Chapter 30: Deadly Pursuit
The tracking signal faded-2 kilometers away from their current location. Taking off a visor, Aelthred looked into the GPS module on his bike. He then confirmed that the beast must have hidden itself among the woods ahead. Apparently, the cunning brute was luring them into its trap, and the pursuers already well knew about this. Best of the warriors they were, though, their number was still small, compared to the vast size of the forest they were going into. Moreover, the beast would surely stand a better chance there, considering how dense the place was with its humongous trees inside. Yet, they could not afford to lose such opportunity, a chance to finish off their monstrous target. If they were to withdraw here, allowing the beast to fully recover, then the entire massacre would happen again; to the barbarians, this also meant another loss of their own, more of their siblings-in-arms getting killed in vain. The hunt ought to end here-no matter what, or else the consequences would be catastrophic.
Knowing this, Aelthred ordered his bikers to speed up. Should they be left with no other options but to step into the enemy's snare, they could, at least, try to intercept their foe before its completion. There, the beast would know what it invited in was not its prey, but rather the pack of marauders determined to take away its miserable life. They were indeed the doom-bringers, who had once slain their terrifying nemesis of the past, Glen-gohr, and were now on their way to hunt down its hideous successor. They had no fear of anyone-or anything, nor even a sense of remorse for their fallen enemies, lying dead under their swords. Eventually, They shall be bringing down their enemy into dust, making the entire earth tremble with awe and fear for them.
The barbarians were fearless, not afraid of their fate waiting for them deep within the woods. Rushing like a pride of lions, they pressed onto their destination, where they should be facing their foe in deadly combat.
A raven cried aloud from the depth of the place. Other than that, there was only silence-a rather awkward one, were it to be said so. The sky above was getting dark, grim shadows soaking into it. Around half an hour had passed since the barbarians had first set their feet into the forest. At this moment, they were not getting any visuals on the monster, nor sensing anything out of ordinary nearby. Their hunt was not supposed to be delayed any further. The night was closing in, and all would be lost-including their lives-should everything be concealed in shadows, granting their vicious enemy an absolute advantage. The hunters ought to find it before the dark, no matter what.
They turned on their infrared visions, and proceeded further into the woods. Sweeping the area, the hunters kept looking for any sign of the beast. They carefully treaded the ground, staying vigilant while spread out in an arch, in case of a surprise attack from the enemy. Still, nothing was to be found just yet, despite the efforts. At the same time, they looked into each and every corner around them. Nevertheless, not a single trace of the beast was there to be discovered. The whole area was vacant; absent of its infrared signs or trails altogether. To the pursuers, it felt like as if the beast was forever banished from the world itself-due to its wicked, miserable nature that had brought upon the land nothing but torment and sorrow.
As they were not making any progress, however, a barbarian standing next to the Prince then spoke up to his commander. Since he was one of the most experienced warriors the Prince had at present, he felt much inclined to hear out his advisor.
"My liege, might I be of your counsel, if you would generously allow it?"
"Speak to your heart's content, so long as it concerns our hunt here in this dreary forest."
"Aye, milord." The seasoned warrior continued. "Before I humbly make any of my suggestions, I would like to assume one thing beforehand; what if our hideous brute had been so severely hurt, or due to any other possible reasons, that it is rather avoiding us?"
This was an interesting approach, indeed. Aelthred then let him continue with his words.
"If the beast were to wait till the dark and then ambush us, anyhow, then we should be feeling something off about these woods. All of us are experienced as well, in terms of hunting down chimeras and beasts, other than slaying our human foes. Yet, none of us so far have found any sign of its ambush; there ought to be some change in the atmosphere, sounds and noises different than the usual, or even ourselves having some gut feeling about it. Nevertheless, none of those we are sensing out of ordinary, still at this point."
"Besides, my lord, according to what I had seen of the beast upon arriving the chapel, it seemed to be injured, more or less. It was bleeding, for sure, along with one of its eyes gone blind-likely a plasma shot or two had struck there and done the damage. In fact, it also seemed to me that it was missing some of its raw flesh and hide, torn off from its body."
"The damage may not be critical, but yet, might as well be severe enough to instill fear into its spirit. Milord, the beast is likely to be hiding in the shadows, away from its enemies, rather than waiting for the moment to ambush us. Therefore, I suggest that we switch our mode of hunting. We ought to be seeking out its possible hideouts, focusing on specific spots, rather than sweeping the whole forest at large."
Upon hearing out his fellow warrior, Aelthred could not help himself but think back to his lieutenant, let down in dismay. Gael had done those damages, apparently, hurting it so bad that it would have lost its will to fight on. Throughout all the warriors he had brought with him, none had such prowess and skills that would have matched the beasts they had fought here upon this land. Only Gael did, other than himself. She was resourceful indeed; fearsome as a fine tech-maiden, and at the same time wise as a good strategist.
Yet, he could not deny that such talents were what had made him fear of losing her. Were he ever to be absent, either he would be killed or heavily injured, she was definitely needed in his place within their chain of command. It was for the best, he thought, to send her back to the HQ for a moment. Despite her eagerness, her willingness to fight on, she was not in a good shape to follow him. Moreover...
Moreover, to him she was like a sister of his own. Not just any of his siblings-in-arms, but like a real younger sister, connected with blood, sharing the same parenthood. All his other siblings, of the same royal heritage, had been felt somehow distant from him. Rather than his closest allies, the ones he could rely on when needed, they had been much like his competitors. They were all aiming for the crown of Geats, and they were willing to do anything to secure it-even if that would harm one another in process. Yet, Gael was different. Born from the other bloodline however, close but different from that of Aelthred's own, she had been his closest friend ever since their youth. When all others would have abandoned him, only Gael had been there to stand with him. Whenever one of the two would have faltered, the other one had always backed up his or her partner. All the joyful memories had he shared with her! All the past glories and honor had they earned altogether! She was his one dear friend, a real sister to him, indeed.
Yet still, the hunt was far from its completion. He shifted his focus back from the past memories, and then looked into his GPS module. After scanning the local map displayed on the gadget, Aelthred soon made his orders.
"I appreciate your wise counsel, my good warrior." He thanked the advisor first. "To all units, from hence we shall now initiate a tactical protocol twenty-two; stay in your formation, keep your eyes peeled, and focus on the areas I have marked on your visors. We will first start from the location on our upper right. Coordinates..."
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