THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 266: 266. DECOY

”Are you sure it was a good idea to lie to the boy?” Sagiri asked Yoka after they had been moving for a while. The three were hiding their presence as Yoka wanted.

Sagiri knew what Yoka had decided. He had heard him talk with Kiuga. It was a smart plan, but it was also suicidal on his part.

”I have to equal the scales for my men to find peace. ” As the captain, I owe them that much at least,” Yoka said.

”By choosing suicide?” N’varu asked. ”We two could equal the scales for you.”

”A man doesn’t depend on others to do everything for him. Besides, I want my remaining men to live and report to the general. You also want your friends out of this. You should be thanking me.” Yoka said.

Sagiri just sighed. There was no convincing the man, and this was a good plan indeed. It could put both squads out of harm’s way. Yoka had created a good decoy for the third squad to follow. The three were heading to the Central Plains, but they were pulling into the Yalami Forest, south of Yalami Forest Academy. The forest went further south, and it could be good for them to take the fight.

Hiding their presence was the first step to the plan. Yoka had put their scented clothes in the luggage with the dead’s things. With it, Gavina’s beast and Pavire’s bird could follow them for a while.

”You know both squads won’t be fooled for long,” N’varu asked.

”It will still buy us time and put them out of harm’s way. At the speed at which the shadow corps moves, it will be hard for your team to catch up for a while. Even so, Tavora is too smart, and after his sadness passes, he will know.” Yoka said.

”He’d better be sad till morning then. By then, it will take them a while to catch up.” Sagiri said.

The three tore through the Anki lands. Instead of going into the central plains, they would proceed southeast into the Yalami forest. Further southeast, and they would make contact at the Burren Lands. Sagiri had never seen N’varu move that fast. It was as if he had been hiding his true strength all the while. He was truly a character. He moved through the trees, jumping from one tree to another, keeping up with Sagiri and Yoka. Sagiri had now recovered most of his strength, and the sleep at Tatani had helped him so much.

”Warning. If the shadows of Tatani are good in the shadows. The veils of the south. Not just the veil blades blend into any environment. Fight them in the forest, they look like leaves, fight them in the desert, they look like sand. fight them in the water, they look like water. Perhaps the shadow corps was wiped out because they did not see them coming and did not know who they were up against.” N’varu said.

There was silence as the groups kept moving.

”That said, I have never fought one head-on. I hear they use needle darts. They use their tongues as the lever. That said, any part of their body is a weapon. It has been a while since I fought the southern way.” N’varu cracked his knuckles.

It was now almost dawn, and the sun could be out in an hour or two. It would take at least until midnight to hit the Yalami forest at this speed. They stopped at a small town at dawn to eat. They needed to rest, too, but that was not an option. Tavora could soon realise he had been lied to. He is impulsive to say the least. The squad under Kiuga was not stupid either, and they would soon realize the central squad did not exist, and they had just been chasing a decoy.

After a few more minutes of rest, the three broke away again, and this time they headed southeast. The goal was to hit Yalami Forest at midnight. Yoka was leading this time. He was the most eager to make contact with the veil blades. The three did not have a weak member, and Sagiri had to slow down so he did not lose the two after a while.

It was just before sunset when the three hit the Yalami forest.

”Where are the damned assassins?” Sagiri groaned.

”They will be here soon. Just like any assassin, they love the blanket of night.” N’varu said. Yalami is the biggest forest of Tatani. It spreads into the central plains, and so deep it almost touches the east.

”Sagiri had been keeping the archive activity to a minimum during the day, but now he had to push it out together with his senses. If these veil blades were as deadly as N’varu said, then he would not leave any room or loophole. He needed to listen to every sound. Perceive every presence and feel any shift in the environment. The group did not change their pace of movement anyway, and they kept moving as fast as they could. Their goal was to take the fight as deep into the woods as possible.

It was silent apart from the beasts of the forest calling to each other. Just the hunting and mating calls sounded for a while. The deeper they went, the more beasts they made contact with.

It was not until after midnight that Sagiri felt a slight shift. This time, he did not stop.

”I think I have felt something, but I lost it,” Sagiri said in a low tone, only for the ears of N’varu and Yoka.

”They are here,” N’varu said.

Sagiri could feel Yoka’s anger immediately and N’varu’s excitement mixed with tension.

The three did not stop. The mission had not changed. To take the battle further southeast. They moved even more quickly now. It was clear that the veil blades loved to hide their hands and did not rush to kill. They had made contact, and now they would follow them for a while.

”I can’t tell if they are a hundred or two. I feel them everywhere, and they are gone just as quickly.” Sagiri said. He had pushed his senses out, keeping them as sharp as ever, but it seemed like his opponents knew what he was capable of. They were somehow making their presence hard to pinpoint. He could not follow one or fully know their position. Sometimes it felt like there were a dozen, then there was just one the next second, then he was gone.

”Those vermin.” N’varu cursed. So these were the veil blades.

Amazing and annoying indeed. Sagiri thought.

”Anytime now,” Nvaru added after a while.