�There�s nothing.�

There was nothing there.
They had climbed up to the middle of the mountain, but there were no traces at all.

How was this possible?

�Mercenary King-nim. I will let the eastern search team know that everything is fine here.�

Bud started to speak after hearing the Elf�s statement. They needed to send their status to the east as well.
Bud responded to the thirty-first report with a tired face.

�Yes, sir. There�s nothing anyway and all we can hear are the animals-�

��Huh?�

Bud�s eyes opened wide.

��Mercenary King-nim?�
�Hold on!�

He raised his hand to cover the Elf�s mouth and looked around. It was almost afternoon but the ground was dark because of the tall trees.
Bud looked around the dark forest and slowly started to speak.

��Have you seen any wild animals?�
�Excuse me? We�ve heard a lot of wild anim-!�

The Elf stopped mid-sentence and opened his eyes wide.

�Quietly! Please speak quietly!�

Bud whispered in a quiet but firm voice in the Elf�s ear.
The Elf responded in a quiet voice as well. He realized what Bud was trying to say.

��We haven�t actually seen any wild animals.�

Normally, people searching like this became most anxious and wary when they didn�t hear anything.

There were bound to be forests even in a snow-covered mountain full of life forms.
Animals ranging from small herbivores to wild predators would have their homes and live with their own sets of rules.

The Elves, Bud, and the Elementals had heard many different cries that they believed belonged to the animals living on this mountain.
That was why they expected that they were somewhere on the mountain.
Bud�s gaze sank down. He mumbled very quietly.

�We made a mistake.� JrNovels.com