Chapter 33: Gathering of Old Friends

Duncan's mind raced as he urged the horse he had acquired after slaying the bandit. He knew that the amount of time he bought for himself with his actions was not that much, to be honest.

But, what he valued was the time that he had gained in being unsupervised. With bandits trailing after him, any kind of plans he could make would be right under their eye and they would be able to thwart it easily.

After all, their numbers were higher than him considerably. Quantity was a quality of its own if the difference was large. And comparing his lone self with an entire bandit crew was just foolish.

No matter how powerful he was, he would be ground down by the sheer tide of numbers. But now, things have changed. If the bandits wanted to chase after him, they would need to split up. This would in turn lead to Duncan taking on them a bit more manageable.

That was the true purpose of Duncan's plan.

He wasn't worried about fighting bandits, but the numbers they would be able to bring down on him. Duncan's goal always has been to reduce it. The fact that the distance between them increased and he was left unsupervised was only an additional bonus in Duncan's mind.

With the experience he had from hunting for wild beasts in the forest, Duncan knew how people tracked their prey. Leia had been a godsent help in that aspect. During his time with the mercenary group, Duncan learned a lot about tracking prey and hunting them.

So, he knew that the bandits would be tracking him with the hoof prints of the horse he was riding on. That was the reason he sent the three different horses in three different directions.

Now, if the bandits have to be sure, they should track all three horses and determine which one was the one he was on. He knew that it wouldn't take much time for the bandits to figure out which horse was he on.

After all, an experienced tracker could easily identify horse tracks that carried the load and horse tracks that didn't. Even if the bandits didn't have someone that experienced, they would catch up with riderless horses soon.

These riderless horses would initially run fast with the impetus Duncan provided them. But, after a while, they would inevitably slow down and stop when they realized that no one was on top of them urging them.

The duration couldn't be determined easily as each horse had a different range of senses. If Duncan had to guess, he would say that the other two horses would stop after five minutes or so.

Those five minutes and the additional distance he would cover at the same time were the trump cards Duncan had with him that would help to escape. Even then, he knew that the bandits would catch up to him within the hour if he continued like this.

So, Duncan had yet another twist to his plan.

After riding his horse for around seven minutes, Duncan prepared himself and leaped off the horse when it passed a particularly bushy area. While to others this might sound foolish, Duncan felt that this was the safest way he had to escape the bandit's pursuit.

With his estimation, the horse he had been riding on would run for another five to six minutes before eventually slowing down. When the bandits caught up to it, they would only find a riderless horse.

Meanwhile, Duncan had plans to escape back to the road that led to Starsinger Town. After all, heading deep into the Grasslands was just to lure the bandits and escape them. His destination had always been Starsinger Town.

So, trying to escape on the horse deep into the Grasslands never occurred Duncan. Furthermore, the rumors he had been hearing about the unrest in the interior regions meant that area wouldn't be any safer either. So, it was best to use what he was proficient in.

Being a hunter of wild beasts in the forest for three months, Duncan learned a lot from the hunts he went on. He knew how to identify tracks of wild beasts, move without leaving his tracks despite carrying weight in forests, and avoid wild beasts with ease.

With his experience in this area, all he needed to do now was escape the pursuit and return to the road without alerting the bandits. Right now, he had already accomplished half of that.

He had escaped the bandits' pursuit, and if he can return back to the road and continue on his way, things would end smoothly. After all, he didn't know much about the geography of the Grasslands. So, losing track of his whereabouts here would be highly inconvenient.

The best way to avoid this is to be near the established path. And the deeper he headed inside, the more likely the probability of him being unable to return to the path. So, Duncan had no other option than to head back.

Luckily, the bandits will also be searching for him deep in the Grasslands. That way, he could escape their notice easily. The only hurdle Duncan could foresee was him running into chasing bandits as he made his way back.

Once he bypassed them, then his route would be clear.

Unlike the forests near the city, the Grasslands didn't have an abundance of places for him to hide. The Grasslands were home to tall grasses that grew up to the height of the hip of an adult man.

