Chapter 190: Three families vanished.

By midnight, the residents of Twig Blue Crossing were relaxed and asleep. As far as many were concerned, no news was good news.

In the morning, loud wails swept through Twig blue crossing before the first cock could crow. Three entire families had vanished into thin air overnight, including their little children. Neighbors rushed out of their homes with weapons, tears wet the ground, fear covered the town like a blanket.

The village center was absolute chaos. Women were weeping, men were wringing their hands, and the morning air felt heavy with terror as they waited for the search party which had been formed at the drop of a hat to return with answers.

But before them, Cain, the self-appointed detective of their dwelling was searching for clues.

"Look here!" Cain shouted, pointing at the damp earth near the edge of the square. "It has to be those bastards! Look at these tracks! These are transport beast footprints."

Master Zoo rushed over and squinted at the ground. Deep boot prints were stamped into the mud, alongside the jagged, razor-sharp hoof prints of beasts.

He dropped to his knees, slamming his fists into the dirt, and let out a desperate roar toward the sky. "Why?! Why do this to us?! We had the tributes ready! The energy stones, the boar meat, the three men! Why take our people from their own beds?!"

Gwenevia stood beside him, her face pale and her hands shaking so hard she could barely control her fear. She shuddered, a cold dread washing over her. "No one even heard a thing! It_ it has to be because of what Simon did last time. Remember? That hot-headed fool tried to challenge their leader with a rusted sword! This can’t be a coincidence." She choked back a sob, gripping her husband’s shoulder. "They’re trying to send a message, Zoo! They want to show us that they can wipe us all out without us even knowing!"

Master Zoo looked up at his wife, his eyes bloodshot and full of helplessness. "What can we even do now, Gwenevia? We can’t fight them! We’re just farmers and traders!"

Gwenevia wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. "We_ we prepare more tributes. We double everything. A peace offering! We have to beg them to go back to the original deal, not this nightmare!"

"And what if they just keep taking more?!" The voice belonged to Solange, a vegetable trader whose eyes were red from crying. She stepped forward from the crowd, her face twisted in a dark, desperate madness. "I say we prepare a feast! We bake the meat, fry the rice, bring out the finest wine, and we lace every single bite with deadly poison! We kill them all in one night!"

Voices rose in agreement or fear. The residents had never been more scared. It was one thing for the bandit-cannibals to demand one human sacrifice and another to take them in the dark! If it became a norm, then who was next?

"If we can’t kill them and protect themselves, then we are just waiting to die. I would rather move and find a new home than wait." Solange screamed with deep anger. "I would rather risk my life back in the city. Prison has to be better than this."

Master Zoo looked at her, stunned. He scratched his chin, pulling at his beard. If people move, then what about my family? We can’t return to the city. Poison_ It is risky, incredibly dangerous, but_ it isn’t a completely terrible idea.

Gwenevia, however, leaned in with a dark smirk, looking Solange up and down. "Oh? A feast, Solange? And tell me, what meat are we serving? We only have enough to take us through five days and we can’t waste it. Or are you suggesting we chop up those three men locked in our storehouse and cook them into a stew?"

The villagers watching gasped in horror. Several people stumbled backward, clutching their chests, while others turned green at the mere thought.

"Are you insane?!" a shopkeeper yelled.

Solange blushed furiously, half in shame and half in rage. She shouted back at Gwenevia, "Is it better that more of our families get dragged away in the middle of the night?! Is it better that our children become cannibal fodder?!"

"Enough! Both of you, shut your mouths!" Master Zoo barked, rising to his feet and stepping between the two women. He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache pounding behind his eyes. "No one is cooking any humans! Heavens save us, we haven’t fallen that low yet! I already carry enough guilt to sink a mountain just by hand-delivering live humans to those monsters as tribute. I won’t turn this village into a butcher shop."

He looked around at the terrified faces of his neighbors, his chest heavy. "From today on," Master Zoo announced, his voice solemn, "every able-bodied person hunts. We go deep into the wildlands. We hunt more beasts, we find more energy stones, and we increase our tributes to the cannibals then we beg them to go back to the original arrangement."

Hearing this endless cycle of misery, Gwenevia finally broke down. Her fierce attitude melted away, and she buried her face in her hands, weeping bitterly. "Again! I wish we could just leave_ I wish we could just pack up and run away from this cursed place_"

Cain stepped up beside his mother, wrapping an arm around her trembling shoulders. "Easy, Mom," he whispered softly, patting her back. "We’ll figure something out. We always do."

His words were not meant for his mother alone, but all the residents who were looking at his father with doubt. Despite his age, he knew this was the breaking point. Twig Blue Crossing would soon be a ghost town.

Master Zoo looked at his crying wife and his brave son, but inside, his heart was sinking like a stone. Deep down, he knew the truth. You can never satisfy a monster’s appetite_ you only make it hungrier. Solange was not wrong; they just needed to find another way to wipe out those cannibals. Step one was to find out where their home was.

****

For Zyra, the morning started with a call to Hunter and this one had lasted an hour so far and showed no signs of ending yet. Through the clear screen projected in front of her, Hunter looked a bit worn out, but his smile was warm. "As much as Rose Water is nice," he said, leaning back against a wooden post in the camp, "the men are getting restless. They’re anxious to return to the valley."

Zyra nodded absently, her thumb tracing the edge of her teacup. A dark cloud of worry settled over her face. "What if the bandits come after you guys leave? Today is the third day, Hunter."

"I thought about that," Hunter replied smoothly, trying to sound reassuring. "I’m going to leave Krugger with a link band just in case anything goes wrong."

Zyra nodded again, but she wasn’t convinced. She chewed on her bottom lip, her mind racing down a spiral of terrible scenarios. What if Krugger can’t send the signal in time? What if they arrive there too late? Then what? What if_

"Ouch!"

Hunter suddenly flinched, clutching the back of his head.

Zyra blinked, her dark thoughts instantly evaporating. "What happened?"