Chapter 172 - Strider's Disappearance

"H-how..?"

Going back to Oliver's previous statement, the general couldn't believe what he had just heard. There was no way a single man could defeat an entire army of trained soldiers. Even if they were evolvers, some logic would have still applied.

However, that same logic wouldn't have applied to Oliver.

With his current Attributes and his decisiveness, Oliver was a force to be reckoned with. Compared to the soldiers who could barely catch him with their eyes, Oliver was near unstoppable.

"Are you going to say something definite? Or are you just going to stutter there like an idiot?"

Oliver wasn't playing games. He knew how badly things would end up if these people barely had the means to defend themselves. As for the reason he was so riled up, however, it was something personal.

Sighing defeatedly, the general calmly gave an appropriate answer.

"You're right," he acknowledged his misgivings, "The soldiers in the West Blockade, or the other two blockades at that, are lacking compared to the ones holed up in the North. Nobody had realized it until some time later. To be fair, though, we certainly thought this small detail did not matter."

"How so?" Oliver asked as he raised a brow in suspicion.

"Reports indicate how bad things were in the North Blockade. They often detail the unfathomable enemies that the soldiers had faced thus far. These reports mentioned the appearance of creatures that have yet to be determined by any scientific index."

Hearing one stupid thing after another, Oliver couldn't help but click his tongue in disappointment. With what the general said, Oliver's initial thoughts on the state of things were confirmed.

"Alright," Oliver stopped the general from speaking any further. "I suggest you pack your bags and leave."

"Huh?"

Confused as to how Oliver had come to this conclusion, the general let out a bewildering sound. This was far beyond unexpected. But, it was something that Oliver felt to be necessary.

"You're not going to enjoy what I'm going to do next. Hell, some of the people out there may die because of it. And, I know for a fact the blame would fall on you. So, you better leave. Now."

"No," the general rejected Oliver's suggestion, "I pledge my loyalty to Ark City. To suggest that I abandon my post is no different from a spit in the face."

"Fine, it's your funeral."

With that said, Oliver and the general continued to discuss strategy. Suggestions were constantly thrown across the room. One was offering modern tactics and warfare. The other presented tricks and stratagems.

By the end of it all, Oliver and the general finally got to a common ground that would accomplish both parties' goals.

"So, that's it, then?" the general reconfirmed the final decision.

"Yeah," Oliver answered as he was instilled with deep thought.

The plan that the two have ended up with revolved around a simple exchange. Oliver was to give training and suggestions to improve the soldiers within the West Blockade. In exchange, the general would provide him with whatever he might need. Which, naturally, included information on the whereabouts of his family and their current well-being.

Despite reaching the end of their discussion, however, Oliver couldn't help but think. Something was missing. Something about this whole thing felt off to him.

Regardless, Oliver nodded and waved goodbye to the general. He had spent a few minutes discussing these matters with him and wanted to tell Jack what he planned to do.

With that, Oliver followed the same path back to the same spot where he had left Jack to watch over the unconscious soldiers.

"Hey," Oliver casually called out as he patted Jack on the shoulder.

"How did it go?" Jack asked as he looked over the soldiers that were lying on the ground.

"Fine, I guess," Oliver answered, "Did anything happen when I was gone?"

"Not really. Are you sure you only knocked them out? They haven't moved at all in the past few minutes."

"Yes. I'm sure. There's not even enough blood for the number of people that passed out," Oliver reassured, albeit with a little gruesome reasoning. "Besides, I've got news for you." Oliver then proceeded to explain what he had discussed with the general a few minutes prior.

"So, I guess that's what we're doing, huh?" Jack approved as he smiled.

"Here," Oliver threw Jack the keys to where the two were staying in the meantime, "I'll see you later."

"Where the hell are you going?" Jack asked as Oliver walked away.

"Sightseeing," Oliver answered, not looking back.

Where Oliver was really heading towards was where he had left Strider all alone. He didn't dare bring the wolf into the camp because of his natural appearance. Without a doubt, Strider would be considered a monster. Hell, even Oliver himself at times classified Strider as such.

As he approached the same metal gate that he had jumped over before, something suddenly felt amiss. His instincts kicked in as it indicated danger just on the other side of the fence.

'Huh.'

Thinking not much of it, Oliver leaped over the fence and started to search for Strider. However, the deeper the forest he got, the more his instincts screamed at him.

'There's no way.'

Oliver's survival instincts have drastically improved compared to that of 8 months ago's. During the time he had spent in the other dimension, his survivability had drastically improved. That being said, there was a limit to how much danger he could tolerate.

However, at this particular moment, Oliver's tolerance for danger was reaching its limits.

Letting out a whistle to call out for Strider, Oliver hoped for the best. But, as the seconds passed, the wolf didn't show up. What was even more alarming was the fact that Oliver was near where he had left Strider.

This, naturally, was not a good sign.

Immediately pulling out two daggers from his inventory, Oliver felt tense. He needed to find Strider, but he had no clue where to start. And, even then, the sense of danger in the atmosphere didn't seem like it was going anywhere any time soon.

