Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 421 - 282: Hunter and Prey (4)

Chapter 421: Chapter 282: Hunter and Prey (4)

After covering a considerable distance, the young man came to a silent halt and looked at the muddy ground before him. There were no footprints, no residual traces of any spell formations. He glanced back in the direction from which he’d come and, ultimately, turned to walk away.

The bone crossbowmen began to accelerate and, eventually, they and their master sprinted rapidly back in the direction they’d come from.

Suspicion is the way of survival, as well as the hunter’s infallible method of self-examination.

There was something off about the footprints.

His prey was no reckless individual. Such conspicuous footprints were certainly not the path they would choose.

Back at the small river, the young man crossed over the water, observing the moss trodden into the ground on a small hill and the ice accumulated in the recesses.

Recalling his memories within his own mind, the young man quickly thought of the glimpse he had taken—this place should have been a hilltop filled with stones and snowdrifts, bearing no contours of the living nor any scent associated with the living.

But the young man smiled nonetheless.

Having located his prey, he had to inform his master.

With this thought in mind, he raised his hand to summon his bone eagle.

The featherless avian skeleton burst forth from the void, landing on its master’s hand.

He turned his head, ready to tell his messenger whom to find when a glint of light flickered from a high point north of the distant river.

What was that?

Was it the sunlight reflecting off the bottom of a bottle?

This was the young man’s last thought in this world. The next second, a bullet flew past the front of the bone eagle’s skull.

At that moment, the world in his eyes seemed to freeze for an instant. The young man reacted frantically, trying to dodge the bullet that pierced through the bone eagle, but to no avail. He was rooted to the spot, only able to watch as the bullet drew closer and closer until it penetrated his skull, igniting the negative energy within with a holy round.

The young man fell to the ground and rolled down the hill, his husk scattering across the riverbank like gravel.

The next second, the bone crossbowmen surrounding him began to disintegrate.

Only then did the sound of gunfire slice through the somewhat empty valley.

......

"Roland and Higgs are both dead," the young Baron of Silent Hill said with a frown, glancing at his subordinate, "I don’t think the kid had it in him to kill them."

The latter, dressed exactly like the young man, nodded, "Yes, but the fact remains they are dead. On the battlefield, there are no what-ifs."

"Hmm... it’s disheartening, but there’s nothing to be done. The battlefield is like the hunt, always full of uncertainties, and it’s for this reason that the world seems so beautiful... Inform Marda and Dachi that we have to break away from the first half in the last ten minutes. The big shots from Carterburg won’t stand by after that signal shows up and then disappears. We don’t have much time."

"Yes, my lord. Shall I join in as well?"

"...Never mind, perhaps Fate does not wish for me to settle matters of life and death with His Highness the Prince today," the young man said with a slight smile and a shake of his head, while taking out a cigarette case from his inner pocket. He lit one for himself, reflexively brushed his shoulder, then fell into a sudden silence as if realizing something.

"Those without a heart do indeed covet happiness."

......

Malin watched through the scope as the fallen undead creature remained motionless until Fio went over, shattered the skull confirming its definite death, then stood up.

After crossing the small hill, Malin slid down the slope and handed the rifle over to Jessica, "Your brother has a good gun. Did you buy it for him?" Malin recognized the gun—It was a product from his workshop, with the barrel and stock adjusted by his own hand. He had thought Jessica had bought it as a gift for her father, but it turned out her father had given it to his son.

"No, it was for him to use, from father," Jessica’s reply provided Malin with a straightforward answer.

So Malin looked at the boy tied to the saddle, "How did you think to bring the gun bag?"

"I can die, but I can’t die unarmed," Link shyly replied. "When I fell, the gun bag was the closest thing to me. I slung it over my shoulder and ran from the camp, thinking that as long as I lived, there would come a time I could use it to defend myself. But I didn’t expect to pass out from the pain after escaping into that little cave."

"You’re lucky to be alive. Let’s hurry on," Malin said and helped Jessica onto the war dog before heading to Faye’s mount and leaping atop—The war dog’s provisions had been discarded, roughly twenty pounds less, which, although not as much as Malin with his gear, wouldn’t slow down the dog, enhanced as it was with Enhancement Spells.

"I think there are more than just a few chasing us. My suggestion is to head northwest, cross through these woods, and take the southern plains between Rodar and Sibis to Sibis City. Then we can inform Carterburg through the Church there. They have trains, and once we’re safe, we can send Link back to Carterburg by train."

Faye came up with a good plan, and Malin had no objections—Once he learned that the Baron of Silent Hill was a great swordsman and came from the original profession of the Pale Sovereign, he immediately abandoned the thought of arm-wrestling with him—at least not in the wild. On the competition field, Malin would be brazen enough to call in Nameless to clear the area.