Liam's priority was to figure out how the traitors were monitoring him. Till then, his friends had to stay in the dark.

"What's the plan?" Dunn asked.

"Spread out and search the surrounding area for tracks. I want to know which way they went."

"Okay."

Liam successfully conveyed his message without alerting anyone.

"Don’t go too far. If you see them, make as much noise as possible. Stealth is their primary ally without which they are as good as dead."

Alisha wanted the traitors alive and away from the other soldiers, but they didn't need to know that.

All three of them moved in different directions. After traveling for four hundred meters, the feeling of being watched disappeared. As expected, their opponents couldn't monitor all three of them at the same time. Since he was free from observation, he had to figure out who or what was tracking them.

Using the trees, he made his way towards Jade and inspected her surroundings. Due to mana vision's short-range, his progress was slow. When he didn't perceive anything out of the ordinary, he moved towards Dunn.

After a careful examination, it became apparent his search was fruitless. Wondering about his next actions, his eyes roved the forest when a sudden flicker caught his attention. It was minuscule and vanished after flashing.

Not knowing if he imagined it, Liam fixed his eyes on the same place. The flicker showed up, helping him pin down the location. Switching to normal vision, he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Whatever he was searching for was either tiny or well camouflaged or both.

The object registered in his eyes when he was standing right behind it. Eight metallic legs stabbed into the tree, holding it in position. Its main body was spherical, and two red jewels embedded at the front stared at Dunn. A tiny yellow stone surrounded by light elemental runes was present in the center of the main body.

The object spying on them was a dwarven automaton. It perfectly blended into the forest, hiding it from plain sight.

"Gather at the previous location." Light element couldn’t transmit sound, so they could talk freely.

Dunn pretended not to hear him and continued with his actions. After examining the area, he moved towards the gathering place.

The automaton followed him with surprising agility. Noting down its location, Liam took a detour and arrived from the original direction.

By the time he joined them, Jade had arrived.

"Only sight, no sound." His friends understood the cryptic statement.

"What do you want to do?"

"We'll use the river. The automaton can't follow us in the water, and it's not fast enough to keep up with the pace of the river."

"Won't they get suspicious?"

Liam picked up a twig and started drawing on the mud. "Now, they won't get suspicious."

"What did you even draw?"

"Our 'plan' of attack."

Jade tried not to chuckle. "I can hear the quotes around the words plan.”

"Let’s go. I'll explain in detail when we get to the other side. Climb to the surface when a part of the river branches to the left."

Standing at the edge of the river, Jade was having second thoughts. "You do know we can drown, right? Especially when we are carrying so much weight."

"We go in." Liam was undeterred.

Jade was about to protest when she heard a splash and got hit by a large amount of water. Without even looking, she knew Liam jumped.

"Did I ever tell you how much I hate him?" Jade grumbled.

"Many times and I am not in the mood to listen right now.” Another splash told her Dunn had jumped.

“Retards,” she muttered before following them.

Though he would never admit to it, Liam underestimated the current. It was faster than expected but still manageable. Barely any time passed before he reached the branching part of the river. Using his sword as an anchor, he jumped to the surface. After waiting for a few moments, he noticed Dunn, who he promptly pulled up, followed by Jade.

Dripping with water, Jade glared at him.

"What?" Liam innocently asked.

"Explain why I had to take a dip in the river on such a pleasant day?"

"Our targets are going to use this path to retreat. We should check this out first."

"There is no need to do it," Dunn said. "We don't know what's waiting for us, and did you forget Alisha wanted one of the traitors alive."

"That is exactly why we are still in the blind," Liam countered. "We only get to know what they tell us. If you want to be prepared, then understanding the situation is a must and this is one of the few chances in which we have the opportunity.

"It's a risk. I agree, but it is a calculated one."

Dunn sighed. "We are on shaky grounds right now, and facing some unknown enemies is not a bright idea. What if they are too strong? Do you want to go headfirst into danger?"

"You are thinking about the short-term disadvantages. What about the long-term strategy? I don't wait for opportunities to appear. I create them!"

Liam's determined stance made Dunn understand that he wasn't going to budge. "Fine."

"If it's too dangerous, I won't fight. Let me scout ahead and see what kind of enemies we are facing."

"Before you do anything, dry yourself.”

Rolling his eyes, Liam undressed and squeezed his clothes, removing the excess water.

"It should be enough."

He walked deeper into the forest.

Finding the camp was easy. It wasn't hidden, and they were making quite a ruckus.

The camp was rather small, and the enemies were few in number. Even counting the scouts, they numbered eleven. The troublesome part was they were all corrupted — seven humanoids and four beasts. A head-on fight had zero chance of success.

They could only win if they thinned the enemy's numbers before the battle began. Liam went back to his friends with no one in the camp being wiser to the intruder who just surveyed them.