In the dense forest, a slightly embarrassed figure walked on the road composed of fallen leaves and young branches. Zal was in a bad condition, his sore muscles making his steps heavier and heavier, and the sweat that kept pouring out almost soaked his body, sticking his clothes and scales to his body uncomfortably.

It had been a few hours since the last time she had stopped to rest, and the girl behind her was still unconscious, whispering indistinguishable mutters from time to time, showing no sign of waking up, or rather, her condition was getting worse. As for the pursuers behind him, Zar was sure of one thing now - there must be an experienced tracker in the opposing team.

Because no matter how carefully Zal hid his tracks, how to deal with the creases in his passes, they were able to follow them accurately, and they kept a desperate distance. At this distance, Zar does not dare to stop and rest, because the other party will soon catch up with him, like the snow wolves that hunt hares on the tundra, they will always pry behind you, chasing, not far or close, until you are exhausted and become their dinner.

Although the direction of the sun has already set to the west, it is still some time before sunset. Zar doesn't think the other side will allow themselves to delay until the night comes, because the first night is often the most important dividing line for tracking. From here, the prey will be given a chance to rest and a corrected escape route, while the hunter must face a prolonged battle and even a tug-of-war.

As a result, Zar was a little frustrated to find that this escape had unknowingly become a one-sided game, with himself fleeing in front and the other party chasing behind, playing with his own life, and the other party was just playing. It's like a cat catching a mouse. Enough playing, when the time is up, kill again.

Shaking off all the cluttered thoughts in his head, Zal lifted the girl behind him, gritted his teeth and continued to run forward. This forest has its own unique temperament, just like the name of "Hidden Terrace". Quiet and mysterious. The clumps of dwarf shrubs mingle with the green grass and the foliage of the old trees, like a natural green wall, and if you take a few more steps forward, the view will be completely blocked. It is like an endless ocean, in which you will never be able to see through the secrets, and you will never be able to distinguish the truth hidden in the deepest depths.

Pushing aside the twigs that stood in front of him, Zal faintly heard a peculiar sound in the boundless green. His heart lit up. Quickly ran in the direction of the sound. Gradually, as the sound grew clearer in his ears, the palm of the hand that Zal had dialed in front of him suddenly emptied, and when he rushed out of the gap in the trees, he saw a wide forest stream running across him.

It is a clear and lively stream that runs through the dense forest. The wide riverbed is made of large expanses of stone, and the trees on the banks of the bank romantically jutting above the tinkling water, accompanied by the leaves sliding in the wind. You can see wisps of green under the water. Aquatic plants that move like a woman's hair.

If it weren't for the fugitives, such a sight would have warmed people's hearts, but unfortunately, Zal had no time to pay attention to these beautiful things in front of him.

Standing on the edge of the stream, he quickly glanced at the water flowing upstream and downstream, and found that the terrain of the "Hidden Terrace" was much steeper than expected. And now there is a difficult choice in front of us.

In the words of the half-elves, a stream in the forest can bring you many benefits. On the one hand, it allows you to get a clean source of water to maintain the necessary living conditions. Also, if it is in the process of fleeing. A stream that also allows you to escape from your pursuers and hide your tracks.

Staring at the stream in front of him, Zal's brain racing. Observe the forest from a higher position and find a way to escape, or run as far as you can run down the river, or cross the stream and use the time for horses to cross the river to distance yourself from your pursuers?

No, no, no...... There are other options. Zal's eyebrows jerked, and he carefully carried the girl to the edge of the stream, and with his free palm, he violently picked up a few handfuls of water and swallowed it into his throat, and the long-lost sweetness instantly penetrated his heart and lungs. Holding some water in his palm, Zal looked back at the girl who was close at hand, hunched on his shoulder. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly under her long brown-blonde hair, and in the gap between her veil and her cheeks, her delicate rose skin reflected the delicate tip of her nose, and her lips were slightly open.

Zar sighed silently and gently patted the stream in his hand against her veil to keep her skin moist. This is all that Zar can do at the moment, if she continues to flee like this, the girl's arrow wound will not be treated and bandaged, she will become weaker and weaker, and finally develop a high fever because of the injury, and die in a coma.

Standing up again, Zal looked at a shallow spot and stepped into the stream. The water is slightly cool, and the water is very fast, but fortunately, the deepest position does not reach the waist. Carefully testing the stones under his feet, slowly stumbling forward, Zar did not want to sprain his ankle by crossing the river.

But just as they were about to reach the other side, Zar stopped in the stream. He fumbled his way to scoop up a fist-sized stone from the river, and when he rubbed it with his hand, his brow suddenly furrowed, and the muscles of his entire right arm shook into a subtle texture - he opened the "Iron Heart" and "Death Wish" at the same time.

The fallen leaves on the shore seemed to slow down suddenly, and Zar carefully observed the intertwined gaps in the trees, and finally, his gaze stopped at one place, twisted his waist violently, and threw the stone out of his hand with the great force of an instant!

The blackened stone was mixed with a muffled sound of breaking wind, and lightning shot out, striking between the gaps between the two large trees. With the sound of a series of branches and shrubs snapping, countless young leaves rolled in circles on the trajectory of the stones, and only after a long time did they fall lightly again. And that stone has already flown far enough.

It wasn't perfect, but it shouldn't show a flaw anytime soon, and Zar nodded to himself, and immediately turned and retreated towards the shore from which he came. But this time, he erased all his footprints in the water where he had been launched, and finally took off his shoes. Back in the jungle on the shore.

