CHAPTER 279: CHAPTER 279- CONCEAL

The next morning, the group moved with a new, focused silence. The playful energy from the previous day was gone, replaced by a sharp, anticipatory tension.

"Dori," Julian commanded, his voice a low murmur. "Conceal us."

Dori nodded, her face set in concentration. She raised her hands, and a subtle shimmer passed over the group, bending the light around them and muffling the sound of their footsteps. The forest around them seemed to swallow them whole.

"Ooh, are we sneaking?" Emma whispered, her eyes alight with excitement.

"We’re assessing," Julian corrected, his eyes scanning the dense foliage ahead. "We don’t know their numbers or their capabilities. We move quietly, we observe."

He then glanced at Fey and Clarissa. "Fey, a moisture barrier to dampen our scent trail. Clarissa, a telekinetic shell. Minimal vibration, just enough to deflect casual observation."

Fey, looking more alert than she had in days, gave a lazy salute. A faint mist began to coalesce around the group, clinging to their clothes and skin, capturing and neutralizing their scent particles.

Meanwhile, Clarissa’s eyes glowed softly as she wove a nearly imperceptible telekinetic field around them, a bubble that would subtly push aside leaves and dampen the minor sounds of their passage without creating a visible disturbance.

They had not traveled far when Celestia, her senses sharpened by her Phantom Step training, held up a closed fist. She pointed through the trees. A patrol of five armed individuals, clad in the distinct, rugged armor of the Iron Fortress, was moving carefully through the area. One of them was kneeling, examining the ground—the remains of their campfire from the night before.

"They’re tracking the smoke from our fire," Celestia reported, her voice barely a breath.

"What’s the plan?"

Julian’s gaze was cold and detached as he watched the patrol. He saw the way they moved, with the swagger of those who preyed on the weak.

He remembered the intel he’d gathered—this particular squad was known for "taxing" survivors, a polite term for robbery and brutality that often left no witnesses.

His decision was instantaneous and absolute.

"Kill them all," Julian stated, his voice devoid of any emotion. "They’re criminals who prey on survivors. They’re a liability. Remove them."

There was no hesitation. The moment the order was given, the air itself seemed to change.

Zoe melted into the shadows, her form blurring as her Beast instincts took over.

Celestia’s silver threads, invisible to the naked eye, shot out, aiming to entangle and sever.

Emma’s hands ignited with contained flame.

But Julian was the epicenter. He didn’t roar or shout. He simply raised a hand, and the world answered.

[Gravity]

An immense, invisible force slammed down on the patrol. Two of them were crushed into the forest floor instantly, the sickening crunch of bone and armor echoing unnaturally in the muffled silence of Dori’s concealment field.

[Lightning]

A spear of blinding white energy lanced from his other hand, piercing straight through a third soldier who was raising his rifle. The man convulsed and fell, smoke rising from his chest.

The remaining two, stunned and disoriented, barely had time to react before Zoe materialized behind one, her bestial claws tearing through his throat, and Celestia’s threads neatly decapitated the last.

The entire engagement was over in less than five seconds. Brutal, efficient, and utterly silent, thanks to their coordinated skills.

Julian lowered his hand. The oppressive gravity field vanished. He looked at the bodies, his expression unchanged.

"Let’s move," he said, as if he’d just cleared a branch from their path. "We’re getting closer."

The advance through the forest became a grim, methodical process. Julian’s group moved like ghosts, their presence erased by Dori’s Conceal and their scent masked by Fey’s Liquid mist.

Soon, they began to spot them: small, wooden watchtowers nestled high in the canopy, connected by rope bridges. Each one was a potential alarm.

"Watchtower. Eleven o’clock, high," Julian murmured, his voice barely audible.

He didn’t need to say more. Aya was already moving. She nocked a specialized, sound-dampened bolt into her crossbow. Her Eagle Eye skill activated, the world narrowing to the single, distant silhouette of a guard leaning against the railing.

Thwip.

A soft, almost inaudible sound. The guard slumped forward, the bolt having found a perfect kill zone through a gap in his helmet. He was dead before he could make a sound.

They repeated this grim work at each subsequent outpost. Aya’s unerring precision became the key to their silent advance.

At one tower, a guard turned at the wrong moment, his eyes widening as he saw the faint shimmer of their concealed forms below. He opened his mouth to shout.

He never got the chance.

A flash of silver in the dappled light. Celestia, using Phantom Step, had teleported to the platform behind him. One of her Silverthreads flickered, and the man fell, his vocal cords severed before a sound could escape. She reappeared beside the group a moment later, her expression as cold and composed as ever.

"Why do they always build their bases in these infernal forests?" Veronica grumbled quietly, stepping over a root. "It’s dreadful for one’s complexion."

"From a tactical standpoint, it’s a sound choice," Celestia explained, her tone analytical. "The forest provides natural cover, impedes large-scale assaults, and offers abundant resources. It is a defensible stronghold." A faint, almost imperceptible hint of disdain entered her voice. "However, their calculations did not account for opponents like us. Their advantage is nullified."

After neutralizing the last outpost, the dense trees began to thin. Ahead, the land cleared, revealing the mouth of a large cave system fortified with scrap metal and concrete—the entrance to the Iron Fortress’s main base. Two heavily armored guards stood watch at the reinforced gate.

Julian gave a final, silent signal.

Clarissa’s eyes glowed. With a subtle application of Telekinesis, she slammed the two guards’ heads together with a sickening crunch. Their helmets dented, and they collapsed in a heap.

Aya, not missing a beat, fired two more bolts in rapid succession, ensuring the sentries would never rise again.

The path to the heart of the Iron Fortress was now clear.