A young man sat high up on a tree branch, looking down on a small group of patrolling soldiers.

‘As expected, they are coursing through the area, searching for survivors…’

Edward observed calmly, letting the squad pass by uninterrupted. He could’ve taken care of them easily of course, but something like that would surely alert the bigger players. Maybe even that Legend himself…

Now that he calmed down there were several actions he could take. He could search for Marcus and Layla, but he didn’t even know where to start. They should’ve survived the fall, but could be anywhere in the surrounding several kilometers… Best he could do was hope that they would somehow stumble into each other. His friends would probably be searching for an exit too.

‘There are several actions I can take… One is to try and travel on foot, dodging the patrols, and aim for the nearest allied stronghold. But something like that could take weeks… Finding some kind of transport would be near impossible, or very risky at best but it is another option.’

When the enemy patrol finally left Ed’s field of view, he jumped down, nimbly grabbing the branches along the way.

His feet touched the ground with a light thud. Now it was time to finally make the choice on what the next course of action would be. Best thing he could do for now is probably to simply get away from the area. There was too much risk associated with being discovered, and the opposing side would probably be moving more troops over here soon.

There was also the small village nearby… The idea passed through Edward’s head, but it was once again connected to a high degree of danger. Settlements like that usually have very tight knit communities and are wary of strangers.

‘Seems like there is no other choice… Time to get ready for a long journey.’

He would travel north for now. The allied territory lay in the west, but that’s exactly where the enemy would be advancing. It was much better to try to get out of their way for now, and circle around later.

‘Let’s hope Marcus and Layla come to the same conclusion. Assuming they haven’t been caught yet… No they couldn’t, they wouldn’t have let that happen…’

Edward chased away those thoughts, walking at a solid pace. He could be travelling much faster, but for now he’d rather keep a lookout for any potential dangers.

The small branches, and leaves covering the ground were covered in a cold, frosty layer which cracked under each of his steps. He felt a light wind brush against his back.

Suddenly it started getting more intense, waving around his white, tattered shirt…

His eyes widened, and he quickly jumped to the side, hiding behind the trunk of a large tree, and reaching as high as he could in a couple of quick but precise lunges.

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Right after, a blur surrounded by massive winds rushed through the area, upturning the nearby ground, and shaking the trees, making a bunch of needles fall in its wake.

Ed managed to get a glimpse of a person in the middle of this phenomenon. Half of the man’s face was covered in dried blood, and a large gash was visible on his jacket.

Minutes passed since the figure passed by, but Edward was still afraid to move. Scared of the Legend turning back around, and discovering his position.

After a while of nothing happening, the young warrior forced himself to leave the hiding spot. Once back on the ground, he listened carefully for any suspicious noises, before resuming the journey.

***

Several hours passed until he finally felt safe enough to drop his guard a bit. He passed two more patrols on the way, but had no trouble avoiding those. Fortunately no powerful individuals crossed his path anymore.

By now his minor legend managed to completely heal all his wounds, but his stomach has been demanding nutrition for some time already. In that aspect, Edward’s physiology was like any other human’s.

Fortunately for him, this forest was in the middle of the wilderness, which meant it was probably full of all kinds of prey. Unfortunately for him, he still didn’t have a weapon.

‘Maybe I can fashion a simple spear from one of the branches.’

Ed was about to break off a suitable piece of wood, when a much simpler idea came to mind. He bent down, picking up a couple of unassuming round rocks.

‘That should be more than enough.’

If he planned to hunt something like a rabbit, a spear might be a bit overkill…

With the fistfull of ammunition, Edward strained his hearing, looking out for any signs of nearby animals. He carefully placed his feet on the ground, one after the other.

After a while of searching throughout the trees, his sensitive ears picked up a subtle shuffling sound. His head immediately snapped in the direction of the nearby bushes.

Not much could be seen between the small branches and leaves, but Edward took one of the stones in his right palm, pulling his hand back. His fingers tightened around it, and then he sent the projectile forward like a bullet. It disappeared in the shrub, and a short squeal came right after it.

The young warrior pushed his hand between the sharp branches. They left no marks on his toughened skin. He pulled back, now holding the body of a large dead rabbit. Its skull got completely crushed by the pebble, granting the animal a swift painless death. He carried the carcass by the leg, and started looking for a place to set up camp for the night.

In the forest no place was really better than the other, the only thing he was looking for was a source of water. He traveled upwards on a small incline, and finally came across a patch of rich vegetation and a small stream flowing through it. He laid down his kill on the ground, and was about to start preparing it, when a rather big issue hit him.

‘Can I even make a fire? Or rather, should I? I might have gotten quite far, but the smoke would be visible from kilometers away… ‘

Ed stroked his chin. He is already in a complete shithole, but new issues keep arising behind every corner.

‘Should I… eat it raw?’

He flinched in disgust, but there technically wasn’t anything wrong with the idea, except how unpleasant it would be. The way his power healed his injuries, it could probably handle something like food poisoning and bacteria…

‘But still… Do I really have to do it?’

Well… if there were better ideas, then he wasn’t aware of them.

“Ugh… this is going to be horrible…”