At this moment, Kane stopped in his tracks and glanced back over his shoulder.
"It seems like we’ve been discovered by someone; I felt like we were being watched just now," Kane murmured.
The keen senses of a Level 2 Wizard still allowed him to notice something unusual.
Herag sensed that the group was quickly approaching, so he spoke up, "Mr. Kane, should we leave first?"
Kane nodded. "Yes, let’s head back for now. It’s best to avoid being spotted and reduce contact with the locals here."
Of course, it wasn’t that he feared losing a fight; he just didn’t want to complicate matters.
Base 27 had just been established, and the most crucial thing was to remain hidden, minimizing the risk of exposure.
The group then turned around and temporarily halted their map-making work for the day.
On the way back, Herag suddenly sensed something up ahead but said nothing.
Soon, Kane also became aware of the situation in front of them.
Two border patrol soldiers had already circled ahead; this group was acting separately, closing in from all directions.
As things stood, it seemed they couldn’t avoid a confrontation with them.
Herag thought for a moment and then took out a herb basket from his Space Ring, casually putting some ordinary herbs inside and slung it over his back.
Soon, soldiers were standing both in front of and behind Herag’s group of four.
Calot scrutinized the four with an assessing gaze and then asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Where did you come from?"
Kane chuckled, "Hello, officers. We are here to gather herbs in the mountains."
"Gathering herbs?" Calot’s face showed suspicion.
Herag placed the basket on the ground and showed it to Calot’s group, "These are the herbs we gathered from the mountains."
The four of them didn’t want to resort to force for now; killing these people would be easy.
The trouble lay in the aftermath.
These border patrol soldiers were not very strong, but if they were killed, it would surely lead to an investigation.
A whole squad of soldiers disappearing undoubtedly would be a significant event.
Plus, it was on the border, where the Noen Kingdom would certainly send more people to investigate.
Therefore, it was best not to kill this group, avoiding conflict if possible.
Calot carefully examined the herbs in the basket and asked, "Gathering herbs? If you are indeed gatherers, why is there not a speck of dirt on your hands, clothes, or pant legs, nor any signs of wear from being scraped?"
During their journey, Herag’s group used magic power to keep insects and bushes at bay, making their passage easier.
Indeed, there were no traces on them to suggest they had been traversing through the jungle.
This made Calot and the soldiers feel something was very off.
Having lived and patrolled the border for years, they naturally knew how someone who had walked through the mountains should appear.
They immediately noticed the peculiarity about Herag’s group of four.
Herag grinned foolishly, "We just have a few little tricks to make it easier to walk in the woods."
"Little tricks? What kind of tricks?" Calot inquired skeptically.
"There’s no need for you to ask, sir; too many questions will only bring you trouble," Herag had already seen the cold gleam in Kane’s eyes.
Since these soldiers had already grown suspicious, they couldn’t be left alone now.
Calot drew his Longsword, and the others around him readied their Longbows, aiming at Herag’s group of four.
"Now, please come with us. After we get back and clear things up, then you can leave."
In Calot’s mind, these four were far too suspicious with clues pointing to misconduct all over them.
His many years of border experience signaled that these four must have major issues.
They had to be taken back for thorough questioning; there was a chance they were spies from an enemy nation.
In Calot’s eyes, only David and Herag posed a substantial threat; those two seemed very strong.
The other two, an old man and a woman, didn’t seem to possess much combat prowess.
Calot kept his primary attention on Herag and David, his eyes filled with caution.
The others kept their bows trained on the four, ready to shoot them into porcupines at the slightest resistance.
Both Herag and David were robust individuals with strong physical power.
Having served in the military for years, Calot was keenly aware of people like them.
To him, it was likely that those two were the strongest here.
Calot himself was not confident he could defeat Herag and David.
But that didn’t matter.
In warfare, individual bravery never won battles alone.
They had numbers, bows, and even Knight Level experts.
Surely, he could take these two down.
Kane felt somewhat ignored, no one paying attention to him, so he chuckled dryly and raised his right hand, opening his palm.
He suddenly clenched his right hand into a fist.
Immediately, Calot and the others held their hearts, spat blood, and fell to the ground one after another.
Calot fell to the ground, his consciousness not fully gone yet.
He stared hard at the four of them, countless thoughts racing through his mind, wanting desperately to relay the news back.
But alas, there was no longer a chance, nor time.
Calot realized that the old man before him was an Evil Wizard wielding Evil Magic.
An Evil Wizard, an entity capable of easily destroying a city.
To the entire Noen Kingdom, such an existence was a monumental disaster.
Calot could never have imagined encountering a wizard in this place.
According to the propaganda in the Noen Kingdom, one should always relay information if they encounter a wizard.
The kingdom would then request the powerful Elf Race to come forth, eliminate the wizard, and protect ordinary people.
"Must go back... must go back..."
Calot tried to control his body, wanting to crawl back.
But his limbs were not obeying him, and his body grew colder by the second.
Despair deepened in his heart, not from the looming death, but from the inability to send the news back.
Straining, Calot glanced in the direction of the Noen Kingdom.
It was his homeland, where his family and friends were, the place he had always defended.
Calot felt his eyelids getting heavier, and after closing his eyes, his consciousness plunged into eternal darkness.
Kane glanced at the corpses strewn about and extended his hand, murmuring, "Coffin of the Dead."
In front of him, energy particles quickly gathered, and a black coffin soon appeared.
With a wave of his hand, all the surrounding corpses and the blood on the ground floated up.
Once the lid of the black coffin automatically opened, these bodies floated inside.
Though the coffin seemed not large, it could accommodate this many corpses.
"Let’s go, back for now," Kane said after dealing with the traces at the scene.
For Kane, this was a trivial matter, effortlessly handled.
The bigger issue lay ahead, with some troublesome matters likely needing attention in the future. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel⚑fire.net
Once the disappearance of this squad drew attention, the Noen Kingdom undoubtedly would continue to send people over.