"Where did they come from? Are they human?"
"We don't know," Bronoda said, shaking his head. He gulped as he felt Malakai's cold stare settle on him.
"It's the truth, Ninth Vein. I—I swear!"
"Are they invading the stronghold?" Malakai asked next, and Bronoda quickly shook his head.
"No, no. If anything, we're the invaders. When the city decided it was time to develop and populate the Murkroot Hollow, we ran into them."
"You mean they've always been here? Before the city was built?" The question came from Laila, who was visibly surprised when Bronoda nodded.
To think another species had been living right under their noses without them knowing…
"When we reached the forest and began felling the trees, they showed themselves. And they were not friendly."
Malakai turned toward the towering trees with orange like veins snaking across them. Something was definitely special about them.
"Why hasn't the city taken care of them yet?" Malakai asked, baffled. There were unknowns within the stronghold, why hadn't the city's powerhouses stormed this place already?
"Because they're not just some random people. We believe it's a large settlement. They have Blooms guarding them."
Malakai's eyes widened slightly. 'That would explain it.' If they had Blooms, then acting recklessly would be bad. Any death that occurred between Blooms could bring calamity to the city.
'Only a Zenith would be able to resolve this peacefully and…' Malakai was starting to see the full picture.
If the Sanguine clan got involved, they'd be entitled to most of the resources within Murkroot Hollow. The clan council clearly didn't want that.
'They're looking for another way without involving the clan,' he concluded.
He turned his gaze toward Bronoda. The image of the two synergy stage Adjudicators they encountered outside the forest flashed in his mind.
'Odd.' The Gor'Mekhai had Blooms, yet the city had only sent three synergy-stage evolvers and a few node formations after them? Something didn't add up.
"What about you all?" Malakai asked. "What were you doing here, fighting them?"
Bronoda's expression hardened slightly. "We were trying to win the bounty."
"What bounty?" Malakai and Laila exchanged a glance.
"There's a hundred thousand credit bounty for anyone who can find their main settlement." Malakai motioned for him to go on.
"Me and the others set a trap, pretending to be here to cut their trees. When they attacked, we quickly retreated after planting a tracker on one of them. We began following them. But we hadn't even gone far before we were ambushed. Danne and Kesim both retreated to the entrance to stop anyone from approaching and ruining our shot. I was able to kill some of them… but more showed up and overwhelmed me."
'So the darkness wasn't from other Blood Guardians,' Malakai thought. That meant only the three Adjudicators had entered the forest.
"What about the other Blood Knights?" Laila asked. "Why didn't they respond to the call?"
Bronoda scoffed. "They've been instructed to ignore any call from this forest."
"Instructed by who?" Malakai asked.
Bronoda cleared his throat, turning his gaze to the side. Malakai frowned and raised his arm, blade ready to cut.
Bronoda's eyes widened. "Alright! Alright—stop, Ninth Vein. I heard it was an order from the Blood Commander."
'The Blood Commander.' Malakai and Laila exchanged another look. Things had just gotten more complicated.
'Isn't that… the Fourth Pulse?' From the serious look in Laila's eyes, Malakai could tell she was thinking the same thing.
A Blood Commander oversaw all Blood Knight operations in a city. All captains reported to her. Before coming to Sylvastein, Malakai had already looked into the chain of command. The Fourth Pulse.
If she was involved in this, then it meant only trouble.
'Why would she give that order?' Malakai thought for a moment. He looked around the forest before it hit him. He remembered the sight of the corrupter moving deeper into the forest.
'She's trying to run them down and locate their base.' The bounty would lure in more hunters, which would mean more deaths, and more darkness creatures, drawn to the highest Vita source: the Gor'Mekhai settlement. With their map, the darkness would lead her right to their base.
'She's cunning,' Malakai praised silently.
"About these trees. What are they used for?" Malakai asked. He could already tell they were different from the rest. In fact, the entire forest felt different.
'Vita density here is the highest I've ever felt.' If not for the danger, he'd sit and train right in the middle of it. The vita density of the forest felt as though he placed a grade three vita core inside a small room. Others might find themselves getting overwhelmed, but not him.
"They…" Bronoda hesitated before continuing. "We were able to extract a resource we called marrow dust."
"What are its effects?"
"When sniffed, it grants temporary berserk strength to the user."
Malakai raised an eyebrow. That was an incredible resource. "And I'm guessing this is the only place these trees grow?"
Malakai glanced over at his squad. Laila had a troubled look on her face, while Grunde and Renlo still looked dazed from everything they'd heard.
It was expected. They had each just found out that there was possibly another species living in the stronghold. One that was unaccounted for.
Just as Malakai was about to speak, a sharp voice rang out.
Two figures burst out from the forest and into the clearing. Their expressions were cold as they spotted Bronoda, arm torn and bloodied.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
Boroda scowled as the other guardian reached him. Their eyes shifted to the squad, anger flaring, until they saw Malakai.
They instantly rose to their feet and bowed.
Malakai's voice remained calm. "My squad and I saved your companion and are already leaving. We were never here. Right?"
The guardians glanced toward Bronoda, who immediately nodded.
They bowed lower. "You were never here."
Malakai nodded, then exchanged glances with the rest of his squad. Without wasting time, they sprinted out of the forest.