In the direction behind them, the chirping of birds sounded again, and the pursuers did not seem to want to hide their tracks at all, just to add more pressure to their prey. But Zal looked at a large and stout tree, and climbed up as fast as he could, until the dense canopy completely obscured him and the girl's figures. only to stop the momentum of climbing.

Zal did not choose to continue to flee, because if he continued to flee like this, he would only be caught up and killed. His plan was simple, to trick his pursuers across the stream, and to change the direction of his escape. More importantly, he needed to confirm the identity of the stalker in the pursuer, because the threat to himself was even greater than that of the battle mage. If given a choice, Zar would not hesitate to take him. Be the first target to kill in the entire pursuer.

Through the gaps between the branches and leaves, Zhar, who was hiding in the big tree, watched from a distance as a group of centaurs approached. The black-haired mage was in the middle of the group, and at the front, sitting on horseback, was a red-haired Moon Demon Clansman. He shook the reins as he stretched out his arm, as if caressing the vegetation beside him.

"He's very nice, my lord, very good. The moon demon named Laniel chuckled. Kneading the section of a branch in his hand, he said, "He should have been trained in woodland survival." If it were an ordinary person, it would not be possible to be so cautious, so careful, and only leave such a few clues behind him that can be traced......"

The mage looked boredly at the unchanging green on horseback. "So what? aren't we still being followed?" his tone was a little impatient, "no matter how clever a prey is, it can't outrun the huntsman's pursuit." What's more, we still have you, Laniel. ”

With everyone's approving laughter, a smug look appeared on the moon demon's face. "Ha, you're so polite, sir. Actually...... his expression seemed to change to a little puzzled, "judging from his skills, he should be able to do better." Many traces should not have been left at all, but strangely, he did, and very low-level. He finally pouted, giving up any intention of continuing to think.

Zar in the canopy smiled wryly and glanced back at the girl on his shoulder, but he only expressed silent protest because the girl was still unconscious. As Zar held his breath and turned his gaze back to the tree, the mage's voice rang out again. "That's not something we should be thinking about," he sarcastically said, "maybe because we fell out of the carriage and accidentally broke our brains?"

Several of his subordinates listened and laughed together, and the moon demon who was walking in front suddenly grabbed the reins, and Zal in the tree knew that the other party had spotted the stream. Sure enough, the moon demon's voice was raised. "Stream, my lord, stream in the woods!"

"Stream?!" the mage's voice was stunned, as did the men who followed him. "What about Zhal, did he cross the river?" he asked, with some eagerness.

In Zhar's sight, the moon demon quickly spotted the water stains he had left on the rocks, and then jumped off his horse and carefully observed. "Please wait...... "Please wait," he said, looking up at the murmuring water, as if looking for something beneath the crystal water. "He, he should have crossed the river......" The Moon Demon's tone seemed to be a little hesitant.

"I don't need to, Laniel!" the mage snapped, not wanting his prey to escape again.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, sir...... The slightly knotted weeds and misplaced rocks under the surface of the water indicate that he must have crossed the river, please give me some more time, I need to go to the other side. The moon demon said with some embarrassment.

Lopero frowned and ordered the others. "Come two people, follow Raniere and be careful of the ambush!" he jumped off his horse, "the others, gather their horses, draw water on the spot, and be ready to go at any time!"

"Yes, sir!" replied at once, and quickly regrouped, and led the horses to the river. The three of Raniere had already crossed the stream quickly and burrowed into the jungle on the opposite bank.

It didn't take long for them to get back to the shore with a confident smile on the moon demon's face. "My lord, he did cross the river!" shouted Raniere, waving his arms to the other side, "here are his tracks! I suggest we speed up, for he is in a hurry, as he seems to want to get rid of us before dark!"

The mage was stunned for a moment, and shouted, "Cross the river at once!" and chase me! You must not let him run away again!" The other horses, which were immediately gathered when they heard the order, followed one after the other, and quickly walked towards the opposite bank. They didn't even emptie the water from their boots on the shore, they got on their horses and, guided by the moon demons, plunged headlong into the jungle.

At the same time, Zal on the big tree did not come down immediately, but calmly observed the direction in which the other party disappeared and waited patiently. After a long time, when all the noise had died away and the whole stream had fallen silent again, Zal finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The red-haired moon demon is the Stalker...... Zar said in his heart, and then carried the girl on his back and carefully climbed down from the canopy. Back at the edge of the stream, Zal looked up at the elevated terrain upstream, and he decided to go against the current and find as much as possible a vantage point overlooking the entire gimbal, before considering a way to get out of here.

In fact, it was no longer possible to return the way he came, and he was not crazy enough to storm the Ebon Guard's barracks again. The only thing that can be counted on is the passage connecting the "Hidden PTZ" and the "Wind Breath PTZ". Thinking of this, Zar subconsciously frowned, because he was not sure what kind of measures the "Wind Breath Cloud Platform" under the personal command of the Wind Cliff City Lord would take against the "sinners" who inexplicably broke in.

There's always a way, Zal reassured himself. Then he lifted the girl on his back, and just as he wanted to turn his head and retract back into the jungle, he was thrilled by the sound of a sudden attack, which was the sound of crossbow arrows breaking through the air! While jumping to the side, four or five pitch-black crossbow arrows shot quickly past the position where he was standing! Zar, who was flying in the air, looked up and saw that the pursuers who had just entered the jungle were sitting on horseback with crossbow guns and standing on the other side of the stream!

He saw the smug Moon Demon in the crowd, and the smiling black-haired mage. There was no doubt, no shock, Zal's mind instantly became extremely calm, and at this moment, the prey fleeing all the way and the hunter who was frantically chasing and killing finally met each other's eyes again after a long time. (To be continued......)