Alz sprinted into the forest with six wolves on his tail. These wolves had started chasing him when he ran past them earlier after he exited the village. He might have gotten out of the situation earlier, but the danger was far from over.
He was furiously trying to come up with ways to he could escape, occupying his mind so he wouldn't have to think of the previous events. Tia's last words repeatedly echoed in his mind, making him understand that his life wasn't all that he was carrying on his shoulders.
As he faced the reality of the situation, he forcibly calmed himself down and begun to evaluate his options. He scanned around the surroundings, trying to identify the area and find anything useful nearby to shake off the wolves on his track.
He wasn't too sure of where he was now as he changed directions multiple times to avoid wolves and his mind had been too preoccupied with other matters to observe the surroundings.
His eyes suddenly zoomed in on an area by his side. To be exact, his eyes zoomed in on the signs of traps in that area. This was an area he was familiar with, one of the areas that the village chief had set up with traps.
"I can use this." the thought briefly flashed through his mind as he instantly started to sprint towards that direction.
From his memory, there were three traps in the vicinity but there was only one which would be helpful now.
The other two traps were of the same type as the cage one he used before and had the benefit of being easy to repair and reuse, but it wouldn't be effective against the pack of six chasing after him now and ease of repair was the last thing on his mind now.
He moved to the vine which he vaguely remembered was the trigger for the trap and proceeded to cut it apart with his dagger. He immediately took off after doing this while praying his hardest that this trap would buy him some time.
*Swoosh* A web of interlocked vines swerved up from behind Alz, blocking the path between Alz and his pursuers. The wolves were alarmed by the sudden development and instinctively jumped back to avoid it.
The two wolves at the front noticed it a beat too late and didn’t avoid it in time, ramming head-first into the vines. However, they were only rebounded half a meter and no damage was done to them.
The wolves started observing the web before them and realised that it was just a few vines woven together. Noticing this, they quickly proceeded to slice it apart with claws and made quick work of it, tearing the web apart in a matter of seconds.
Alz felt a wave of relief wash over when he heard the trap activate behind him. The traps here were not set up personally by him and he didn't have the luxury to check if the vine he cut was the right one earlier. Using the precious time this trap bought him, he ran slightly deeper and hid behind a large tree.
Alz knew that the trap wouldn't stop the wolves for long, so time was of the essence. He took a few herbs from his bag and crushed them together, rubbing it all over himself. His scent began to weaken, masked by a strong scent of the forest.
These herbs were commonly found in the forest and were also the most commonly used herbs by the warriors. They were required to use it each time before they entered the forest and was extremely useful for blending into the forest, giving them additional stealth in the forest.
Alz had replenish his supply at the barracks earlier and had some on his bag, so he thought of using this to mask his scent, hoping that the wolves would lose track of him.
He stayed motionless beside the tree, breathing as quietly as he could. His heart pounded furiously and his palms were drenched in sweat while he nervously prayed for the best.
However, luck was evidently not on his side as a low snarl emerged from his side. He quickly jumped out, but he could not fully avoid the lunge as the claws of the wolf tore through his arm, leaving a long, half-inch deep gash that went down from his elbow to his wrist.
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Alz grit his teeth and begun dashed off while holding his wound together with his other arm to reduce the blood loss from the wound.
The wolf seemed to pause for a moment after cutting apart Alz’s arm, surprised that it had failed to take out Alz with that attack just now. It proceeded to lick its bloodied claws before beginning its chase anew.
After running away, Alz noticed that this was the only wolf left in pursuit and was slightly consoled by this fact as he had neither the will nor stamina to run away from the pursuit of multiple wounds now.
However, the wound on his hand also meant that he had much fewer options as the blood that dripped from his hand left a trail would allow even the worst of hunters to track him, not to mention a wolf with a keen sense of smell.
He also did not have the ability to turn on the wolf as his primary weapon of choice was the bow, a weapon which required both his hands to wield.
