章節 62: Chapter 57: Cairin Oaks

The warlock cowered from the pressure emitting from the three shifters in front of him. He could feel cold sweat dripping down his back, drenching his robes and clothes. Ashamed, he could also feel himself wetting his pants as a large stain started to appear between his legs. He did not expect that there were shifters coming into the forest. He had stayed here together with the rogues for many years and why did this had to happen? He knew that the shifters from the north would not bother about this forest since they had never went out of their village but why did these shifters come?

Briven cringe with disgust as he watched the warlock wetted himself. He could even smell the pee from where he hunched. The warlock was shivering with fear as his face turned pale with fright.

The warlock had been so smug when he managed to injure Rollo. But just a simple tug here and there and he was already sniveling in snot and tears. It seems like this warlock doesn't have any fighting skills.

Yara frowned and then laughed out loud. "Well, would you look at that? Seems like the warlocks are becoming worse each decade," he mocked, pointing at the quivering warlock. He then kicked the already broken leg of the warlock, making him scream in pain again. "Now, tell us what you know about this place. And why are you colluding with the rogues?"

The warlock was about to speak when suddenly his eyes bulged out. Foams started to appear in his mouth as he spasmed continuously on the ground. Bulging veins started to appear in his face and forehead as he turned red in the face. As he trembled and shuddered on the ground, Briven, who was the closest to the warlock, could see that his eyes were turning black. Even the whites of his eyes had turned black.

The three shifters started to stand up, shocked at this sudden action.

"He's going to explode!" Paccia screamed as she quickly turned towards Rollo and elevated him up a few inches from the ground. Rollo's eyes widened as he suddenly felt lighter and a strange sensation surrounding his body.

Without thinking any further, both Briven and Dane jumped to help support Rollo, running a few meters away, with Yara and Paccia behind them.

Shortly after, the five of them nearly toppled over after the impact of the self-destruct from the warlock. Yara's eyes narrowed as he looked back at the effect of the destruction. The area where they had been was flatten to the ground. Black debris floated in the air from the explosion. Trees were crushed to the side, leaving a round empty area. In the middle of the empty area was some ashes.

And seconds later, the five of them felt something had changed in the air.

Looking up, they saw something similar to an invisible wall slowly diminishing, revealing a clear blue sky. Earlier when they had entered the forest, although the sky was clear, it wasn't as clear as that moment. It was then they realized that the spell that had been casted over the forest had been broken. The warlock was probably the one who had casted the spell. Only by killing him would broke the spell.

Returning back to where the warlock had self-destructed, the faces of the five people turned grim as they found out that there wasn't anything left of the warlock. Not even bones. Just bits of ashes and dust. It seems like the person who was behind this did not want them to know anything about what had happened there. They probably sensed that the warlock was about to confess and answer to their questions that they had no choice but to kill him.

Not wanting to leave behind a single or even a small speck of clue behind, they decided to bring those ashes to be examined soon in the pack house.

Since the sky was clear, it made their journey a bit easier as they were able to find their way out. The spell that the warlock had casted earlier probably made their journey difficult because for hours, they have been stuck in the forest, even though it wasn't as big as the Kraken Forest in the first place. The spell that he had used probably manipulated their minds into thinking that they have been walking for so long when in reality, they were walking in circles.

It was just near to dawn when they finally reached the exit.

Rollo had just recovered albeit slowly and he still needed them to help support him. He had felt disgusted and ashamed of himself. He had just shifted and already, he had been careless. It made him determined to improve and make himself stronger. He did not want to be casted as a burden.

Dane was quite supportive, which was unlike him, saying that it wasn't Rollo's fault since there weren't any much reports on the forest. However, Yara was a bit disappointed and told him that he needs to work on his sync with his human and wolf counterparts. It was probably because Dex and Rollo hadn't gotten used to each other, like Erick and Dane, that they had messed up.

Shortly after, they had arrived at the entrance to the hidden village. To call it a village was an understatement as there were numerous modern brick houses beyond the gate with an overhead that reads, 'Cairin Oaks'. The place looked too big to be called a village.

Before they entered, Paccia had used her magic to muster back their clothes. And the four shifters had immediately changed back into their human counterparts and put on their clothes.

Inside the gate, the modern brick houses dotted the area with trees and flora occupying in-between the buildings. The pavements were like veins, coloured with dark red cobbles, interconnecting each of the houses. There were several stalls with fruits and vegetables lined up along the pavements but no one seemed to manned it. Despite the lack of a single soul in the village, they could feel stares drilling on them, piercing into their skins, as if the gazes can read inside their souls.

Noaz had told them to be on guard and to not be reckless. Although Reginald was a bit edgy as he could feel the stares on them but he calmed himself down as he did not want to disappoint his group. Dex, who had his leg injured, could only walked slowly with Erick supporting him. Even though, he did not like Erick but he had to be mature and asked for help from him. It was not as if Erick care, anyway. Paccia was in the middle of the group, who had casted a protective shield around them. Although it was not as strong as one had expected, at least it would help protect them from any back attacks or sneak attacks.

The five of them continued to walk to the front until they reached the middle of the village where there was a large open space. In other words, this could be described as a piazza.

The piazza was quiet with only the sound of leaves rustling in the air, making the place felt like it had been abandoned. There was nothing at the piazza, other than a lone statue in the middle. Looking closer at the statue, it depicts the appearance of a muscular man with long hair that falls just below his shoulders. The statue screamed strength and power as it stood there, with one of his fists pumping in the air. His other hand was on top of a mane of a large wolf. It was presumed that this was the statue of the first Alpha of the village and his werewolf counterpart, judging on the label on the bottom of the statue.

As they studied the statue with curiosity and awe, they suddenly heard growling nearby. They whirled around to find that the piazza was instantly covered with soft mist. They went into defensive mode, being cautious. Just then, a voice sounded out:

"Who are you people? Why have you come here?"