Chapter 168: Respite

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Squad 1 stayed in formation for about 10 minutes.

Cedric extended that for another 5 minutes just to make sure that the Capra Demon wouldn't just turn around after sensing their presence once more. It also smelled them from miles away and it runs fast, it's better to wait until it is completely left rather than risk it. He kept it under surveillance to ensure their safety.

As for the Taurus Demon and the Nightmare Worm, those were still around but they're about 2500 miles away from them. Taurus Demons aren't good hunters, they kill things that annoy them only when it is within the range of their senses, otherwise, they would just go about their way.

The Nightmare Worm, on the other hand, doesn't move very fast unless it's on a hunt. It usually just digs tunnels underground lazily and would fall asleep at random intervals. So long as the squad doesn't make any explosive actions above ground that would be felt by the Nightmare Worm, they're safe.

Cedric already made a report to Captain Silverwing, a report not an SOS.

He figured that it was best to let the authorities know that there were these kinds of demons roaming so close to the walls rather than ignoring them.

Due to his Demon Slayer Class, Cedric had access to a skill called: 『Demon Lore』, it's Acala's database of demons that he could freely access to help him slay demons, of course. This is how he was able to recognize most of the demons he encountered.

From there, he knew that Capra Demons, Taurus Demons, and Nightmare Worms could only be found deeper into the Black Lands... around 100,000 miles away from the Eastern Great Wall.

Squad #1's not even 10 miles away from the wall yet, so how could they be here?

With this question in mind, Cedric immediately thought of the worst. These are Demons, it's only natural to expect the worst out of them. That's why he didn't hesitate to let their supervisor know right away.

As for letting his squadmates know...not now. If he had the choice, he would rather not let them know at all, but he couldn't do that since he'd be betraying their trust.

He could postpone it though. Letting them know now would just frighten them greatly, and that would affect their mission. Sure, it is wise to let them know about the threats around them, but if the said threats are above their paycheck, would it really make a difference?

If anything, that would just cause the squad to lose hope, and that's fatal in this environment. Cedric spent a lot of time building their confidence, it'd be a shame to lose that just because they were unlucky.

"Alright, we should be safe now. Remain in the formation though, we'll travel like this to reduce our presence. Capra Demons are frightening hunters, even though it has left our surveillance, we should always assume that they will return if we make too much activity right away."

"We are heading deeper into our area of responsibility." Cedric paused to let that sink in, "Mind your positions and remain sharp. Focus on your task and we will be fine. Understood?"

"Sir, yes Sir!" The squad replied.

"Alright, move."

Ever since the academy's examination, Cedric always shone brightly, outclassing every single one of them. And he never got complacent with his overwhelming talent either. He works just as hard, if not harder, than everyone else, everybody knows that because they've seen it.

When everybody's frightened and uncertain about their chances of survival, Cedric's presence and faith in himself never wavered. He's probably the only one who's undeterred by the thought of walking right into True Hell.

That belief and talent of his extended to his team, that's why it was so easy for the rest to naturally follow his orders. But it did more than that.

The seed of defiance and a sense of greater purpose...Cedric unknowingly planted it within his squadmates. It'll be up to them to nourish it but it's more than enough to spark changes within.

"Pause."

Cedric's voice suddenly echoed in their ears. The squad stopped in their tracks and listened to what he was about to say.

"We're approaching the distance where our paths will cross with another squad. Squad #3 to be exact. Team, observe, and report. #5, you begin."

Upon his orders, his squad mates began reporting everything they saw around them, describing them with as much detail as they could notice. The scanners had better reports than the rest but that's to be expected.

If the scanners missed something, their other teammates filled in, completing the image from the entire squad's perspective.

"...excellent. So you've also seen tracks and traces of recent fights." Cedric stated, "Safe to say, there are hostiles nearby and it is possible that they will return once they sense us here."

"From the hints we've collected, it's very likely that the culprits are beast demons. One was large, like 10 feet or taller, and the other was around half of the other's height but faster."

"Beast Demons are feral and good hunters. If Squad #3 isn't on Formation F when our paths cross, the Beast Demons will likely return here to hunt us down."

"Based on the damages we could see from the environment, we could assume that they are somewhere around Tier 6 to Tier 8 in strength, no more than that I hope."

"Talk to me, team. What do you think we should do?"

Cedric asked this not because he didn't know what to do. He did it to distract his team, preventing them from falling into a downward spiral of madness brought by the sight of nightmares they encountered so far.

He's also doing this to keep their mind alert and ready for confrontations. This will prevent Demonic Corruption from taking hold of their minds and use their fears against them.

Last but not least, he did this to give his team some respite. They couldn't camp out and there were no real breaks in their shift. Pausing in a relatively low-activity area like this one could make up for that.

So as his squad brainstormed ideas and threw out suggestions, he also ordered them to take a bite and drink some water.