Everyone stood in stunned silence, the air heavy with disbelief. What had started as a simple fiasco with a flower had escalated into something far more complicated. The tension, once a simmering undercurrent, now shifted awkwardly as the man responsible for the foul Odor shrank under the weight of embarrassment. His cheeks burned, feeling the mocking gazes of the group pressing into him. Desperately, he wished the earth would swallow him whole.
Before anyone could speak, a pungent stench filled the air, overwhelming the senses. It was like something rotten had been unearthed after days of decay—an odor so vile it seemed to reach into your very soul. Aaryan, his sharp instincts already on high alert, reacted immediately. He backed away, his voice slicing through the rising tension.
"Move quickly! Don’t breathe it in!" Aaryan shouted, pointing toward the man whose lapse in judgment had released the foulness. "It’s mildly poisonous. If you inhale it, you’ll feel your stomach churn, just like him."
The group scrambled to retreat, each person desperate to avoid becoming the next victim of the disgusting stench. The leader of Aaryan’s group, however, glared at him, frustration seething in his eyes. His fists clenched, a mixture of anger and embarrassment flooding him. He couldn’t hide the accusation in his voice.
“So you knew this would happen after eating the petal, and you didn’t warn us?” he snapped, his words harsh.
Before Aaryan could respond, a man with a sharp, eagle-like nose raised a hand, his voice cutting through the tension with quiet authority.
“Enough,” he said, dismissing the Junior Chief’s frustration. "We've wasted enough time here. Let’s move toward the mountaintop before nightfall.”
Sharan, the Junior Chief, nodded stiffly, visibly irritated but unwilling to argue further. With no time to lose, the group quickly packed their things and began their journey once again.
As they trekked up the mountainside, Aaryan could feel the villagers’ eyes on him. Pity, disdain, and contempt still lingered in their gazes, but something else was creeping in—admiration. It was subtle, but it was there. Aaryan wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Knowledge, after all, was power—but it didn’t always command respect.
He let out a small sigh, walking ahead of the group. He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of satisfaction. Despite the disdain he had suffered, in that moment, his quick thinking had earned him something far more valuable than respect: survival.
Though the leader’s glare still burned at his back, he knew the man had no choice but to ignore him for now. There was no time for grudges—at least, not until they were safely out of the mountains.
The day passed quickly. By evening, they reached the mountaintop. The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows from the dense canopy above. The scouts had already selected a clearing for their camp, and tents were quickly set up around a central fire.
As night fell, the leaders gathered around the fire to discuss their mission. The crackling flames filled the silence before Sharan raised his hand, signalling the group to quiet down. His voice, calm but firm, echoed in the stillness of the night.
“Everyone knows how important this mission is,” he began, sweeping his gaze over the group. “But not all of you may know the full details. I’ll explain now so we’re all prepared.”
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in before continuing.
“We are here to capture three wild beasts known as scorpion-tail wolves,” Sharan said. “These creatures are dangerous and capturing them will not be easy.”
A murmur rippled through the group, unease spreading like wildfire. Aaryan could see it in their eyes—fear, confusion, and the helplessness that always accompanied the unknown. Though most of them didn’t understand the intricacies of cultivation, they all knew the stories about scorpion-tail wolves. The tales alone were enough to make anyone’s blood run cold. A full-grown wolf could take on twenty men and emerge victorious. Even one could easily wipe out the entire group.
Aaryan’s heart skipped a beat. He had read about the wolves, but hearing the stories in such blunt terms made his spine crawl. The wolves were like no other predator. Their bodies resembled ordinary wolves, but their tails were scorpion-like, venomous and capable of striking with deadly precision. Their skin was as tough as rock, and their black fur gave them perfect camouflage in the night. And their claws? Capable of crushing boulders. A fully grown one could match a cultivator at the peak of the 3rd stage of Anima. For a group of villagers, this was more than a challenge—it was a suicide mission.
Sharan seemed to sense the rising panic. His voice grew sharper, more commanding. “There is no need to panic. . They fled from the city generals who had been hunting them. All we need to do is help capture them, and we’ll share in the rewards. This mission will help the village chief’s plans for the future.”
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Aaryan’s thoughts flickered. He couldn’t believe things to be this simple. He voiced his concern stating “junior chief, forgive me for my impoliteness, but these creatures are very dangerous and mor so there are 3 of them. we are not sure if we have enough men to face them.”
Many villagers looked towards him, with gratitude in their eyes. Aaryan had voiced what they were thinking but were two afraid to ask. Some of them started to look towards him amiably and with gentle look.
Nayan glared at Aaryan and was about to reprimand him when eagle nosed man replied “the beasts are not fully matured and have sustain heavy injuries in our previous confrontation, so there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Having explained the situation, the leaders dispersed the group and went to their respective camps.
