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Gern quickly rose to his feet, stomping out the campfire.
His heart ached slightly as he glanced at the roasted meat on the ground, silently tucking the still-undercooked portions into his storage ring.
‘Waste not, want not,’ he thought, a testament to his excellent character.
Xiao Ying, ever obedient, hid behind Gern, her gaze timidly fixed on the group rushing toward them.
Gern drew his longsword, poised for battle.
The shadows of the approaching figures grew larger in his vision. Not until they were less than a hundred meters away did he clearly discern the silver-gleaming scales covering their bodies.
Undoubtedly, these were members of the Serpentman race, their numbers roughly estimated in the thousands.
This force was formidable enough to warrant Gern’s utmost caution.
A Third-tier Knight was considered exceptional if they could withstand the charge of a hundred-man legion.
These must be the local Serpentman forces. Their natural scales served as the finest armor, and even Gern lacked confidence facing such a large army.
‘Marching in the dead of night, what could these Serpentmen possibly be planning?’ he wondered.
As Gern silently mused, he seized the moment before the group could spot him and Xiao Ying. Grasping her small hand, he swiftly fled to the side.
The speed of Swallow Reversal significantly surpassed that of Netherworld Steps. In the blink of an eye, they had already bypassed the army’s line of advance.
To ensure their safety, Gern deliberately activated Netherworld Steps, shrouding them both in a veil of black mist.
Under the cover of night, this black mist was utterly inconspicuous. From a distance, it appeared no different from the surrounding environment, effectively rendering them invisible.
Only after the troop had marched far into the distance did the two emerge from the black mist.
“Big Sister, I want to learn that!”
Xiao Ying finally dared to speak, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and longing for Gern’s abilities.
Seeing such an adorable little girl, Gern affectionately stroked her head, speaking gently.
“When I have time later, Big Brother will teach you, alright?”
“Really?! Thank you, Big Sister!”
Gern rubbed his forehead helplessly, choosing not to correct the little girl’s addressing him.
He gazed at the distant Serpentman army, a flicker of doubt crossing his eyes.
Night marches were uncommon, usually reserved for urgent matters requiring travel day and night.
Gern had originally intended to ignore this matter, planning instead to seek information about the secret realm in another nearby city.
However, he reconsidered. The secret realm was located in a contested zone between two races, so perhaps following these people would lead him to the very realm he sought.
****
In the dead of night, the continuously advancing army finally halted, settling down to cook a meal.
An officer continuously patrolled the ranks, checking on each unit. A palpable sense of oppression hung over the entire encampment.
Just days prior, he had suddenly received orders from above: his untrained troops were to immediately proceed to the Three Mountains Plain on the front lines.
To ensure they arrived at the front in time for critical moments, they had been forced to resort to this arduous method.
During this forced march, their original force of over ten thousand had dwindled to merely seven or eight thousand soldiers by the time they reached this point.
Most had either fallen behind or deserted under the cloak of night.
He was utterly helpless about this; after all, they were a newly trained unit, still lacking cohesion.
That so many had endured such a long night march and remained was already beyond his expectations.
As the officer surveyed the various formations, his eyes fell upon a beautiful Serpentwoman.
‘If Gern were here, he would surely recognize this woman as the Serpentwoman he had previously encountered and taken special care of.’
Upon seeing the officer approach, she showed no deference. Instead, a flicker of disdain crossed her features.
The officer naturally noticed the look in her eyes, yet he didn’t grow angry. Instead, he offered a fawning smile and spoke.
“Miss Evelyn, it has been a rough journey. I humbly ask for your understanding regarding my difficulties.”
Evelyn lifted her gaze to him, then waved an impatient hand, clearly in a foul mood.
“Have you investigated the matter I tasked you with?”
“I am investigating, but as of now, there are no leads concerning Young Master Quade.”
At his words, Evelyn’s expression grew even more impatient.
“Very well, there’s nothing more here. You may leave.”
“Understood, Miss Evelyn.”
After the officer departed, Evelyn massaged her temples, a troubled expression on her face. Worries had piled up one after another recently, completely ruining her mood.
She had later dispatched a small team to search the village Quade had explored, but they found no clues whatsoever.
She had intended to send more people to investigate the mountain stronghold, but coincidentally, a major development on the front lines led to their urgent deployment, resulting in innocent casualties.
With no other option, she had followed this army to their current location.
Along the way, she hadn’t forgotten to send people to search for Quade, but every effort proved fruitless. It was as if Quade had vanished into thin air.
No matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find a trace of Quade. This made her increasingly uneasy. With no current leads, she could only use the army’s rest period to dispatch another search party.
****
“Reporting, Commander!”
As dawn approached, a Serpentman soldier suddenly scrambled over, saluting Evelyn, who was now familiar to him.
“What is it? Speak quickly!”
“We’ve spotted two suspicious individuals outside the encampment. One of them appears to be the female cub who went missing a few days ago.”
“Really!?”
Evelyn shot to her feet, a flash of delight in her eyes.
“Where are they? Take me to them at once!”
“They’re less than a thousand meters behind our formation.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Evelyn, without another sound, transformed into a colossal black serpent and swiftly departed the formation.
The soldier who had just delivered the report stared at the scene, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg.
Approximately eight hundred meters behind the army formation, Gern and Xiao Ying were observing the distant troops. A faint sense of unease stirred within Gern.
‘He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him,’ he thought. ‘This sensation had begun the moment we approached the army.’
His brow furrowed. As he scanned his surroundings, he noticed Serpentmen occasionally returning to the ranks from outside, likely scouts dispatched by the army.
Ordinarily, this wouldn’t have caught Gern’s attention; deploying scouts was a common practice, after all.
Yet, Gern’s intuition screamed that if he didn’t leave immediately, significant trouble would surely follow.
This intuition was the very foundation of his survival, having allowed him to escape Lilia’s grasp countless times in his previous life. The moment the feeling arose, he was already planning his retreat.
‘Information about the secret realm was undoubtedly important,’ he mused, ‘but his own life was far more so.’
Just then, not far ahead, he spotted a black mass hurtling toward them at an incredible speed.
Gern’s scalp prickled. That black mass in the distance was a colossal serpent.
The aura emanating from her suggested the power of a Fifth-tier Knight. Without transforming into a Dragon Maiden, Gern, with his Third-tier, Fourth-stage strength, stood no chance against her.
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