<h4>Chapter 281 Worse Than Forecast</h4>


    Upon the tower, arrows rained down like a torrential downpour. Under this relentless barrage, the shadow duplicate wielding ironwood round shields were quickly riddled with holes. The other shadow duplicate, burdened with Sibyl''s lifeless body, was on the verge of copse.


    At that moment, Tyler appeared out of thin air behind the shadow duplicate, and after taking Sibyl''s body, vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye. The entire process took less than two seconds.


    The "now-invisible" Tyler, carrying the corpse, materialized within the woods fifteen meters away. He instructed Moto-chan to transport the body towards thebyrinth''s exit while he sprinted to the main road to draw the enemy''s attention.


    In an instant, Tyler employed the "Shadow Step" to teleport beside the shadow duplicate, then used the "Double Shadow Step" to escape with the body. This marked the first time the "Double Shadow Step" was utilized in actualbat.


    For the next 300 seconds, Tyler could not use the "Double Shadow Step" again, but that was of no concern, as he had already devised a n to shake off his pursuers.


    .


    On the road outside the Goblin Orchard, Tyler, armed only with a Shadow Sword Dragon Steed, sprinted at breakneck speed. Several hundred meters behind him, the Goblin Wolf Riders were rapidly closing in.


    In this mountainous terrain, the giant wolves, with their exceptional agility, traversed the ruggedndscape as if it were t ground.


    As Tyler ran, he periodically nced back to gauge the distance between himself and his pursuers. Simultaneously, he steadily approached the location he had previously identified for his next move.


    When the opportunity arose, Tyler hurled a smoke bomb and charged into the ensuing cloud of smoke.


    The sudden appearance of the white smoke forced the pursuing Goblin Wolf Riders to slow down. However, the Wolf Rider Captain quickly barked an order, dispelling the panic among his troops and leading them into the smoke.


    Once inside, the Captain continued to gallop for a few steps before realizing something was amiss and ordered a halt.


    Unbeknownst to them, a cliffy just beyond the smoke.


    Had the Wolf Rider Captain not been familiar with the surrounding terrain, many of his riders might have plunged to their doom.


    The question now was: where had the human gone?


    Under the Captain''smand, the Goblins dismounted and searched for any trace of the human, while the giant wolves sniffed the ground for his scent.


    Despite their efforts, they found no sign of the human youth, who seemed to have vanished into the smoke as if by magic. All clues ended here.


    "Cunning scoundrel... If I see him again, I''ll tear him to shreds!" (Goblinnguage)


    The Wolf Rider Captain cursed vehemently before spitting and leading his troops back to the Orchard camp.


    Not far from the Goblin Wolf Riders, on a nearby hillside, Tyler observed their search efforts through the binocle. Only after they had retreated did he set off to rendezvous with Moto-chan.


    Thebination of the smoke bomb and the Shadow Step, coupled with theplex terrain, made for an ideal escape.


    Tyler had to admit that Ice Polestar Sheryl had a keen eye for talent. While his prowess in directbat was debatable, his ability to escape was second to none.


    .


    Half an hourter, Tyler sessfully rendezvoused with Moto-chan.


    Upon their meeting, he witnessed Moto-chan trampling a wild wolf to death, marveling at the force of the blow, which he estimated to be even more powerful than his own punch.


    Subsequently, Tyler removed the corpse of Sibyl from Moto-chan''s back. After a thorough search, he discovered two bottles of potent magic potions and a roll of parchment on Sibyl''s body.


    Tyler drank one of the magic potions and unrolled the parchment, which read:


    ━━━━━━━━━


    Mission One: Eliminate the convicts entering from the entrances of Delis Town;


    Mission Two: Ensure the safety of Viviana Scarlet.


    ━━━━━━━━━


    (Indeed, those convicts were sent in to be killed.)


    (But why would the Scarlet Family want to eliminate the other two teams?)


    (Protecting Viviana is understandable, but is it necessary to list it as a separate mission?)


    Tyler had a vague feeling that these two missions were hinting at the "phases" of thisbyrinth expedition.


    The Scarlet Family''s first phase was to eliminate the other two teams, and the second phase was to protect Viviana... It seemed that as long as Viviana was safe, they could achieve some goal.


    (There are too few clues; I can only guess.)


    Tyler sighed silently, realizing that he was still far from uncovering the truth.


    Although Sibyl was a member of the Scarlet Family''s operation, her status was too low. Even if he had been captured alive, Tyler doubted he could have learned much from him.


    To uncover the truth behind the Scarlet Family''s actions, he needed to approach someone of higher status.


    (Would Viviana know the truth about this operation...?)


    Recalling the silver-haired girl with extraordinary abilities but a pure heart, Tyler felt that Viviana might also be unaware of the Scarlet Family''s ns.


    If it were the Viviana he knew, she would never participate in such a scheme.


    "Moto-chan, given the current situation, we can only venture deeper into thebyrinth. Why don''t you leave thebyrinth entrance first?"


    Tyler intended to embark on the adventure alone, but Moto-chan did not ept his suggestion. Instead, the warhorse took the lead, heading deeper into thebyrinth.


    With its actions, Moto-chan conveyed to Tyler that a warhorse would never flee the battlefield.


    .


    At the same time, in the Temple of Myriad Demons within the Abyssal Empire, Heavenly Ghost and Earthly Ghost were synchronizing their progress.


    "Earthly Ghost, it seems your ''ultimatebatant'' is still a step behind."


    Heavenly Ghost informed Earthly Ghost that, over half an hour ago, his informant had seen Banning enter the "Labyrinth: Aqua Nest." Consequently, he had immediately dispatched a swift swallow carrying the "Liberation Stone" to enter thebyrinth at the fastest speed possible.


    "Now, people in thebyrinth must be wondering why the demons'' strength has suddenly increased by a tier, huh? Hahaha!"


    Heavenly Ghostughed heartily while feeling the pain of spending his entire fortune. It was a surreal experience.


    Earthly Ghost patted Heavenly Ghost''s shoulder, expressing respect for his loyalty to the Eternal Winter Lord.


    In addition, Earthly Ghost had news to share with Heavenly Ghost, though he was unsure whether it was good or bad.


    "Heavenly Ghost, my ''most powerfulbatant'' agreed to the task of hunting Banning, but his temper is difficult to control... He''ll be in Delis Town soon, and I suspect that if he can''t find Banning, he might go on a killing spree there."


    Heavenly Ghost showed no reaction to this news. In his view, as long as thebatant obediently waited in Delis Town for Banning to emerge from thebyrinth, there would be no problem. As for how many people he killed, that was up to his discretion.


    Of course, the best oue would be for Banning to die within thebyrinth, which was what Heavenly Ghost truly desired.