I was faster than the apostates, which meant that after the truck was destroyed, there was no escape. With two heavily wounded and one lightly wounded, there was no escape. I didn't let bloodlust consume me. I was too tired for that.

It took less than a minute to kill off the rest of the apostates. They put up a good fight, but I was far more powerful and skilled than them. Against five at once, they could swarm me. But with the falling tree as a distraction, breaking apart their formation and destroying the front of the truck, I had created an opening.

The sky began to drizzle again. The water ran down my fur and dripped off my claws along with the blood that coated them. Breathing out heavily, my body shook slightly. I was on the very edge of collapsing.

"Um, anyone alive?" Shortnose called out from the back of the truck. The apostates had just tossed him in the back after securing him. I had been their main focus. I moved to the back of the truck and saw him tied up quite tightly with some rope. I climbed into the back of the truck and swiped my claws. The rope fell away as I looked down at Shortnose.

He looked back up at me, clearly confused why I was here instead of one of the apostates. "You came back," he said. I didn't reply. His rescue was only due to the apostates grabbing him and being put into a position where I was forced to confront and kill them.

"Yes, it is time to go," I replied. Shortnose paused after leaving the truck and seeing all the corpses. He glanced at me fearfully, but I didn't need to say anything more. I just needed to gesture for him to get my meaning. It continued to drizzle as we continued on paw up the muddy road. Even if I wanted to carry Shortnose I didn't have the strength to do so at the moment. My arms felt like they were going to fall off, and I was only staying awake and moving from sheer determination.

"You think there is anything else after us?" Shortnose finally asked me, after the ruined truck disappeared behind a bend on the dirt road.

"Of course. So less talking, more walking," I replied tiredly. I didn't have the energy for a conversation, but clearly Shortnose hadn't gotten the message.

"I thought I was done for, but you rescued me. Thanks. I shudder to think what would have happened to me," Shortnose said while I most ignored his inane chatter.

Once we reached the area where the motorboat was hidden, it took me a couple of minutes of checking the bank of the river to locate it, hidden away. I gestured for Shortnose to get on board. I got on board and pushed us away from the bank of the river.

I felt a growing danger as I started the motor. While Paladin Amberheart had indicated it would be brought back, that was if they had left me behind. They would have sent someone to retrieve it. Since the motorboat was still here, I felt a sense of relief. The Night Blade was still off the coast waiting for my return.

If the motorboat wasn't even going to be an option, then I would have been asked to destroy it on arrival. Thankfully I was too valuable to the Covenant Church to casually throw away. While the missions were difficult, that was what was required to become the best.

It was time to get back to civilization and off this snake continent. "I never thought I would escape," Shortnose muttered. Well, the Covenant Church was unlikely to kill him. They would extract every bit of useful information from him and probably arrange a quiet life somewhere. His story would be buried. He might even be used as a point of contact for other escapees setting up a new life.

While the Covenant Church was the lesser of evils, fighting against the snakes, even if they did things I didn't always agree with. Seeing the snake continent put this into perspective, more than any propaganda could have. Letting the snakes take over would a fate worse than death for other creatures.

I felt my body relax slightly as we slammed into the choppy waves one after another. I had done something impossible by getting Shortnose all the way here. I had given up on my mission, which would have been a black mark, even if I had gotten some of the intelligence. But I had persevered in the end. Even so soon after the fight, it was mostly a haze, especially the later parts.

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It was tempting to check my stats and EXP gain, but I could wait for now. A proper shower, then lots and lots of sleep. Also, a good meal of fish. I was incredibly hungry. I had been ignoring my body for the last four days, but now it was starting to let me know all the problems that had built up during my infiltration and extraction.

The water grew choppier as we reached the mouth of the Serpentine River. The sky was quite overcast, and the drizzle had increased to a proper storm. I scanned the horizon for any sign of the large ship, Night Blade. The chop began to get worse and this was a small motorboat designed for river use, not open oceans.

I angled the boat into the waves and kept us cresting over them, but I was getting more and more concerned as I didn't see any sign of the Night Blade.

They had to leave. I had been left behind. I felt despair grip my heart.

"Hang on!" I shouted as we crested the largest wave yet. Looking back, the shoreline was barely in sight. If I went any further, I would lose sight of land. I turned the motor hard and the motorboat spun around. Lightning roared in the background.

"Where is the ship?" Shortnose shouted over the rain and the waves while holding on for dear life. The ship had left Shortnose, the ship had left. I didn't say anything since I needed to focus on making sure we didn't capsize.

There was more lightning the hit a wave in the distance. The thunder let out a sharp crack, which I ignored. I was focused on the coast. We needed to get back to land before we capsized. Shortnose had started screaming for a bit and then stopped after it was too exhausting. If we did capsize, I wouldn't have the energy to swim.

The shore was getting closer, but the waves were getting worse. Also, there was no good beach to land on. It was just flooded jungle. Going into the trees would see the small motorboat ripped apart. I was no Mousethief able to weave vehicles around obstacles like it was nothing.

Adjusting my course, I aimed for the river again. The water was slightly calmer there and I would hopefully be able to find some sort of dry land. I went back up the river, and spotted a slight hill off to one side. The river was already overflowing its banks massively. Clearly the snakes had never done any infrastructure projects to handle such floods.

If their slaves died, they wouldn't care too much. There were always more slaves to be drawn from other areas. Also, anything near the coast would be destroyed as well by the Covenant Church.

As we made our way towards the small hill, the boat hit several trees. Thankfully no holes, but the rain and the waves had left a lot of water in the boat. We were going slower and we were going to sink fairly soon. There was nothing to bail the water with unfortunately. Reach the hill, the boat slid up on the muddy ground.

I turned off the motor and dragged the boat up on the small hill to the highest point. I couldn't risk losing the motorboat. It was my best method of traveling. Once the motorboat was at the highest point I leaned it against a large tree and went under it to get out of the rain.

Shortnose then crawled in after me. I glanced at the wet rat but didn't say anything. I was too tired as I sat in the mud. The ship must have seen the storm coming and left early. One large ship was worth more than one assassin, no matter how skilled the assassin. I understood the calculus behind Paladin Amberheart leaving, but it was still frustrating to be left behind.

Despite being tired and closing my eyes, I couldn't easily fall asleep. I was too tired to fall asleep, or at least that was what it felt like. I had pushed past a breaking point and was now paying the price. I regulated my breathing to try and help calm my body, but that only did so much. The hunger was getting worse.

Tomorrow, I would have to catch some fish and come up with a new plan. The only option for getting off this continent was Highwater Bastion. But that was a distance aways. Getting there wouldn't be easy. I could travel along the coast if the motorboat held up, but Shortnose was struggling even more than me. At this point, leaving him behind would be the best option, but until he became too much of a liability like before I wouldn't abandon him.

At least the huge rainstorm would cover up any scent or traces of our presence. The snakes and apostates would be scrambling around clutching their tails, unable to locate us. That brought a small grin to my face and warmed my heart.

I shivered again. While the rain and climate were warm, the water on my fur was cooling me down. There was also tremendous fatigue. I needed a proper bed and medical care, not a patch of bug under a boat.

"What are we going to do?" Shortnose asked me.

"I will get us out of this. Rest. You will need your strength when the rain stops," I said. The wind began picking up and the rain began flying under the boat. I didn't want to overturn it completely, since that block my senses from the outside. I needed to know if the water level was going to increase anymore. While I didn't want to sleep in a tree, it might be necessary.

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