161 Ever made sense to me?! (1/2)

The duo secured the area around to pass the time. Mark lit up his cigarette while Cyril took out the wine jar. With their backs resting against a tree, they stood silently contemplating while occasionally switching the cigarette and the wine.

Meanwhile, Ozul slept peacefully on the branch. He did not worry about the duo trying to escape. Even if they did try, he would immediately notice since he kept his attention on them even in his sleep.

On the other hand, Clara grumpily climbed up another tree. It had been a few days since she took a proper shower, so she could not help but complain. However, there was no one to listen to her griefs.

All her life, she had been pampered. There was nothing that she wasn't provided that she had asked for. There would be servants looking over her day and night.

Though she had worked hard to cultivate as well, her life was undoubtedly a hundred times better than the rest.

It was bound to cause her trouble once there was no one to watch over her every need.

But in this situation, she did not dare disturb Ozul from his sleep just to tell him that she was itchy all over. Aggrieved, she could only try to sleep it off.

——————

At this moment, a group of people ran through the forest in the midst of darkness. They all seemed to be in a hurry as frowns were present on all their faces.

Some of them looked as if they were sleep deprived. However, it was a wonder how people as powerful as they could be lacking sleep.

This was the group led by Rufus searching for Clara everywhere. All the survivors from the battle with the assailants were in it. Raven and Blaze also ran along with the group.

Most of the mercenaries were dead since the majority of the people fighting were Rank-7. A couple of surviving mercenaries all lasted till the end because of pure luck except Raven, Blaze, and Barry.

Barry was a Rank-7 Mage himself, so he just needed to play it safe not to die. Meanwhile, Raven and Blaze had managed to stay alive by working together. Hanry and Venessa were also among the survivors.

Rufus had won his fight against the man in white robes. Since that old man was the leader of the assailants, their group started to waver after noticing that their leader was forced to flee from the scene.

When choosing between the fleeing old man in white robes and his subordinates, Rufus did not hesitate to choose the latter. He just cursed the old man under his breath before moving to the cliff to help his men.

Since he was a Rank-9 and the assassins' morale had already dropped to zero, it took them a few minutes before taking care of all the assailants.

Rufus led the team to the Fer City, thinking that Clara and Ozul might have been there. But they were bound to be disappointed when there was no one there.

Rufus ordered the group to wait in the City before sending his men searching around the area. After the whole day, they concluded that Ozul and Clara had probably left directly to the next city.

The group was led by Rufus, and he did not even once think that Ozul might be trying to avoid them. He saw no reason for him to do so.

He believed that if they were to continue traveling, they might actually catch up to Clara and Ozul.

Rufus had strict orders for him to protect Clara at all costs. He could not afford to mess it up. That is why all his men were worked to death by him.

Even with them being Rank-7, fatigue had caught up to them. First, they had to fight against the assassins, and now they had yet to heal from their earlier injuries before they were running all well and fine on the ground.

Even now, they were running from Fer city to the next one.

When they arrived in the city, Rufus was not surprised to find himself in a lawless city. There were many such cities around this area.

Unfortunately, he was bound to be aggrieved after realizing that there were almost no traces of Clara and Ozul either. He had sent his men to ask as many guards as possible.

However, they all returned empty-handed. In such a lawless city, it was impossible to find about almost anyone. Luckily, a man selling fruits had recognized the description of Clara and Ozul and told them that he had seen them here two days ago.