Chapter 61: Night of the Hunt

  In the village's medical center, Sila lay unconscious on a bed, surrounded by many figures in white robes bustling about.

  One healer, wearing thick white gloves, touched Sila's forehead. A faint glow emanated from Sila, and his numerous wounds visibly healed. The healer's face became pale, as if he had absorbed Sila's exhaustion. This man is the village healer of the FlameFrost Village who had spoken with Princess Pailin.

  "It was truly fortunate that Sila was nearby," Princess Pailin sighed wearily. After the attack the previous night, she had to comfort the orphans for the whole night.

  "That was indeed fortunate. Napha and Gion, who were surveying the outer perimeter of the wall, had just arrived at the other side and were able to cross the wall in time," Leader Mei said.

  "It's my fault. I should have detected it a lot sooner." Nitaan lowered his head. If only he had found it sooner, Sila wouldn't have had to be injured this badly.

  "Don’t put yourself down. Since it was able to cross the wall stealthily despite being guarded by so many people, that means its illusion ability is incredibly strong. Even last night, hardly anyone could see its form clearly. All we saw was black mist," Princess Pailin said reassuringly.

  "If anyone is to blame, it's us. We were patrolling on the other side of the wall, yet we couldn't sense it at all," Gion said.

  "Stop wasting time blaming yourself. The main problem now is how it could appear in the village area so easily." Princess Pailin sighed.

  She had undertaken many royal missions before, even more difficult ones, and she was able to complete them successfully. But this time her enemy was merely a First word Engraver Devil beast, yet the situation is a lot more difficult.

  "There's another thing," Tawan added. "It managed to escape without a trace even though we were fighting it closely."

  The room fell silent. They understood the urgency of the situation. The enemy could break in at any moment without their knowledge and yet could easily escape under their encirclement. The only thing they could do was defend themselves.

  “Ha…have…you killed…it…?" Amidst the silence, Sila staggered out of the treatment room. His body was battered and bruised, bandaged all over. Even with treatment, the level of internal injuries and wounds meant he would likely be unconscious for several days.

  Princess Pailin quickly rose to support Sila, her face filled with guilt and disappointment.

  This man had almost sacrificed his life to protect those orphans and was the first to arrive in time to defend the village. Yet, she can’t tell him what he wants to hear.

  “We failed. It escaped,” Princess Pailin replied honestly, gazing at Sila’s disappointed face.

  “That’s… right… since it’s so cunning…” Sila replied through gritted teeth, his hands trembling, yet still clenching his fists.

  Princess Pailin helped Sila sit down on a chair beside her. His body still trembled, but Princess Pailin knew he wouldn’t be able to rest as long as that devil beast remained at large.

  Amidst the silence, Princess Pailin's eyes were filled with determination. She rose, picking up a golden transmitting stone that differed from ordinary stones.

  "This Devil beast is beyond our capabilities. I will request reinforcements from the capital, asking them to quickly send an Enlightened or Second word Engraveror who can counter illusion and concealment."

  Sila looked up at Princess Pailin’s serious face. A pure smile appeared on his face at the thought that Enlightened would come to help them. He had already tried his best and failed. He would gladly accept the help of experts.

  Leader Mei and Tawan were the first to react. They quickly stood up, their faces filled with disapproval.

  "Princess! This is a royal mission! If Your Highness calls for reinforcements, everyone will know!" Leader Mei exclaimed anxiously.

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  "The other Princes will surely spread this news and exaggerate it! The people will misunderstand you!" Tawan quickly offered his opinion. As a supporter of Princess Pailin, he did not want to see Princess Pailin's reputation tarnished.

  In this situation of intense competition, if one side revealed weakness, it would be disastrous. The remaining factions would inevitably pounce and exploit. Especially Princess Pailin, who was often attacked with accusations of incompetence. If she couldn't complete this mission and had to call for help again, anyone could guess what kind of wicked scheme the other two princes would use to damage her reputation.

  ‘Princess Pailin is incompetent.’

  ‘She couldn't even defeat a single First word Engraver Devil beast and had to call for help from the royal family.’

  ‘Could someone like this be worthy of the title Throne Holder?’

  Nitaan could easily hear Prince Jantrakant's voice and picture his polite, yet sarcastic, smile.

  Sila's eyes darkened upon hearing this. He tried to speak but couldn't. As a First word Engraver, he understood the kingdom's politics and the potential negative consequences. He’s just a country bumpkin. His status is too low to voice anything.

  Sila clenched his fists. The lives of the villagers were in danger. He wanted to argue and plead with them to send help immediately, but he couldn’t offend the Heir of Fire.

  "Don’t be ridiculous! The most important thing we need to prioritize right now is the safety of the villagers, not my reputation.” Princess Pailin's pink eyes were filled with sternness. Her usually warm face now showed a rare display of anger.

  “Even if my reputation is ruined and many people misunderstand me, so what? I have plenty of time to restore it before the election. Life cannot. If they die, they are gone forever.” Princess Pailin said firmly.

