Ling Xuan’s blade slid out of the monster’s chest, and the creature collapsed forward at her feet with a dull thud, its body twitching before going still.

For a few seconds, no one moved. The soldiers stood frozen in place, their guns still raised as they scanned the surroundings, waiting for another wave that did not come.

Their heavy breathing filled the air. Their eyes turned to Ling Xuan, and a newborn awe burned in their eyes for her.

Some of the soldiers moved to help the injured soldiers.

The forest grew quiet again.

Ling Xuan wiped off the blood splashed on her face. She wriggled her nose slightly. The blood of the monsters had a faint foul smell that irritated her nose.

One of the soldiers let out a shaky breath. "Is... is that all of them?"

No one answered, because no one really knew whether another wave was coming or not.

Ling Xuan stood at the front, her sword lowered slightly but still ready. Her eyes moved across the area slowly, checking every direction, every shadow, every possible blind spot. She waited longer than necessary, as if expecting something to break the silence.

Nothing did.

"There are no people here," she said at last, her voice calm but carrying clearly. "But there was an arrow mark on the wall... It’s new so the monsters must have followed the person inside... but they are no longer there." She added with an indifferent face.

Gabriel lowered his rifle a little, his brows furrowing. "So whoever was here... they’re gone?"

"They must have left before we arrived," Ling Xuan replied.

Gabriel glanced toward the direction of the underground entrance, his jaw tightening. "I hope they made it out."

A soldier nearby muttered quietly, "Or the monster had already killed them."

That made a few of them shift uneasily.

"Let’s think of positive things." Another soldier said with a small frown.

Ling Xuan turned away from the scene. "Our objective is to get the truck. We start moving now, or else we risk another ambush."

The order was simple, but the tone left no room for argument.

The soldiers quickly began to regroup, though the earlier tension had not fully left them. As they fell back into formation, their movements were slow and tired, their expression mixed with unease.

Gabriel stepped closer to Ling Xuan as they started walking. "Commander... that arrow you said you saw," he said, keeping his voice low. "If it was carved recently, then someone was trying to leave a sign. Maybe... they needed help."

Ling Xuan did not slow her pace. "It could be."

Gabriel frowned slightly. "Then shouldn’t we follow?"

"It is already evening," Ling Xuan replied, her tone calm and cold. "We shouldn’t risk our lives for people we barely know. Getting to the fortress is our priority now."

Gabriel exhaled slowly, then nodded. "Right..."

They moved through the forest carefully, their boots crunching softly against the ground while their eyes remained alert, though now there was something else in their expressions.

Fatigue, and doubt. They have been walking and fighting for hours now without taking a break to catch their breath or eat.

One of the soldiers spoke after a while, his voice quiet but tense. "Those monsters earlier... they weren’t like the ones we fought before."

Another nodded. "They are faster, and more powerful."

"Could it be that they are getting stronger," someone else added grimly.

Ling Xuan’s fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword. ’Could they be higher-level monsters?’

Gabriel let out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck. "If they keep getting stronger like this, then the fortress isn’t going to stay safe for long."

Ling Xuan walked ahead, her posture straight, her voice calm when she answered. "We must get to the fortress by dawn."

Gabriel gave a faint sigh. "If it is possible."

"It is not simple," she said. "But worrying without acting changes nothing."

Gabriel fell quiet after that.

They walked for a while in silence, the forest slowly thinning as the light faded further, the sky above turning dark and heavy, and the air growing colder with each passing minute.

After some time, Gabriel spoke again, his voice softer this time. "Commander... the little girl, Tina."

Ling Xuan’s gaze hardened slightly, though she did not stop walking.

"She’s with Stefan, right?" he asked.

"Yes," Ling Xuan replied.

Gabriel nodded, though there was still a trace of concern in his expression. "Then she should be fine."

Ling Xuan did not respond immediately.

For a brief moment, the image of the carved arrow flashed in her mind again, followed by the broken door, and that quiet unease returned, settling somewhere deep in her chest.

But she pushed it down. Stefan was capable of escaping from harm, and they were perfectly fine, so she believed.

"She is fine," Ling Xuan said after a moment, her voice calm, though it sounded more uncertain this time.

Gabriel glanced at her briefly, then gave a small nod. "Yeah... she has to be."

The others remained silent, but the mention of Tina seemed to linger among them, a reminder that not everyone was accounted for.

The burnt trees began to thin further, and soon the outline of the road came into view, along with the trucks they had left behind.

A few soldiers let out quiet breaths of relief.

"Finally..." one of them muttered. "I was starting to think we’d be stuck in there after dark."

"No way I’m dealing with those things at night," another added.

Gabriel glanced back once more toward the forest, his expression still uneasy. "We got lucky this time."

Ling Xuan stopped beside the truck, her hand resting lightly on the metal surface for a brief moment before she turned her head slightly, her gaze drifting back toward the forest they had just left.

It stood silent and devoid of colour, almost as if it didn’t almost claim their lives.

Her grip on her sword tightened slightly.

"She’s fine," she said quietly, under her breath.

Then she climbed into the truck without another word, leaving the rest of them to follow.