[The gentle sunlight of morning]
[The sounds of people moving through the camp]
[The distant barking of dogs]
Arjun felt something different about the camp that morning.
Until now, the place had seemed like a world of noise, hunger, and constant pressure.
But today, something had changed in the air.
People were speaking less.
Yet their eyes were filled with curiosity.
Some kept glancing toward the direction where smoke had been seen rising the previous night.
Others whispered among themselves.
And some…
fell silent whenever Arjun walked past them.
He noticed it immediately.
Something had changed.
When Arjun stepped out of his small shelter, Aarav was already waiting for him.
There was both excitement and concern on his face.
“Did you hear?” he asked in a low voice.
Arjun calmly looked at him.
“Hear what?”
Aarav glanced around before lowering his voice even further.
“Squad Bloodshadow didn’t come back.”
Arjun’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He knew the news would spread quickly.
Even so, hearing it did not surprise him.
The battle from the previous night.
The red mist.
The mysterious presence wearing the red shoes.
None of it had been anything like an ordinary rescue mission.
“What are people saying?” Arjun asked.
Aarav shrugged.
“No one knows anything for certain yet.”
“But the rumors are spreading fast.”
“Some people are saying that the entire Bloodshadow squad was wiped out in the Blighted Lands.”
Arjun said nothing.
At that moment, a different kind of disturbance rose from within the camp.
Dust could be seen swirling near the outer section.
Several people were hurrying toward the healer’s tent.
Arjun turned his head.
Then he saw Veerbhadra’s group emerging from that direction.
And in the middle of them—
Veerbhadra himself was being supported by two people.
His condition made it obvious that he was exhausted.
His face had become pale.
His body was slightly bent.
His breathing was heavy.
But his eyes were still open.
He was conscious.
He was alive.
Arjun immediately moved closer.
A greenish color had begun spreading along the edge of Veerbhadra’s robe.
The corruption was still flowing through his body.
Aarav said,
“They’re taking him to the healer.”
[The sound of the tent cloth being pulled aside]
The three of them, along with several others, reached the large white tent.
It was the most frequently used medical tent in the camp.
Guards stood outside.
Inside, the sharp smell of medicine filled the air.
A wounded man was groaning somewhere within.
[A painful groan]
Arjun looked inside.
An elderly healer with steady hands and extremely alert eyes had already laid Veerbhadra down.
He checked Veerbhadra’s pulse while preparing several white pills and a small green liquid.
“Put him here,” the healer ordered.
Two people carefully lowered Veerbhadra onto the bed.
The healer examined his skin.
Then his eyes lifted.
“The mutagen has gone deep.”
Arjun silently memorized the word.
Mutagen.
The healer took out a white pill and placed it in Veerbhadra’s mouth.
Then he applied a pale-colored liquid to his lips.
Veerbhadra tried to open his eyes.
The first person he saw was Arjun.
For several moments, neither of them spoke.
Then Veerbhadra whispered weakly,
“You…”
“You came?”
Arjun nodded.
“Yes.”
A faint smile appeared on Veerbhadra’s lips.
It was so small that no one else would have noticed.
The healer immediately interrupted.
“Don’t make him talk.”
“He needs rest.”
Then he turned toward Arjun.
“Who are you?”
Without hesitation, Arjun answered,
“I was with him.”
The healer studied him from head to toe.
“Your eyes aren’t normal.”
Arjun remained silent.
The healer tried to read his reaction.
But Arjun’s face held the same calm, almost innocent expression that had gradually become his permanent mask.
Just then, the whispers outside the tent grew louder.
[The low murmur of a crowd]
One of the guards looked outside before quickly returning.
“A crowd is gathering,” he said.
“They want to know what happened to Bloodshadow.”
Arjun heard the words but said nothing.
The healer spoke seriously.
“There is no need to say anything right now.”
“Rumors will find their own paths.”
Aarav leaned toward Arjun and whispered,
“If the truth comes out, this could have a major impact on the camp.”
Arjun replied very quietly,
“Do we even know the whole truth yet?”
Aarav looked at him.
For the first time, he understood something about Arjun.
Arjun did not simply accept what he saw.
He broke everything down.
Examined it.
Then pieced it back together in his own way.
After some time, Veerbhadra was moved into a rear resting area.
A temporary bed was prepared for him.
The healer explained that several hours of rest and medicine should stabilize his condition, but removing the corruption completely would take time.
