Chapter 603: [Bonus - ] The Wilderness

Chapter 603: [Bonus Chapter] The Wilderness

At the other end of the Muster Ground, outside Suncrest City, Thoren stood before a small cave tunnel and stared into the wilderness stretching far into the distance.

The scene before him was nothing like the massive military base behind him.

Instead, the wilderness spread endlessly beneath the open sky, almost peaceful from a distance, yet the longer Thoren looked into it, the more dangerous it revealed itself to be.

Tall trees covered the land like an enormous green ocean, their trunks rising several dozen meters skyward while thick branches intertwined overhead.

Thick shrubs grew between the trunks, some reaching chest height on a grown man and others taller still.

Their dense leaves hiding whatever might be lurking beneath. Vines wrapped around trunks and stretched from branch to branch, while wild grass covered the uneven ground below.

It looked lush.

It looked alive.

But it was anything but peaceful.

A deep howl rolled out from somewhere in the distance.

"Roarrrrr!"

The sound rolled through the trees and sent several birds bursting from the branches in a panicked scatter.

Before their cries had even faded, another roar answered from deeper in the wilderness, followed by a series of low growls that seemed to travel through the earth itself.

Thoren stood perfectly still, his deep blue eyes sweeping across the forest. His perception caught faint shifts between the trees, large shadows passing behind thick shrubs.

His expression stayed calm, though his eyes narrowed as he read the environment around him more carefully.

The atmosphere here was different, subtle enough that an ordinary person would never notice.

But his perception caught the shift in the mana surrounding him.

It was chaotic.

’So this is why the wilderness isn’t a place people can live in.’

Every city was surrounded by dangerous wilderness that no ordinary human could survive in for long.

The cities had been built where humans could carve out something resembling safety, but beyond those boundaries lay an entirely different world.

The beasts weren’t even the only danger. The real problem was the chaotic mana. It would burn through organs and meridians of ordinary humans the longer they stay out in the wilderness.

Thoren shook his head slowly as he had no intention of dwelling on the wilderness. There were more pressing matters to deal with.

His gaze shifted toward one particular direction, where the dense trees met the horizon and the faint outline of distant mountains barely showed through the haze.

Slowly, his expression turned became cold.

After destroying Cressida and her tree-like body, he had found a hidden tunnel at the far end of the chamber.

Concealed behind a massive root and nearly impossible to notice without his heightened perception.

The passage had run deep into the earth before gradually climbing back toward the surface. And what waited at the end was only wilderness.

No army.

No hidden building.

Worse, no trace of the remaining Slave Trade Guild members.

They were all gone.

He had swept the surrounding area carefully with his perception, checking every direction, but they found nothing.

Even the Vorlath Blood Compass in his hand had gone completely dormant. The eye at its center was perfectly still.

No traces of the Crimson Womb remnant.

He lowered his gaze to the ancient compass and his fingers tightening around it for a moment.

The Slave Trade Guild had caused countless deaths, run experiments on humans and beasts alike.

He had already seen more than enough to know they were no ordinary enemy faction.

He had wanted to wipe them out completely, and instead the last of them had slipped away before he could finish the job.

He let out a deep sigh.

There was nothing to be done about it now.

Even scouring the entire wilderness would offer little chance of finding them, not with a territory this vast surrounding Suncrest City.

The guild had clearly prepared multiple escape routes in advance, and if they’d fled the facility before Cressida fell, they were likely already too far gone to track.

He stared at the forest a moment longer and he turned and walked back toward the cave tunnel. His footsteps were steady as he stepped into the darkness, leaving the wilderness behind him.

The moment he entered, the distant howls dimmed against the stone walls. He turned toward the tunnel entrance and summoned an undead servant.

A figure stepped out of the darkness, and it massive, enormous body still marked from the battle.

Its hammer resting against one shoulder and its hollow socket burns with soul fire.

Thoren pointed toward the cave entrance.

"Destroy it."

The undead Storm Tyrant moved at once, crossing the short distance in a few heavy strides before reaching the tunnel mouth.

It raised its hammer with both hands, and the weapon gathered tremendous force. And then, the hammer came down.

"BOOM!"

The impact tore into the stone, the entire cave shaking violently, chunks of rock breaking loose from the ceiling and walls as cracks spread outward from the point of impact.

Dust filled the passage, forcing Thoren to narrow his eyes as another massive strike followed.

"BOOM!"

The second blow was even more destructive, entire sections of the cave collapsing inward, burying the passage beneath tons of broken stone.

The undead Storm Tyrant did not stop as it striking again and again, each blow sending another tremor through the tunnel until the exit had vanished completely under the rubble.

Only then did Thoren turn away, taking one last look at the buried passage before heading deeper into the ruined facility.

He hadn’t managed to eradicate every last member of the Slave Trade Guild, but he had done his best.

To him, for the next couple of months, the Suncrest City should enjoy a rare peace. Far from the intimidation and danger posed by the Slave Trade Guild presence.

As for other threat that might still linger in the city, that was not something he had to worry about.

As long as the danger was not as exaggerated as the Slave Trade Guild, he would make sure his parent could firmly defend themselves.

***

[AN: This Chapter is sponsored by: Scott_Berry_3382]