Area no 7. A ruined street.
More than twenty corpses of undead were lying on the ground. Their heads were cut and bodies exuded stench. Smell originating from the corpses had attracted bloodthirsty flies. They were fluttering and hovering around the corpses taking bites once in a while.
Few streets away from them, five figures were sitting next to a stone pile. They had dry food in their hands as they were enjoying day's lunch. No smell radiating from the surrounding stench could interfere with their meal.
"If we can hunt down the clawed dino lizard, then we will be able to complete the task..." Linda was scanning the map while eating the dry food. She was thinking about the favorite habitat of the monster.
Gale who was next to her laughed: "If we count our loots from area no 3 then with the completion of this task... Captain you will accumulate enough points to buy a drop of 'Angel's blood' so that your magic mark can go through the metamorphosis again. You are going to be the third senior hunter in our consortium."
"It all depends on luck. " Linda looked indifferent and unexcited.
"I believe that you will absolutely be successful." Dark skinned girl complemented Linda.
The others also quickly said encouraging words as they had confidence in Linda.
"For the time being, Gale get ready as when we find the monster we will act according to the previous plan. You will pretend to be injured while I will summon people from the 'black pavilion' and say that we have encountered a rare beast. They will have to send someone with extraordinary tracing ability... " Her face was cold as Linda closed the map.
Gale smiled: "No need to pretend... We will make a real injury instead. "
"Will the consortium approve to send the kid out?" Dark skinned girl asked.
Linda indifferently smiled: "Of course! You do not understand the ways of consortium. Now we have a great opportunity at hand. Almost all the hunters with tracing ability are either out in the wilderness or injured. The kid is a newcomer, however he has a rare magic mark. But in the end he doesn't have 'light physique'. No matter how much potential he has, at the end he will die. That's why the consortium is to lazy to spend resources on him. Why do you think they didn't send him to hunter school?"
Dark skinned girl nodded in approval: "This way the consortium will transfer the little devil into our team. We can slowly torture him and the abandon his corpse somewhere. We will have to only destroy the tracks that could lead to him. We just have to bring back a magic mark taken from a rare monster and say that he died while hunting it. Even if the consortium will doubt us, there will be nothing to say..."
The others smiled.
Linda's eyes squinted as she daydreamed. She has been concerned about Dudian for long time and she couldn't wait to get her hands on him.
"Even if we don't leave any clues and no one can trace it back to us but I'm sure you know how the consortium handles such matters like infighting. We will be gradually marginalized. Moreover, they will send us to complete extremely dangerous tasks. " Gale had carm personality so he analyzed everything through the smallest details.
"Of course," Linda lightly said.
They ate and chat. Soon all of them were full so Linda stood up and patted the dust off her body: "We have to look around the Red Lake area.. We may find traces of the beast..."
"Ok." All of them nodded in approval.
Linda lead them with the help of the map to the Red Lake.
...
...
Dudian's body still didn't feel any discomfort, instead his visual and hearing have been enhanced a lot. Especially his sense of smell. Previously he could sense Linda's approximate position. However at the moment, he was able to narrow down to exact position about a kilometer away from her.
While quietly tracking the smell he had smeared new layer of undead powder on his body to ensure that the others won't be aware of his existence.
Dudian had stopped after absorbing about hundred crystals. The body's temperature seemed to rise a lot so he immediately stopped and didn't continue to absorb the cold crystals. He was scared that he will end up as an addict and will crave for cold crystal. Moreover, each of these crystal piece were the size of a table tennis ball. Even if they melted into liquid form their capacity was about several bottles which was not a small amount.
Even drinking a lot of water will make people uncomfortable lest the cold crystals.
Dudian felt that his body's temperature gradually returned to normal after he stopped absorbing cold crystals. He was relieved. Moreover he found a place and hid the remaining cold crystals. Then he took his bow and arrows and chased after the small of Linda.
The distance between the two was getting closer. It seemed Linda was still hunting along the way.
"In case I ambushed them, shot her from the close range... But still the hunters next to her will find and kill me." Dudian was brainstorming ideas while trying to catch up with them. "I can't rely solely on bows and arrows. Making traps is also a kind of equipment. Only scouts are provided with tools to make them but I can produce some rough traps. Although the scout would not fall for it but the rest... ... "
Many thoughts flashed in his head.
Time went by...
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
It was rainy season. The clouds had marginalized the sky making the light dimmer. Ruins of the city were desolate of life.
A heavy rain had just washed the streets. The smell of decayed was floating in the air.
Around Red Lake.
Weeds grew densely along the vast edge of the lake. The vessels used for sightseeing had long been rotten. Even the ships has long been wiped out leaving only decayed empty metal frames. The waves were gently shaking them. If they hit a bit harder most probably would tear them off.
Linda squatted near a grass edge. She was observing the nearby surrounding. They have been here for two days. It was not long for a camp but not short either.
"The footprints were left many days ago. It should have gone too far from here..." Dark skinned girl spoke as she had lost patience.
Linda replied: "Since it went through here, it will certainly come back."
They could do nothing but hold their breath and wait. Suddenly, Gale sniffed and whispered. : "We are being tracked." "
"Track?" Killing intented flashed past in Linda's eyes: "A beast? Another team?
"No, only one person." Gale frowned.