Chapter 700: Chapter 700: The Twenty-Four Peaks

The next morning, after breakfast, the four of them resumed their journey toward the Twenty-Four Peaks.

Ronan Kendrick had hypnotized Flynn Hansen, scrambling all his memories of the previous day. Now, all he remembered was the sandstorm.

The Whispwood had fallen silent again, but vast stretches of its trees had been destroyed by the sandstorm. The path was littered with fallen branches, making it a struggle for the horses to gallop.

"Let’s move out." Evelyn Ford put on her helmet and rode out first, with Ronan Kendrick right behind her.

As they rode through the Whispwood, dust billowed up from the horses’ hooves, quickly covering their clothes in a layer of grime. Thankfully, their helmets kept the grit out of their eyes.

The morning’s journey went smoothly. By eleven o’clock, the four of them had finally reached the Twenty-Four Peaks. Gazing at the towering mountains before them, they at last understood why Flynn Hansen had called this place dangerous.

"Can we really take this path? Is there any other way?" The path was narrow, steep, and winding. Rocks periodically tumbled down from the slopes, and a single misstep meant a gruesome death, smashed to pieces.

Flynn Hansen’s face was pale. "If we take the main road, we’ll have to make a 200-kilometer detour. The only shortcut is the narrow path through the Twenty-Four Peaks. With luck, it’ll only take four hours. The problem is the horses. I’m worried they’ll get spooked and go wild, putting us in grave danger."

The path was certainly dangerous, but Flynn Hansen had traveled it once before and knew what to expect. Gazing at the thin blanket of snow on the summits of the Twenty-Four Peaks, Evelyn Ford made her decision without hesitation. They would take the shortcut.

The path was too narrow to ride, so they had to dismount. Evelyn Ford stored the four horses in her space.

"I’ll take the lead." Ronan Kendrick went to the front, with Evelyn Ford and Flynn Hansen in the middle and Ryan Rowe bringing up the rear.

"This path can’t be more than a meter wide. Good thing I’m not afraid of heights. That’s a bottomless chasm down there. Who the hell built this thing? It’s steeper than the trails on Mount Kyper." Ryan Rowe muttered from the back of the line, but everyone was too focused on the treacherous path to pay him any mind.

"Why aren’t there any safety chains along this path? Oh my god, my legs are turning to jelly."

Flynn Hansen reached out. "Here, I can give you a hand."

Ryan Rowe recoiled. "No way! It’s even more dangerous if we’re holding onto each other. If one of us slips, we’ll both go down. Let’s just stick to walking on our own."

"Weren’t you the one who said not to jinx things?" Flynn Hansen added with a sheepish grin.

Ryan Rowe was left speechless.

Just then, a series of THUDS echoed from above. Ronan Kendrick’s expression changed in an instant. He spun around, pulling Evelyn Ford into his embrace and pressing her against him.

"Get down! Rocks!"

In the blink of an eye, boulders tumbling from the peak slammed onto the path just behind Ryan Rowe. Ronan Kendrick only released Evelyn Ford after the rocks had plunged into the chasm below.

Ryan Rowe clutched his chest, his face a mask of pure terror.

"I really thought that was it for me."

"Enough chatter. We need to pick up the pace and get out of the Twenty-Four Peaks. By the way, are you guys cold?" Even though there was only a little snow on the summits, Evelyn Ford could feel the temperature plummeting as they ventured deeper into the range. Goosebumps were already prickling her arms.

"Now that you mention it, I am cold. The wind in this valley cuts like a knife; it really hurts when it hits your face." Flynn Hansen had taken off his helmet after leaving the Whispwood, thinking it was too heavy. He realized now that his face was numb with cold. He quickly pulled the helmet from his pack and put it on.

Evelyn Ford took out two windbreakers. Even though Ronan Kendrick wasn’t cold, he couldn’t argue when Evelyn insisted he was, so he put one on.

"Alright, let’s keep moving."

"SCREEE... SCREEE..." A massive Red Bird suddenly dove from the summit, its piercing shriek echoing through the valley. Evelyn Ford shook her head. For some reason, the sound made her feel sick all over, bringing on a wave of dizziness and a throbbing headache.

"This bird means trouble! Everyone, get ready to fight back!"

The words had barely left Evelyn’s mouth when a series of gunshots—BANG! BANG! BANG!—rang out. Ronan Kendrick was holding a rifle, and he had fired six rounds straight at the Red Bird.

The Red Bird was killed instantly. It had been so close that a single flap of its wings could have swept all four of them off the narrow ledge.

It plummeted into the abyss like a kite with a snapped string, letting out one last, indignant shriek as it fell. The creature was a bizarre bird, even larger than a vulture. Its head was covered in fleshy nodules that looked just like the comb of a rooster.

Evelyn Ford picked up a feather. It was longer than her forearm. The plume was bright red while the quill was black, and blood still dripped from its base. The surface was covered in a dense layer of crystalline particles, an unsettling sight that made her skin crawl.

"We need to get moving, now. Something’s not right about these birds. I suspect they’re toxic. And that last cry before it died... it sounded like a signal. It had a clear target—it was coming right for us. It looks like these Red Birds eat human flesh, just like vultures."

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick shared a look. A single glance was all it took for him to understand what she was thinking. He hefted his rifle and continued to lead the way. Evelyn stored the feather in her space, motioned for the other two to keep up, and fell in behind Ronan, quickening her pace.

"SCREEE... SCREEE..."

"Here they come."

Evelyn Ford pulled a rifle from her space. ’Hiding in the space is pointless now,’ she thought. ’This is the Red Birds’ territory. We can hide for a moment, but not forever. To get out of the Twenty-Four Peaks, we have to eliminate them.’

"Flynn, how did you get past them last time?"

"They flew down last time, too, but they just circled once and left."

Evelyn’s expression shifted. A wild thought occurred to her.

’That Red Bird was diving straight for me,’ she realized. ’Is it possible... they only eat women?’

There was only one way to find out if her theory was correct.

Evelyn put some distance between herself and Ronan. At that exact moment, three Red Birds descended from the summit with eerie cries. The instant they spotted Evelyn, it was as if they’d locked onto a target, and all three dove straight for her.

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. ’So I was right. Son of a bitch.’

A few years back, when she was a refugee, she’d been caught in a thunderstorm. A whole group of them were huddled together, but of course, the lightning had to strike right for her.

Now, here they were, four people on a ledge, and the Red Birds were coming only for her. Evelyn couldn’t help but curse under her breath before raising her rifle and pulling the trigger without a moment’s hesitation.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Red Birds dodged swiftly, but their wings were still clipped. They shrieked again. Evelyn’s face paled. "They’re calling for more!"

Evelyn and Ronan worked in perfect sync. Under their relentless assault, the three Red Birds never even got close before plummeting into the abyss. But then, more Red Birds descended from the summit, and Ryan Rowe and Flynn Hansen were forced to join the fight.

"Get down! Don’t stand up! You’re a bigger target, and you could lose your balance and fall!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.