Chapter 305: Phantom Siege

Luke and Evangeline moved slowly toward the gate, every step deliberate. Crouched among thick undergrowth and twisted roots, they watched the barrier ahead. It wasn’t a wall of stone but a colossal curtain of pure energy rising from the ground and vanishing into the sky. Its surface shimmered like water under intense heat, reflecting only the forest around it in warped, unnatural patterns.

Tree trunks stretched and bent, branches multiplied, and shadows fractured into impossible shapes, turning the scene into a broken mosaic. It was a living arcane mirror, an unstable mirage that hid whatever lay beyond and returned only an alien echo of the woods in front of it. Both were experts in stealth. This wasn’t their first infiltration, and their silent hand signs were enough to coordinate movements. The gate was the only passage into the Wild Zone.

Luke leaned closer to her.

“Before you shift into shadow and slip through, do exactly what I told you,” he whispered.

He had already slipped his soul into the raven Jerry, his mind anchored deep inside the bird’s body. The connection felt cold and metallic, each heartbeat revealing more of its hidden limits. He’d just learned something new: the target had to be on the ground or at least within reach of the spectral cat that served as his conduit. That was why Evangeline had coaxed Jerry down to land, letting Luke’s feline spirit flow completely into the winged body.

With a snap of wings, Jerry crossed the gate. The world flipped.

Looking from above is always strange, Luke thought.

The raven soared over the military encampment on the other side. Tents dotted the dark earth like pale smudges; fire pits were nothing but gray circles of ash. No movement. No voices. Only wind.

“The others are keeping an eye on Ronan,” Evangeline said, catching his fixed stare. “If he tries anything, we grab the bastard.”

They didn’t need to say the obvious. Everyone was suspicious of Ronan now.

Through Jerry’s eyes, Luke swept every corner. The camp was deserted, not just empty, but dead. The fires long out, the tents untouched, and bodies scattered across the ground. Not soldiers. Not survivors. Zombies. The corpses lay in positions too deliberate, as if placed there by someone.

Luke held his breath and narrowed his eyes, memorizing every detail: tents neatly pitched, makeshift corridors, stacks of untouched supplies. It was as if the people had vanished without a fight.

After several minutes, the vision flickered and went dark. The raven had flown too far; the link snapped.

“Completely empty,” Luke muttered. “The bodies are zombies.”

Evangeline frowned, still intrigued by his skill even though she’d already worked out the basics. “If they killed the zombies, maybe they stored the soldiers’ bodies somewhere.”

“Could be,” Luke said, still piecing it together. “But there’s no sign of a battle. Everything’s too neat.”

“Assassins?” she asked.

Luke considered it. “No residual magic. No fireballs. No impact craters. Weird. When we left, the camp was full. Now there’s not a single trace of combat.”

They couldn’t wait any longer. Time was against them, and each passing minute made the wrongness of it all sink deeper. They needed to get back to Second Fortress and warn the others.

“Bartholomew finally made his move,” Luke said, eyes still fixed on the barrier.

Neither of them was naïve enough to think the king of Bastion would sit quietly. From the start, they’d refused outside help on their journey to the capital. They trusted only the Haven’s members. Bringing more people meant leaving the fortress exposed. Without its strongest defenders, the place was already vulnerable. Marching off with a squad of fighters would only make it worse.

They’d accepted Ronan for one reason: strategy. He commanded Bartholomew’s soldiers in the new safe zone and, more importantly, he was the fourth-strongest in Bastion. Better to keep him under direct watch than loose in the wild.

“Let’s report back,” Evangeline said.

As they moved, Luke opened his system interface. His ranked skill burned 250 points per activation, draining one per second to maintain. His epic class skill demanded twice that: 500 to activate and five per second to keep running. Managing his resources would be everything, and he silently thanked himself for dumping so many points into mana.

He checked his bar.

[Mana Points (MP): 4239/5100]

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***

The group moved through the camp in silence. Every tent was checked with deliberate care, as if some hidden trap might be waiting inside the shadows. Wind tugged at the empty canvas, making the fabric creak softly.

“No shadow seems artificial,” Evangeline murmured, activating her Shadow Sensor.

“Too many trees ahead,” Eleanor said, bow at the ready. “We should watch for archers.”

The scene was unnerving, abandoned tents, undead corpses scattered in uneven rows, no sign of the soldiers. A closer look at the bodies confirmed they were the standard forest zombies. Someone had hunted them down and stacked them here, recently.

“These corpses were dumped not long ago,” Jack noted. “Someone’s been clearing the perimeter.”

Luke kept splitting his focus between the ground and Jerry’s flight path. The raven circled above the forest, but the thick canopy killed his line of sight. He didn’t dare send it lower. Unknown terrain was an open invitation for traps.

“Nothing yet,” he whispered to Evangeline.

“Something’s wrong. That’s a fact,” Allison said. “We’ll finish here, patch the gate back up, and head for the fortress.”

“I could have Jerry take a message that we’re on our way,” Evangeline offered.

“Bad idea,” Mason cut in. “Might give away our position.”