"Hoo... hoo..."
The cry of an owl carried far in the night, especially in the dark forest. The sound was enough to make one's blood run cold.
"Huff... huff..."
Mila breathed heavily, her face deathly pale. Her eyes were filled with lingering fear and vigilance. She gripped a combat knife tightly. Amelia had secretly slipped it to her when she left—or so Mila believed.
She was currently hiding behind a massive tree, her eyes peering into the darkness through a crevice in the trunk, as if watching for some terrifying presence.
"Dammit, how did I run into that terrifying bastard?" Mila gritted her teeth. She had never imagined she would run into a bounty hunter, much less one of the most terrifying, top-tier hunters...
She was a birdkin. After accidentally exposing her identity, she had been targeted. They had been chasing her for three days and three nights, as if they wouldn't stop until she was captured.
"Just a little longer... I'm almost at Stone Mountain." Mila looked down at the wound on her left arm. She had been grazed by the bounty hunter's weapon during tonight's chase. She had been too careless.
"Thank god it was just a graze, or my whole arm might have been torn off." Mila pursed her lips, counting herself lucky.
She stuck the combat knife from her right hand into her mouth, freeing her hand to fumble in the cloth pouch tied at her waist. She quickly pulled out a roll of white cloth. This was another item Amelia had secretly given her, saying it could be used to bind wounds. It was called... a bandage.
Right, I have to clean the wound first. Mila's hand, holding the bandage, paused. She tucked the roll into her clothes, then fumbled in her pocket for a small vial, only half the size of her palm. It was filled with liquor, but Amelia had called it 'disinfecting alcohol'.
Mila had originally intended to bring this alcohol back for her leader. But she remembered Amelia's warning: if a wound wasn't disinfected, it could sicken and rot, and there was a high chance her arm would be crippled. She didn't dare take that risk. She had no choice but to follow Amelia's instructions and pour the alcohol directly onto the wound.
"Hsssss..." Mila bit down hard, veins bulging on her forehead. The alcohol on the raw wound was excruciating. If not for her immense willpower, she would have screamed.
Mila's chest heaved, her breathing ragged. She waited five or six seconds to recover her senses, stuffed the near-empty vial back into her pocket, and then took the bandage and began to wrap her arm. Cold sweat broke out all over her forehead.
"Phew..." Mila took the knife from her mouth, let out a deep breath, and flexed her left hand. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but the arm already felt better.
"Maybe I can finally rest for a bit tonight?" Mila peered out again, scanning the depths of the forest. With her night vision, she couldn't see any movement.
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll reach the borders of Stone Mountain," Mila murmured, her brow furrowed. She was debating whether she should lead this terrifying entity there. She was afraid her Big Sister might not be on the mountain. Would leading this terror back be the wrong choice?
In the end, Mila was torn. She was terrified of leading the bounty hunter back. What if they failed to deal with that terrifying person, and instead, she exposed their refuge? That would be the ultimate disaster.
"What do I do? What do I do now?" Mila whispered, her eyes losing focus. She thought of Amelia, back in Sedona City, and a bitter smile touched her lips.
If she didn't lead him to Stone Mountain—didn't use her companions' strength to eliminate this terrifying bounty hunter—it would mean her own death. She wasn't confident she could escape him on her own.
If she died, Big Sister would never find out where Amelia was. Mila had tracked the clues all by herself; Big Sister didn't even know where she went.
"Maybe... maybe I should flee somewhere else?" Mila frowned, considering. She wondered if she should flee into a human city. Her pursuer might not follow her in... after all, he stood out so much.
Snap...
The sharp sound of a breaking branch echoed. Mila's expression changed instantly. Her experience told her that was the sound of something heavy snapping a twig. He was here.
"Dammit, doesn't he ever rest?" Mila cursed, shoving the knife back into her mouth. She scrambled hand and foot up into the high branches, her eyes fixed warily on the direction of the sound.
In the dark forest, a shadow was leaping, moving between the trees. A pair of glowing, eerie green eyes stared in Mila's direction, pausing intermittently as it advanced.
"Phew..." Seeing this, Mila actually let out a breath of relief. That was clearly some kind of wild beast, drawn by the scent of her blood. It wasn't the terrifying bounty hunter.
"Scared me half to death. I thought that guy had arrived." Mila's tense body relaxed. Her wings, which had been tensed to fly, slowly folded. She had been ready to flee through the canopy at a moment's notice.
"Awooooo..."
A wolf howl rang out. Mila rolled her eyes. This pack of animals thinks they can ambush me?
"Arf... ar-yip..."
Suddenly, a wolf's terrified yelp echoed from the forest, as if it had been attacked. The sound was filled with fear.
"What?" Mila's expression turned grim. Her eyes stared into the darkness. The shadow—the wolf—had just turned and fled.
"What did it see?" A sudden, terrible thought struck Mila. She whispered, "The wolves... they didn't just run into him, did they?"
"Time to go." Mila made an instant decision. She unfurled her wings, leaped from the branch, and half-glided, half-dove through the trees, resuming her desperate flight.
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