“Polon could probably take that thing out with a dagger.” Alz muttered under his breath with some self-ridicule contained in his voice.
He then continued running for another 3 minutes. His breathing was getting ragged and his vision was starting to fail him. His legs were also beginning to give way and had cause him to trip several times along the way.
Each time he fell, he panicked and hastily stood back up, continuing his escape. Meanwhile, the wolf leisurely followed behind with playfulness and anticipation in its eyes. It had noticed that Alz was starting to tire and slow down gradually.
It remained a distance from Alz but closed the distance slightly each time Alz slowed down or fell as the anticipation in its eyes grew stronger.
“I won’t make it if this goes on.” Alz thought as he continued to push his already worn-down body beyond its limits.
His eyes started to become unfocused and a random thought abruptly floated in his head. “Ah, I bet I’ll get scolded by dad and mum when I meet them later.”
“NO! NO! I can't let myself fall here! I won’t allow them to die for nothing!” His mind cleared up for an instant as he jolted himself back into reality from the memory of his parents.
He looked around intently with his last bit of focus, trying to find anything which gave him a chance of survival. Suddenly, his eyes focused on a small hole on the ground which was about 5m in front of him. The hole had uneven edges, but it looked like he would be able to fit in it.
He had briefly surveyed the surroundings but found nothing useful and his head was starting to get muddled again. After a split second of hesitation, he clenched his teeth together and sprinted for the hole, jumping right into it.
The hole was deeper than he had initially expected but thankfully for him, it was not a fully vertical descend. He slid down the hole for several seconds before the area around him became more spacious. He sat up and tried to look around, but there was no light to allow him to see.
Just then, a growl came from the tunnel behind him. He promptly tried to climb up reflexively, but soon remembered he was underground and scolded himself for being careless. However, the impact on his head never came and he successfully managed to stand.
He was puzzled but had no time to think more about it, promptly dashing away from the tunnel while hoping for a miracle. A few steps later, he felt a stronger feedback from beneath his feet.
Before he could understand the meaning behind this, a stinging pain assaulted his eyes as and his vision was painted in a picture of white. His mind felt a dizzying sensation from the sudden brightness and he fell forward onto the ground.
Alz felt a cold, hard sensation from the floor beneath him unlike anything he had ever felt before. He tried to crawl forward while ignoring the pain in his arm but soon felt strength leaving his arms while an irresistible sluggishness attacked his mind.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t do it after all.” this was Alz final thought before his consciousness sank into the darkness.
The clear droplets he had been holding back the entire time slowly exited from the corners of his eyes as his body lay lifelessly on the floor.
The wolf entered the underground area soon after Alz and saw him right as he collapsed. However, there were too many things about this place which made it feel uneasy. The area was far brighter than the forest despite it being underground and the floor appeared different.
Its instincts were warning it of the danger ahead from the unnatural scene before it. Normally, it would have turned back in such a situation, but it couldn't help thinking back to the long chase it experienced and how tender Alz's meat would be now.
Finally, the wolf made its decision. It licked its lips and began to approach Alz, but it remained wary of the surroundings, planning to escape at any sign of danger. There was nothing that seemed dangerous at a glance and it was unwilling to just turn and leave at this point.
As the wolf stepped on the different floor, an electronic voice suddenly rang out in a language that was distinctly different from the elven language, “Danger. Hostile Presence Detected. Initi -- Target Eliminated.”
Right as the electronic voice rang out, a red beam of light shot through its skull. Smoke started rising from within its head and a burnt smell spread across the room.
The poor wolf had died so quickly it did not even have the time to recognise its own death and its carcass collapsed lifelessly like a puppet which had its strings cut.
The only signs of life left in this underground area was now the weak breathing sound of the severely weakened elven boy. He still did not know that his efforts in escaping had paid off and the miracle he hoped for was granted, manifesting in a way beyond his wildest imagination.