Duke darted through the forest like a phantom.
He did not let down his guard. Traveling close to villages and towns could reduce the chances of encountering powerful monsters, but he might also run into the local defenses of Turus Territory.
Sure enough, Duke, who was moving swiftly through the forest, caught sight of several rapidly moving figures.
They wore uniform leather armor and carried spears or bows. Their movements showed the practiced coordination of a trained force as they fanned out to encircle Duke.
Judging by their speed, they were clearly not ordinary people. They had to be Awakened, and two of them possessed the particularly powerful auras of Level 1 Awakened.
"How did they find me?" Duke wondered.
He had kept a low profile the entire way and had never released any powerful energy fluctuations. He had dealt with those monsters using yellow sand, causing almost no commotion.
Yet judging by these people's movements, they had clearly discovered him and were now closing in around him.
"A patrol from Turus Territory." Duke made the judgment instantly.
He stopped walking and did not rush to flee or strike first.
Gray Rat had told him before he came that he might encounter patrols from Turus Territory along the way, and that he would inevitably be questioned if he did.
But they were all Level 1 Awakened. As long as the patrol had no direct evidence proving that someone was a wanted criminal or anything of the sort, they generally would not resort to violence.
After all, it was perfectly normal for Awakened to hunt monsters or train in the mountains and forests. Patrols generally would not make things too difficult for them.
More importantly, they did not want to fight Level 1 Awakened. If a real fight broke out, they