Way of the Knights

Chapter 278 - Scouting

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According to the intel of the slave, the supposed spot for their new hideout was at least a kilometer away from the Red Zone. 

The direction of the hideout was at the south of the Kingdom, where the wild growth of trees the likes are more evident. It would make sense that they will build a hideout in this direction since all the vegetation would naturally cover them on top of their concealing methods. 

The slave also informed that they were already at the location and even provided Raven with some landmarks so that they won't miss them. That being said, ever since they stepped inside the Yellow Zone, they were already marked by the Skynet Array, meaning that the Kingdom is already aware of their arrival, hence they sent Raven and the team to meet them. 

As the team went on with their journey towards the marked location, they didn't encounter any scouts aside from the previous one's who are now trapped in Paul's illusion. 

Once they were a kilometer away from where the Black Curtain Guild's camp, Raven signaled them to dismount and decided to go on foot from here. 

'Be alert and stealthy, we should observe them first.' Raven sent through sound transmission. 

The team gave him an affirmative signal and followed his lead as they slowly inched their way towards the camp. They went through bushes and jumped on tree branches, making sure to create as little noise as possible. Those who have ocular techniques were already using them and warning others when they're about to step on twigs that might alert some people. 

Raven already sent a message to the Elites, telling them to remain on standby once they entered the one kilometer proximity of the enemy camp. 

Still in hiding, the team eventually approached the 500 meter mark away from the camp. From this point onwards, Raven told them to be even more careful. He told them to spread their sense wildly yet also conceal it with the surrounding air to not get caught. 

Raven could already seen some activities from this far. He could see some campfires, tents, and some people who were resting in front of the bonfires. Beyond this, he could faintly see some people who were moving about inside the camp, they should be the people who were tasked to create the frame for the hideout. All of a sudden, the team heard a voice that made them froze on the spot.

"Who goes there? Come out at this instant!!"

'Shit!' Mark, Paul and Ellen cursed inwardly as they heard that. Even Luna and Anne's expression became somber as they thought that their plan was doomed to fail. 

There was an individual standing not too far away from their location. The team already spotted this guy before but decided to ignore him since they were confident that they are still hidden. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.

"I know where you are! Do you really want me to come to you before you come out!?" The guy shouted once again. 

Mark, Paul and Ellen, who were close to this where this guy is, were about to come out of hiding and apprehend him when they suddenly heard Raven's voice echoed in their head.

'Stay still and don't move!' His voice was loud, making the team froze on their tracks once again. 'He's bluffing. He can't see us. Observe carefully.'

The team calmed down after hearing him. They did what he said and observed the guy and found out that he really was bluffing.

First of all, this guy wasn't alone and his voice was loud. If he really sensed the team hiding, then how come his teammates aren't responding to him? This was the first clue. The second is that this guy wasn't looing at their hiding spots at all. He stared right in front of him while gripping his sword tightly and placing a ferocious expression. If he could really sense them, then he should've called out their hiding spots by now. 

And the final clue that made them so sure that he was bluffing, is when they heard him sigh and say: "Dang it. This isn't working at all, now the others thinks that I'm abnormal." 

Hearing this words pissed the team off, except for Raven of course. 

'Hot damn.' Paul exclaimed through sound transmission. 'Got me all nervous and shit! What a trick dude, holy shit!'

'I don't know if I should be pissed that I fell for that or be impressed that it worked on me.' Mark said.

'Thank god, someone was actually paying attention. Else the plan would've been foiled." Anne commented. 

'Avi! Let me slice this guy in half! I am pissed!' Ellen exclaimed through voice transmission as well. 

Luna just heaved a sigh of relief and thanked the heavens that they weren't actually caught. 

'Alright calm down everyone.' Raven told them. 'Stay alert and don't give away your positions. Let's continue observing things for now.'

The team eventually calmed down and resumed their observation.

'Damn it, I want to infiltrate this place so bad. I should've at least read the memories of those scouts, maybe I would've know something from them.' Raven complained inwardly but could only sigh as he thought of this too late.

'Anne, you could see further than me right? Share to the team what you can see.' Raven said through sound transmission towards the team. 

Anne nodded and then said: 'They appear to be resting for now, at least majority of them are. I can see some people checking their inventory. It looks like the materials they needed are being taken out for that purpose. On top of that, I could also see an underground entrance. I tried peering further but I feel some sort of a barrier that's blocking my sight.'

'An underground entrance and a barrier huh?' Raven mused. 'Do you have sight of our target?' He asked her once again.

'I don't.' Anne replied, 'All I could see are the lackeys. I can also spot your slave from here.' She informed.

Raven was in deep thought for a bit, he thought of plans and did some simulations inside his head. Eventually, he decided to consult with Anne again.

'Tell me everything about this barrier that you spoke of.' 

Anne nodded and started explaining: 'This barrier is unusual. Typically, barriers shouldn't be able to block spying techniques but this one is different. I tried searching for some spots to seep my perception in but I couldn't find any. I didn't pry any further since I'm afraid I might trigger some alert.'

'That's fine.' Raven commented, 'What does this barrier look like?'

'It's invisible to the naked eye but it made up of multiple inscriptions that are too complicated for me.' Anne stated, 'I could see some people entering the cave but each of them needs to ask for permission first from the one guarding the entrance. In my eyes, the barrier swirls with blue, red and white colors.'

Raven mused for a bit before asking her again, "Can you at least tell me the arrangement of the inscriptions?'

'Sure thing.' Anne said, 'I could see at least four main inscriptions arranged in a diamond formation. There are lines connecting these four and those are also made out of inscriptions. What's weird is that there is a strange symbol on each of the main inscriptions. I feel like I've seen these before but I can't remember where.'

'Share what the symbols looks like.' Raven said.

'I'll transmit an image instead, that should be easier.' Anne suggested and proceeded to do just that. 

Not long after that, the team received the image of the barrier that Anne saw, and her description was on point, at least for someone who knows little about inscriptions. 

The team focused on the symbols she described and most of them agreed about what she mentioned earlier. For some reason, these symbols looked familiar but they can't remember where they saw it.

'It's the Golden Era Language!' Luna suddenly exclaimed, which somehow startled the team. 

'Yes, it really is the Golden Era Language.' Raven agreed, making the rest react as well.

'So that's why it looked familiar.' Anne sighed, 'Unfortunately, I don't know how to transcribe this. Can you, Luna?'

'Yeah.' Luna replied, 'These symbols represent the four cardinal directions, north, east, south, west. The lines that connects these are reads 'Begone' being repeated over and over again. Avi should know what kind of inscription this is by now.'

Everyone then turned attention to Raven and as expected, he obviously knew what kind of inscription it is. 

'It's name is the Four Cardinal Barrier Seal.' Raven informed the team. 'It's a troublesome seal. It has a built in recognition system, preventing anyone that is not recognized from entering. It has an anti-spying system that barred Anne's senses before. Forcing our way in won't work as well since the seal will act as a trap that would paralyze us for at least five minutes the moment we try to destroy it. The only thing that we could do is to deactivate that thing but that would surely alert everyone around.' 

Raven explained as he massaged his temples, a sign that he wasn't so happy to see such a barrier stopping them at their tracks.