Yano and the three stood there in silence, awkwardness thick in the air.
Not far away, the alarms from the Black Fang Mercenary Group's camp grew ever shriller. Chaotic footsteps and shouts were rapidly closing in.
"What are you standing around for? Run!" The most agile-looking assassin at the head of the group growled, and the three immediately took off, fleeing for their lives deeper into The Gloomy Lands.
Yano hurried after them.
"Stop!"
"The intelligence was wrong! There are four attackers, not three! Don't let them get away!" Furious mercenary shouts came from behind.
Yano's heart skipped a beat. How had he become an accomplice?
Sure, he had considered raiding the warehouse, but hadn't he failed to get the chance to act?
"Boss, this situation seems pretty bad!" Yano wailed inwardly as he ran for his life.
"Just follow them. You're all stone people anyway, so you'll blend right in without a trace."
Chen Yu lay inside the lining of Yano's leather armor, feeling the jolting motion. Yet his mental waves were as relaxed as if he were on vacation.
Yano: "..."
He was utterly speechless.
The lead assassin, Lyon, glanced back at Yano with a deeply furrowed brow. Apparently feeling that Yano's speed was dragging down the group, he gave his companions on either side a look.
The other two instantly understood.
They had to bring this unknown stonekin along. If Black Fang captured him now, the stonekin attack on the warehouse would be completely exposed.
Ella, the slimmest and lightest of the three, moving like a nimble wildcat, immediately approached Yano and barked, "Don't resist!"
She clamped a hand around Yano's wrist. The next instant, Yano felt as though the surrounding shadows had come alive, a dense black curtain enveloping all four of them.
[Shadow Glide]
The