Liam turned serious after Caleb left with his team. Along with his friends, he carefully examined the deceased soldier's wounds. Injuries told a lot about the weapon their opponents used.

The report Alisha gave him contained those details, but it never hurt to be prepared.

"The wounds match their weapon descriptions," Dunn concluded after a thorough inspection.

The targets were made up of four swordsmen and one archer, making it quite imbalanced. None of them belonged to the same squad, so it was understandable.

"Is there someone watching us?" Jade asked.

"I don't think so." Mana vision made it almost impossible to hide from Liam, and obstacles didn't pose any hindrance to his eyes. The only drawback was the 100-meter range in which the ability was useful.

"Do you think we should escape?" She no longer had the playful expression on her face. The situation was far too complicated for them to be involved in. Too many factions and powers were scheming against each other. Even the pope herself decreed an order to apprehend five traitors, emphasizing the significance of the events.

Dunn stopped examining the bodies and stared at Liam.

"No."

Liam understood their concerns, but it wasn't wise to make an enemy out of the single ally they had.

"Alisha didn't give us any reason to betray her and even braved a lot of criticism to help us. It is definitely because there is something we can help her with, but she never hid that fact. Unless her actions harm us, we'll stay."

"Doesn't it give her the initiative? If she wants to harm us, it may be too late to escape."

"I'm not saying we will blindly follow her. Our objective is to gather more information and prepare for eventualities. Be patient, be prepared, and most of all, be vigilant. Also, remember escaping means hiding from both Alisha and the other faction. Do you think her enemies will let us go after killing so many of their agents? Our only path of retreat is to the land of the orcs. With our current location, escaping to the Shurin kingdom or Northern tribes is a pipe dream."

"Fine." Jade nonchalantly said. "I was just asking."

Sitting down on the tree roots, she leaned against the trunk, making herself comfortable.

"Are you going to do your thing?"

"Hmm?" He couldn't make head or tails of her statement.

Pointing at the bodies, she referred to another secret he never mentioned. "You know, whatever it is you do."

Her words made Liam fall into deep thought.

Sometimes, he could use an enhanced version of mana vision. At least, he believed it to be an improved version, but he couldn't be sure. Its function was so different, he didn't have a complete understanding of what it did.

Even if he used it, the result would either be a hit or miss. Their current targets had a three-hour lead and wasting time on a small chance wasn't tactful.

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On the other hand, if it was a hit, their chances of success would increase exponentially.

After deliberating for some time, he decided to try his luck.

Walking to the first corpse, Liam focused his eyes on the wound. Mana vision transformed, making the world appear differently. Colors faded, turning the world black and white.

A lot of shining threads appeared on the wound, connected to something far away. When Liam touched one of them, it broke into fragments and entered Liam.

His surroundings faded, and a blurry scene appeared in his mind.

***

"Have ...…. Capture traitors ...…. Dead or ali …..."

***

Coming back to his senses, Liam collapsed to his knees, breathing hard. Trembling hands clutched the soil, feeling the stones digging into his fingers. His eyes went in and out of focus, making the surroundings seem surreal. It took him a while to regain control of his body. The shining threads from the wound all disappeared.

"Hit or miss," Jade asked.

"Miss." Liam stood up and dusted off his knees. Standing in front of the next corpse, he repeated the process. The scenery was fuzzy, but the words were comprehensible.

***

"Wait, I am coming with you."

"....."

"I'm sure."

***

"Miss," he said before Jade could ask him.

Dunn watched him do the same motion four more times. Every time, he froze mid-gesture and fell to his knees. The answer also remained the same.

No matter how many times he saw it, there was something enormously disturbing about Liam's actions. His eyes went completely black, and they started shining with a purple color. The only other time Dunn had seen something similar was in corrupted.

When the sixth one failed, Liam stared at the hanging corpse. If it didn't succeed with the final body, they wasted a lot of time. Ripping the spear from the corpse, he let it fall to the ground. It landed in the blood pool, splashing Liam.

"Can't you be more careful?" Jade complained, wiping the blood off her face.

Not paying any attention to her, he repeated the process.

***

"I wonder how many more we have to kill before we escape." Someone sighed.

"A lot."

"Don't forget those two!"

"You mean three, right?. We are constantly monitoring them. They have no escape and will be buried inside the forest." A male voice snarled.

"If we get separated, remember the escape route. Follow the Grithar river's tributary flowing into the territory of the orcs. You will automatically reach the safe zone."

***

"We are going hunting." A full-blown smile was present on Liam's face.

Jade sat up straight. "It was a hit?"

After getting the confirmation, she whooped. "What do we do?"

"First, let's gear up."

He put down the black case in which his weapon was present and opened it.

The sight of it made him marvel at its beauty. The sword was his latest acquisition and also the one that lasted him the longest. It stayed with him for two years and counting.

The weapon had a curved single-edged blade which made it an optimal weapon for slicing through objects. Though it lacked runes, it was more potent and resilient than enchanted weapons. The Rift swallowed so many worlds there were some inconceivable weapons lying around.

Liam assumed the sword was a byproduct of a destroyed civilization. It was extremely durable, and he rarely met weapons with a sharper edge.

Jade fought with a shield and a single-headed ax longer than the normal ones, with runes carved just below the edge.

When Liam noticed the holes on Jade's thick shield, he understood how lucky he was to be still alive.

Jade was a bit sad to see her shield break but didn't dwell on it too much. Replacing their broken gear wasn't anything new.

The only regret was that the shield was harder than an enchanted weapon, and finding another one of such quality would be difficult.

The box contained another shield, making Liam wonder if Alisha was telling them she didn't steal anything.

Dunn used an assortment of weapons. He favored all forms of hidden weapons and tried to master them. Blades and pistols took most of his time and focus. The blades were enchanted, but the gun like Liam's sword was the product of another civilization. It packed quite a punch, but it was useless as they no longer had any ammo left. The others were just normal weapons.

If he wanted to replace the gun, he would have to get an enchanted one.

Guns weren't commonly used as enchanted weapons due to the limitations bullets imposed on them. With how weak they were, normal bullets were often impractical.

Unlike arrows, bullets were smaller and couldn't be reused. It cost a lot to create an enchanted bullet, so people generally used them as secondary weapons.

The entire time his friends were getting ready, Liam was thinking about the things he just learned. Someone was constantly monitoring them. Before beginning the hunt, he had to take care of the issue.