The frequency in which Kyran did not encounter any forest beasts after his magic manifested was too coincidental for him to ignore. If the forest beasts were deliberately avoiding him because they ‘sense’ he was someone dangerous, it would be a problem when he was out to hunt, especially with a mutated beast like Theihorns, whose senses had doubled.
A beast’s sense of danger not only relied on sensing another being’s magic aura but also their ‘killing intent’ and ‘the smell of blood’. Thus, the array Kyran found might be helpful to him because that array managed to hide all these three. By masking all three, there was a good chance that all forest beasts would stop ‘avoiding’ him.
‘Although there is an alchemic solution where the effect can attract forest beasts, I don’t have the materials nor the skills to brew one so my only option is to try out the array those bandits used,’ Kyran thought.
He took out the copy of the array from his pouch and studied it for a few seconds.
‘The array calculation is simple and the materials used are common. But it has a few additional calculation I am not familiar with. This calculation definitely used a different set of materials that corresponds well on the whole array.’
Kyran sighed. He collected quite a number of rare herbs and array materials he found in the Misty Forest. However, most of the rare herbs he collected were the ones he recognized from the pictures shown in books, and he was not familiar with all of their uses. As for the array materials, he only collected those he knew how to use. Being a beginner, he lacked a complete knowledge of all array materials and their effect or uses. Noir also warned him to be careful in combining array materials. If not adequately mixed, it would have a different effect or even backfire on the Array Specialist.
Initially, Kyran planned to study the array slowly and use it as a reference in creating new ones that would suit different situations. But because of the urgency of the matter, he had to create one now.
Kyran observed his surroundings and searched for a spot where he could work on his array calculation.
The canyon’s bare steep sides had small crevasses where roots protruded. Some common herbs and stones had fused on the earth. Giant boulders of earth were scattered everywhere.
Kyran frowned slightly. The canyon’s path was too bare.
‘Maybe there’s a better spot ahead,’ he thought.
After walking for a few minutes, he saw a small cave opening a few kilometers above the canyon’s steep side to his left.
‘That’s probably where the mutated Basilisk lived.’ Kyran thought.
The mutated Basilisk was unnamed up to this day because no one had really seen it. The only reason why they knew there was a Basilisk living there was from the snake tracks and pieces of snakeskin some mercenaries found from time to time. They also knew it was a mutated Basislik from its snakeskin because the pattern was similar to a Basilisk, albeit its diameter and length were bigger.
‘Maybe I can go there,’ Kyran pondered.
He was not afraid if the mutated Basilisk was still inside the cave and had not left to hunt for its food. It was not because he was convinced that beasts had been avoiding him but because he was confident he could escape.
Yes. Escape.
He was not suicidal to try and kill it. Although he could simply summon a huge sphere of void magic to deal with it in one move, he did not want to destroy the forest and the Valley of Morte.
Kyran was not a conservationist. He was only concerned about other rare materials he would destroy along the Basilisk. Aside from this, the materials collected with one Basilisk were a lot and destroying it was such a waste. Not to mention, the Basilisk that lived in the cave was a mutated one.
Void Magic was truly troublesome.
Kyran thought of his Draconic core.
He still had reservations about possessing Draconic Magic. But he admitted that his use of the Regis techniques was more powerful than most of his relatives granted with a drop of dragon’s blood.
‘I can always deal with the mutated Basilisk using the Regis techniques, but I don’t have the time right now. I can always come back if I feel like killing it.’ Kyran decided and jumped up a boulder near the cave’s opening.
Kyran looked into the cave’s opening and found a huge tunnel. The tunnel’s width was big enough to fit seven Basilisks. The whole cave had a faint green glow from the minerals stuck firmly on the wall.
Kyran guessed that the mutated Basilisk’s nest must be further inside.
Using his heightened senses, Kyran confirmed that there was no other ‘living creature’ nearby. Thus he entered the cave and settled himself at a corner.
