Third Person's POVAt 10 p.m., the Hornbeam Pack was already settled for the night.Adelaide's visit at this hour stirred everyone from their sleep.Luna Madeline knew Adelaide had once aided Lynette and even had her bring gifts to thank her. But why the late-night call?"Get dressed quickly, no time for talk," Alpha Theodore said, already dressed and combed, treating Adelaide's visit with utmost seriousness.Alpha Theodore was tall and naturally authoritative.The Packhouse gates opened to welcome Adelaide.After greetings and offers of coffee and pastries, Adelaide waved them off, scanning the room for Lynette.Seeing no sign of her, she said, "I need Lynette for an urgent matter. Have her pack and come with me to Frostbite Town."Everyone froze—Frostbite Town?Alpha Theodore's eldest son, Leonidas, quickly spoke up. "Luna Adelaide, Lynette has seldom left the house since Marsh's passing. Is there truly no
Third Person's POVHe sent Adelaide a brief encrypted message via communicator, urging her to drop everything and head to the Southern Border with Marsh's mate and Digby right away.The communicator, brought from the capital, was meant for quick messages.Klein had gear too, but this time, only Digby and Marsh's mate could help.Digby would treat Marsh, and his mate might spark his will to live.Sometimes willpower beats all odds; if not, at least they'd meet.There was no other option.Encrypted messages traveled fast. Adelaide would likely set off soon, so they must be ready.Lance suggested Eugene stay and recover before returning to the capital, but Eugene insisted on accompanying Marsh."We have always stuck together. I won't leave him now," he said firmly.Magnus also teared up. "We'll all stay with him," he pleaded.Though injured, Magnus wasn't badly hurt.Stewart had wanted him to rest, thin
Third Person's POVEugene's back wound probably split open again. Before they arrived, he was truly risking his life.They climbed up the mountain, down the mountain, and split into teams to cross the grassland.The wind on the grassland was strong, dispersing the stuffy heat and refreshing them.After the grassland, they had to climb the mountain again.It was then that they heard cheers. A crowd swarmed around them.The members of the Eugenius scout team cried and laughed, the scene before them seeming surreal like a dream. Even the cheers ringing in their ears felt as if they were coming from afar.Upon returning to Frostbite Town, as they entered the city, everyone wept.Except for the groggy Marsh, the remaining ten individuals lay prostrate on the town's soil, weeping silently.This was the homeland of their dreams; they had returned!The Southern Border had returned too! What tremendous significance this he
Third Person's POVThe uninjured few were already exhausted. They gritted their teeth, almost biting through their gums, and managed to drag them up by a measly three meters.Caldwell made it up smoothly, but Tommy and Klein weren't about to leave.They stayed on guard, ready to help if the rope slipped.But there was the rub: the folks above couldn't haul them up, and the ones below had nowhere to foothold. Plus, Marsh was out cold, his head lolling back, worsening his injuries.Eugene was frantic. He looked around for any vines to splice together, hoping to use the tree trunk for leverage.But the vines here were thin as a hair, useless for the task.The situation was critical. He ignored the pain in his back and clung to Marsh's waist with all his might.But this wasn't a real solution. They had to get up. Otherwise, everyone would run out of strength and just watch them fall.Meanwhile, up in the dense forest above,
Third Person's POVHorace Hill was tall and treacherous, lacking the dense forests of previous mountains to carve a path through.The climb from base to midpoint was manageable, but the higher they went, the steeper the terrain became.Beyond the midpoint, the mountain face was a sheer cliff, with only a few resilient trees sprouting from its crevices—effectively, no path at all.The cliff face, at least thirty meters high, had to be scaled. Beyond it, the path, though difficult, could be navigated with hacking and slashing.But the cliff itself was the obstacle."We've got iron hooks and ropes," one said.Klein replied, "They're useless here. The cliff face is too smooth—no protruding rocks for the hooks to grip. We'll have to leap up and grab those saplings for leverage. Only Lance and I can manage it."Tommy assessed the situation. "I can do it too," he volunteered.If he could leap up and grab a sapling,
Third Person's POVAfter two days of waiting, Abbot grew restless.On June 21st, he said to Stewart, "We can't just wait here uselessly. Let me take a dozen men across the grasslands and circle the mountain to see if we can find Lance. I'm worried he might've been injured during the rescue."Stewart replied, "Don't rush. A dozen men won't make a difference. This vast mountain, covered in dense forests with no direct paths, makes it nearly impossible to meet up.""But waiting here idly won't help either," Abbot argued, clearly anxious."Actually, deploying so many soldiers here by the commander serves no real purpose. If they've crossed the grasslands safely, they're already secure. Whether we're three thousand or a thousand, none of us can cross the grasslands and scale the mountain."Stewart whispered, "He just wants to show Lycan Erasmus he's fully committed to the rescue. Whether our three thousand men are useful or not doesn't matter to