The pursuers led by Stephen, Bonnet and Reigns quickly arrived outside the valley where the lake was located, following the faint horse hoof prints on the snow.

For fear of missing the girl, and on the advice of the bounty hunter, everyone decided to split up and surround her from both sides of the lake.

Bonnet and Riens led half of the men and horses towards the left bank of the lake, and soon disappeared into the black forest.

"Okay, it's time for us to set off."

However, when "Gray Owl" finished speaking, he immediately realized something was wrong.

As soon as he turned his horse's head, he saw several of his men standing motionless, with no intention of setting off.

Among them, the female psionicist who had indirectly awakened the magic power in Ciri in Unicorn Village said with an indifferent expression:

"Mr. Coroner, we wanted to go with you, but now we have to go back. We have had enough."

"We? Who are we? What is this, a rebellion?" The most loyal subordinate beside Stephen shouted loudly.

"You are destroying your future and wasting a once-in-a-century opportunity. More importantly, you will be sent to the gallows, along with these fools who listened to you." Stephen said sternly with a serious expression.

"Those who are destined to go to the gallows will not drown." The female psychic said calmly: "You shouldn't threaten us with the executioner, because you don't know who is closer to the gallows, you or us..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a strong man standing behind the "Gray Forest Owl" suddenly kicked the horse in the belly and drove the horse out:

"Wait! I'll go with you! I've had enough! I dreamed of dying tragically last night. I don't want to lose my life for this despicable and suspicious mission."

Looking at the number of people on the other side, the "Gray Forest Owl" had to give up the idea of ​​purging the traitors. He just stared at those fearful eyes and said viciously:

"Very good. You have chosen your own path. There is no need for me to continue wasting my words. However, we will meet again. I want you to promise..."

"Maybe on the same gallows, or in hell, who knows..."

After saying these words, the female psionicist and three other companions drove their horses away from this frost-covered area...

...

The two teams met at the lakeside in the valley.

Seeing another team that was missing a few people, Bonnet and Riens were obviously very dissatisfied with the management methods of the Empire's chief coroner.

Even so, they could only temporarily leave those few cowards who escaped from the battle and continue their primary mission - to hunt down Ciri.

The valley was filled with thick fog, but it did not affect their understanding of the terrain in the valley.

Because, before that, Wilgefortz had asked them to find this lake in advance, and had carefully described the lake's information to them in advance.

Tarn Mira is the name of the lake. The lake looks very narrow, like a slightly curved crescent shape.

"The place we are standing at is the southern end of the lake. If the wizard is not mistaken, the magic tower should be at the northern end." After a pause, the cautious bounty hunter couldn't help but look at the tracking expert ahead and reminded:

"Polyas, watch the trail! Don't lose it,"

“The traces are very clear and new! Leading directly to the lake!”

The moment he tentatively stepped on the ice on horseback, the ice cracked instantly, and long cracks spread out radioactively, which was extremely scary.

"Dismount! The ice is too thin!"

After several of his men personally experienced the feeling of falling into the water, Stephen had no choice but to give the order for everyone to dismount and pursue on foot.

The ice surface was smooth and transparent, and when they lowered their heads, they could even vaguely see the bass swimming freely under the ice surface, as well as the swaying aquatic plants.

In the dense fog that made them unable to see their fingers, the only clues they could pursue were the footprints on the ice.

"Found her!"

The tracking expert who was walking at the front suddenly shouted: "She did not choose the lakeshore or the forest, but went straight to the middle of the lake! Ha, she is not as smart as she looks..."

"According to the owner, walking through the middle of the lake is a shortcut to the Magic Tower. She also knows this." While muttering, Riens did not forget to ask: "How much faster is she than us?"

The hunter knelt down on the ice, leaned over and looked at the footprints on the ice for a while, and then estimated:

"Half an hour, not more. The footprints are very clear. But on this slippery ice surface, it is impossible to move quickly. She is at most half a mile ahead of us!"

Hearing this, the bounty hunter seemed to have seen the scene of catching Xili again, and couldn't help but smile cruelly:

"Then what are we waiting for?!"

The closer they got to their prey, they were like drug addicts who had taken anesthetic powder. They were so excited and their blood was boiling that they didn't even notice that the fog on the lake was getting thicker and thicker...

As we continued to go deeper into the thick fog, the tracking expert who was at the forefront reacted belatedly:

"The footprints are very new! She is right in front of us, right in front of us! But why can't we see her?"

As soon as these words came out, another tracker with a keen sense also noticed something was wrong:

"Why can't we hear her voice? We all make noise when we step on ice and snow! But why can't we hear a single movement from her?!"

"She is in this thick fog... but we can't see her, and we don't know from which direction she will attack..." There was obviously a layer of fear in the slightly trembling voice.

The tracking master who was walking at the front pulled out his long sword with a clang.

"Damn it! Stop talking nonsense!"

Although "Gray Owl" Stephen yelled angrily in time, the fear of the unknown spread quickly like a sudden outbreak of plague.

The others drew their weapons one after another and stood beside their companions out of instinct.

Seeing this, Riens, whose face was covered in burns, immediately cursed angrily: "She's not a ghost! She's just a little girl, a girl who doesn't even know magic! There are ten of us, what are you afraid of!"

While guarding against attacks that might appear at any time in the thick fog, the tense pursuers tried to keep their steps as light as possible to avoid falling under the suddenly cracked ice.

During this period, Bonnet proposed to go back alone to lead the horse, and asked everyone to form a fan-shaped formation and continue moving forward.

Although they were not satisfied with the bounty hunter's decision, the group of people still followed the advice obediently in order to prevent the ice beneath their feet from bearing too much weight.

Following the footprints, the pursuers got closer to the center of the lake.

At this moment, the sensitive tracking expert in the team frowned and suddenly stopped, "Don't move! Did you hear it? What's the sound?"

"I didn't hear anything."

"I heard... a swishing sound, like the sound of friction on the ice... It should have come from the left, from our side."

"I heard it too." The Tawny Owl looked around uneasily, "But now it's quiet again, damn it. This is not good..."

"Footprints! We can still see her footprints!" Reigns said mercilessly: "Don't you have eyes? If she wants to turn or look back, the footprints will change! We will catch up with her soon.

, I can guarantee that she is here..."

At this time, Reigns's chatter stopped abruptly.

Others also gasped in unison.
Chapter completed!