Inside the violently shaking chariot, Abhay stared intently at the ring Virendra had given him. He clenched his fist, a bitter thought echoing in his mind. If only I wasn't so completely useless. What exactly is wrong with my body? Why can't I cultivate like the others?
Outside, the pursuit raged on. Seven ruthless Vyadhs on horseback were closing in, while only five loyal soldiers remained to defend the carriage.
Suddenly, one of the hunters swung a heavy iron bola above his head and hurled it with brutal force. The spiked metal weights smashed directly into the chariot's wooden wheel. With a deafening crack, the wheel shattered. The chariot instantly lost its balance, swerving wildly before violently overturning.
The charioteer was thrown from his seat. Caught off guard by the violent jerk, he tumbled down the steep, rocky slope bordering the path, badly wounded but still breathing.
Inside the tumbling cabin, Abhay was thrown like a ragdoll. He slammed hard against the wooden interior, sustaining painful injuries to his neck and back as the chariot finally crashed to a halt.
Gasping for air, Abhay dragged himself toward the shattered front hatch, desperately banging on the wood. "Driver! Are you okay?!" he shouted, completely unaware that the man had been thrown down the ravine.
Barely half a second after Abhay called out, a gauntleted fist smashed through the carriage window. A royal soldier violently tore the remaining wood away, grabbed Abhay by his black cloak, and hauled him out of the wreckage. Without missing a beat, the soldier hoisted Abhay onto the front of his horse. Instantly, four of the surviving guards spurred their mounts, fleeing deeper into the dense forest.
The time between the brutal crash and their escape into the treeline was incredibly short, mere seconds in reality. But to Abhay, with his heart pounding in his ears, it felt like an eternity.
Seeing the royal guards dive into the forest, the seven Vyadhs immediately gave chase.
Abhay hadn't even had a moment to process the crash. His head was spinning wildly, his vision blurring from the whiplash.
Sensing the trembling figure sitting in front of him, the soldier wrapped a protective arm around Abhay. "Do not worry, child. We won't let anything happen to you," the guard reassured him, fully believing he was speaking to the terrified Princess hidden beneath the cloak.
Hearing those words, a sliver of peace settled over Abhay's racing heart. "Thank you so much... thank you for giving me hope," he replied softly.
"Just hold tightly onto the front of the saddle," the soldier instructed, keeping his eyes locked on the dark path ahead.
The four guards rode hard until they reached a treacherous, rocky incline deep within the ancient woods. The dense, thorny brush and jagged stones made it nearly impossible for the horses to advance.
The squad leader riding behind Abhay called out to the others, his voice tight with urgency. "Halt! Our mounts cannot navigate this terrain. We must leave the horses here!"
Following the command without hesitation, the three other soldiers immediately dismounted.
The soldier carrying Abhay carefully climbed down first, then gently reached up to help the black-cloaked boy slide off the saddle. "Come. We have to move forward on foot," the guard said.
Leaving their exhausted beasts behind, the four soldiers and Abhay plunged into the pitch-black abyss of the thorny, rocky mountain jungle, quickly disappearing into the shadows.
Not long after, the seven pursuing Vyadhs arrived at the dead end, spotting the abandoned royal horses breathing heavily in the dark.
The lead hunter pulled back his reins and barked an order to his men. "Dismount, quickly! We must capture our prey. The Princess cannot escape us!"
Drawing their blades, the seven Vyadhs abandoned their horses and plunged into the jagged, thorny brush, hunting the soldiers on foot.