CHAPTER 250: CHAPTER 249 - RAVEN SMELLS A HARD PLOT.

A while later.

The air was still.

Twelve masked corpses lay motionless on the blackened forest floor, stiffened mid-fall.

They were all defeated by Raven’s group in less than five seconds. They weren’t strong enough to make Raven and his group even break a sweat.

But what came after was shocking.

Or maybe, it was merely unexpected.

The assassins didn’t try to escape after they were caught. The only thing they did was twitch.

Then, silence.

A quiet click echoed from Jessy’s blade as she sheathed it.

She stared at the bodies with narrowed eyes. "...They bit down."

"Poison capsules in their molars," Clara muttered grimly, stepping closer and examining one of the fallen. "Fast-acting. No hesitation."

Graye crossed her arms, expression tight for once. "That’s not some local gang behavior. That’s fanatic-level loyalty."

"Or fear," Rufus added. "They feared something more than death."

"They were all strong," Selena said quietly. "Five- to six-layer knights, minimum."

Jake nodded. "Each one could wipe out a normal platoon."

Darion, still kneeling from earlier, stared wide-eyed. "W-We didn’t even sense them approaching..."

"They weren’t meant to be sensed," Raven said, looking out at the trees with narrowed eyes. "And they weren’t meant to return."

Torman finally stepped forward, his tone no longer guarded but earnest. "I take it back. You’re not enemies. Not with... that."

Riel, the healer, gave a short bow. "Thank you. If your group hadn’t intervened, we’d all be gone."

"Unfortunately," Raven said, "there are more of them. These weren’t lone actors."

He wasn’t speculating. He had seen one of them run away from some distance.

It was as if he wanted to bring news about what was happening to someone, and that meant that there was at least one more person waiting for that assassin.

Torman paled at hearing Raven’s words. "They must be after the other companies..."

Raven’s eyes narrowed. "How many of you came here in the first place? And why?"

"A whole battalion," said Riel, now trying to heal Torman’s wound.

She hadn’t been doing it until now since she had to save her mana for emergencies, but now, she didn’t think she needed to hold back.

Lia, disguised as Leafy, stepped forward.

The soldiers tensed for once, but as she raised her hand and Torman’s wound healed, their expression went wide.

"Whoa..." Riel was amazed. "This summon sure is a good healer."

"That it is," Raven nodded while Graye went next to Lia, poking her with a smirk.

"Even if it looks scary from the outside, it is quite girly from the inside."

Her words made Leafy quiver, but that was all she could do. Poor Lia couldn’t even speak.

"You still haven’t answered his second question," Clara reminded, making Malik step forward.

He glanced at Torman once, and seeing the guy nod, he turned toward Raven.

"Let me answer that for you," he began. "The young princess of the Hector Royal family had gone missing for a while."

Lia froze in her spot the moment she heard those words. The face of a small girl, holding a doll and smiling at her, flashed past her eyes.

"Big sis! Look at this!"

Those words echoed through her head as she realized that her little sister, who had been kept away from the world, might now be in danger.

But before she could move, Selena and Clara appeared beside her, holding her hands.

"Have patience," Selena whispered.

"Rushing won’t get us anywhere," Clara added.

Lia still wanted to move, but then her desperate eyes met with Raven’s calm ones.

He didn’t say anything, but the way he looked at her—with that reassuring light in his eyes—made her stop moving.

’Yeah... I have him on my side,’ she muttered to herself, taking a deep breath.

"I’m fine now," she muttered, and Selena and Clara nodded, letting her go.

Seeing that scene, Raven turned back to Malik, his expression now serious. "What does the missing princess have to do with a battalion being stationed near the Great Forest?"

"It has everything to do with it." Malik closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "The young princess was last seen in the woods of the Great Forest by some people."

"How do you know it’s not a false rumor?" Rufus stepped forward, his brows knit together.

Darion, now on his feet, shook his head. "The king’s guards have verified it, so it isn’t false rumors."

"Verified?" It was, surprisingly, Alex who spoke up next. "What did they do? They came here, saw the princess, said hi, and then returned, saying that she was here?"

He raised a valid question for the first time, making Raven’s whole group raise a brow.

What he wanted to ask was simple.

If one had to verify the rumors, then they had to see the princess, and if they saw her, then why didn’t they bring her back?

Torman understood the sarcasm behind Alex’s words, but it was an expected reaction, so he explained. "They had indeed seen the princess, but like every other person who saw her, they couldn’t catch her. Before they could even reach her, she would disappear."

Now this was something that didn’t make sense.

How could someone just disappear from plain sight?

’I smell a hard plot right now,’ Raven muttered to himself, his nose scrunched.

He could tell something big was going on, and whenever it was something big involved, it was either the demons or the Vaise family behind it.

All that was left was to figure out who it was this time.

Above all—

He glanced at Lia, who was now looking at the floor, her arms clasped together. ’I need to do whatever I can to ensure that nothing happens to her sister.’

Lia was an important member of his group and his life. He didn’t want to see her sad or have her lose someone close to her, especially when she was one of the lucky few people who had a happy, loving family.

After a bout of silence, Raven moved, stretching lazily.

"We’ll help them," he said. "It’ll be faster if we split. But first—"

Before he could complete his words—

A thunderous CLUCK echoed from the northern trees.

Everyone froze.

A hulking black panther-like beast stepped into view—sleek, muscular, with glowing violet veins.

But what made it weirder were its passengers.

On its back sat a regal white chicken with snowy feathers and a beard-like tuft—Cluckles the Sage—and perched before him, a fuzzy squirrel wearing a red scarf and smug sunglasses—Nibbles.

The panther’s steps were graceful, eerily silent.

The soldiers immediately raised their weapons.

"C-Corrupted beast!" Malik shouted, fumbling his spear.

"Steady!" Torman barked, but he was sweating. "That thing’s not natural!"

"Calm down," Raven said dryly, raising a hand. "That’s with us."

"...What?" Malik blinked.

The panther stopped beside Raven, wagging its tail, as if expecting a pat, which it got.

Cluckles flapped once, majestically. "Cluckles has arrived. And Cluckles... senses a most foul scent upon this forest."

"...Is the chicken speaking?" Riel whispered.

Jessy nodded with a straight face. "Yup."

"I hate how normal this is now," Rufus muttered.

Nibbles held up a wooden sign that read, "Panther = Taxi. Squirrel Commander reporting."

The soldiers didn’t lower their weapons, as they were too stunned.

"Don’t worry," Raven sighed. "Panther’s been reconditioned. Won’t eat you unless you look particularly stupid."

The beast did lick its lips as it stared at Malik.

Malik stepped back. "I-I’m not even seasoned!"

Cluckles gave a wise nod. "Then you must be marinated in courage."

Graye patted the panther. "You look like you have pushed some boulders on your way. Good job."

Jake hopped onto a shadowy boulder. "The Great Forest of Hector Kingdom, right?"

"Yeah," Raven said, eyes still on the tree line. "If the assassins are moving, that forest will be their hunting ground. I doubt the other captains are ready."

Riel hesitated, then stepped forward. "Would you... like us to assist you?"

Raven gave a faint smile. "No need. Just don’t get in our way."

Selena passed by them calmly. "If you see anything with too many teeth, scream loudly. Preferably melodically."

Graye pointed toward Leafy. "Can we bring the salad with us?"

Lia rustled in protest.

"Leafy goes where Raven goes," Raven said solemnly.

Cluckles nodded sagely. "The salad has purpose. Let none question it."

Torman merely exhaled and waved his men aside. "I’m done trying to make sense of this. Just go."

With that, Raven and his increasingly absurd entourage moved deeper into the woods.