Chapter 107 – A Strange Atmosphere
Enric Walker narrowed his eyes. He was among the contenders too.
Earlier, the Walkers had followed the priest and reached the oasis. After that, the Mecks, the Calvins, and several other families had openly declared their withdrawal.
They all claimed the Coopers were acting more insidious than usual this time, and they had no desire to be bled dry here.
But Enric hadn't given up.
He was convinced he had already deciphered the Coopers' tricks and wouldn't fall for them again.
---
Outside the fortress, the gathered hunter parties all eyed one another warily, as if the next moment might explode into a firefight.
Theo Nias waited a while longer.
When no new groups arrived, he finally stepped forward.
That single motion put everyone instantly on edge.
"Easy, gentlemen." Theo raised both hands in a show of peace. "No hidden intentions here. We'd best get inside the fortress and find a place to wait for the Trait's appearance."
With a smile, he turned and strode toward the main gate.
Since the fighting inside was still ongoing, Theo knew no one outside would risk starting a battle.
Sure enough, hunters began following in small groups, trailing behind him.
In no time, they stood exactly where Gideon's party had been earlier.
"What the…"
Theo narrowed his eyes at the wooden sign planted ahead.
Reading the words on it, his mouth twitched.
"This scene… why does it feel so familiar…?"
He remembered his earlier, unpleasant encounters when first entering the Plague Zone. (The Allards had left more than a few surprises along the way.)
The other hunters' expressions were equally strange—they were clearly thinking the same thing.
But as seasoned hunters, how could they stumble into the same trap twice?
"They underestimate us too much."
Theo snorted coldly.
"Stay away from the sign. Sweep the area for traps," he ordered his clan.
Other groups did the same, clearly with the same suspicion.
A few younger hunters were pushed forward.
Their faces were tense, tools in hand, as they crept toward the sign. Step by step, they checked the ground, the air, the brush—leaving no detail untouched.
And yet, when they finally reached the sign, they had found nothing.
The hunters froze.
"What? It's… safe?"
They looked at one another, each seeing the same shock mirrored back.
"That's impossible," Theo declared flatly. "The Coopers wouldn't be so kind."
In his mind, it was obvious the Coopers were inside. Given their reputation and his own past experience, only a fool would believe this path was safe.
But then where were the traps?
For the first time in his life, Theo felt a growing unease—not because he had walked into danger, but because he hadn't.
"Brother Theo," one of his kin raised a hand timidly. "Maybe the sign is just a bluff to scare us off."
Theo slapped him across the face.
"Idiot! If you can think of it, don't you think everyone else can? You'd risk your life on a guess like that?"
The chastised Nias hunter shrank back in silence.
"Damn it…" Theo glared at the sign. The words seemed to hum with a strange power, driving his mind into endless circles.
It's too deliberate. It's bait. But what if there really is no trap? No, thinking that way is exactly the trap!
And so, an absurd scene unfolded at the fortress gate:
Dozens of hunters loitered around, keeping a careful distance from the entry path. Not one dared approach. Instead, they all stood frowning, trapped in their own spirals of suspicion.
After a long silence, Theo raked his fingers through his hair.
"Damn it! No. We're not going in this way."
Better to err on the side of caution. He waved his men west, choosing to circle around the fortress.
This drew the attention of the other families. They exchanged looks, silently agreeing with his reasoning.
One by one, the groups split off, attempting to approach from the sides.
Not long after, Theo came upon another dirt mound.
He narrowed his eyes. On top sat a wooden sign.
The words were the same: Trap here.
Theo's entire body tensed. He scanned the ground, the brush, every shadow for the hidden danger.
At his side, Bode Nias couldn't resist any longer. Impulsive, he strode forward, ready to kick over the mound and prove it harmless.
"Careful!" Theo barked.
But Bode ignored him.
The next second, the ground gave way beneath him.
A wave of stench hit like a hammer.
"Urgh!" Bode gagged, retching violently as he crashed into a pit filled with monster remains.
Choking down bile, he shoved aside a slick length of intestine smeared with black blood.
Boom!
The organ burst, splattering foul fluids all over his face and chest.
"Help… help me!" Bode cried up at his brother.
Theo, however, looked ecstatic. "So that's where it was!"
Finally — a trap had been sprung. His racing nerves calmed.
He hooked a branch into the pit and hauled Bode out, then pinched his nose and examined him.
"No wounds. Firearms are useless for now. That intestine must've been rigged with a sonic charge. The stink though…"
Theo grimaced.
"Until we get back to Saint Freyan, you're going to reek."
At the same time, Theo confirmed one thing — the fortress gate was indeed a problem.
"These traps are disgusting, yes, but not lethal. Clearly, they're meant to confuse."
Theo's thoughts grew sharper.
"These damn Cooper dogs. They must be afraid someone found a way to wash off the scent from earlier, so they pulled the same trick again."
He once more warned his companions to stay alert.
After advancing a bit farther, the Nias family came upon yet another dirt mound.
This time, Bode stood obediently in place, not daring to move a muscle.
"Hmph. Cheap parlor tricks."
Theo narrowed his eyes.
"They want me to think the trap is in the mound this time, but in reality, it's still in the same position as before!"
He prodded the ground carefully with a branch.
"Nothing?" His face darkened with suspicion.
"Could it really be inside the mound?"
He poked at it gingerly—still nothing.
"The bastard who set these traps… what a vicious sense of humor."
Though convinced it was nothing but a prank, Theo decided to circle around, just in case.
Moments later—
BOOM!
An explosion erupted under his feet.
The foul stench rushed into his nose. His face twisted in disbelief.
"F… K! F… K! F… K!!!"
Theo cursed three times in a row, voice raw with fury.
He had thought himself careful enough—yet still he had fallen for their tricks.
"You Cooper bastards! I'll kill you all!"
Snarling, Theo rammed his dagger deep into a tree trunk, teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached.
And so, the Nias family stumbled forward in miserable frustration.
The closer they drew to the fortress, the more traps they encountered.
Gradually, Theo began to see a pattern:
When the traps were weak and harmless, far greater dangers followed—monster packs, swampland, and worse.
"Hah! Traps that weak mean the path's wrong!"
"Damn it, that hurts—hahaha! That means this is the right way!"
The three Nias hunters had lost their sanity entirely. The deadlier the trap, the more exhilarated their faces became.
And similar scenes unfolded among the other hunting parties as well…
---
The fortress experience etched itself deep into every hunter's memory.
When the Plague Zone expedition finally ended, its influence lingered for decades.
Across the southern lands, a strange custom took hold.
Whenever hunters accepted a hunting commission, they would always halt about five hundred meters before their target.
Only once they confirmed the ground and the path were free of danger would they proceed.
Why exactly five hundred meters? Most hunters had no answer.
Only a handful of retired veterans knew.
It was the distance from a certain ancient fortress.
---
Back to that moment—
Gideon crouched behind a stone wall, with Sadie and the others at his side.
Beneath them lay a ruined hall.
From below, bestial roars echoed upward.