  Nitaan had never seen Pailin so angry before. While he could sense the many emotions weighing down her small frame, this was the first time he had seen her release them like this.

  “Your Highness…” Sila said in a hoarse voice, tears of joy streaming down his face. He tried to kneel, but his body wouldn't cooperate, trembling as he sat.

  “We were wrong,” Leader Mei and Tawan trembled, falling to their knees, their faces flushed with shame. They had truly forgotten that human lives were the most important thing. In the royal court's game of chess, self-interest had clouded their judgment.

  “We cannot handle this Devil beast ourselves. The longer we wait, the greater the chance of an attack. I will not take any more risks,” Princess Pailin sighed. She understood that they didn’t have any malicious intent. They just cared about her and considered her important.

  The golden-colored stone in her hand glowed faintly, but a pair of hands pressed it down. It was Nitaan's hand. Princess Pailin raised an eyebrow slightly. She stared at Nitaan's face. Although her eyes were somewhat calm, Nitaan still saw a glimmer of fire in them. If he didn't have a good reason, those flames would surely burn him just as they had burned Leader Mei and Tawan.

  "It's not necessary, Your Highness. We'll attack it tonight. It won't have a chance to harm anyone again," Nitaan said calmly.

  "Huh? You said you couldn't detect it at all, neither when it arrived nor when it left, didn't you?" Napha frowned. He was the most uncomfortable here. He had done almost nothing, merely been manipulated by that Devil beast.

  "Nitaan, this concerns lives." Princess Pailin looked at Nitaan with a calm gaze. She wouldn't compromise unless Nitaan had a method she deemed appropriate.

  "My power couldn't detect it at all. Besides, I couldn't even see it under that black mist," Nitaan said calmly.

  "What do you want to say?" Princess Pailin frowned, becoming irritated. Every passing second could mean the loss of an innocent life.

  "But our nose wasn't affected by the power. The scent still lingers," Nitaan continued. Everyone raised their eyebrows slightly at this.

  "My attack grazed it a little. At that time, I clearly smelled burning flesh."

  "That's right! The burning smell was very strong then!" Napha slapped his hand.

  Princess Pailin suddenly understood what he meant but then frowned again.

  “I thought that black mist also concealed its scent. It seems that Devil beast used another method to conceal its scent before.”

  "Even if you are right, how are we going to follow the scent? Only those with noses as sensitive as dogs can…" Before she could finish, she suddenly remembered something. She lightly tapped her head for forgetting something so simple.

  "Kiita!" everyone exclaimed in unison. All eyes were on the large black dog beside Nitaan, which tilted its head, looking puzzled as to why everyone was staring at it.

  "But… but will we be able to track it? Tracking a scent into the forest isn't easy," Sila said.

  "Kiita is a hunting dog. I've trained him since he was a puppy. His ability to distinguish scents and track is far superior to that of ordinary Engravers. There's a very high chance we can track it," Nitaan replied.

  "When we found the scales earlier, you said they didn't have any scent, did you?" Kasa asked.

  "The scales left behind are very different from seeing it face-to-face. When you see it directly like that, it's not difficult to recognize the scent," Nitaan explained.

  "But… there's still a chance we won't find it, right? If our plan goes wrong tonight and it…" Sila's voice trembled.

  "I promise I'll find it," Nitaan said confidently.

  "And what if it escapes again…?" Sila remained uncertain, but realizing he was showing doubt about Princess Pailin's judgement, he quickly fell silent.

  Nitaan raised an eyebrow slightly. He gazed at Sila briefly before turning to look at Princess Pailin, then quickly averted his gaze.

  Nitaan holds Sila's hands firmly. His deep blue eyes gazed into Sila's face. "I have no excuses for my failure last night. But this time we'll be better prepared. Everyone will attack simultaneously," Nitaan said confidently.

  "If we fail tonight, we'll call for reinforcements immediately," Nitaan pledged.

  Sila nodded slightly.

  "So, everyone, get yourselves ready. Kiita and I will go and analyze the scent trail at the scene of last night's incident more thoroughly and search for more clues."

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  "Unit 3, you all can immediately use the Enchanted artifact you've brought. There's no need to wait for approval. Our goal is to kill that Devil beast." Leader Mei said with a sharp gaze.

  "I'll instruct the soldiers to stay at the village and help the village's guards. Leaving the village unattended is quite dangerous. Besides, traveling in smaller numbers is more agile," Princess Pailin swiftly arranged everything.

  Nitaan nodded in acknowledgment. He and Kiita left the room, heading towards the scene of last night's incident. His sharp gaze narrowed slightly as he turned back to look at the conference room.

  “Kiita, it’s forest time again." His face softened as he bent down to stroke Kiita’s head.

  “Woof!”

  Into the forest! Into the forest!

  Kiita hadn’t been in the forest for a long time. He naturally missed the old atmosphere.

  “It will be Night of the Hunt once more.”