Like the wind, Josh created great distance between them and their pursuers.

Very quickly, Josh arrived at the edge of a cliff that had fog underneath it.

Below the cliff was a deep abyss that looked like the gateway to the Underworld.

Even when standing here in the Summer, one couldn't fully hear the thunderous rushing water down below, showing how high up they were.

The cliff was more than 10 thousand feet up!

That alone could make the faint-hearted tremble.

But to Josh and the rest, they weren't that scared of heights.

They only hoped that the child wouldn't take up and be scared to death.

"Edwin, Hoshen, gather the thick vines fast! Fast!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Very quickly, the duo cut a lot of thick, sturdy vines, intertwined 12 of them, creating a very thick rope.

Following that, they stretched and pulled the new rope as if testing its strength.

Good!

From there, they braided more vine rules and noted them together using a few military-style knots, creating a very lengthy rope in the end.

One shouldn't look down on these vines.

They had tested out these vines before and had even used them to build their safe house.

A single vine here was so strong that one could swing from tree to tree at will.

And that was just when using a single vine.

Each vine was the size of 3 fingers joined together.

And now, they braided 12 different vines to create a thick rope.

.

Just like that, they first tied the rope to a tree and then a rock.

Following that, they used other vines to strap the kid around Edwin like a baby before securely typing the main rope to Edwin again.

That's right.

They were about to descend the cliff.

Why? Because they had built a safe house at the side of the cliff, just around the fog below.

No one would think of enemy coding at the side of this monstrous cliff.

So, they got down like buildings, used pickaxes and bore a cave several feet below at the side of the cliff.

They kept blankets there, flashlights, canned food and a few other goods that could be bought in the city they were currently residing in.

Again, they always had lighters on them, so making fire would be easy.

They also focused only on canned foods because if the scent went out, it could call massive Ponji Birds around.

Panji birds were twice the size of a regular adult human and weren't all that harmful.

Provided one doesn't steal their food or eggs, then it was all good.

That said, if a Ponji Bird claimed the food they stored as its own, then Josh and his men would also have these birds as enemies

And they were a very vengeful bunch.

Just like bees, if one got attacked or felt aggrieved, all would come for the attacker.

Of course, they also did some things to make their safe cave bird-free.

They were not ready to take any chances.

.

Due to their experience, rigorous practice attempts and knowledge, they were able to do everything within 3 and a half minutes.

Edwin and Hoshen looked at Josh with grim expressions on their faces.

"Sir! With all due respect. What do you mean by saying that you're not coming with us?"

Josh patted their soldiers and grinned.

"You two know the truth of the matter. So why still difficult?

Even though the win will wash away our tracks, at the speed at which I went, my tracks are deeply rooted.

If I don't clear them up, as well as your tracks here, they'll notice us.

Also, I need to lead the enemy as far away from here as possible.

Your top priority now is to keep the boy safe.

Is that understood?!!"

The duo bit their lips unwillingly: "Yes, Sir!"

"Good. Now go!

We don't have much time!

Don't worry, I'll see you soon."

"Hmm."

With that, the duo grabbed the vines and scaled-down carefully to their hideout.

'Major General. Please be safe.'

The moment the duo reached down, they echoed out some strange sounds, and Josh quickly cut the rope with a dagger.

From there, those below dragged the rope onto the cave, while Josh above quickly took care of the many footsteps.

Typically, from here, the person who cut the main rope should've tied a separate rope on his/her waist and used their daggers to go down the cliff bit by bit until they reached the safe house.

But Josh couldn't join the rest.

Even if he cleared the footsteps here, the ones he made while rushing over were too deep to be washed away by the rain soon.

So they would undoubtedly lead the enemy back here.

And even if the footsteps seemed to stop at a dead-end, as if they vanished into thin air... The enemy would still stay around, searching the entire place nonstop.

They might even camp here just to keep watch on things.

They wanted the boy, and they would do anything to get him.

.

5 more minutes.

That's how long he estimated before he met halfway with the enemy.

Now, with the footprints and snapped-away twigs gone, he started walking backwards while clearing everything in his path, making it seem like he was never there.

With his speed, he hastened things up, creating a ton of space from the cliff, before letting out a deep breath of air from relief.

~Din, Din, Din, Din~~

Listening to the approaching sounds from the enemy, his expression now turned solemn as he adjusted his mentality.

Very quickly, he moved in such a way that didn't disrupt the pattern of his previous footprints.

If the footprints didn't match up correctly, the enemy would be suspicious.

And so, everything had to look continuous.

Previously, when the others hopped onto him, the enemy should've already been suspicious.

They might've probably thought that the others hid on trees or something... while he ran away.

So the enemy might have already broken up into 2 teams, one team focused on searching and locating where the other footprints vanished to, and another team that focused on chasing him instead.

Of course, they would never think that he carried them because the speed he ran made it all too unbelievable.

So ever since then, they had been looking for Edwin and Hoshen, who he piggybacked.

For sure, these pirates didn't know who had the boy, so they divided themselves up to find the boy fast.

And right on cue, the group running after him had finally caught up to him.

One of the pirates spotted him and yelled in rage while swinging his sword crazily.

"I've seen him! I've seen the bastard that made his run this far!

The bastard almost made me lose my lungs.

You crazy son of a b**ch!

You better stay right where you are.

This daddy must have his revenge!"

(*^*)

Josh, who 'accidentally' got discovered, grinned and readied himself calmly.

Show Time.