The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 347: The hidden enemy

Chapter 347: The hidden enemy

Hex trudged along with the team, flanked on all sides by the Guardians. Some would fly off for a while, scouting the area around them.

According to Jonathan, and Elize didn’t counter him, this was protocol during an escort mission. They had rested through the night after touching the ground.

They had slept at the lodging provided by the local Guardians. The buildings hadn’t been the ones dangling in the air. The houses were on the ground, built from old bamboo. The leaves were used as fillings of the mattresses and pillows. They were comfortable. Hex had slept deep and well.

Their journey began at sunrise and continued up to now. Looking up, Hex saw that the sun stood at its zenith. But it wasn’t burning. The plus point of living in a country overshadowed by a large tree was that the sunrays didn’t reach the ground in a straight line. The rays had to flow through the several gaps between the leaves.

It was the same for the rain. The ground they walked on was muddy but not so soft they sank into the ground. The lack of growth also helped in making their walk a pleasant experience.

On their way they passed by several farms where Hex had seen a wide variety of beasts grazing or lazing around. The majority of the farms seemed to rear sheep and cows, with occasionally some having other rarer animals such as bees, horses, and snakes. The snake one, especially, scared the women and the girls in the group.

Jonathan, who at this point acted like a tour guide, informed them that the snakes were reared for their venom, which was an important component in several medicines used by the Dryads. Overall, the journey had seemed more like an outing than the escort of a dangerous group of fanatics.

The Guardians’ nonchalance could partially be chalked up to their confidence in themselves and having two Enlightened Knights among them. Hex saw many people among the Witchkin relax and even chat with the Guardians. Hex, however, maintained his vigilance. The longer everything remained normal, the more he felt uneasy.

"What is that?"

"Look over there!"

Several gasps erupted in the crowd, interrupting Hex’s inner musings. He looked up and saw what caused such an intense reaction from the group. Not only the captives but the Guardians were shocked too, halting the group from continuing.

Huge columns of black smoke blotted the blue skies. The topography of the land was akin to a hilly landscape – Jonathan (who else) had explained that in Wrixia the uneven land was caused by roots that grew toward the surface and were the main reason land formed around Wrixia – making it hard to see what caused so much smoke.

"Stay here. Unit two, take a look!" Jonathan’s expression turned serious as he commanded the Guardians. The other units tightened their stance.

Unit two took off in the air, flying at great speed toward the smoke. Just as they disappeared over the rising land, Hex heard a sound.

"Incoming attack!" He bellowed as he dodged the projectile coming toward them.

Boom!

It had come out of nowhere. Mud splashed up in the air. It hit two women in the face.

"Defend!" Jonathan barked at the stunned Guardians. The sky had turned dark. Spears rained down.

Hex activated his Earth Element, creating a massive dome above them. He was almost faster than Jonathan who had sent a wind sickle toward the incoming attack. The sound of spears breaking apart could be heard from below the dome. But some got through.

The women whimpered as hundreds of pointy edges pierced through the roof. None made it through entirely. But the sight of hundreds of spear points glistening above their heads, scared most of them, bringing them to their knees.

The Guardians had recovered from their initial shock and hurried out of the dome. Hiding beneath it wouldn’t be of any help.

Hex glanced toward Medina first. With a glance she assured him that he didn’t need to worry about her. In that brief moment she even conveyed that she would keep Jade and the mother safe.

Only then did Hex look toward Elize. She was the only one who had taken no action so far. She remained calm and close to the captured leaders of the Witchkin.

Their gaze met. She nodded. Hex agreed with her. It was best for her to remain here, keeping a watch over those two. The last thing they needed was to have two additional powerhouses on the field, creating more mayhem.

Hex ran out of the dome. The units were in formation, looking around. Jonathan stood at the front. But there was no enemy in sight.

’This is troublesome.’

Not only couldn’t he see any enemy coming toward them, he couldn’t find them with his other senses. With none of them. Either they had fled. Or they were a troublesome bunch. Hex didn’t think the first option was possible.

"Unit two should have returned."

The leader of unit one spoke, causing Jonathan to look even more grim.

"Unit two is the fastest unit we have. If they haven’t returned by now, then...forget it."

His meaning was clear. There was no point in waiting for them. Hex listened and watched everything. He didn’t think it was a ruse but he also didn’t trust everything that was displayed.

"I will scout."

Waiting to see how things developed wouldn’t help a lot. And he was sure he could hide his trace. He had plenty of abilities that he learned by completing the circles. It was time to put them to use. Plus, he didn’t fear traps as much as others. His past experiences had made him more self-confident.

"Are you sure?" Jonathan asked. "Even I don’t know where the enemy is hidden."

"Well, if there is smoke," Hex said, pointing at the columns in front of them.

"...then there should be fire too," Jonathan said, understanding what Hex was implying. "In that case, take a few guardians..."

"No need," Hex interrupted, refusing the offered help. "It’s easier to sneak around or to flee when I am alone."

He didn’t wait for a response and took off. Although everything he said was true, it wasn’t the complete truth. He wanted to polish his newfound abilities freely, without spectators who could learn more about him than he was willing to allow.

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