If one remained close to the ground, the Grasslands provided ample cover to hide their presence. However, if one stood up or ran around, it would be easy to spot them.

So, Duncan was forced to keep low and move cautiously as he made his way back to the road.

After about ten minutes after abandoning his horse, Duncan heard the sound of horses coming in the opposite direction to him. He moved quickly out of their way and fell flat on the ground to hide under the grasses.

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As he looked from the grasses, he saw around seven bandits racing towards the direction he came from with purpose. Duncan watched them coldly as they bypassed him and went forward.

He was careful enough to not make any undue noises as the horses passed by his hiding location. He watched them disappear from his eyesight slowly and only sat up after they were gone.

He was extra careful for the next few minutes as he made his way back to the road. He didn't want to alert them to his presence. The longer they went in search of the horse he abandoned, the more time he had to make his escape.

Unbeknownst to Duncan, there was something else happening deep in the interior regions of Grasslands that would both aid and hinder him a lot.

*****

Liu Kang was truly livid by now.

His entire plan was in shatters and he was already forced to reveal his presence long before he desired to. Not to mention the fact that the Demonic Beasts present in the Grasslands were making it very difficult for him to make his way to the interior region.

After two weeks of hard work, Liu Kang, at last, reached the region where the strange energy was originating from. As he paused a bit to feel out the energy, he felt the bottleneck his cultivation had fallen into loosening up slightly.

The moment Liu Kang felt that his eyes couldn't help brighten. There was a sharp light to his eyes now. His guess had been right. Whatever this treasure was, it was very useful for his cultivation.

And there was no way he was going to walk out of the Grasslands without it in his possession.

After months of planning and weeks of frustrations, Liu Kang was glad that he had trusted his intuition and carried on with his plan. If not for that, he wouldn't come across such an opportunity this soon.

Initially, he estimated that it would take him one to two years to break through this bottleneck. But, standing in the outer range of the treasure's surroundings was enough to slightly loosen up his bottleneck.

This was a heaven-sent opportunity!

He knew that the final trump card he had planned for was going to go into effect any moment now. With that, he wouldn't need to worry about the elders or the Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect interfering in his plan.

But, he had miscalculated slightly.

If everything had gone according to his plan, the Sect Master and the elders of the Heavenly Demon Sect would have already taken care of the Level 7 Demon Beast residing near the treasure's location.

Alas! It was not to be so!

Those demonic cultivators have acted smarter for once and had concentrated on removing the intruders into the Grasslands, instead of fighting the Demon Beasts. This has led to the Demon Beasts having unhindered range in the Grasslands causing several deaths and fights of epic proportions.

There were several people he had instigated who had already fled the Grasslands unable to bear the rampage of Demon Beasts. This indirectly affects his progress into the Grasslands too.

He had to fight multiple Demon Beasts to reach this location. Even then, he wasn't confident enough to steal the treasure right under the nose of Level 7 Demonic Beast.

Just then, the wind stirred near his location and Liu Kang looked towards that place. A cold maiden with breathtaking beauty appeared at the location. Liu Kang raised his eyes in surprise.

"Bai Qingling, I didn't expect you to participate in this occasion as well," Liu Kang said causing the cold beauty to look at him.

"Liu Kang, you are still arrogant thinking that your intelligence is higher than others, I see. Haven't the Heavenly Demon Sect already taught you a lesson?" Bai Qingling snorted.

Liu Kang's face twitched. As much as he wanted to wipe the floor with Bai Qingling's body, he knew that making a move against someone like her at this moment was inadvisable.

"My, my, I didn't expect this to be a gathering of old friends. Liu Kang! Fight Me!"

Just then, another voice echoed from the distance causing both Liu Kang and Bai Qingling to turn their attention toward the voice. When Liu Kang and Bai Qingling saw the figure rushing at them, their face became solemn and Liu Kang even cursed inside his heart.

"Peng Xiaoli!" Bai Qingling said with a displeased expression on her face.

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