‘Let’s ge to work,’ Kyran decided and took out all the items he would need.
===================
It had been a few days when Jax and his men tried to destroy the Regis Inner Wall’s defensive array.
When he, Luka, and Vera, returned to the camp, after reporting to Gael, they met with the rest of their men and discussed creating a new channel to contact their men inside the Inner Wall.
Vera was particularly worried about her team and requested to lead the task of creating the channel. Jax agreed, and before Luka could protest, he ordered him to continue leading the patrol around the walls.
While Luka and Vera were busy doing their tasks, Jax, on the other hand, was also busy.
As soon as night fell into the Regis Estate, Jax left the makeshift camp.
Soldiers saluted in respect upon seeing him. And he nodded in return as he walked outside the camp.
Jax leaving the camp during this time was not something new to them. Thus, they did not have any doubts. Besides, he was the highest authority in their company. There was no reason for them to monitor or question his movements.
When Jax found an empty house a thousand kilometers away from the camp, he took out a round silver and black disc with a clear round crystal on its center. He roused his magic and filled the crystal. Soon, the disc reacted, and a silhouette of a man slowly appeared.
“How is everything in your end, Major.”
Jax took a deep breath and looked at the man with a complicated expression.
The man was none other Cade.
“Are you sure this device will not be detected by the army?” Jax asked.
Cade chuckled and replied, “Why are you still worried? You’ve used it without any problem these past few days.”
The reason why Jax left the camp from time to time, was to ‘talk’ to Cade.
Jax slightly frowned and sighed before shaking his head.
“I’m just concerned that one of my captains would detect it or find something strange.”
“We can always change the time when we communicate,” Cade told him.
“Alright.”
After settling himself, Jax finally spoke.
“The Special Ops are now on the move. Their current destination was to the south.”
“South?” Cade repeated as he pondered for a bit.
A few days ago, Jax told Cade that the Mercenary Hall planned to withdraw the bounty request the army submitted because of an incident, where Kyran attacked them. When Cade heard this, he burst out into laughter. It left Jax perplexed but Cade only commented with: “So that’s how it is.”
After that, when Jax confirmed from his informant that Gael already ordered the Special Ops to move, he immediately told it to Cade.
Cade did not show any emotion when he heard the news. He kept a straight face and only said: “Keep me updated on their movements.”
“So the Mercenary Hall gave this information?” Cade asked Jax.
Cade was already aware of the changes Gael made to Kyran’s bounty request.
“Yes,” Jax replied with a nod. “Chairman Noir’s disciple had just returned from a mission and he happened to ‘bump’ into your son when he was leaving Starhorn.”
“Interesting. And how long ago was it? When Noir’s disciple bump into him?”
“Three days after he attacked the Mercenary Hall.”
“Hm. Then it took another few days for the information to reach Gael and pass it to the Special Ops,” Cade pondered out loud.
“That’s right. But the Special Ops was already on the move, so they might already be near south when they received the update,” Jax told him.
He sighed and shook his head.
“I hope your son is not thinking of leaving Meliora and going to Archadia.”
Cade chuckled.
“Is that what you think?”
Jax looked at him with a slight frown.
“Is there any other place he might go venturing south? I doubt he plans to go to the Chaos Palace, given how you and your family withhold a lot of information about the Dark Sage from him.” Jax reasoned.
Cade shook his head with a smile.
“I don’t blame you for thinking that way. But if that is what you think then its good.”
Jax raised a brow in confusion.
“How is it good? Aren’t you afraid that your son might cause a tragedy if he seeks refuge in Archadia?”
“Let us not overthink,” Cade told him. “What other updates can you tell me?”
Jax did not reply at once and used his magic sense first to make sure there was no one nearby. Once he confirmed this, he looked at Cade and said in a low voice.
“I found the information you’ve asked.”
Cade’s expression turned solemn.
His eyes squinted and replied, “I’m all ears.”