<h4>Chapter 273 Runaways</h4>


    Tori waited impatiently for Karl to finishmunicating with his pets for a few minutes, before she realized that he had forgotten about informing the rest of them about what was going on.


    "Care to fill the rest of us in on the details?" She asked quietly, frustrated, but not eager to insult Karl.


    "Hawk found them and he''s tracking them. I''ve got him eliminating a few groups along their escape path, so they don''t get intercepted before they can make it to the empty valley. After that, they should be fine until they realize that the south pass is barricaded by the Frost Giants, and they''ll have to go over the mountains.


    The cleric will catch up with them soon, he''s pacing himself, and the mages are nearly exhausted again." Karl exined as he listened to the updates from Hawk''s side.


    Tori shook her head in dismay. "What are they thinking? We signed up through the army for a deployment. If theye running back without the rest of their group, they''re going to have to exin what happened. Or maybe they''re expecting us all to die out here behind the lines?"


    The words seemed to cause a revtion as they left her mouth. They were behind the enemy lines. Everything around them could be considered hostile, and nobody would being to help. Hitting the supply lines would provoke a response from the hungry Frost Giants, and there were only six of them now.


    Even if the others were pretty useless, they still wanted to stay alive, and they should fight for that reason alone.


    "They might think that we''re in trouble, but unless they happen to find a scout team that hasn''t retreated yet, they''ll be the ones with issues very soon. It gets incredibly cold in that valley, and they''re going to need shelter. If they''re not smart enough to scout for a cave before dark, they''re in for a rough night, and a fire will attract giants." Karl assured her.


    Tori looked confused. "How do you keep warm, then?"


    Karlughed, and Dana patted her on the shoulder. "We start a fire. Well, a magical one. We''ve got a good night watch schedule, so we''re unlikely to get ambushed."


    "Speaking of ambushed, should we go see if anything has found our present while Hawk takes care of the lost mages?" Lotus suggested.


    "That''s not a bad idea. They should have multiple convoysing down the road, and we can stock up today. I will radio in about the situation, and then we will move back to the road." Karl agreed.


    [Region Command, this is team 95988, we have obtained 1 additional Ascended member from team 62345. Other members of 62345 are headed south through the secondary valley.


    We have eliminated the Special Forces Team, plus one food supply convoy. Positioning for continued hunts.] Karl informed them.


    [Understood 95988. Your increased member count is noted.]


    Tori looked at him. "That''s it?"


    "Yep. They don''t really need to hear all the details, they''ll either get them in the debriefing, or they won''t matter at all. Knowing that we have six people, five of which are Ascended andbat capable, is enough for them to make ns and record our reports.


    Now that they know we''re here and hunting, they will n for the Giants to be short a few convoys, which will lead to some rationing after a week or so of continued attacks." Karl agreed.


    "But you don''t sound like you just want to hit a few convoys. From what I have seen of your team, you intend to keep destroying their supply lines until they go berserk and start sending teams that you can''t fight anymore." Tori pointed out.


    Lotus smiled. "She''s a quick learner. How is Hawk doing with the path clearing for the men?"


    Karl mentally checked in, and found that the High Priest had just caught up to the mages inside the valley, and he was encouraging them to get up and get southwest into the hills before dark.


    "It looks like the High Priest knows what he''s doing. They should be fine. Hawk is on his way back. Let''s get in position near the road so that we aren''t too far away to hit the next group to pass."


    Everyone who couldn''t run fast enough took up their seats on the two mounts, while Karl and Ophelia jogged through the trees.


    [I found another group. Turn left, they''re further than we expected.] Hawk instructed.


    Karl turned at the same time as the two beasts, leaving a confused Ophelia to chase him.


    "The next convoy made it further than expected. They didn''t slow for the fire. We''re going to catch them before we go back for the next one, so that the main force doesn''t get any convoys from this direction today." Karl exined.


    "Got it. How big is the group?" Ophelia asked as they ran.


    "About the same as thest one, but they''ve got some wounded, I think they were attacked by monsters." Karl exined.


    [That means they''re likely missing pigs as well.] Rae noted.


    Hawk did a quick count and gave a mental screech when he realized that the group only had seventeen instead of twenty pigs. Someone stole his pigs.


    Karlughed. [I think the rule is finders keepers. They''re not yours until you find them.]


    [Well, I''ve found them now, and there are three missing.] Hawkined, cing the me directly on the wounded guards that he could see below him.


    Ophelia gave Karl a curious look. "You''re smiling, what''s so funny?"


    "The group got attacked on the way here, and they lost three pigs. Hawk is mad at them for losing his pigs before he got there."


    The Berserker burst intoughter as they ran. "He is a very single-minded individual. That''s alright, we will rescue the rest of them for him. He can stow them in his space and snack on them as he pleases."


    The best part was that Hawk likely wouldn''t even eat them. The pigs were massive, a giant variety, but they were only Awakened Rank for the most part, and Hawk preferred small amounts of energy dense food to keep his growth steady.


    The herd was rushing along, barely paying attention to their surroundings, when Karl''s first arrow struck and Hawk began to bombard them for losing his pigs. The herders were already exhausted from the previous battle they had been in, and couldn''t put up more than a token resistance.


    Thest of the bodies were still twitching when Rae started to strip them of their equipment, bringing efficiency to the cleanup process.


    Ophelia pointed at the pile as she shifted back from her Werebear form to human. "We''ve got two staves if anyone wants them, that seems like a mage and cleric sort of thing."


    Tessa identified them, then tossed them to Tori and Dana. "They are both for reducing spell cost, so it doesn''t matter much who takes which one. They''ve got a lot of added mana on them as well, since they are Ascended Rank staves."


    Tori looked startled as Tessa dug through the leather clothing that the Yeti had been wearing.


    "Nope, all scrap quality. Alright, we can toss this on the pile, and none of the other weapons are magical." She exined.


    The pigs were already in Hawk''s space, so the bird lit fire to the pile of bodies, starting with the trolls. That would hide most of the signs they had been here while they ran up the road to find the next group of supplies.


    Karl had no idea how many groups they were sending a day, but two didn''t seem like enough for all the Frost Giants on the main line. So, Hawk was sent back out to check up the road for the next group.


    Only, there was nothing for the next twenty kilometres. The road was clear, and the pigs weren''t fast enough that they should be further than that.


    He did find the signs of the battle that had imed the missing animals, which were already nearly stripped down by a Warbear and her cubs. Now that he knew what had done it, Hawk wasn''t mad anymore. He instinctively liked the species, and didn''t begrudge them a good meal.


    "Alright, Hawk says there are no more groups nearby. Let''s find a good spot for the night, and get settled in. We can hunt more supply convoys tomorrow." Karl announced.