Day 20 of survival.

There's only one-third of the trial left, and victory is almost within their grasp.

Tonight is cold, but the blizzard has calmed down quite a bit compared to before. It seems Aiklonen has finally come to his senses.

Kane is riding a warhorse, advancing on the road at night with Kreya.

As time passes, the number of pursuers behind them keeps increasing, and they are getting more cunning. Smearing blood to lure them away is no longer effective.

They had just managed to shake off those pursuers during the day but saw the snowstorm halt in the evening.

It's the perfect opportunity to cover some more distance, after all, they were not satisfied with their previous hideout.

As they travel by night, Kane and Kreya are bundled up in warm clothing, courtesy of those wealthy townsfolk, for which they are grateful yet again.

"Ah, this journey is really arduous," Kreya remarked while gazing at the three moons in the sky.

Kane maneuvered his horse close to Kreya, using his hand to tuck Kreya's loose red hair behind her ear.

Feeling Kane's action, Kreya turned her head to look at him, her face slightly flushed, making her look even more enchanting under the moonlight.

Kane smiled at her, noting the slight redness on her cheeks, and said, "Yes, it makes me feel like I'm back to the days of hunting in the forest."

"The frenzy of being pursued by prey, the thrill of ambushing prey."

"Hululu~"

Their conversation seemed to have slightly awoken Lilu, who was nestled on Kreya's chest.

"What are you two talking about?" Lilu rubbed her eyes, asked sleepily.

Kreya reached out with a finger and tapped Lilu's head gently, saying, "Nothing much, go back to sleep, or else you'll be tired tomorrow."

Lilu sighed and closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

The past few days of travel had made Lilu feel quite guilty since she contributed nothing, feeling like a burden instead of being helpful.

As a result, her smile had dwindled, and she sometimes sighed, no longer as cheerful as before.

But this was inevitable, and also a reason why teamwork in dungeon exploration was essential.

After all, no one can guarantee they'll be useful in every dungeon. There will always be times when you are at a disadvantage or feel powerless.

That's when you need to rely on your teammates to continue the path of the explorer for a longer journey.

Finally, in the latter part of the night approaching dawn, they found a suitable hideout.

It was a small crevice between two cliffs, with a protruding rock blocking the entrance, forming a closed space perfect for resting.

"Then I'll scout the surroundings; be careful," Kane handed his backpack to Kreya, letting her and Lilu rest for a while inside.

He then dismounted, transforming into a gray giant wolf, patrolling the area.

The warhorse came, naturally, was commandeered from those pursuing knights.

In his giant wolf form, Kane began scouting around the new hideout and set up simple camouflaged alert traps to warn them of any incoming danger in case they weren't paying attention.

Suddenly, Kane stood upright, sniffing the air, catching a familiar scent.

This seemed to be the medicinal scent from Meizike, always brewing potions.

This implies he is nearby or had passed through here not long ago.

Kane followed the trail of the scent towards where it was strongest.

As the scent in the air grew stronger, Kane knew he was getting closer to Meizike's location.

However, besides the medicinal scent, a strong smell of blood also permeated the air. This blood scent was fresher than the usual stench in the air.

Are they injured? Kane thought and quickened his pace.

Shortly ahead, he saw an area scattered with ashes.

Eventually, by a large boulder, Kane found Meizike, and Longbei was beside him too.

It seems the two of them had reunited earlier.

Longbei, who was resting, noticed Kane's arrival, grabbed a one-handed axe, and stood up, eyes bloodshot, staring intently at Kane.

Meizike struggled to stand as well, not in his usual robe, but in thick, fitted clothing.

Kane noticed one of Meizike's arms was missing, with the strong smell of blood emanating from there.

"Meizike, are you hurt?"

Hearing Kane's voice from the giant wolf stunned both Longbei and Meizike.

Longbei asked incredulously, "Kane?"

Kane then realized he was still in the giant wolf form, canceled his skills, and transformed back into a human.

Watching the transformation, Longbei finally relaxed, sitting back down, evidently exhausted.

Kane quickly approached, helping the unsteady Meizike to sit on the ground, looking at his bandaged stump, and asked.

"What happened? How did you get such a severe injury?"

Meizike didn't speak, but Longbei stepped in to explain.

"Ten days ago, during our first encounter with the pursuers, we were unprepared, ending up surrounded. While breaking through, Meizike's arm was severed."

Kane noticed Longbei was also missing a piece from his shoulder.

Seeing their weary faces and bloodshot eyes, it was evident they hadn't rested in a long time.

The trail of ashes Kane saw earlier indicated they had probably just fought off pursuers.

It seems they had been having a rough time, but now that the group has reunited, things should improve.

"Is it just you, Kane?" Longbei asked, seeing him alone.

Hearing Longbei's words, Kane shook his head, saying, "Of course not, I've rejoined with Lilu and Kreya."

Having said that, Kane helped Meizike up from the ground, then said, "We must move now, return to our hideout, then talk about the rest. This place isn't safe, and pursuers could arrive at any moment, let alone with such large wounds on you."

With that, he led the two back to the rock crevice he had found earlier.

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