The moment Pita untied the ropes binding Liko and Igor in the cave, Mayor Babasha was perturbed in the Gaga County County Administrative Office some hundred miles away.
The changes last night came so suddenly that Mayor Babasha had no time to react or comprehend what exactly had transpired.
Rostellum's spacious office was a mess. The pristine white walls were pockmarked with several holes, the cedarwood desk had a corner smashed in, and the sofa was the most disastrous sight. The bear or deer hide Rostellum adored was punctured with countless holes...
What baffled Mayor Babasha the most was the utter helplessness of Governor Rostov's League Guards. All four of them were injured, and even Goding suffered an arm injury.
No wonder they lost the young master...
Estev was also injured, although it was just a scrape near the corner of his eye; this was trivial compared to Goding and his men's ordeal.
Goding vented his anger on Rostellum. Enduring the pain, he yelled about how the County Administrative Office was useless and incapable of even capturing intruders, questioning the rationale for employing so many individuals.
Babasha hadn't expected Rostellum to dare to retort under such circumstances. However, on reflection, Rostellum's grief could be rationalized. This fellow was known to prioritize money over people; the current state of the office must have cost Rostellum a fortune.
Mayor Babasha's shock eased slightly due to Rostellum's retort toward Guard Goding.
He had had enough of Guard Goding's insults these days. The scoundrel seemed to be all bark and no bite, apart from his yelling.
"My guards can't even get into the Court of Guards! If they could capture an invader, they should have been promoted to be League Guards directly under the Government Administrative Office!"
These words hit Goding like a heavy punch, leaving his face red as he gasped for breath.
Babasha looked at his deputy Court Chief. The old man was leisurely cleaning his pipe, appearing nonchalant, as though last night's events had nothing to do with him.
Mayor Babasha walked over and patted Estev's shoulder. "You formulated the plan," he said, "now explain to Lord Goding what the next step should be."
Estev squinted his small eyes. "That guy is a High Rank Hunter."
These words provided Goding with a way to save face; losing to a High Rank Hunter wasn't a disgrace.
"My plan failed, but we also learned the opponent's strength. We don't stand a chance of winning."
"What should we do then?" Mayor Babasha asked immediately.
"Find the young master before the Hunter does, or formulate an escape plan."
"Isn't that obvious?" Goding was slightly annoyed.
Estev shrugged his shoulders.
The awkward situation didn't last long. The Mail Bird System in the Gaga County Administrative Office broke the silence. When Rostellum received the message brought by the Mail Bird, his foul mood from his financial losses only improved marginally.
The message from Crow indicated that the dim-witted fellow had been captured by Black Mountain on Guru Mountain.
Then, a listless Rostellum conveyed the next step prescribed in the message, "Looks like we genuinely need to formulate an escape plan."
Meanwhile, in a unique cave at Guru Mountain's Dawn Peak, three people were also discussing an escape plan.
Pita said, "After careful calculations, the most feasible plan is to use the water channel in the cave."
"Huh?" Liko was bewildered. "Why not simply storm out? I just wasn't paying attention before. Now that I'm prepared, I'm certainly not afraid of them."
Liko tried to rush outside the cave, but thankfully Igor held him back in time.
"The Spirit Book stated that the pool of living water leads to the Guru River outside," Igor explained. "But if we escape through there, we'll essentially be descending the mountain, and I've only just begun to climb… This result, Senior Pita, isn't pleasant at all." Indeed, this felt like a roast chicken, just about to be eaten, had suddenly fallen to the ground.
"But apart from this method, there isn't any other suitable escape plan, is there?" Pita asked.
"So you've spent half a day in this cave, and this is the only plan you've come up with?" Liko expressed serious dissatisfaction towards Pita.
"Of course, there's a second option," Pita retorted. "We wait, wait indefinitely, until the gang outside either leaves or dozes off..."
"What you're saying makes no more sense than a fart."
Seeing that Liko and Pita were about to argue, Igor quickly stepped forward to interrupt, "Elders, if we continue to argue, we'll be no different from those people outside."
Liko and Pita both set aside their doubts, each sitting to one side in silence.
The fighting and shouting outside the cave continued without a break.
"They're after me," Igor said. "I believe there must be a misunderstanding. I think I should go out, surrender, and explain..."
"Young Igor, you're as simple-minded as my fist is strong. These rough men definitely won't listen to your explanations," Liko shook his head.
"Let's reconsider other plans..." Pita suggested.
Igor also fell into deep thought.
Liko paced back and forth in the cave. If only we knew the Stealth Ability...
"What if we create a decoy?" Igor asked, seeming to have suddenly caught on.
Pita leaned in, curious about Igor's idea.
"My idea is simple: create a decoy to draw away the people outside," Igor said. "Then we can take advantage of the chaos to escape." As he spoke the word 'escape,' Igor's heart sank again. When would he finally be able to stop running?
"But what is this decoy?" Pita asked.
"If only we could conjure a second Igor and throw him out, those people outside would definitely swarm him..." Liko's imagination was quite rich.
And this second Igor Liko spoke of had indeed appeared at the foot of Guru Mountain.
This person, calling himself Igor, was clutching several books, appearing like a gentle and impoverished bookworm.
This second Igor, like the one on the mountain, was also asking villagers and Treasure Hunters about the monsters and Guru Mountain.
The villagers of Guru Village had just answered the same questions a few days ago and vaguely remembered a young man named Igor.
"Ah, you've returned from the mountain so quickly?" The villagers soon connected their vague memories. The young man inquiring about the monster was named Igor. He had lost a lot of weight after only a few days on the mountain, though his face seemed to have grown chubbier.
The old lady sweeping then told the grocery shopkeeper that the strange young fellow asking about the monster was back.
The grocery shop owner passed the message to the tavern owner, who spread the news as if selling wine. Before long, the Crows at the foot of the mountain were spreading another message: the New Fool was prowling around.
Various forces were stirring, quietly following this second Igor, eager to take a bite at any moment.
But this Igor, clutching his books, walked into a tavern that none of the current forces dared to provoke.
He entered Lubin Tavern.
This made everyone's mood instantly complicated.
They wanted to see the spectacle of a fool being humiliated, yet they were also worried that those strange fellows would snatch the gold bars almost in their grasp...
But the second Igor was completely unaware of this. He was stepping into the unknown...