Henry was right. The synergy between his talent and the Release Pearls was a perfect combination.
Suppressing his excitement, he climbed up to the first major fork of the massive white fir. The branch was over half a meter thick, with a clear path. He stood, tested the wind, and spread his arms for balance, getting a feel for the rough bark under his boots.
He took a slow, steady run-up and leaped, not from the very end of the branch, but from a point three meters back, ensuring the wood would bear his weight.
He sailed through the air, landing perfectly in the center of the three-meter-square stone platform on the other side. He had cleared a distance of over 4.5 meters with ease. For a moment, he felt an impossible lightness, like a figure from myth.
The cliffs here were over seven hundred meters high, far beyond the effective range of any rifle. The outlaws would have set their ambush on the slopes below. By crossing at the summit, he was virtually invisible.
He didn't immediately head down into the valley. Instead, he moved along the mountain's ridge for half a mile, toward the Denver side of the gulch. He would come at them from their rear, where their defenses would be weakest.
After a dozen minutes, he began his descent, his sharp eyes and LV 3 Tracking skill scanning for any sign of disturbance. Every footstep leaves a trace. From his high vantage point, he quickly spotted five suspicious areas. The most obvious was a spot near the valley entrance, only thirty meters up from the road, where the undergrowth was heavily trampled. He suspected it was where they were keeping their horses.
He was now wearing a set of clothes he'd looted from the factory. The mottled green fabric was a surprisingly effective camouflage in the dense forest.
He was still twenty meters away when he heard a man shouting.
"Damn it all! How is my luck this bad today? And where the hell is that bastard Henry? I've lost everything waiting for him!"
Bingo, Henry thought, a grim smile on his face. He slowed his approach, moving with absolute silence.
Inside the cave, Edith, Madeline, and Richard kept their heads down, trying not to draw the attention of the enraged outlaw, Russell. The other four card players just laughed at his outburst. They were all desperados; they knew a man could snap at any moment.
Russell threw his cards down. He was done playing. The cards were against him; it was time for some other fun.
He strode over to the captives. He looked at Edith, but for some reason, he found he couldn't bring himself to touch her. Instead, he leaned in close to Madeline and sniffed her hair. She smells good. She wasn't as beautiful as the other one, but her figure was better, and he liked her pale skin.
Madeline recoiled in terror, trying to shrink behind her husband, but there was nowhere to go.
Richard felt a surge of cold dread as he saw the predatory glint in the outlaw's eyes. These men could turn from calm to violent in an instant.
"She is my wife," Richard said, his voice shaking but firm. "A noblewoman. You will be paid a ransom for her as well. Please, do not harm her."
Russell hesitated for a moment, but his blood was up. He was a bandit, not a businessman. He made a new offer.
"Hey boys," he called out to his card-playing friends with a wicked grin. "How about a little fun? The little noble girl is still a virgin, she's worth more untouched. But these other two are fair game. I'll take this one first. You can have the other one after."
He grabbed Madeline's arm and began to drag her toward the mouth of the cave. The sheer force of his grip nearly pulled her off her feet. She screamed, stumbling after him.
"You be quiet now," he snarled, "or I'll rip your hair out. Or cut your throat."
"Let her go!" Richard screamed, struggling against his bonds. "Please, let her go! We'll pay you!"
Russell ignored him. He couldn't risk roughing up his main prize; if the man had a heart attack, Frank would have his hide. Let him watch, he thought. It doesn't matter.
The four other outlaws began to draw cards to see who would get the maid, Ruth, first. The two younger guards, including Bick, watched with envious eyes. Ruth was shaking uncontrollably, her face a mask of pure despair.
Edith had never witnessed such brutality. The two young guards had been almost polite before. How could things have changed so quickly?
She snapped out of her shock. With a piercing scream, she launched herself at Russell, trying to claw him away from her cousin.
In less than half a minute, the once-quiet cave had descended into a scene of pure, demonic chaos.
At that exact moment, Henry arrived at the entrance.