Arjun stepped outside.
The camp was still awake.
But the fear buried within it was slowly transforming into respect.
People were looking at Arjun.
They no longer saw him as merely “the new boy.”
One man whispered to another,
“Is that the boy who returned with Veerbhadra?”
The other nodded.
“Yes.”
“And they say Bloodshadow disappeared.”
“Not just disappeared,” a third person whispered.
“I heard the entire squad was destroyed.”
Arjun heard that as well.
His expression remained calm.
But one thing had become clear.
The camp was beginning to see him differently.
Aarav gave him a strange smile.
“You know…”
“People are asking about you now.”
Arjun shrugged.
“Let them ask.”
Aarav laughed.
“You really are strange.”
Arjun gave no answer.
After a while, Nandan arrived.
His eyes were still sharp as ever, but there was less intensity in his movements today.
“You two,” he said.
“If you’re free, help with the inventory.”
“The camp is going to get crowded today.”
Arjun looked at him.
“Why?”
Nandan gave a small laugh.
“When a major squad disappears, people start playing new games.”
“Some come to loot.”
“Some come to watch.”
“And some come to place their bets.”
Arjun nodded.
He was beginning to understand something about the world of the camp.
Every event created a new wave.
They returned toward the storage area.
Along the way, Arjun noticed a new expression in the eyes of many people.
Respect.
It was faint.
Careful.
But it was there.
Some people moved aside when they saw him. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Some gave him a slight nod.
Others still looked at him with suspicion.
But the contempt he had faced before was slowly disappearing.
Nandan put him to work.
Arjun lifted sacks without complaint.
He counted bags.
He fixed ropes.
His mind was still focused on Veerbhadra’s condition, but his hands never stopped working.
At one point, Aarav whispered,
“That respect is for you.”
Without stopping, Arjun replied,
“No.”
“It is for Veerbhadra.”
Aarav said nothing.
He understood.
Arjun did not treat every bit of attention as personal praise.
By midday, the news had become almost certain throughout the camp.
The name Bloodshadow was being repeated again and again.
And each time, another statement followed:
Thunderbolt Squad was now at the top.
The news did not sound ordinary to Arjun.
He knew that in a place like this, changes in rank were not merely matters of pride.
They changed security.
Food.
Assignments.
And the way other people looked at you.
And that evening, as Arjun passed through the outer section of the camp, two people quietly stepped aside.
One whispered to the other,
“Be careful.”
“He’s that Thunderbolt boy.”
Arjun didn’t look at their faces.
But he heard the words.
The Thunderbolt boy.
The name itself was not new to him.
But the camp was beginning to associate that name with him.
Later that evening, Arjun returned to the healer’s tent to check on Veerbhadra.
Several stray dogs were sitting quietly outside.
They were alert and watchful, almost as if they were standing guard over some unseen responsibility.
Arjun looked at them.
Then he glanced inside.
Veerbhadra was awake.
His eyes were open.
And his breathing was better than before.
He looked at Arjun.
“You came back?”
Arjun nodded.
Veerbhadra spoke softly.
“Good.”
“You did well to return.”
Arjun said nothing.
Veerbhadra closed his eyes and took a long breath.
“Is the camp noisy?”
Arjun answered,
“Very.”
The corners of Veerbhadra’s lips moved slightly.
“Then the rumors must be spreading.”
Arjun quietly said,
“About Bloodshadow.”
Veerbhadra opened his eyes.
“Let them.”
Then he spoke in a low voice.
“Some things are better explained by time.”
[The quiet wind moving through the camp]
Arjun stepped outside.
The tent cloth fell closed behind him.
He stood in the middle of the camp.
The sky above was clear.
But the smell of battle still lingered faintly in the air.
And within the crowd, a new emotion was taking shape.
Caution.
Arjun took a deep breath.
He understood now that this had not merely been a rescue.
This was the beginning of his identity within the camp.
People were watching him now.
He was no longer an insignificant figure hidden among the crowd.
His name could no longer disappear into silence.
And somewhere inside the camp…
a new threat had probably already noticed that too.
Chapter CliffhangerWhat new conspiracy will begin inside the camp after Bloodshadow’s disappearance?
Why hasn’t Veerbhadra revealed the full truth about what happened in the Black Forest?
Will the growing respect for Arjun help him move forward—or place an even bigger target on his back?
And will the camp face another new danger when night falls?