LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter Forty Six
"It's somewhere around here. Sally said to comb through this entire forest and that's what I'm going to do." Maple looked under a giant rock as she walked through a suspiciously dark forest.
Sally had told Maple of a recent issue that had presented itself when she requested a shipment of alcohol from a nearby city. The entire shipment had been stolen along with other embargoes.
The recent string of thefts had been a thorn in the side of the cities and the local merchants. Shipments of goods, including alcohol, food, and other essential supplies, had been disappearing at an alarming rate. Sally, had been discussing with the various Mayors and merchants to try and identify the culprits, but so far, they had found nothing concrete.
The latest shipment to be stolen was a large cargo of alcohol, meant for the guild's own stores. The thieves had struck during the night, leaving none of the carts, carriages or struggle. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.
Sally was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, and had tasked Maple with investigating the forest, where the thieves were believed to be hiding. But the truth was, Sally had her own suspicions about who might be behind the thefts.
According to rumors, Maple's ascension had shaken the underworld of the kingdom. Varkos was a very good source of revenue for a lot of people, and with him gone a certain group were already making movements.
But Sally had no proof, and she needed to be careful not to accuse a fellow Guild without solid evidence. She had a feeling that this was all part of a larger game, one that could have serious consequences for the entire region.
Meanwhile, the merchants were beginning to grow restless. The Mayors of the nearby cities were also growing impatient, some guilds had already had their reputations decline because of this and Sally knew that she had to act fast to resolve the situation before it tarnished the guild's promising start. The Maple Tree guild was still in its early days, and Sally was determined to build a strong reputation for her guild. She couldn't afford to let these thefts go unsolved.
At the same time, a cyclops had been spotted at the edge of the kingdom of Malakar and all four guilds had been called into action to dispatch the threat.
Maple Tree was also required to send adventurers as well, so Sally had decided to send Chrome, Mai and Yui. Maple also wanted to go, but Sally refused. As a guardian, comparable to the Sins in power, Malakar didn't have the power to order Maple around, she could only step in if she wanted to, or if Phalsia as a whole was in danger. While Maple had been dubbed guardian of Malakar, it was only a title given by Malakar itself, not the Phalsia defense council.
Sally had also stated { Besides, you're needed elsewhere Maple. The capital won't send us the supplies we need, unless we deal with the thefts problem. The other Mayors aren't making any headway on the investigation and I'm not sure I want to ask any of the nobles for help. So I'm gonna use your special ability to run into weird events at random. I just need you to walk around the last location where the supplies were stolen until you find something.}
Maple kicked a stone into the distance. "What did Sally even mean by that? I'm not weird, I'm just doing things normally like everyone else." the stone bounced off a tree before falling into a shadow.
.
.
.
Yes, the stone had literally fallen into the tree's shadow.
Maple paused for a while. "I am not weird." Before walking up to the tree. She placed her hand into the shadow and it went through. "Woah. That is so cool."
Looking around for anyone nearby, Maple stepped into the shadow, her figure sinking slowly. "I wonder where this leads."
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"Welcome, brave adventurers of Malakar. I'm honored that you all came today." A grey haired man with a broad sword on his back and wearing armored pants stood in front of a small crowd.
Behind him was a large table, with a large parchment on it. On the parchment, a map was drawn.
"I am Shade Alygg, leader of the party, Vaturn. I will be leading the raid against the cyclops today." He motioned behind him to a group of people as his party members.
From within the crowd five people stepped out.
The first was a large woman with a scar in her face dressed in a leather armor up to her chest, she held no weapons, but her armored gloves gleamed a milky color as she moved. "I am Kitti Nevis, leader of the Oaklight party, from the Goodness Guild."
The second was a dark haired young man wearing a blue hakama with a katana strapped to his side. The katana was quite long nearly dragging along the ground. "I am Jean Bretite, leader of the Gale party, from the Cobalt Guild."
The third was a young woman with short, spiky green hair and a mischievous grin. She was dressed in a pair of worn leather pants and a loose-fitting tunic, with a short sword strapped to her belt. "I am Daisy Kerr, leader of the Pink petals party, also from the Cobalt Guild."
The fourth was a large bald man with a blue arrow tattoo on his forehead. The bald man was dressed in a simple white robe, his eyes fixed intently on the map behind Shade. He seemed to be studying it with great interest. "I am Bekhan, leader of the Dawn of light party, from the Brimstone Guild."
And finally, there was a man who had on blood red armor, with an equally eerie dark cloak.The lower half of his face was covered in a bloody skull. "Hello everyone, I am Chrome, member of the Maple Tree party, from the Maple Tree Guild. I know Maple Tree didn't send much, but me and the twins are more than enough."
"Oh? You're from Maple Tree?" Daisy had stars in her eyes as she zipped into Chrome's personal space. "So cool. Think you can introduce me to Maple. I think she's the coolest."
"Alright, let's get down to business," Shade said, his voice slightly annoyed. "We've got a cyclops to kill, and not a lot of time to waste. Here's the plan..."
As Shade began to outline the strategy, Chrome, and the others listened intently, their faces expressionless. They had done this before, and they knew what to expect.
////
Meanwhile, Maple found herself in a narrow, dimly lit tunnel, the air thick with the scent of damp earth. "Am I underground? How do I get out? I guess I just have to check it out." She had no idea where she was or where the tunnel led.
She walked for what felt like hours, her footsteps echoing off the walls. The tunnel twisted and turned, leading her deeper into the earth.
Finally, she saw a glimmer of light ahead. She approached cautiously, Maple emerged from the tunnel, her eyes adjusting to the dim light of the cavernous space. She saw rows of machinery, but it wasn't immediately clear what they were used for. She saw people, dressed in tattered clothing, moving listlessly around the room. They looked like they were in a daze, but she couldn't see any obvious signs of injury or distress.
