It was night, and the cold light of the moon was whipping winds in a silent, smooth fashion.Fabby and others were in wintry outfits. They had camped not far from the hot pool at the peak.All the four were enjoying the hot mushroom soup that Fabby had cooked.Gossini was observing Edgar. (He’s behaving a bit strange ever since we’ve been to the pool. Her eyes enlarged a bit. Did he…) “Ahem, hey you, Mr. Decent! You didn’t peek while I was bathing or anything, did you?”Edgar’s eyes popped out of his sockets. “H-Huh? W-What are you talking about all of
As the moon moved in the sky, many animals, from squirrels, racoons, chipmunks to rabbits, rats, and beavers came out of holes near the pool and scampered here and there. There were no birds around, so they were enjoying the pool and healed their bodies. Normally, the redback squirrels and terra rats were mortal enemies, but inside the pool, they acted like buddies. Even the beasts that had reddened eyes were able to calm down and feel at ease. Fabby and others observed all of this from a distance, while hidden inside a natural-looking earthen structure she had created. All the four of them looked absolutely fresh, with no external wounds whatsoever. “Just what makes that pool so special?” Tenzai was scratching his head.
Edgar was fighting off other wolves that kept coming in his way. Though it irritated him, the moment he saw the blood trail on the ground, his heart pounded in his ears. The air around him suddenly changed, and even the wolves briefly felt something run down their spines.Edgar suddenly released both electricity and drive, which resulted in an explosive sound, and he burst forward like a shooting star and covered the distance between him and the scar-faced wolf in little time. As he fell on the beast, he hugged it and violently rolled it to the side.The scar-faced wolf showed its experience and still didn’t let go of Fabby’s shoulder. Fabby wasn’t crying anymore, probably because she was in too much pain to cry anymore. The wolf’s teeth were likely tearing their way through her flesh and hit sensitive nerves, thereby numbing her whole b
Climbing down the mountain took much less time because they took an almost straight path. So they arrived at the base after dawn.There weren’t many birds there, but there were bits of trees and bushes here and there near the base.But what caught their eyes was the fight between a two-feet-tall crow and a wounded man. He was desperately fighting for his life, but the crow was rather persistent. It had already eaten one of his ears and a finger.Fabby was the first to react. She raised a pillar out of the nearest boulder and smashed the crow in its face from the side. The crow almost fell to the ground. After seeing the four new humans who arrived at the scene, it flew away in haste.“Are you alright?” Fabby came to him in a hurry.
The mantis zone was unlike other regions. Each tree was gigantic, and even the leaves of the trees were so big a few humans could sit on them, and they wouldn’t break. “Survival depends on working together,” Rengan kept talking while leading Edgar and others into the mantis zone. “If we want to reach Black Well, we have to stick together. So please watch my back.” “What’s he rambling about?” Tenzai shook his head and looked at the mantises that were standing on the leaves of the trees and were gazing right at them, or so it seemed. Seeing that it was humans, some of them drooped downward and started to sleep. “I-It looks like my information is correct,” Rengan’s heart speed lowered just a bit. “We just have to keep going without doing anything silly.” Though it seemed like they were walking casually, everyone was on high-alert. It was still unbelievable for both Edgar and Fabby that these mantises weren’t attacking them. Since they left Shushui mountain, they never came across a
The mantises were everywhere, doing their things, which primarily involved making noises. Any child would discolor their pants if they were to be hearing such a noise, let alone be in the presence of such an overwhelming number of praying mantises.The five humans, however, seemed alright with walking through their midst, without lowering their heads or bending their spines, until they came across the king of the zone.The three-meter-tall praying mantis, the king of all the local mantises, just happened to be passing by. And all the nearby praying mantises had their antennas lowered in their king’s presence.“That must be the king…” Rengen hurriedly said as the mantis king’s attention turned to the humans. “Lower your heads.”&
In the northern end of the mantis zone, dozens of mantis brought five people on top of leaves and dropped them off there on top of a hill next to a river and then left.The five people were none other than Fabby and Co.Tenzai was tossing away lots of dead ants, rats and rabbits from his storage space. These were all given to them by the mantises for winning against their king. Dropping them off at the northern end was an extra service.“Though we’ve wanted to head north-west, they brought us to the northern side,” Fabby said. “That means we don’t have to visit the Black Well.”“Actually if my estimation is correct, then the Black Well is not far from here,” said Rengen. “If you want Black Turmeric, we can get it ther
“I heard that the Black Well’s guard is a grandmaster,” Rengen said. “There’s just no way for us to steal before his eyes. Not even one gram.”“So the black turmeric grows inside the well, huh…” Fabby looked quite surprised. “Now I understand why that old fellow was sitting on top of it.”“These wolves he spoke of… you think they’re humans?” Rengen asked.“Most likely... They are sect members hunting others.““Why would a grandmaster allow such a thing in his presence?” Rengen wondered.“That’s not what we should be worried about,” Fabby was feeling tense. “Had the mantises not brought us in a different direction, what would have happened to us?”Rengen was startled upon hearing that. He totally forgot that they were supposed to come from the direction they were heading toward now.“We would have been ambushed,” Gossini said, her eyes oozing out coldness.When Tenzai heard that, he came to a decision. “If they’re really ambushing people who’re coming here for safety, then I have all t