Chapter 212 - Camping In The Infamous Forest

Episode 205- Camping in the infamous forest

Ron had mentioned that the sole reason why he was attracted to this forest was that the forest was creepy. Because it was horrifying to walk in the forest, it thrilled him to the core and made him unable to not want to explore this place. He mentioned that there was a unique beauty you can see the moment upon entering the forest and to be honest… Eugene couldn't see it at all. Why would she see beauty in the organization's den, the place that contained the teleportation portal that can take Euria to who-knows-where in a span of minutes.

Eugene and Con become accustomed to the atmosphere as they head farther into the forest. The first part of the forest looked like a dead place, however the further they head in, the more lively the area becomes. Random wildflowers grew everywhere, and though they were not as beautiful when compared to big and overgrown flowers that used expensive fertilizer, they had a unique beauty that was comparable to those expensive flowers. 

Once Eugene and Con found a suitable place to camp for the night, they came to a stop. This area was a perfect surveillance area as the area wasn't too overcrowded with trees and neither was it too spacious.

As Eugene stretched, she came across many different types of herbs that might be of use to them and turned to Con, "I will go gather herbs that will be useful to us." She said before walking a few meters away. Because they were unable to prepare a first aid kit, she picked up a variety of herbs. Herbs that make you stop bleeding, kill bacteria, herbs to numb pain, and herbs that decrease inflammation. With these things, they will be able to last a long time on the battlefield. 

As Eugene gathered these herbs and made it into a bundle for Con, the corner of her eyes caught an unexpected type of herb. She never thought she'd ever see these herbs again and stared at them knowingly.

'This is also important.' She reached for the herbs and gathered them in large amounts. After she was done, she walked over to Con. 

"Have you gotten rid of our trails?" She asked him as she passed him the bundle of herbs she made. They studied what types of herbs did what in the military hence she did not explain the different types of herbs to him.

Con nodded his thanks and pointed to the tree,  "We will sleep there tonight." 

"Alright." She nodded. 

Eugene climbed the tree up quickly and very professionally. She set the soft quilt made from leaves that Con constructed within 5 minutes and laid herself on it. They did not set up any fire as it would be hard to extinguish, not to mention, hard to get rid of trails of fire in a short amount of time. She leaned her head against the tree as she tilted her head upwards and looked towards the darkness. Her heart beat fast, not in anxiety but excitement. It has been so long since she'd last seen Euria and she was excited and nervous at the same time. Though it has only been a few days, these few days felt like a month full of journey. Especially because she'd been traveling from place to place. 

There was no doubt in Eugene's mind that she would succeed. Of course, she would succeed! There was no way she wouldn't be able to retrieve Euria and then go back to their former life together. 

Her eyes slowly began to droop the more she thought about meeting Euria and she slowly succumbed to sleep. 

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"Euria!" Eugene screamed out as she ran towards the figure of Euria who was protecting everyone and was being held, hostage. 

The area was covered in white smoke, making Eugene unable to see the exact features of the person holding Euria. All she could see was the person's black pair of feet and a red pair of awfully creepy smiling lips that covered more than the figure's face.

Euria turned behind, her eyes slightly shaking and fuzzy. The moment her eyes met with Euria's, Euria's eyes began to redden and tear up; however it curved into one small smile later on. There was nothing but determination in Euria's eyes as she turned away. 

Black blood of the figure flowed like acid as it clashed with Euria's invisible yet rainbow-colored air tremors. The impact of these two great powers made Eugene fly back and hit somebody's hard chest. As for who it was, she didn't know as she could only concentrate on the fight ahead of her. 

"EURIA!" The familiar voice belonged to Aernest, and he shouted out for her. Who knows what happened after that but Euria began to cough out blood and lose her power. And not a second after that, the figure pierced its arm and ripped through Euria's stomach. 

"... Euria." Eugene's body froze and it trembled in fear. She slowly reached for Euria only to find herself unable to move, as if she was rooted to the ground. 

The figure lifted Euria and carried her to a line of light and only when the figure reached the line of light that it turned back and smiled at Eugene and everyone. 

"You're weak." The figure's lips curved down and it turned around and disappeared into the light. 

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"Comrade Eugeneia." Con's voice woke Eugene up and she immediately sat up in alarm. Her body was full of sweat however she could not think about how disgusting her body feels and could only focus on the real-life situation right now.

"What's wrong?" Eugene wiped the sweat off her forehead as she glanced towards the source of Con's voice that was a few meters away. It should be a few hours since she fell asleep, which means it wasn't close to dawn yet. 

"They are coming," Con whispered whilst Eugene frowned. 'They're here already?' 

She got up on her feet and climbed down the tree, "Why are they here so fast?" She asked, but Con did not reply to her. Eugene closed her eyes again and focused her senses on her ears. 

Crunch- Crunch-

It took her a long time but the more she focussed, the more her ears were able to pick up on footsteps. She furrowed her eyes and stated, "Multiple adults. No footsteps belonging to children." The footsteps were heavy and filled with weight. There was no way these belonged to the groomed children, which was odd.

"Did they change their plans because they were wary?" She said in an almost whisper-like voice. They must've changed their plans because of the green-eyed children, which means that the people transporting them right now are only adults. Adults that wouldn't attract attention. 

"The bandits." Con rushed towards Eugene and stopped right in front of her. 

Eugene bit her lips. She had not expected such a situation where the organization would switch out the children with the bandits so that they could take the short route to get to their financial base. There was something in her heart that told her that her nightmare just now was coming true. That no matter how much she ran to Euria, and no matter how much she tried to grab a hold of Euria, it will all be useless in the end. The pain of the dream made her heart clench in pain and her palm reached over to cover it. 

Con's eyebrows were furrowed. He lowered down to her height and stared at her with seriousness, "Comrade Eugeneia. Focus."

Eugene stared into his eyes for a good few seconds before she cussed, "Smart fcking move." She moved away from Con whose eyes widened from hearing her cuss for the first time. 

"...excuse me?" His voice was small and he sounded startled. 

"No wonder our comrades love to cuss. It relieves your stress so much." There was a sense of relief in her voice yet at the same time, her voice was heavy, "Fck."

"..."

Eugene turned to Con. "I don't know how but we need to trick them. We need to delay them until tomorrow morning no matter what." Her eyes were full of trust as they stared into Con.

She continued, "We won't have many chances in the dark." She shook her head as she said with heaviness in her voice. 

According to the information she got from Riel about the bandits lurking around the continent of United West Liasel, the reason why no one was able to catch them for a long time was that these bandits were completely ruthless. Not only that, they are known as a group who can move around very professionally even when it's dark. They move in small groups and big groups in the dark and attack when no one expects it. This makes it nearly impossible to touch or catch them. 

Con was silent for a few moments before responding, "I will try.." He rushed in the direction of the bandits, leaving Eugene to stand in the middle of the forest alone.