Chapter 550 Siege 17
After running around for another hour, during which Zion and Maxwell had already spread out to different walls to reinforce the defense and help the other warriors and Alphas retreat, recover, and regroup, Addison finally found something unusual.
For the longest time, she had felt as though she was being watched.
That lingering sensation of a pair of eyes following her every move sent a chill through her. Goosebumps rose along her skin, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
So she stopped searching the camp itself.
Instead, she turned her attention to the trees and tents surrounding it, certain now that the second factor agitating the monsters and wild animals had to be connected to what she was feeling.
By then, Zion and Maxwell were also starting to show signs of fatigue from constantly supporting the front lines, while Archmage Elric was nearly finished with the teleportation portal.
And then she saw it.
Not far away, on the opposite side of the river, hung a large bat upside down from a tree. Its wings were spread wide, but it wasn’t moving. Only its eyes shifted restlessly, scanning the camp as if it were observing everything from a distance.
Addison’s eyes narrowed.
Dark witches.
The thought came to her almost immediately. It would not be strange for them to use unconventional dark spells, even ones that allowed them to control animals as their agents.
And this bat was far too out of place.
It was still daylight. Bats should have been hidden away in caves, not exposed in the open. Worse, its eyes were sensitive to light, which meant it had no reason to be out here at all, not hunting, and certainly not lingering like this.
It was watching them.
And that meant it was there for a reason.
But why hadn’t she noticed it sooner?
Why hadn’t she suspected it?
Addison’s jaw tightened as the answer came to her. She had been too tense, too focused on searching the camp itself. The pressure had narrowed her thoughts, trapping her into looking only where she expected the danger to be. She had failed to look beyond the obvious.
That was why she had missed the bat earlier.
She had never even thought to check the other side of the river.
But now that she had, everything clicked into place.
It fit her theory perfectly, the idea that the enemy was using both scent and frequency to drive the monsters and wild animals into a frenzy and direct them toward the camp. The beast-attracting flowers had served only to agitate them, stirring them into madness, while the bat was being used to guide them, to call them in with that disturbing, unnatural frequency like a siren’s song.
Addison’s expression hardened.
So this was it.
This was what the Dark Witches were doing.
They are so vile, so cunning and twisted.
And now there was no doubt left in her mind. She needed to destroy that bat.
But she couldn’t just charge across the river.
If she approached too openly, the bat would notice her immediately, fly off, and vanish somewhere out of sight, continuing its frequency attack from a safer place. Worse, if it really was being used as a monitoring tool, then the Dark Witches might be seeing everything through its eyes.
That meant she couldn’t afford to be careless.
She would have to be fast.
And silent.
She needed to be sneaky enough to get close before it realized what was happening.
She was still thinking about how to kill the bat when something stirred inside Addison.
Then she noticed it.
The shadow beneath the tree canopy had begun to move.
At first, she thought it was only the leaves shifting in the wind, the dappled shade rippling naturally across the ground. But as she watched, the darkness deepened. It thickened unnaturally, taking shape beneath the tree as though it had a will of its own.
Her breath caught.
The shadow slowly snaked around the trunk, then crept along a branch until it reached the bat hanging overhead. Like a living serpent, it coiled around the creature in an instant.
And before Addison could even react, the bat’s head was severed cleanly from its body.
She froze.
She had not seen the strike itself, only the aftermath.
Then the shadow vanished, as though it had never existed at all.
A strange weakness washed through her.
A moment ago, she had felt brimming with strength, but now it was as if someone had siphoned part of it away. She staggered slightly, frowning at the sudden drain, but she had no time to dwell on it.
Shouts erupted from the warriors.
Cheers rang out across the camp.
Startled, Addison hurried back and climbed the platform along the wall to see what had happened. What she saw made her eyes widen.
Zion and Maxwell had released oppressive, intimidating auras, and the effect had been immediate. Most of the wild animals, as if waking from a nightmare, had panicked and fled. The strong stench of blood and the sight of fallen wild animals and monsters scattered across the ground had driven them into retreat.
The warriors, seeing the tide finally turn, erupted into celebration.
The cheers spread from wall to wall.
Even the remaining monsters and wild animals still locked in battle were being forced back, cornered by Maxwell’s advance. Then, from the far side of the camp, Zion let out a long, resounding howl, an unmistakable signal of victory.
They had held the line.
Not long after, the rest of the monsters and wild animals were driven away, their fear proving stronger than their frenzy. Those too consumed by rage to feel fear, those who would rather die than retreat, were cut down by the warriors and Alphas guarding the walls.
Soon after, Zion came running back from the far side of the wall. Maxwell, just after bringing down another monstrous bear, turned and locked eyes with Addison from where she stood atop the platform behind the wall.
Then Zion leapt up beside her and pulled her into a tight embrace before planting an excited kiss on her cheek.
"Baby! You did it!" he said joyfully, even spinning her around in celebration.
To Zion, it was clear that if not for Addison discovering what had been attracting the monsters and wild animals to the camp, the situation would have spiraled completely out of control. The tide would never have turned in their favor.
But Addison knew it had not been her alone.
It had been everyone sharing the burden.
If Zion, Maxwell, and Levi had not helped shoulder the pressure, she would have kept searching blindly, her mind too strained by the time limit to think clearly. And if that had happened, she might have completely missed the bat on the other side of the river.
Not long after, Maxwell also jumped onto the platform and gently took Addison from Zion, pressing a brief kiss to her cheek as well.
"You worked hard," Maxwell said simply.
Then the three of them jumped down from the platform, leaving the cleanup to the warriors who were still able to move.