Chapter 49
A dark city alley.
Several children hid behind broken wooden crates and piles of garbage between narrow buildings.
Isaac pressed his back against the wall and watched the alley entrance.
Step. Step.
Armed soldiers carrying torches passed.
And they were not the only ones.
Soldiers covered the main roads.
They also searched narrow back alleys where almost nobody went.
They blocked exits.
Checked every passing face.
Whenever they found a suspicious warehouse or abandoned building...
They searched it thoroughly.
"Damn..."
Isaac muttered.
"I didn't think they'd move this fast."
They had scattered immediately after leaving the ship.
Yet...
A search net had already spread throughout the city.
Theron had been right.
Escaping Hell Island aboard a ship had not been the end.
The real escape...
Started now.
Isaac slowly touched the wooden sword in his hand.
The only weapon he had carried from Hell Island.
It was not even real steel.
Still...
It was all he had.
If we have no choice...
He would force his way through.
But six soldiers guarded the alley.
More than ten additional troops were visible on the nearby main road.
Defeating the ones in front would not end anything.
The instant fighting began...
The shouts and clash of weapons would bring everyone nearby.
Even Isaac could not protect his companions while fighting that many soldiers.
"Isaac."
One boy hiding behind him whispered anxiously.
"What do we do?"
"..."
Isaac could not answer.
Wait longer?
Or take the risk and move immediately?
The longer they waited...
The more tightly the city gates would close.
Just as Isaac made his decision and tightened his grip on the wooden sword...
FWEEEEEEET!
A sharp sound split the night.
A red light shot high into the darkness.
"Signal flare!"
"South!"
"Everyone move to the southern forest!"
The soldiers searching the alley immediately raised their heads.
Then...
They abandoned their search and ran toward the flare.
Even the troops guarding the main road moved.
Step-step-step-step!
The footsteps filling the alley gradually faded.
The children stared at one another.
"The soldiers left..."
"What happened over there?"
"Did some of the others get caught?"
Anxious voices followed one after another.
Isaac said nothing.
He stared toward the red glow remaining in the night sky.
The signal had risen outside the city.
And at this moment...
There was only one person who could deliberately turn the pursuers' attention away from them.
"...You really do nothing but leave us in your debt."
Isaac's voice became low.
He did not know what Theron was doing.
But one thing was certain.
That flare had not gone up by accident.
Theron had fired it himself...
To draw the soldiers toward him.
To help the others survive.
Isaac tucked the wooden sword into his belt.
For a moment...
He wanted to run toward the flare immediately.
But he could not.
This was an opportunity Theron had created by putting himself in danger.
Wasting that opportunity...
Would be the last thing Theron wanted.
Isaac turned toward his companions.
"We move now."
"But that flare..."
"It has nothing to do with us."
His answer was cold.
But his voice was tense.
Isaac bit his lip.
Then spoke again.
"We use this chance to leave the city."
The others looked confused.
Isaac gave no further explanation.
He looked once more toward the fading flare.
Let's meet again alive.
That was the best thing they could do.
"Follow me."
"We need to cross the wall before the soldiers return."
Isaac stepped into the alley first.
One by one...
The others followed.
And so Isaac and the trainees hurried toward the city outskirts through the now-empty streets.
Tap. Tap.
Theron moved rapidly through the dark forest.
Footsteps constantly followed behind him.
"There are tracks!"
"This way!"
The pursuers increased their speed.
They believed their fleeing target had become so desperate that he could no longer properly hide his trail.
But...
"..."
Every trace they found...
Had been left deliberately by Theron.
He stamped deep footprints into muddy ground.
Whenever he changed direction...
He snapped an obvious branch.
When passing thorn bushes...
He even left scraps of cloth taken from the trackers.
All so that nobody would lose him.
Just a little more.
Theron focused on the footsteps behind him.
More than twenty people.
If the pursuers joining from the rear were included...
There were probably more than fifty.
But that also meant...
Far fewer people were pursuing the other trainees.
Theron's eyes turned cold.
This should be enough.
Theron gradually slowed and briefly revealed himself.
Under moonlight leaking between the clouds...
A small figure flashed between the trees.
"There!"
"Don't lose him!"
The trackers accelerated.
But soon...
Theron disappeared into darkness again.
"Stop."
The man leading them raised a hand.
The tracker captain.
Kuarem Mort.
At his signal...
Everyone stopped.
Kuarem spoke.
"Check the footprints."
"They continue straight ahead."
"How far?"
"Probably not far."
