Chapter 252 - Chase
*Crack*
*Crunch*
*Rustle*
Bai nimbly moved from one tree to another without leaving any footprints.
The only noise came from Hao Xuan, Ensis, the unconscious Monk, and the mass of white tentacles under which was Jiang Ling. Their clothes fluttered in the wind and some small tree branches broke off upon coming into contact with their bodies.
Hao Xuan held onto Jiang Ling while Ensis took care of Monk's body. They both had massive statures and hence made it hard to hide properly.
Bai was a feline and hence had all the basic characteristics any other feline would possess. His body although huge, was extremely flexible. It could fit through areas that were three times smaller than his build.
He made absolutely no sound and left no tracks. His skin color melded perfectly within the shadows, camouflaging him to such a degree that he could become invisible depending on the right conditions.
Bai was a true hunter.
He thrived in areas with a lot of cover, like jungles and forests. His prey wouldn't even know he was behind it unless he chose to reveal his location himself.
Hao Xuan still didn't know what the true extent of Bai's power and abilities was but he had never let Hao Xuan down once. Everything he asked of Bai was done without complaint.
His speed was faster than any beast of the same level. And to this day Hao Xuan had not come across another land creature that was faster than Bai.
Bai's tail was serrated and formed a scythe-like blade at the end. If Hao Xuan had come across Bai in the wild, the only sane option would have been to turn tail and run like hell.
Without even knowing when, he had started depending on Bai with complete faith in his abilities, whatever they may be.
Hao Xuan turned around and looked behind him but couldn't even see a single Jia soldier. There was absolutely nobody in sight. And with Bai's speed and the couple of minutes of headstart they had, it wouldn't be strange if they never caught up to him.
Hao Xuan leaned in and whispered into Bai's ear, "Slow down and leave a few footprints behind, give them some hope. They need to feel like they're on our tracks."
Bai slightly moved his giant head up and down without making a sound and jumped down from the tree canopy. He was using the 150+ meter tall trees to move around.
By staying at the very top he could avoid the hundreds of smaller beasts and unknown creatures roaming around the swamp floor and hence move faster. Plus not many other beasts would be able to follow him like that.
Claws came out from his paws and left long vertical scratches along the tree trunk as he slid down. His tail thrashed around haphazardly and left a few sharp cuts in the surrounding areas.
About a minute or so after Bai had moved on, an Elite Jia soldier landed next to the tree he had previously slid down from.
He was on a giant boar-like beast that had steel armor on its face and hindquarters.
"Found them. They're still heading west. Follow my beacon, I'm continuing pursuit," he spoke into the spirit band and sped off.
Hao Xuan had already had Baracus deal with Jiang Ling and Monk's beacons so they couldn't be followed directly.
A couple of minutes later about a dozen parties of up to 20 soldiers each sprinted past the same spot. Their speed was much faster since all they had to do was follow the other warrior's beacon.
Ensis's ears perked up as he looked back, "They're onto us, master."
"Mhm, how far?"
Ensis closed his eyes and paused his breathing. All the sounds started dying out until he could only hear the sound of rushed footsteps behind them.
"Approximately 7 kilometers and closing."
Hao Xuan nodded contently and gently patted Bai', "That's good enough, speed up."
*Growl*
It sounded like Bai was waiting for just that order as his speed doubled in an instant. Hao Xuan and Ensis quickly lowered their heads and ducked down for cover behind Bai's horns. The air pressure suddenly increased so much that Monk's body almost flew off.
"Hey, are you good to hold on?" Hao Xuan shouted towards the ball of snow-white tentacles.
Forti's head popped out from underneath one of the tentacles as he nodded proudly, "No problem!"
Hao Xuan would have doubted his words if he didn't see his carefree expression himself. Jiang Ling was still struggling but the tentacles didn't budge an inch. And it seemed like it was absolutely no trouble for Fortis to stay like for even several days.
So just like that Hao Xuan would order Bai to sometimes speed up and then slow down to let the soldiers catch up. He never let the distance between them get smaller than 5 kilometers though.
It was around 11 a.m when Hao Xuan had first gone out to meet them, and now the sun was about to set.
They had covered tens of thousands of kilometers.
The swamp was coming back to life as well. Hao Xuan witnessed several strange scenes as the darkness started creeping back.
They passed by an area that had a light mist spreading outward. It seemed to be coming out of the ground before floating above it at a height of 2 meters.
That was the first time Bai took a detour and completely avoided an area. As Hao Xuan gazed into the mist he saw several pairs of eyes looking back at him ominously.
He couldn't see anything other than those eyes but they were enough to give him goosebumps. Every single hair on his body stood straight up.
The scenery started to change after that and swamp waters started moving faster and faster.
Hao Xuan ordered Bai to start moving horizontally because it was pretty obvious that the swamp was turning into a river soon.
Two hours later a tall cliff came into view. Hao Xuan breathed a sigh of relief as could see the swamp's border.
Another hour of sprinting through the darkened swampy waters and they finally reached the cliff. there was a small waterfall coming down from the very top which was shrouded in clouds.
Just as Hao Xuan was about to ask whether or not Bai could traverse the almost vertical cliff, he leaped up and with long sharp claws, firmly embedded himself into the cliff wall.
"God d*mn, warn before you do something like that!" Hao Xuan grumpily voiced his complaints while holding onto Bai's fur for dear life. They were all thrown off by the sudden movement.
Bai didn't respond but Hao Xuan could feel that his mood was much better now.
40 minutes of climbing later they finally reached the top.
Hao Xuan jumped off and straightened his legs. Even with his tough body, he was starting to ache all over.
*Woosh*
A gust of cold wind passed through Hao Xuan's hair, gathering his attention. He looked up and his mouth fell open.
In front of him was a completely new region. There were bushy trees packed along the sides against the backdrop of towering mountain ranges.
A chilling breeze brushed past his cheeks with a few snow crystals that pricked his face.
"Where are we...."
****
Authors Notes:
New area: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/cc/f9/24/ccf92448f153d889ca81e1dc7d3e4a16.jpg
Shortened link: https://urlzs.com/EnRij