks to his surrounding trying to spot where is the formation direction but to his surprise, he is right beside Dierge Caldera Valley, He can see the river U curved valley from his spot.

The fight with the wolf brought him deeper into the Bronze Rift Mountain making him lost track of way.

"Move, we need to get to the formation and report. Don't get spotted" a low voice was heard by Zed.

Zed looks down and saw a group of ten people clad in black that carefully walks pass his tree.

There is one guy in the middle wearing dark blue armor with a cape on it that gives off a really threatening aura to Zed it is a True Mage rank fighter, Zed immediately turns back to his rat form to hide his presence as he carefully follows them.

The group of ten walks carefully while Zed is stalking them when suddenly.

"Hmm?", The guy in the middle looks up towards where Zed is looking.

Zed is startled, the glance shot chills to Zed's spine, He hides behind the tree branches to avoid the middle guy glance, The middle guy glance seems to see through Zed disguise making him goes another way not intending to follow further.

'Hmm, I thought that I saw something looking at me from up there...Maybe it's just my imagination' the guy in the middle thought.

"What's the matter Markos?" asked one of the guys in the group.

"Nothing, Let's keep moving"

Zed tried to desperately hide his presence as the group grows further away, 'That direction seems to lead to the formation, That's where Owin and Vical is!, I need to help them lest they encounter this terrifying group'.

Zed is walking carefully as he keeps a one hundred meter distance between him and the group.

Meanwhile, Vical and Owin are hiding behind a rock on the border of the Nothingness and the Bronze Rift Mountain where they first meet Reeve's team, They are keeping an eye on the formation from far away.

They are hiding as they wait for reinforcement, The silence of the night brings qualms to one's soul, The open field of the Nothingness is like an open field where the prey was stalked, The rock that covers them didn't get rid of the feeling of being stalked by a predator.

Owoooo!

Roar!

Cuckoo!

The sound of the nearby beasts was heard, The nightlife of nature can be described by seeing and feeling the scene where Owin and Vical hide.

Swish, Swish, Swish.

"Did you hear that? I think it's not safe here" said Vical to Owin.

"I don't hear anything" replied Owin with a confused look.

"My instinct told me to move out of this place, and my instinct is never wrong. Let's go" said Vical intending to leave and get a better hiding spot.

The sound was heard because of Vical's werewolf bloodline, one has to know that the group of ten is on the other hand of the Nothingness that is about five kilometers apart but Vical can hear their move, that just show how terrifying Vical's senses are.

"Markos! Look there, There is a dead body littered on the ground"

Markos looks towards the Nothingness and finds three bodies lie dead there.

Markos sprint towards the dead body that looks like a flash with max awareness, "This is our Elites that are assigned here, one of them is Reeve a veteran. Our enemy is more powerful than a level seven Noble Rank maybe even True Rank, Keep your guard up" said Markos after he analyzed the dead bodies.

"Hmm?" Markos senses something as he raised his head towards the end of the Nothingness.

A group of soldiers wearing a dark grey armor was seen on the other hand that is exactly ten of them just like them, There is a caped soldier in the middle that gives off the same aura as him.

The other group also notice them, Both of the group sends death stare to each other.

This encounter was truly a shocking one that will end in a brutal fight between the two.

*Pauldrons is an armor plate that covers the shoulders of the user until its armpit.

.