Chapter - 136
Tracking the barbarians through the wilderness was no easy task. They moved swiftly, covering vast distances across rugged, inhospitable terrain with the skill of men who had spent their entire lives in these lands. They left little behind—broken twigs, faint footprints, the occasional wheel ruts from the wagons they had taken—but Jacob was patient, methodical. He was a hunter, and they were his prey.
For the first day, he struggled to find their exact path. The wide grasslands they had crossed were deceptive, the wind constantly shifting the earth, erasing signs of movement. At one point, he lost the trail entirely and had to double back, searching for the faintest disturbance in the ground. But luck was on his side. A discarded scrap of fabric, caught on a thornbush, gave him the direction he needed. From there, he spotted the faint tracks of hooves and wagon wheels cutting into the soft soil.
