abcnovels
Chapter 29 - 29 Lightning Fox
Chapter 29 - 29 Lightning Fox
Chapter 29: Chapter 29 Lightning Fox
Crystal heard him gritting his teeth before she saw the nasty snarl on his face. Her heart sank, as the last pillar of hope came crashing down in her mind;
"My lord?" she mumbled fearfully, as if dreading what he was about to tell her.
His eyes, dead still, and his jaw tightened, he rasped a quick reply;
"Lightning fox,"
"Huh?"
"I need to catch the lightning fox!"
Crystal caught on to his sense of urgency, and swallowed back every single question on the tip of her tongue.
"Wherever you go, I'll go. I'm going to help you lord Nexus."
Nexus shot her a look of appreciation.
"Let's go then."
Violently, he uprooted his legs from the earth, and launched himself forward. Breathing hard, forcing one feet in front of the other, they both engaged the fox in hot pursuit.
Keeping a staunch eye on the prize ahead, they travelled parallel to the group. At full speed, Nexus and Crystal skillfully swerved along the way, tactfully avoiding head on collisions with tree trunks, and narrowly escaping tripping over broad roots, and vines.
Still, the elusive white fox continued to zig-zag its way through the forest in lightning quick, chaotic dashes.
Just a few moments into the chase, a fresh epidemic of sweat broke out on Nexus' forehead. His veins were practically screaming on his forehead, popping violently like they were about to burst.
The forest began to grow even thicker. The vegetation grew denser. The trees seemed to close in on him, huddling together in close quarters, limiting his side-stepping, as if conspiring to hinder him from doing his job.
At close range, Nexus stepped on a thick, coiled, black mass. It was only when he heard the hiss, and Crystal's shriek that he knew- or confirmed that it had in fact been a huge snake. Still, he did not stop. Crystal did not stop either. They continued to duck low hanging branches and prickly bushes.
At top speed, they came across a deceptively deep ditch. It opened its yawning mouth to swallow them, but at the last second Nexus leaped. Behind him, the succubus leaped as well, escaping what would have been a disastrous injury.
Time flowed in painful breaths, before Nexus began see the flaw in the whole thing.
This was not working. Not at all.
He glanced sideways towards the direction of the other group- their luck was as bad as his. He swerved his head back on course, narrowly missing a low hanging branch that would have smacked the wind right out of him. Nexus cursed under his breath.
Fuck.
That damn fox! It's too bloody fast. Too bloody damn fast!
Think Nexus, think.
He paced himself mentally.
This was a high velocity moving target. Continuing like this only guaranteed he would run out of breath and stamina. He had to think outside the box on this one. Two two available options came to mind. His ace cards- Flying sword and Frozen Charm.
No doubt. His Flying sword technique was always the perfect solution. Swift, precise, efficient, and deadly. Right now, if he wanted, he could bring an end to the lightning fox's reign of terror, and flay its skin like a fucking rabbit.
The thought of it was very tempting. But Nexus reined in his bloodlust when he remembered a very important detail.
It was not infinite. Like the mythical wish-granting genie in a bottle, he could only get three chances with it. And he needed every single one of them.
He had made use of it once before- at the cave. And he had seen its brilliance firsthand. So, he only had two more chances. Given just how dangerous and unpredictable this Isekai was, Nexus knew he could not afford to waste it on a single fox.
Just when he was starting to relax into a comfortable, predictable pursuit, the fox spun a dangerous ninety degree curve, and began to head towards west. Nexus soon found out why.
He cursed the damn creature.
The full glare of the western sun was now in their faces, heavily impacting their vision. Behind Nexus, Crystal very nearly doubled over while trying to keep the wily fox in her sights. The fox was crafty as hell.
The snarl on Nexus' face grew even nastier, and irritation displaced annoyance. There and then, he decided to end it. He was going to make use of his Frozen Charm.
Nexus took in the full span of his surrounding with astounding accuracy.
He noted the fixed distance between himself and the fox. He took note of all the high grounds around him, the obstacles, and the landmarks. As soon as he had captured all this in his mind's eye. Nexus skid to a sudden halt.
Surprised, Crystal also deccelerated, and stopped running midstride. Panting, and eyes bulging, she asked;
"Lord Nexus! Are we abandoning chase right now?! We're letting it go???"
Crystal sounded fairly dissappointed for someone who had not even wanted to get involved in the first place.
"No," he calmly replied; "We're not giving up. We're going to catch that damn fox."
All of a sudden, his right hand flew to his breast pocket. The familiar rustling sounds of paper came out as he fumbled through that compartment. He whipped out a length of white paper, with some fancy calligraphy incscribed on it.
"Here,"
He handed it to her.
"Make sure you don't lose this alright? It's very important this ends up on the fox's body, no matter what happens. Got it?"
Fox's body. No matter what happens. The words echoed in her ears, down into the chambers that led to her brain. She internalized it, and nodded firmly;
"Got it!"
"Good. Now follow my lead."
A surge of excitement shot up the succubus' spine. She was helping out her lord on a task, and he was growing to depend on her.
Nexus' quick searching eyes, aflame with innovative wisdom, laid eyes on a very particular tree. He glazed over it in a matter of seconds, noting the key components- sturdy base, tall, wide branches, abundant leaves that provided enough cover, and situated right in the middle of the action.
It would do.
Crystal's eyes widened in astonishment when Nexus dove in its direction. Headfirst, he charged right at the tree like it was an enemy. At the dying minute, Nexus defied gravity, and launched himself vertically. One, two, tree steps, he rode his own momentum, as he climbed the trunk of the tree.
He then sprang upwards, with a spring-like leap, and caught hold onto a sturdy branch. Swinging like a gymnist, he steadied his grip, and heaved himself onto the branch. In that same manner, he kept climbing the tree till he, virtually disappeared into the cover of green at the top most part.
"Crystal come up at once!"
The succubus swallowed. She had comitted every of his step to memory, so she simply repeated his every move. In a jiffy, she right by his side, some thirty feet above ground level.
Nexus had picked that spot for a reason.
Eyes pressed firmly to his binoculars, and perched on the highest branch, Nexus watched the Lightning Fox's movements very carefully.
"Aha! I knew it!" he exclaimed victoriously, "That fox is a really nasty piece of work! It's been leading us round and round in a circle all this while. . ."
Crystal's eyes burned bright when she realized the implication;
"This whole area is it's territory! That's why it moves so fast without worrying about the obstacles!"
"Exactly. That also means, if we wait right here, since it's taken this path before, it'll pass right through here again!"
"That's brilliant m'lord! Brilliant indeed!"
Nexus fought to keep his mind clear of the drugging effects of her praise;
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves yet. There is still much work to be done. Remember what I told you before?"
"Yes m'lord."
"Good. Stay on alert, this fox is a wild one. Expect variations in its course this time."
And so, they both lurked in the shadow of the vast tree canopy, waiting out the storm, eager for the regal fox to show forth its face.
Below, the unfortunate hunters, despite being fit, and seasoned, were still chasing the fox on foot. Their stamina had taken an absolute beating, and they had not figured it out.
Sure enough, the familiar sight of a silver streak of fur came again, disturbing the homogenous green of the environment, and travelling at an incredible speed. That damn fox seemed to have an inexhaustible reserve of energy!