Aaryan muttered to himself, “If the village chief gets a beast core, he’ll be able to buy pills for his sons. The selection process will be a formality. I will have to be extra careful, its like a suicidal mission for people like us and I have no intention of sacrificing myself for gains of others.”
The leaders broke up, and the group returned to their tents for rest. But the following days brought nothing but frustration. The wolves remained elusive. The group expanded their search area, scouring the dense forest for any sign of them, but after a week, there was still no trace. The pressure was mounting.
By the ninth day, Aaryan was on patrol when a scream shattered the stillness of the camp. Rushing back, he found the group in chaos—two members were missing, and the rest were visibly shaken. Aaryan knew immediately what had happened.
The wolves weren’t just hunting them—they were playing with them. They were too intelligent to attack openly; instead, they selected their targets carefully, striking in the dark and vanishing before anyone could react.
The silver-armoured leaders quickly gathered a group to search for the missing men. They returned late that night, empty-handed. As they entered the camp, the sounds of angry voices filled the air. Tensions between the leaders were boiling over.
Sharan was frustrated. The group was on the brink of collapse, and though he wanted the beast core as much as anyone, he knew their situation was dire. He wanted to head down the mountain and request reinforcements, Aman didn’t oppose him but Nayan and the silver-armoured leaders were furious. They insisted they press on. It wasn’t that Sharan cared much about the villagers, but he was afraid that they might rebel and hence was trying to show them that he cared for them. he stormed off the camp and silence fell over the night.
The next two days were no better. Four more members disappeared. The fear was palpable, and morale crumbled. No one cared about rewards anymore—they just wanted to survive. They wanted to return home.
The group started to piece things together, Fear gripped the group, and morale shattered. The thought of returning to the village seemed more dangerous than the wolves themselves, for the wrath of the village chief would be far worse.
Aaryan could see it in their eyes—helplessness. The realization that they were mere pawns in a larger scheme had taken root. Some whispers spread among the group, murmurs of betrayal and exploitation.
Nayan was already frustrated with continuous setbacks and wasted no time in quelling the unrest as well as venting his anger, punishing two men who dared to spread rumours. The sound of their beatings echoed through the camp, a grim reminder of their vulnerability.
“Anyone who dares to spread rumours will face the same fate,” Nayan roared, his voice cracking with anger.
The group fell silent, their spirits broken. They all knew the truth—surviving here was no longer about the mission. It was about returning home or simply staying alive long enough to see another day.
Aaryan clenched his teeth, watching the villagers' dejection. "Without power, one can’t even decide his own fate," he thought, a sense of resolve hardening within him. “I will hold my fate in my hands. No one else will control it.” Aaryan was walking towards his when he heard two minions of Nayan talking
“I have heard that village chief will be taking junior chiefs for disciple selection of the cultivation sect. he is even planning to buy some rare pills to make sure they get selected.” Chimed the first minion.
“yeah, I have heard it too. Once our boss becomes a cultivator, who would dare to stand in front us in all the surrounding villages.” Said second man.
When Aaryan heard this, he came to a sudden realisation.
“No wonder, they are willing to pay any price for capturing the beasts. Village chief must have asked for heavy prices in exchange for all the men, and with those resources, The selection process will be a formality. I will have to be extra careful, its like a suicidal mission for people like us and I have no intention of sacrificing myself for gains of others.”
He wasn’t wrong in his assumption; village chief was willing to stake everything for his sone to become a disciples in a cultivation sect. That’s when the city generals had offered a deal. Hence the city lord had ordered the to hunt for the beasts. They suffered many losses and were about to capture them when they fled towards mountains near Kamplapuri. The city generals had suffered great losses in their pursuit, and now, they turned to the village chief for help. If the scorpion-tail wolves had cores, which was a very highly sought after item in the world of cultivation, it would be a fortune. Even without them, their bodies would be used to create valuable pills and elixirs.
Village chief was more than happy to provide them with manpower in hopes of getting one of the beasts. He couldn’t care less for the villagers and for him it was a win-win situation even if there was no core.
Aaryan shook his head. He saw towards the nearby villagers and could see that they have almost resigned themselves to fate, their fate which was in hands of others.
“is human life worth so less? Ambitions of few people were worth more than the lives of hundreds of people.” Felling very heavy in his heart, he proceeded towards on of the groups sitting near a lit fire and sat down quietly.
In normal times, people would have looked him with contempt or even mocked him but now no one had the desire to do so. their future was uncertain, and the threat loomed over their heads. They just sat there quietly, hoping to survive at return to their loved ones.
Aaryan sighed thinking about who was the real hunter in this scenario? The Wolves or The village chief? He sat there for some time before returning to his camp to rest for the night.