CHAPTER 77: STALKER

As he walked behind the courier at the front of the line, Chelsie’s words from last night still echoed in his mind. It seemed that what Chelsie had said made no sense at all. How could she feel so sure her father was still alive just because of a dream? Dreams weren’t real.

’Forget it. I just don’t want to crush Chelsie’s spirit because of my doubts,’ Shaan thought. ’I just hope she gets the chance to meet her father again.’

"Shaan, hurry up!" Mr. Courier called out from ahead. "We need to keep moving before any dark creatures spot us."

"Alright, Mr. Courier!"

Shaan quickly walked and followed the courier’s footsteps out of the dark swamp. However, the path they were walking on was covered in thick mud. Damn. This must be because of the heavy rain that hit this place yesterday, making it quite difficult for them to walk out of here.

"Ugh, damn mud," Shaan muttered angrily. ’I never expected the path to be like this.’

"Uhm... Shaan, is everything okay back there?"

"Yeah, everything’s fine," Shaan replied. "It’s just... the road’s too muddy, and I’m having a hard time moving through it."

"Keep going and don’t stop," Mr. Courier said firmly. "We have to keep moving before the dark creatures show up and sense our presence."

"Understood, Mr. Courier. I’ll keep going."

However, a few minutes into their walk, they suddenly heard a strange sound coming from one of the large trees in front of them. The sound was similar to the hissing of a snake, but heavier and slightly wetter. What was the sound?

At first, Shaan tried to ignore the sound and continued walking along the muddy path. However, the longer he walked, the louder the sound became, making him increasingly uneasy.

"Hey, are you guys hearing that?" Shaan paused for a moment.

"...I hear it too," Nalira said with a nod as she slowly drew her sword. "We need to stay alert. That could be a dark creature watching us."

"Uhmm... I agree with what Lira said." Chelsie gripped her staff tightly, her face showing signs of panic. "We...we have to be careful."

"This is bad. We have to leave this swamp as soon as possible," said Mr. Courier. "Come on, we have to get out of here before—"

An arrow suddenly shot through the air at high speed, aiming straight for Mr. Courier. Fortunately, Nalira noticed it just in time and pushed him into a puddle of mud, saving him at the last second.

"Mr. Courier! Are you alright?"

Mr. Courier nodded quickly, his face pale. "I-I’m fine."

"Damn, this must be the work of a dark creature." Shaan looked around. "But why can’t I see the creature at all?"

"Uhm... I’ll try using Carmen’s ability to detect the creature’s presence."

Chelsie then gave Carmen the command to track down the hidden attacker. Within seconds, Carmen pinpointed its location, perched on one of the large trees surrounding them. Realizing this, Shaan immediately aimed at Robin Hood and fired an arrow toward the tree.

’Whoosh!’

The arrow shot through the air at high speed, but surprisingly, the figure managed to block the attack with ease. Damn. It seemed like the dark creature they were facing wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

"The dark creature has found our location. We must leave here as soon as possible before...."Mr. Courier suddenly froze, his eyes wide with panic as a pair of glowing red eyes appeared behind the trees. "Oh, damn it. We have to escape. Now!"

Hearing the courier’s screams, Shaan and the others immediately ran as fast as they could away from the cluster of trees. However, the dark creature did not let its prey escape easily and immediately fired several arrows at them.

"Hurry, we have to—"

Sadly, an arrow flew swiftly and struck the courier’s leg. Mr. Courier fell into a muddy puddle and couldn’t run anymore.

"Argh, dammit!

"Mr. Courier!" Chelsie rushed to help Mr. Courier. "Hold on, Mr. Courier. I’ll heal you right away."

Without wasting a second, Chelsie cast her healing ability and started treating Mr. Courier’s wound. But she didn’t notice the arrow that came flying straight toward her.

"Elsie, watch out!" ’Cling!’ Nalira dashed forward swiftly and deflected the arrow aimed at Chelsie. Great, she had saved Chelsie at the last second—if she hadn’t reacted so quickly, that arrow might’ve killed her.

"Elsie, are you okay?"

"Yes, Lira. I’m fine." Chelsie nodded quickly. "Thank you."

"How’s Mr. Courier?" Nalira asked. "Is he alright now?"

Chelsie shook her head. "Unfortunately, not. I’ve tried using my healing abilities, but... the wound isn’t healing at all," she said frantically. "This arrow seems to be coated with poison, and I need to give him an antidote first."

"Chelsie, take the injured courier to a safe place," Shaan said. "I and Nalira will handle these dark creatures."

"Alright, ju-just be careful."

Chelsie quickly took the injured courier and hid him behind a large rock that happened to be nearby. Good, at least Shaan and Nalira could focus on defeating the mysterious figure attacking them.

"Now, we know the dark creatures are hiding in the trees around us," Nalira said, scanning the dense woods.

"That’s true, but how can we find them?" Shaan asked. "There are too many trees, and we have no idea where they’re hiding. Without Carmen’s power, spotting them will be extremely difficult."

"You’re right," Nalira replied, eyes narrowing as she studied the treeline. "But we can predict their position from the direction of the arrows. I’m sure they’ll attack again soon, and when they do, we just need to track the origin point."

’That’s a great idea. I didn’t think that far ahead.’

In just a few minutes, Nalira’s prediction proved accurate. Several arrows flew toward them, trying to hit them. But this time, Shaan and Nalira changed their strategy and dodged every attack with ease.

[Shaan, up there!] Robin Hood pointed his finger at one of the large trees to his right. [The arrows are coming from there, and I’m sure that figure is there too.]

"Perfect. Robin Hood, use Explosive Quiver. Right now!"