Chapter 490: Closely Following

The image was too fast for Duke to keep up with.

It was like buying a cheap, knock-off VR virtual reality headset, making Duke feel dizzy. He had to lean against a nearby tree trunk in reality to keep from actually fainting and falling to the ground.

The hills gradually became taller and more perilous until they slowly turned into the first range of mountains. At this point, the speed of the image didn't slow down, continuing until it suddenly fixed on a particular peak. Although Duke felt some hesitation, his vision was forcibly pulled to that spot.

At the foot of that mountain, Duke's perspective suddenly rose into the sky, so quickly that he almost lost his balance. The image climbed up the mountain peak, during which it made sure to show the mage places to step and hold onto. It kept rising until it reached a narrow cave entrance.

Suddenly, the three-dimensional image disappeared, leaving Duke in his mental world, feeling stunned, as if he'd been playing a game and suddenly got an error popup.

"Huff, huff, huff!" Emerging from the isolation state of his mental world, Duke found himself shivering in the dawn-lit forest.

Almost instantly, Duke sensed a gaze again. Although it was very concealed, as if it was barely there, the system still faithfully recorded it.

"Deathwing looked at you."

Duke followed the path Deathwing had pointed out and was just about to leave the forest when the system prompted again that Deathwing had looked at him.

Duke was furious!

Damn it! No one ever told me Deathwing was a peeping tom!

Duke was annoyed.

Originally, Duke almost wanted to curse out loud. But then he thought of the even more miserable fate of Ronin in history, who was escorted by Deathwing the whole time, completely losing his freedom, almost like a slave. Thinking about that, Duke felt much better.

Perhaps it was because Ronin had no status at that time, and Deathwing had his eye on him simply because Ronin was carrying out this mission. Deathwing had even ordered Ronin around without any regard, like a slave.

But Duke was different.

The biggest difference between him and Ronin was fame and experience.

The Duke of now was already famous, with a reputation that even overshadowed Lothar's, second only to Alliance Lord Terenas in the entire Alliance. Moreover, he had gone through a series of events like losing his country, forming an alliance, and persisting in resistance. Deathwing probably considered him a man of unwavering will, so he did not directly coerce him but used a subtle method of brainwashing and guidance.

As long as he rescued Alexstrasza and obtained that item, Deathwing's plot would succeed.

And what made Duke even more valuable was his identity, which could make Deathwing's plot in the original timeline smoother and more perfect.

Duke felt a headache coming on.

The current situation was that he had indeed obtained the most critical piece of the puzzle in this event. But Deathwing was trying to force him to quickly go to Grim Batol and fulfill his mission. If he foolishly went to complete it, then Duke might really save a dying Red Dragon Queen, in which case the biggest beneficiary would undoubtedly be Deathwing alone.

According to Duke's character of taking advantage of every opportunity and not settling for less, would he let himself be a sucker and allow Deathwing, this madman, to succeed and laugh triumphantly?

No!

Absolutely not!

He would rather suffer himself than let Neltharion, this lunatic, be comfortable.

Duke had a plan...

On the other side.

Vereesa and Falstad were almost catching up with Duke.

It wasn't a desperate chase right behind the Black Dragon King, nor had Falstad's gryphon been driven to the brink of exhaustion, nor was it an elf ranger's dramatic rescue of the hero.

Instead, they were following in neat formation, fully assembled.

Yes!

Following!

Vereesa, Gavinrad, Ronin, and Mariam, along with a full squad of six gryphon riders.

"We're very close." Flying at the front, Vereesa gestured, and the line of gryphons began to slow down and descend.

Descending to the ground and once again standing firm, both Gavinrad and the gryphon he rode felt a sense of relief.

The gryphon grumbled discontentedly, as the fully armored Gavinrad was too heavy.

The gryphon shot Gavinrad a contemptuous look.

The dwarf could only pat the gryphon's neck and let it go and forage.

Feeding a gryphon was not an easy task; they ate a lot of meat, and relying on cut meat would reduce their fierceness and combat power. The best method was to let them hunt in a forest-rich, prey-abundant area. A smart gryphon would return on its own after feeding.

The four remaining members of Duke's rescue team gathered, and Gavinrad, hands on hips, asked, "Alright, I might as well ask, how are you sure our leader is here?"

Vereesa held up the brocade bag Duke had given her and smiled, "That fellow said he used the most special materials to make this brocade bag look very remarkable."

"What material?"

"A very special spice. You may not be able to smell it, but in my sense of the wind, this thing attracts attention like a lighthouse in the dark."

"Wow!" Gavinrad whistled.

"Alright, let's follow and see what happened between Duke and the Black Dragon King." Saying this, Vereesa's eyes narrowed.

The observant Mariam noticed that Vereesa's pupils shrank, then began to enlarge again, turning a completely different color—green.

Vereesa was focusing her spirit, which made the boundaries of her field of vision blur, but the focus of her vision became clearer, revealing many things ordinary people couldn't see. For example, a golden, fog-like substance, floating in a long band, drifting from her forehead deep into the forest.

It didn't take long for Vereesa to find the place where Duke had chatted with Deathwing the night before.

"Duke has indeed been here," Vereesa observed the ground, muttering, "These are his boot prints; I won't mistake them, and the other one should be a human... I'm not too sure."

"A human? I thought I'd see a pair of giant claws," Gavinrad shrugged, his massive shoulder armor making the gesture very noticeable.

"Look here. This shoe print," she pointed to a depression in the forest, a clear heavy footprint that had stamped the grass and mud into a concave shape, "These are shoes often used by human nobles, very tight and very uncomfortable."