As she approached, she noticed that the air was thick with the scent of iron and something else...something sweet and slightly acrid. She couldn't quite place it.
Ahead of her was a small platform, a figure studying a red rock. Her feet kicked a piece of machinery and the figure on the platform turned towards her, his eyes narrowing. "Can I help you?" he asked, his tone neutral.
Maple hesitated, unsure of what to say. She didn't know what she had stumbled into, or what these people were doing here. She looked around again, trying to take in more details.
That's when she saw the needles. Thin, almost imperceptible needles inserted into the veins of the people around her. And the tubing, carrying a dark liquid from their arms to...to something else.
Her mind racing, Maple tried to piece together what she was seeing. "What is this place?" she demanded. "What are you doing to these people?"
The figure smiled, a cold, calculated smile. "I'm not sure how you got in here, but if you must know we're extracting a valuable resource," he said.
Maple's eyes locked onto the tubing, her stomach churning with a growing sense of unease. "What resource?" she asked, her voice firm.
The figure chuckled. "Oh, I think you'll figure it out," he said. "You seem like a clever girl."
But Maple's eyes were already scanning the room, looking for a way out. Large men in dark red full plate armor rush into room, and the chained people slowly inch away from the coming chaos.
////
"According to the scouts we should coming right across the clearing in a few minutes. Prepare yourselves." Shade called out, unstrapping his broad sword.
Walking through the forest for a few more minutes, they reach an opening. In the distance is a cave, and outside the cave is a massive figure.
Standing at seventeen meters, with red leather like skin and dressed in only a loin cloth. Wiping off the sweat from above the brow of his one eye, it dropped its hand into a pit on the ground and pulled out a human man.
None of the adventurers made to move, even as the man screamed for help over and over. The cyclops raised the man into his mouth and chomped down, the man's voice going silent in a whimper.
The cyclops chewed for a few more seconds, before reaching down into the pit again. As it bent down to pick up its next meal, scores of projectiles crashed into its eye.
The cyclops, still crouched, roared as multiple arrows, spears and shards from spears lodged themselves into its eye.
The cyclops stumbled backwards, its one eye spewing blood and gore as it clutched at the projectiles lodged in its socket. Shade took advantage of the momentary distraction to charge forward, his broad sword flashing in the sunlight.
"Take out its legs!" he bellowed to the others. "We need to immobilize it!"
Kitti Nevis lumbered forward, her armored gloves glowing with a faint blue light. She swung her fists at the cyclops's knees, aiming to shatter the joints.
Jean Bretite darted to the side, his katana slicing through the air. He aimed for the tendons behind the cyclops's knee, hoping to cripple it.
Daisy Kerr and Bekhan, launched a barrage of projectiles at the cyclops's face, trying to keep it off balance.
Chrome hung back, his eyes fixed on the cyclops's movements. He waited for an opening, his shield raised in front of him.
The cyclops stomped in random movements, trying to feel around. Chrome barely missed it, when the cyclops grabbed a log. "Shit, it's a club." Chrome charged forward immediately. The cyclops swung the club in a sweeping motion on the ground.
|| Cover Move ||
Chrome appeared ahead of its path, slamming into the club in an explosion. The other adventurers shook in fear at what would have been an instant death if Chrome hadn't intercepted it.
As the battle raged on, the cyclops stumbled and staggered, its one eye streaming blood. But it refused to fall, its massive body absorbing the punishment.
"We need to end this quickly!" Shade yelled, his sword slicing through the cyclops's arm. "It's taken too much damage, just a little more!"
The others redoubled their efforts, their movements practiced and efficient. The leaders showing their moves.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the cyclops crashed to the ground, its legs shattered, its one eye destroyed. The adventurers stood panting, their chests heaving with exhaustion.
"Good job, everyone," Shade said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Let's get the people, and get out of here."
They pulled the prisoners from the pit, there were twelve more other than the man that had been eaten at first. Shade called out to the leaders. "I sent scouts into the cave, in the meantime get your teams to rest, we move in, in an hour." The leaders nodded to say they understood.
At the one hour mark, as they prepared to head into the cave, they heard whimpering and sobs from within the pit they had cleared. "Hmmm? Didn't we rescue everyone?" Shade asked to which Bekhan replied, we did, they're in the tent getting treatment.
A commotion was heard in the camp, and a bearded man dressed in a white garb ran up to the assault team. "Mr Shade! The prisoners that we rescued, the prisoners... They disappeared."
"What?" Shade's expression turned grim. "What do you mean they disappeared? We just rescued them, and they were getting treatment in the tent."
The bearded man shook his head. "I know, I know. But I was just checking on them, and they're all gone. The tent is empty, except for the medical supplies."
Kitti Nevis frowned. "That's impossible. We had people watching the tent."
The bearded man shrugged. "I don't know what to say. I was just there a minute ago, and now they're gone."
Chrome's eyes narrowed. "This doesn't feel right. Check the pit, we heard a noise from their right?"
They approached the pit, and were shocked. The pit that had been emptied just an hour ago, now had thirteen new occupants. On closer look however, the occupants were exactly the same people that had been rescued. Even the man that had been eaten by the cyclops was seated there as well.
Chrome's eyes widen. "Wait, where's the cyclops body?" He looked around trying to find the corpse of the monster they had killed but it had vanished not even leaving blood behind. "Well shit."
The ground trembled as they heard massive foot steps from within the cave. A large figure stomped out, with its red leather like skin and loin cloth flowing in the wind, it looked exactly like the one they had just killed. It immediately spotted them and roared, quickly grabbing its club.
"RAAAAAAARGH"