Zectas Volume IV: The Salubrious City of Centzo by John Nest, You The Reader Page B

she had already given her last command to the forty werewolves remaining in her pack. All of them scattered and successfully escaped out of the forest.

Sierra was about to call out to her werewolves and order them to group up at her location, but they were still engaged with the remnants of Brandal forces caught in the entrapment.

With the swift escape of the enemy werewolves, the conflict in the southern forest had been resolved. Only the members of Vagrant Vigilantez were left, with the exception of a pinned-down black werebear.

Smoke quickly joined Adder, who was standing beside Vexant.

"Where is Mount Foudre?" angrily asked Adder as he pressed the tip of his blade against Vexant's cheek.

"What makes you think I'll tell you?" smirked the captured Werebear.

Adder clicked his tongue. "If I hurt you just right, then the little girl trapped in that body should come out."

Smoke pulled Adder back as he wanted to understand what was going on.

"Wait a minute, who is this? And why do you need to torture her?" he said while holding back Adder's arm.

The confounded Condortlian wasn’t sure how to respond.

"I killed him..." He paused, as he still couldn't accept what he was forced to do. "There was another werebear that attacked us. It was Tracas, the boy we couldn’t save from the mutated Centaurs."

Smoke instantly remembered the nine-year-old boy he met in Condortl when they were building up its defenses. He recalled how they failed to pursue the mutated Centaurs because they fell inside Mount Aeriloc.

He released Adder as the Condortlian's eyes displayed strong conviction to redeem himself. Although he didn’t get the answer to his question, he let Adder be.

As soon as Smoke released him, Adder's blade cut into Vexant's cheek. "Tell me! Where is Mount Foudre?" he yelled into the black werebear's ear.

Vexant's life bar started to wither to 39%.

"You are not wrong,” she said. “The girl….I can hear her. She is shouting, daring to oppose me."

Adder smirked and slowly deepened the cut on Vexant’s cheek.

Yet despite her captured state, the black werebear grinned back at Adder. "However, lady Horrabelle thought of everything."

She stuck out her tongue and bit it. Multiple lightning sparks erupted from of her body, and her black fur started to glow bright red.

As soon as Smoke saw this, he pulled Adder away from Vexant and shouted to the Vigilantez in the area, "Run!"

BTOOOM

Vexant's body exploded, discharging electricity all around her. Pieces of rock and chunks of Vexant hit the backs of everyone who was caught in the blast radius, sending them tumbling to the ground.

Most of the knocked-down Vigilantez then groggily sat up and looked around in confusion, while others had been knocked unconscious.

After the cloud of dust created by Vexant's suicide attack settled, Smoke turned to Adder.

"Tell me everything."
 
    * * * * * * 
    The Vigilantez's first strike wiped out more than two thousand Brandals. They also obtained their weapons, equipment and the essential supplies they were transporting. The mission was a success, but it cost them the lives of six Condortlian Warriors, ten Acolytes, twenty Iron Knights and one hundred eighteen Armored Farmers.

Smoke and Sierra were joined by the other core members of Vagrant Vigilantez as Adder started explaining the situation.

His remorseful retelling of Tracas' tragedy conveyed the importance of their next mission.

"...That is why I needed Vexant alive. No matter the risk, I have to find those children," stated Adder to his gathered friends.

“What happened to Tracas was very unfortunate,” said Smoke and crossed his arms, looking concerned. “Hopefully, we’ll get to the other children in time to ensure that they don’t share the same fate.”

He continued, “Aside from that, based on what happened here, it’s safe to assume that Horrabelle has joined forces with Duke Burmistrz. I don’t know why she chose to do so, but