Chapter 21: Chapter 21: The Chase in the Forest

The night was a time for rest. But in the forest, it was just like the start of a new shift for a new force of workers. In the same terms, it also must be mentioned that night was the time when the ‘fiercest’ work took place, literally.

And Anom was currently travelling through the forest while trying his best not to disturb the ‘workers’ who were resting after the day-shift, and the ‘night-shift workers’ who were currently working.

After his improvement in his skills and strength, Anom found it easier to travel through the forest as compared to before.

Currently, he was travelling towards the rock salt deposits. It was the only place he knew about where humans visited frequently. Besides, he had also seen some traces of a beaten path which was formed due to people visiting that place frequently.

He was training his movement techniques as he travelled. He felt a lot more confident about contacting other humans now that he was stronger than before.

Although he knew that he would not amount to much among the other humans, considering how he was having trouble dealing with the local lords of the peripheral territory of the forest. But sometimes courage and confidence are more important than strength.

Furthermore, it was not like he didn’t have any abilities before. After all, he was the best thief in his previous world. Well, some people didn’t agree, but he didn’t pay much attention to those jealous bastards.

After the training in the past few days, Anom was quite proficient in practicing his techniques while also keeping his senses up for any danger.

He kept travelling like this for a while before finally arriving at his destination.

Small mounds made of brown and white rocks were scattered all over the area.

As this place was more open with fewer tree canopies to block light, the moonlight made some of the salt rocks shine like crystals.

Anom had chosen to travel at night instead of waiting for the morning as he wanted to practise his stealth. And what other time would be better for that than the night?

When he was playing around with the Soul Sniffing Devils in the last couple of days, he tried to do something interesting. He studied their ability to hide. Although the results were not promising, he still gained some insights due to the Little Devil’s cooperation.

Well, he was a thief, so what would you expect from him when he was introduced with such marvellous skill? Although he was able to erase his traces due to his expertise, the Little Devils were just on another level.

He had improved all of his skills, stealth included, after improving his control over his internal energy. But he knew it was still not enough, as there would be many people out there able enough to see through his skills.

He really wanted to know where he stood right now. Only then could he gain some goals to achieve and get stronger.

Anom wasn’t clear why he was doing this. He didn’t have a clear goal. Maybe it was to reunite with Della as an equal. Or maybe he just wanted to have an adventure in this world.

Maybe it was due to that faint feeling he had inside of his soul which told him to get stronger. As if there was something he needed to accomplish which would require him to be powerful.

Anom let out a breath and cleared all the thoughts in his mind. He focused on his senses and once again started training his hearing. Sometimes hearing proves more useful than sight as a sense. And when it is developed to the level of merging with other senses, it can even detect the slightest vibration in its surroundings.

Anom had a feeling that the highest level of senses he had heard about on Earth was pointing towards the detection of fluctuations of energy. If he could detect energy fluctuations emitted by the enemy while hiding his own, nothing would compare to that combination of detection and stealth.

He focused on his surroundings and heard the bio-phony created by the creatures still awake. A major part of these noises included insects.

But they could be ignored for the most part as they had a distinct frequency which made it easier for him to focus on the other sounds.

After filtering out the insect noises, he heard other sounds like some low growls and whimpering of beasts. Hissing sounds were very faint but audible. Rustling of leaves, with different a feeling between a breeze of wind and the passing of animals. Some high-pitched roars, whimpers, growls and hisses would sound at irregular intervals, giving the news of one beast’s demise while another was getting tonight’s meal.

As his senses were outstretched, he felt like the wind also caressed his soul instead of just his body.

Anom liked this tranquil feeling he felt amidst the silent chaos that was happening around the forest.

He continued like this for quite a while, when suddenly, he heard some noises which did not fit inside this natural bio-phony.

Anom opened his eyes and sprinted back towards the trees. With light feet and like an agile monkey, he climbed on top of a tall tree and hid inside its lush foliage. He completed the whole thing without making a sound.

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Just as he stabilized his footing, rustling sounds were heard as some people came into his view.

A black cloaked person came out from among the woods, followed by two men dressed in black clothes. Even their faces were covered with black cloth.

‘Oh, Assassins!’ Anom watched curiously as he was excited to find a thrilling scene before he even reached a human settlement.

The person being chased and the people chasing him crossed past the salt-rock mounds and went towards the other side, re-entering the woods.

Anom thought of following them but stopped after hearing another sound.

Two more men came to his sight. It was clear from their appearance that they were part of the group that was chasing that black-cloaked person. One of them was injured as he was holding his chest with one hand as if pressing an injury, while he used his other hand to draw support for walking from his partner.

They advanced slowly while following the tracks left behind by the other three people.

Anom left his hiding place and followed after them.

‘These people are slow.’

He kept some distance and overtook them from the side to follow after the first group. He kept advancing and soon saw the first three people still engaged in the chase.

Anom analysed their strength by observing their movements and reaction speeds. He concluded that the three in front of him were strong. As strong as him if physical strength is taken into account.

But there was still a difference between them. Anom specialised in stealth, and his close combat skills were only worse than his sneaking skills.

Anom realized many things after observing them for a while. Firstly, the person being chased had a good movement method. It looked unpolished but was exquisite.

The people behind the black-cloaked person were fast but their technique was not as good as their target. Well, none of their techniques could compare to Anom’s after he had improved to another level in the forest. This was the reason he was able to follow them without exerting much effort. Furthermore, he was familiar with the forest terrain while the people in front of him looked like they were charging blindly. Well, the black-cloaked person, the one being chased, was charging blindly. The others were just following after them.

This chase continued for a while when Anom felt a difference in the moisture in the air and his nose detected a refreshing scent. He also heard a faint sound of water falling from a height.

Anom stopped and climbed on top of the tallest tree in front of him.

He looked into the distance and muttered, “Looks like the chase is about to end. I can finally see their fighting skills.”

Anom was following them for various reasons. Anom finding the situation interesting was one, while analysing their strength and observing their fighting style was the main reason.

The black-cloaked person kept running. His figure flinched for a moment as if he had discovered something which made them nervous. The people chasing after them exerted more force and sped up as if deciding to end this chase before any other factor came into play.

They continued their game of chasing and being chased for a few more minutes.

Suddenly, the black-cloaked person stopped. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to continue running, but that they had nowhere to run anymore. The people behind also caught up and relaxed after seeing the scenery in front of them. They moved to both sides of the cloaked person to block the escape paths.

In front of them was a mountain peak. A waterfall was falling from the mountain peak with a breath-taking might. The mountain was part of a mountain range which was spread in both directions with no end in sight. A river was carrying the water along the mountain range and going inside the forest.

It was not that the cloaked person couldn’t have escaped in any other direction, but that they didn’t have any more stamina to run anymore. So it was better to have a final showdown here to decide the outcome, then to die of exhaustion.

“Miss Crystal, you should have surrendered before. Well, it’s not too late now. Come with us to meet our boss. He only wants to have some ‘peace-talk’ with you.” One of the black-clothed men said arrogantly.

The black-cloaked person snickered and replied, “Who’s surrendering? And why would I talk to your boss? Get lost or I wouldn’t mind burying the two of you here.” Surprisingly, it was the voice of a girl. It was pleasant to listen to, and the tone she used was even more arrogant than the one used by the black-clothed man.

‘Damn! That’s a cliché!’ Anom, who was hiding behind them, thought inwardly.

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