Insect Tamer's Ascension
Chapter 152 - 152: Who are they?

Theo did not make any sudden moves. It had happened so fast that his mind was still processing that someone had sneaked up on him.

Yet when he heard the voice, Theo felt it a lot more familiar. When he side-eyed Elias, who was looking at the suspicious person, it became the last piece of information that he needed.

Theo nodded, and the big, cold armoured hand went back slowly. When he looked back, Theo only sighed.

"It is you, Sir Knight," Theo stated in a slight whisper, and Rhys nodded without even looking at him.

There was this sharpness on his face which was unexpected. Theo gazed at Elias once, who was as confused as him.

"Young master, make your beast retreat," he spoke in a slight whisper with a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Theo was confused, yet he didn't ask for an explanation. He called the mantis back with a single mental command.

When Theo got a positive sign from his bond, he showed a hand gesture that told everyone the work was done.

Rhys nodded again before he moved his face closer to them both and muttered, "A group of tamers is approaching this area. I advise you to retreat right now," he said.

Theo became even more confused. A group was approaching this deep in the forest's outskirts?

From the main entrance of the Whispering Forest, the territory they were in was almost an hour's walk. And there was no road other than the one that came from the Barony for this part.

Theo thought about it all and heard a high-pitched roar from the clearing. The boar was not paralyzed anymore.

The boar frantically looked everywhere with its one working eye, yet for some egoistic reason or another, it still didn't run like the others.

"Attendant, tell your beast to take you up this tree quickly, we will be leaving too. There is no time," Rhys spoke, and when he saw the mantis climbing up a big strand of grass toward Theo's shoulder, he waited for a moment. And when the mantis was finally on Theo's shoulder, he grabbed Theo by the waist and pulled him up.

Theo didn't know what to do right now, so he let the man carry him around his one arm.

Elias looked at him, dumbstruck. He saw Rhys crouch down on the ground, and he understood right away. He quickly gave a mental command to the ape, who crouched down for Elias to get on.

SWISHHH

With one little motion, Theo saw the scenery become a blur in front of him. Rhys had jumped up, and it was so fast that Theo felt a slight pressure on his neck as if someone was trying to force it down. The wings were a lot more aggressive.

Soon, the blur in front of the eyes stopped slowly until it halted completely. Theo first looked down to see how far they had come.

The ground was so far down that he knew for a fact that if he fell right now and didn't grab a branch to stop, he would not just break a few bones in his body but plummet to his death.

He was surprised by that jump, but he had experienced something like this with his brother once, though it was nothing compared to this height.

He grabbed Rhys's arm tightly, and for some reason, it felt safe to stay like this even though his legs were hovering. Rhys's arms were like stone pillars—they were rough and felt unbreaking to the touch.

Finally, a second later, Theo looked up at Rhys, who had grabbed a big lump coming out of the trunk with his other arm.

He was looking down at the clearing that was visible fully from there, though the boar looked a lot smaller and weaker.

"Can we talk now, Sir Knight?" Theo asked while looking at the mantis, who had made its way toward his chest pocket. For it, the pocket was one of the safest places.

"Just a moment," Rhys muttered and pulled his body up with a single hand and moved his long leg up at the closest branch.

He pulled it forward to the point that his knee was at the branch now, and with a very awkward posture, he left his grip on the bump on the trunk and pulled his body toward the branch with his knee latched onto it.

Theo was dumbfounded, looking at the core strength of Rhys. What he just witnessed didn't seem possible if he hadn't looked at it.

In a few seconds of adjusting, Theo and Rhys were crouched on a very thick branch of the tree.

"Now that I notice… this branch is a lot wider than I thought…" Theo spoke with curious eyes.

The branch had a walking area of two steps in all directions. But still, Theo sat down with criss-crossed legs to be extra sure of not falling.

Rhys was still looking down. The ape and Elias were still on their way of getting up to them—they were almost halfway there.

"A group of unknown tamers has entered this part of the forest, and they are coming to this area right away… as if tracking it," Rhys spoke while looking at Theo. This time, his face was getting sleepy again by the second.

"What's the problem with that? I have seen quite a few tamers come here before. It's rare, but it still happens. Why can't I meet them?" Theo asked with curiosity.

He considered the fact that the ones he met before were from the time the knight didn't follow him around. But now that he did, Theo could tell that it may be because he is not allowed to meet others till the age of ten.

"They are most likely bad news," Rhys spoke and pointed at a farther location, "See that cage they are carrying? It might just be for capturing you, young master," he stated, making Theo's eyes wide.

He got up quickly and looked at the location. "Capture me?"