Raised From The Wild-Chapter 123: Strange Mountain

"Dave, you can select four soldiers to accompany you, The route we followed today is safer and faster. You should reach the base in less than an hour. We will not spend the night here but will go back again tomorrow." Marx was like an army general giving instructions to his captain.

Marx and the team waited for Dave and the soldiers to be out of sight before they continued their journey.

Perhaps it was because Amaya and Julienne have a good physique, that they could compete with the mountaineers in terms of endurance and speed. They soon reached Mount Daya’s peak in less than one hour.

Amaya faced Mount Ibra and she frowned. She could sense that there was something wrong with that mountain.

Marx approached her and hugged her waist from the back. She looked beautiful standing on the edge of the plateau with her hair being blown by the wind. He inhaled the faint floral scent of her hair.

Amaya was startled when Marx hugged her. She looked back and her eyes were full of questions. She smelt his scent of musk, sandalwood, and patchouli.

Marx pulled her back before releasing his hold on her.

"I am just scared that you will fall off the edge." He just gave a random excuse that he himself found ridiculous. "You are looking at that mountain intently as if you are drawn to it and you would walk off the cliff."

Amaya’s gaze went back to Mount Ibra. "Can you send your drone over there?"

Marx took out the drone from his backpack and directed it to the mountain in front of them. The vegetation in that mountain was denser and the trees taller. This time, Marx used a tablet so they have a bigger view of the images that the drone captured. The drone’s speed was very slow so they can clearly study the plants or animals that it captured along its path.

There were a lot of medicinal plants and wildflowers there, just like in Miraga. The drone suddenly captured an animal that Amaya has not seen previously.

"What is that?"

Marx maneuvered the drone and moved it a little bit. "That’s a white rhinoceros which is endemic to Lireya. That’s an endangered species."

The rhino was moving slowly and they found out it was heading to a stream to drink water.

Suddenly something big and black went inside the drone’s frame and everything went black.

"What happened? Is the camera not working?"

Marx activated the emergency feature of the drone using the app installed on the tablet. "I am sorry. DR 001 was exterminated." A robotic female voice sounded from the tablet.

"Something hit the drone and destroyed it." Marx was furious. That drone was personally designed by him.

"Do you know what got the drone?" Amaya asked. "Can we go over the recording?"

Marx replayed the part when they were following the rhinoceros then he set the playback to five times slower. What they saw was a big mass of black fur. It looked like it came from the side and then jumped in front of the drone before smashing it.

"It looked like it is a bear or a gorilla." Marx shared his guesses.

Amaya pondered for a long time. She stood still as if she was waiting for something. Then they heard a shrill howling sound. It sounded so eerie and disturbed the birds that were perched on the branches of the trees. They flew away in a flurry.

"Did you hear that?" Julienne walked to where they were and asked in an anxious voice. "It is faint but it sounded so scary."

"It is a predator killing its prey," Amaya said nonchalantly. Deep inside, she was troubled. She was more convinced that something was wrong in that mountain but just kept it to herself. When the time comes, she will definitely investigate.

Marx put his arms over her shoulders. The action was very casual. "You’re going to have wrinkles on your forehead if you keep furrowing your brows like that."

"Can we go check on Grandpa Earl later? I would like to ask him about that mountain. I am hearing howls of animals that are in pain. Additionally, I feel that there are a lot of eyes watching us from afar." Amaya said while fixing her gaze on a specific spot on the mountain.

"Okay." Marx nodded in agreement.

It was too early for lunch, so after resting for some time, they started their descent on the mountain following a different route.

Unbeknownst to them, a few pairs of shiny green eyes watched them from a distance. When they disappeared from the peak of the mountain, those green eyes retreated back to a deeper part of the forest.

The group scouted for a good location to camp for lunch. They always looked for a place where there was a water source. This time, they camped beside a river. The streams that they had come across earlier converged into this river.

After lunch, they continued their explorations until they reached the foot of the mountain. The sun was still high when they returned to the base near the construction site. The soldiers and the two mountaineers were given accommodation on the construction site so they don’t have to go back the following day.

Amaya drove to the entrance of the Anishton castle. They were surprised to see two cars parked in front. She glanced at Marx not sure if they will still continue as it looked like the old man has guests.

Marx pressed the buzzer on the door. Soon, the same middle-aged woman that served them previously opened the huge door for them.

Three heads turned toward the door at the same. One was full of gray hair, the other one had hair that was vanishing on the forehead, and the last one was covered with long wavy hair that reached up to his shoulder.

Amaya noted that the gaze of the middle-aged man who could be the same age as her Daddy Ibarra turned hostile.

"Grandpa, sorry for disturbing you. We did not know that you have visitors. We will come back tomorrow." Amaya said tactfully.