The Song Of Sword And Magic

Chapter 33: A Trap

[Translator — Asuka]

[Proofreader — Karane]

The mercenaries strode forward as they kept an ear out so that they wouldn’t miss it if Miles blew his horn. With a solemn expression, Fern stayed at the back of the group and stared at Naven, hoping to find any clues, for he felt that there was something wrong with this short mercenary. 

Seeing that he had furrowed his brows together, Rae asked worriedly, “What’s wrong, Fern? Is there any problem?”

“I’m not sure. I just feel that something is off.” Fern replied with a serious expression as he watched the mercenaries in front of him. 

“Don’t worry too much. I think the mercenary’s idea is great.” Stan voiced his opinion. 

Anxiously, Fern looked around and realized that there were forests on both sides of the road. Although the forests were smaller than the one in the North that they had seen on the map, it wasn’t difficult for the ambushers to hide inside them. On the other hand, Naven always kept his head low and never chatted with other mercenaries. It seems that he isn’t the talkative type. How did he even give such a suggestion confidently?

***

The more he thought about it, the more he became worried, so he called out to Will and said, “Will, are you familiar with Naven? He doesn’t talk much with other people. Has he just joined recently?” He pretended to be nonchalant. 

Will was still upset about the fact that Rae had used dark magic on him, so he stole a glance at the magician and kept a safe distance. “Nobody in our group really knows him. I objected to his joining our group because I found him eccentric, but Miles still agreed to let him join as he was quite good at martial arts.” He then took a look at Naven and made sure that the latter wasn’t paying attention to them. “I think he’s a thief. He must have wanted to join us because he had nowhere else to go.”

“Maybe it’s more than that.” Fern muttered.

“What do you mean?” Will questioned doubtfully. 

“Oh, no. Nothing.” Fern flashed a smile at him. “How long has he been in the group?”

Will tried to recall it and said, “Fewer than twenty days. We came across him in an abandoned village in Tarantara.”

A bad hunch was forming in Fern’s mind when he heard that.

“We have to contact Miles and tell them to come back now!” Fern said flusteredly. “Do you have any way to contact him?”

Will looked at him in puzzlement. “Is there such a need for it? I don’t see any problem just yet.”

“I’ll be too late when something happens.” Fern urged loudly. “Tell them to come back now!”

Hearing Fern’s shout, the other mercenaries at the front turned their heads to stare at him. Only Naven still hung his head low without giving any reaction, which confirmed Fern’s suspicion about him. 

Will was flustered as well, so he immediately fished out a horn from his clothes. “This is the horn we use to communicate with each other. The sound of it can travel more than ten miles.”

Just then, Quentin approached them and questioned, “What’s going on?”

“Something is wrong with Naven. Miles is in danger now. We have to tell them to come back immediately!” Fern said apprehensively. 

Hearing that, Quentin shifted his attention to Naven, who still remained on the spot with his head hung low, which made Quentin feel unnerved as well. “Inform Miles about it now!” he ordered. Upon finishing his words, he charged toward Naven and clenched his shirt before lifting him off his feet. “What trick are you playing on us?”

With a gloomy expression and an eerie smile, Naven raised his head slowly. “Go and beg Edra. Maybe he’ll give you a chance to live.” Then, he guffawed in a hoarse voice. It was as though he had transformed into a completely different person. His laugh sent a chill down everyone’s spine. 

Distressed, Fern looked around for any possible signs of danger, but he still couldn’t see anything unusual. 

Miles must be in danger now. Damn it. They left quite a while ago. I hope it’s not too late. Fern scratched his head and regretted the fact that he only realized the problem now.

***

Will started blowing air into the horn. The horn was extremely loud as the honk traveled into the distance. After he blew the horn thrice, the entire place fell into dead silence. All the mercenaries held their breath and waited for Miles’ response. 

“What are you waiting for? We’re running out of time!” Fern urged Will. This wasn’t the way they communicated back then in real life.

“Three times of honking represents danger. If Miles can hear us, he will respond to us immediately, but…” Will turned to look at Quentin uneasily. “They haven’t responded to us.”

Quentin hurled Naven to the ground and shouted at other mercenaries, “All of you, remain in this formation and march forward at full speed. Miles must be in danger now!” He then shot a look at Naven before giving an order to two mercenaries. “Tie him up. I don’t care how you’ll lug him along. Make sure to follow us closely!”

The two mercenaries hurriedly tied up Naven with a rope and also punched him several times. However, Naven still laughed in a spooky way and glared at them in disdain. 

The other mercenaries started trotting forward as they kept some distance from each other. The ones on both sides would keep an eye on any possible danger. Although they were in a rush, they still did everything in an orderly manner. 

“They’re indeed a group of well-trained mercenaries.” Rae followed them and said.

“Yes. The Black Crows is famous for a reason.” With a grim expression, Fern sprinted forward and took a glance at her. “Did you hear that Naven mentioned Edra? I just want to make sure that I heard it correctly.”

“Yes. You heard it right. He said Edra.” Rae gazed at him impassively. “I think we’ll be able to find out the truth here. Moreover…” She turned to look ahead. “The Edra we’re talking about here should be Edra I, the founder of Doyle.”

After a series of events, Niss’s physical strength had increased significantly, so she could follow them with ease and even had a chat with them. “It seems that we’re now in the beginning of an era when new order is being built.”

“Yes, this is the era for the heroes.” Stan added. 

Without uttering a word, Fern observed Stan. Seeing that Stan didn’t appear to be unusual because of the fact that Naven mentioned Edra, he was finally at ease. 

***

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