WIth [Devil's Laceration] equipped, Oliver's Agility increased in areas under darkness. Which, coincidentally, was perfectly suited for his current situation.

Maneuvering through the Tree branches the same way he had done before, Oliver scouted the immediate surroundings. From there, he could sense which spots were closer to the danger that he had noticed before. And, by the look of things, the dangerous area seemed to center around this one spot in the forest.

Whistle.

Calling out once more, Oliver couldn't handle the uneasiness rising in him. Strider wouldn't normally run off on his own like that. And, even if the wolf did, he would immediately answer Oliver's calls.

So, why wasn't it working now?

'Damn it.'

As tensions from within him rose, Oliver looked around his surroundings. He tried to spot things that he might've missed. And, soon enough, he saw something that would've otherwise gone unnoticed.

They were tracks. Wolf tracks, to be exact.

Now armed with a proper lead, Oliver left to follow these tracks to find where Strider had gone. Turning at random trees and weird spots, Oliver soon realized where Strider went. It was the same spot that Oliver had branded as dangerous just before now.

Seeing the tracks lead up to that exact spot, Oliver stood his ground as he hesitated. If this dangerous thing had managed to trap Strider, what could he possibly do that would be any different?

The sound of an audible gulped echoed in his ears as Oliver felt the tension shake him. Despite that, however, Oliver knew what he had to do. All he needed now was the resolve to do it.

Suddenly, from deep underground, Oliver felt a slight rumble. It was the same as a tremor that happened once in a while. The only thing suspicious about it was: Ark City was nowhere near a fault line.

Tremble.

'What the..?'

All the years that Oliver had lived in Ark City, there was never once an earthquake. So, naturally, Oliver's suspicions were slightly intrigued as to what may have caused it.

Thinking how the two things may be related, Oliver followed Strider's tracks until he reached the very end of it. During his short walk there, the tremors gradually grew more frequent. Currently, the time between each one was ten seconds.

'It ends here...'

Looking at the ground rather intensely, Oliver stopped at the same spot where Strider's footprints ended. It was weird, Oliver thought, considering there was nothing around him at all. He was standing in the middle of a clearing, with nothing but dirt in the ground around him.

Crouching, Oliver inspected the ground where the footprints stopped.

By repeatedly pushing on the ground, Oliver figured that there was something hidden underneath. It was a strange thought at first, but there was no other way to explain why the footprints had so abruptly stopped.

Unfortunately, nothing happened until he gently placed his hand on the ground in front of him.

Placing his fingers gently on the ground, Oliver put slight pressure on it as he pushed. In doing so, the ground suddenly spread open as a gaping hole appeared. It was wide and appeared to be well-hidden. The walls were also relatively smooth. All of these things combined meant one thing for Oliver.

This was a trap.

Whoever made this must've thought to capture prey repeatedly onto this one spot. The walls were smoothed out to not let any of the creatures have any leverage to escape. Not only that, the cover seemed to have a mechanism for automatic resealing as well.

It had way too many man-made options to be considered as a natural sinkhole.

Looking down from above, Oliver couldn't see the very bottom of the hole. Granted, it was dark. But, a trap shouldn't be too deep otherwise taking the prey out would be a pain. Unless...

Standing on his two feet, Oliver steeled his determination. He was about to do something strange.

Twin daggers in his hands and a quick release of his breath, Oliver jumped.

With gravity doing the work, Oliver quickly descended the hole with an increasing speed. Adrenaline pumped into his brain as he continuously fell at a rapidly increasing velocity. With no end in sight, Oliver prayed that this hole would actually lead somewhere.

And, eventually, it did.

Seeing the end of a not-so-bottomless hole, Oliver slashed his [Devil's Laceration] at the wall. With great force, the dagger indented itself into the smooth wall which slowed Oliver's descent. However, in doing so, Oliver suffered a strong backlash as his shoulder bore the sudden change.

A sharp pain shot the joints of Oliver's shoulder as his descent slowed down to a crawl. He held back every urge to curse and scream from the pain as he landed on his two feet.

'Great fuck!'

Oliver inwardly cursed as he walked at the small exit at the very bottom of the hole. And, upon arriving, it appeared that he had entered a mine shaft. It was a bit too creepy for Oliver's taste. If there weren't any lights around, Oliver would've guessed that this place had been long abandoned.

The tunnels were wide and spacious, and the lights hanging from the ceiling meant that somebody was maintaining it.

Clenching his shoulder as he walked, Oliver arrived at a nearby crossroads. One path led to a dark and quiet corridor, while the other was bright and loud. There appeared to be some people who were moving around in that direction.

So, not knowing any better, Oliver followed the bright lights and the sound of people conversing.

As he walked further into the corridor, Oliver could hear people talk with a relatively casual overtone to their conversation. Little did these people know that somebody was eavesdropping on them.

Holding [Dreadul Rending] in his other hand, Oliver activated the weapon's active skill. Forceful Dusk shrouded him with a dark veil as he prepared to initiate a 'friendly conversation' with these people.