Chapter 113: Troublesome Students

The soldiers quickly split into pairs and began searching the surrounding area.

Ethan remained where he was.

He already had an idea of what had happened to Adrian.

When they first discovered the beastfolk, Adrian had been following the archer through the trees. But after discovering that more beastfolk were gathered deeper inside the forest, he had probably sneaked away.

As expected, that fellow couldn’t resist going after them.

Ethan quietly summoned several Shadow Wraiths and sent them into the forest to search for Adrian.

He remained with the others, waiting for their reports. He didn’t want Roderick or the soldiers to find Adrian before he did. There was no need to explain how he intended to locate him.

It didn’t take long before one of the Shadow Wraiths found him.

Adrian was hiding behind a large tree, watching four Laughing Fiends some distance away from the main group.

He had already taken the rifle from his back and was preparing to attack.

Adrian kept his rifle aimed at the four Laughing Fiends.

His target was the one acting as a lookout. It was standing a short distance away from the others, occasionally checking its surroundings.

Adrian pulled the trigger.

A quiet gunshot sounded, and the Laughing Fiend fell to the ground.

The other three didn’t seem to notice anything. They were still busy with their own activities.

Adrian quickly shifted his aim towards the two sitting together and fired twice.

Both of them fell to the ground before they could react.

The last Laughing Fiend finally noticed something was wrong. It quickly stood up and turned towards its companions. It was about to shout when another quiet gunshot rang out.

It fell to the ground as well.

In just a few seconds, all four Laughing Fiends had been killed.

Adrian lowered his rifle and turned his head towards the direction of the Shadow Wraith Ethan had sent.

He didn’t say anything. He simply strapped his rifle back onto his back and left the area, heading towards the patrol group.

Ethan recalled the Shadow Wraith and turned his attention back to the others.

It didn’t take long before one of the soldiers spotted someone coming out from between the trees.

"Someone’s coming!"

The others quickly turned in that direction. A moment later, they saw Adrian walking towards them with his rifle strapped to his back.

Lydia let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. We thought something had happened to you. I was worried some beastfolk might have found you."

Adrian didn’t say anything immediately.

Roderick walked towards him with a serious expression.

"Where have you been? Didn’t you hear my order to retreat?"

"I got separated from the archer while we were moving through the trees," Adrian replied. "By the time I noticed, I couldn’t find the way back."

Roderick stared at him for a moment.

"What a stupid excuse. You couldn’t find your way back, so you decided to wander around the forest alone?"

Adrian remained silent.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this place is? We don’t even know how many beastfolk are hiding around here. If you had run into them, do you think you could have handled it alone?"

Gareth and Kael were watching Adrian, seemingly waiting for him to give a proper explanation. The other students also looked worried, especially after hearing Roderick’s words.

Ethan finally spoke.

"Maybe he got a little lost while following the trail. At least he’s back now, and nothing happened to him."

Roderick glanced at Ethan.

"That’s not the point. Everyone was supposed to return when I gave the order. I can’t have someone deciding to do whatever they want during a patrol."

He looked at Adrian again.

"I’ll report this to the commander when we get back. He can decide what to do with you. If you can’t follow orders, then perhaps you should be assigned to another station or placed under a different group."

Adrian didn’t argue.

Roderick took a deep breath before turning towards the others.

"Enough. We have wasted enough time here. Everyone, get ready. We’re returning to Ironhaven."

The soldiers quickly gathered their belongings and made sure everyone was present. After that, they followed Roderick out of the forest and began their journey back to Ironhaven.

After leaving the forest, the group returned to Ironhaven and went their separate ways.

Roderick, however, didn’t return to his usual duties. He headed straight to the commander’s office to report what had happened during the patrol.

Several minutes later, Roderick arrived at the commander’s office.

The commander was sitting behind his desk when Roderick entered. He listened as Roderick explained what had happened during the patrol.

After hearing everything, the commander slammed his fist against the table.

"Are you people trying to give me a headache? It’s not even been a full day since those students arrived, and you’re already causing trouble!"

Roderick stood quietly in front of him.

The commander shook his head.

"It’s only been a few hours, and one of them is already ignoring orders. What am I supposed to do with these students?"

"Commander, I don’t want to punish anyone, but I don’t think I can continue leading this group."

The commander raised his head.

"What do you mean?"

"I’d like you to assign them to another patrol team. I don’t mind working with inexperienced students, but I can’t have people ignoring my orders during a patrol. It puts everyone at risk."

The commander didn’t answer immediately.

He had only just finished assigning the students to the different patrol teams, and now he was being asked to change the arrangement.

After a while, he sighed.

"Alright, I’ll find another team for them. But until then, you’ll have to continue looking after them."

"Understood."

"Actually, I already have a team in mind for them. I’ll speak with their leader and make the arrangements."

Roderick nodded.

"Good. Now get out of here before you give me another headache."

Roderick gave a small salute and left the office