Chapter 278: Let the snakes crawl out.

The grand elder reached the capital in just thirty minutes, the giant transport beast he was riding landed with a soft thud on a quiet, stone-paved alleyway. Guards that had gone ahead of him the day before were quick to surround him with their half-life beasts.

Before heading to the meeting, he had arranged to stop by his undisclosed residence. This secret courtyard was his ultimate sanctuary_ a place only he and a few trusted people knew about. Deep beneath its floors, he kept mountains of energy stones and more wealth than any of his descendants could imagine.

The estate had only one caretaker: an old, loyal servant named Alec Bossman.

The grand elder let himself inside, leaving his guards outside. As soon as he entered the gate, Alec rose from the steps, dropping the bottle of beer in his hands. He gasped loudly and stared like he had just seen a flying pig. Before the grand elder could even say hello, Alec charged forward, threw his arms around the elder’s neck, and began sobbing hysterically, soaking the grand elder’s expensive clothes with snort and tears.

"Woah, woah! Alec!" The grand elder peeled the weeping man off his chest, utterly shocked. "What on earth is wrong with you? What makes a grown, bearded man cry like a little baby in broad daylight? Why are you drinking?"

Alec wiped his wet cheeks with his sleeves, his shoulders shaking. "Elder! You_ you’re alive! The news is everywhere! It’s breaking news nationwide."

The grand elder froze, his brow furrowing into deep wrinkles. "What news? Why wouldn’t I be alive?"

"Your private plane!" Alec cried out, grabbing his master’s arms. "The news reports say the plane crashed directly into the beast-infested Wild Lands! They said everyone on board was burned to ashes!"

The grand elder staggered back, his face turning pale. A sudden cold weight settled in his stomach as the image of his young companion flashed in his mind. "No_" the elder whispered, his voice trembling. "Maverick_"

Alec quickly caught the grand elder by his elbows, carefully guiding the shaken old man inside the house and setting him down in a carved wooden chair. He rushed to the kitchen and returned with a cup.

"Calm down, elder! Please, drink some warm tea," Alec urged. "You know Maverick! That boy is an absolute powerhouse. His skin is tougher than a dragon’s snout. A little crash won’t turn him into chicken soup!"

The grand elder took the cup with trembling hands and swallowed a huge gulp. The warmth helped steady his racing heart. As his breathing slowed, his panicked expression slowly twisted into a dark, vicious scowl.

"This isn’t an accident," the grand elder growled, his eyes narrowing into deadly slits. "This has Sabrina’s signature written all over it. That crazy woman vowed to make me pay. Nobody wished me dead more than her."

Alec leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Should I call young master Derek and mistress Alessa to inform them that you are safe, Master?"

"No," the grand elder smirked, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes as he set the teacup down. "If Sabrina thinks I am dead, let her celebrate. There is no rush to reveal the truth just yet. Let the snakes come out of their holes."

*****

The Duggars had been searching the wild lands for Zyra for a while now. They had encountered many obstacles along the way, from unfriendly hostile territories to feral, bloodthirsty beasts that treated them like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

By now, the team was weak, battered, and utterly exhausted. But Candy refused to stop. She was determined to find her brother Hans’s murderer, no matter what. Her father had connections to big guilds in the capital, and he had heard juicy whispers that the girl was still alive somewhere in this dangerous Wild lands.

Some greedy man named Ocean had been selling that exact piece of information to anyone with enough energy stones to buy it. Out of their original heavy escort, the team was now left with just thirteen miserable people.

They sat slumped under the thick shade of a giant blood-wood tree, panting, sweating, and nursing their bruises. They had just barely escaped from a brutal territory called Alphips_ a lawless settlement that dealt heavily in human trade.

Candy’s group had originally walked into Alphips with a friendly smile, asking around to see if Zyra Scorpion had been bought or sold there. Big mistake. The moment the territory leader, a ruthless man named Azur, realized they weren’t there to spend money on slaves, he tossed them straight into prison to become the slaves instead.

They had been stuck on the display market for days, waiting to be auctioned off like prize cows. Then, luck struck in the weirdest way possible. Just an hour ago, a giant plane fell right out of the sky, screaming through the clouds and crashing directly into the center of Azur’s establishment. Amid the glorious chaos, explosions, and screaming guards, Candy and her team broke their locks and ran for their lives.

They had not stopped until their legs could not keep up anymore and they were at least four miles away from that hellish place.

Clifford leaned back against the tree bark, wiping a mix of mud and sweat from his forehead. He voiced what almost everyone was thinking: "We should go back home."

Candy sneered at him, her dark eyes flashing with anger. "Not a chance in hell, Clifford."

Shane shook his head bitterly, rubbing his swollen knees. "Candy, look at us. I’m so tired my bones are literally rattling. We almost became slave labor over a rumor!"

"You cowardly snakes!" Candy snapped, her voice trembling with emotion. "You claimed to be Hans’s true friends! If you had a shred of loyalty to my late brother, you would search for his killer to the very ends of the earth!"

Michael stared at her for a long moment. The gun he had stolen during the plane crash escape trembled in his hands. He tossed it onto the dirt. "I am not willing to die out here for a ghost, Candy," he said softly, shaking his head. He looked around at his exhausted companions. "Hans is dead. May his soul rest peacefully, but he is gone. We have to move on with our own lives before we end up in graves right next to him."

Clifford and Shane nodded in agreement. Michael gave a subtle gesture to his guards, and six of the men pushed themselves up from the ground, brushing off the dirt to follow him back toward the safe borders.

Candy watched her group split in half. Her eyes burned with betrayal as she glared at the seven men walking away.

"Traitors! All of you! Cowards!" she screamed after them, her voice echoing through the silent forest.

She turned back to the remaining six men, her knuckles white as she clenched her fists. She hissed through gritted teeth, her heart burning with pure vengeful wrath. "Let them run. I don’t care if I have to crawl on my hands and knees, I am not leaving these wild lands until I find Zyra Scorpion and tear her apart myself! If anyone else thinks of leaving, I will kill them."