“How many of you are left?” As they turned around and started walking, Arthur asked Deka curiously. From the bits and pieces of information he had, he was certain that it wasn’t only two dead people.
The question made Deka visibly tense as if she was reminded of something truly horrible. But, she still exhaled and looked at Arthur. “Our squad was made of 20 people… Only 7 are left.” Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire
“…” Arthur was taken aback by the number. Stopping for a second, he stared at Deka silently. “13? 13 people have died??” He asked again. In his mind, Arthur expected 5 or at most 7 people to have met their demise. The fact it was double that number came out of nowhere.
“Yeah… We were ambushed by a group of those Yetis out of nowhere and they killed many of us before we could even escape or fight. In the end, with the sacrifice of a few mercenaries, the rest were able to escape to the foot of the mountain and hide there. We couldn’t go back because the day was already over and we couldn’t go out at night.”
“…” Arthur listened quietly to Deka recounting what happened.
“We spent the night inside that cave. But, most of us were injured heavily and that cold weather was only making our conditions worse. So, today, we decided we must try to pave a path back to the forest and then to the settlement before the rest of the Yetis find us. But, we could only kill a few before ending up in a really tough position. That’s when you arrived.”
“Thank you for saving me, good sir.” One of the mercenaries said to Arthur with deep gratitude clear in his eyes. “If it wasn’t for you… We would’ve all died.”
“Yes, thank you so much.”
“We owe you one.”
Hearing all the mercenaries repeatedly thanking him made Arthur smile slightly. He would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel nice. Saving people’s lives wasn’t his goal, but it was certainly a good bonus whenever it came.
“Don’t worry about it. Also, Deka. I have walked through the woods on my own and only came across two Yetis. I think we can get everyone out of there and get back.” He said.
“… No monsters?”
“Yes, I killed the two I found so it shouldn’t be a problem.” He said.
“Deka?”
‘How did he not come across many more? They have infested that forest completely.’ Deka frowned deeply, unable to comprehend what Arthur was saying. She had seen the forest with her own eyes, it was far from empty.
In fact, when they were able to escape, all she could see behind her were dozens and dozens of monsters trying to chase them. That was the reason she didn’t dare to actually lead the trip back through the woods and simply opted to wait.
Even when she went out to explore, she only wanted to see if there was any possible path they could take that would lead them out of the forest. Her plan was to perhaps go around the forest but that trip would easily take days and it would still be risky considering the heavy injuries her group had sustained.
“… I can’t really say till I see it for myself.” She replied. At this point, Deka wasn’t confident in making such a decision. Mentally, she wasn’t ready to see more deaths in the span of two days if she had to make such a decision then she had to feel some ounce of confidence in it at the very least. “Look, we’re here.”
Staring up, Arthur realized that they had stopped in front of a large cave entrance on the side of the slope. It was several meters high and several meters wide, dark, and humid as all caves are.
“Let’s go,” Deka said as she stepped first, followed by her group. Arthur stood there for a moment examining the entrance and then looked over his shoulder. The storm had picked up even more pace and the wind was whistling constantly in his ear.
‘This day will be long.’ He muttered to himself before he walked inside too. Almost immediately, all the storm noises vanished and the world around him became quiet again.
The darkness of the cave wasn’t blinding so he was able to say very clearly.
‘Hmm, the walls and the ground are all made out of blue stones. Interesting color.’ He inspected the cave with his eyes, admiring its natural design.
“Deka!”
At that very moment, Arthur heard someone’s voice coming from the other side. Looking down, he saw a man approach the group out of nowhere.
Seeing his group’s condition, the man visibly frowned. “What happened? You all look worse.”
“I’m sorry, Sergi. We came across another group of Yetis and we almost died fighting them.” Deka replied with an apologetic tone.
“I told you that was a huge mistake, Deka. We can’t afford to lose more people!” Sergi cursed under his breath. “Get inside and get treated.”
“Thank you…”
The few men walked past Sergi, eager to get some rest after the brutal battle.
“We need to talk about our next step, De-” That was when Sergi noticed that strange presence inside the cave. Looking straight at Arthur, his eyes widened slightly. “… What the hell is he doing here?”
“Arthur had come across us and saved our lives. Without him, we would’ve never come back… At least not all of us would.” Deka explained. She immediately noticed the weird glint that flashed across Sergi’s eyes and knowing him, she could only click her tongue.
‘Nice, talk about the devil. Here he is.’ Arthur smiled inwardly. He had anticipated seeing Sergi here while also deep down praying he was already dead so he didn’t have to see his irritating face. However, it seemed the world had spared this man.
“Hey there, Sergi. It has been a few days.” Arthur said with a cold smile.
“… Yeah, it has been.” Sergi squinted his eyes as he replied in the least flattering tone. He didn’t seem amused at all.
“Man, you look battered up, I can’t lie. Are you really ok? Did the Yetis scare you?” Arthur asked as he touched his chin. “Maybe you should take a break.”
On the surface, Arthur sounded like he was concerned for Sergi as the man looked in very bad shape with numerous injuries across his body. However, the man was very much aware of the sarcastic undertone in those words and it only fueled his anger even more.
‘This bastard…’ He clenched his teeth.
“You don’t have to worry about me. I can still fight better than you could think.” He replied.
The tension between the two was very palpable and even Deka felt uncomfortable standing between them at that moment. It was as if a fight was about to break out at any given second. So, she decided to quickly defuse it before it escalated.
“Ehem, can you come with me for a second, Arthur?” She coughed awkwardly.
“Sure, lead the way.” Arthur smiled at her as if he didn’t sense any hostility at all.
‘This kid…’
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!