The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 321: Gathering of groups (1)

Chapter 321: Gathering of groups (1)

"Jade."

"Ja-ade."

"Stop sleeping!"

The shout startled the sleeping girl. She jumped from her chair and started to explain.

"I wasn’t sleep–"

She stopped, only now waking up fully. She blinked, looking straight into the face of another girl, who struggled to stifle her laugh.

"Cyantha?"

"Uhu."

"You–"

Jade stopped blinking as she finally understood her best friend pranked her. Embarrassed she had fallen victim, she jumped over the counter, chasing the giggling young woman running away from her.

"Come here, you little bitch!"

Cyantha ran, squealing in delight but physical strength wasn’t her strongest attribute. Jade caught her with ease.

"You little shit. You dare to prank this elder sister?"

Cyantha squealed in delight as she writhed about under Jade’s relentless tickles. As her best friend, Jade knew how ticklish the girl could get. Cyantha begged but wouldn’t apologize. Jade didn’t expect her to do so either. She stopped only when a drop of tear scattered.

Cyantha, crying from laughter, recovered after a minute or two as she climbed back on her feet, gasping for breath.

"I hope you have learned your lesson. Don’t scare me next time."

"Bah. You...should perhaps stop sleeping at work then."

"No one is ever here. So who cares," Jade sneered as she snatched the little packet dangling from Cyantha’s waist. The other girl tried to stop her, failing miserably.

"Hmm, crispy mushrooms. Nice!" Jade cheered, her face lighting up as she grabbed a few and shoved them in her mouth. She enjoyed the snack so much, she even let out a soft moan.

"Ungrateful wrench," Cyantha said with a smirk as she pulled a second packet out of her robe, with the same snack and joined her friend.

"Any update on the visitors?" Cyantha asked as she took a seat beside Jade.

"The first group are soldiers. The second I am not sure. They didn’t react to anything. Perhaps, visitors?"

Jade didn’t sound too convinced herself. It was just too rare for people to visit their isolated and abandoned city. They heard stories of how it once had been the hub through which most of the traffic between the inner and outer perimeter occurred. But then the Witch appeared and they lost everything.

Jade and Cyantha were too young to know about the Witch. Everything they knew came from two sources. The education system was the first source. They were taught from the first day about the cruelty of the Witch and how Wrixia suffered due to her. Those who survived were the ones who didn’t lose their faith in the Old One and received His mercy.

The other source was their mothers.

"How is Aunty?" Jade asked. Cyantha fell silent for a second but smiled quickly thereafter. Her warm smile didn’t deceive Jade one bit yet she acted oblivious to her sorrows. She knew her friend liked to hide everything behind her smile. A smile that warmed everyone who saw it, except Cyantha herself.

"She is doing better today. The herbs we found last time helped a lot," she said with a smile but Jade had long ago learned to check for other signs. Cyantha had a habit of concealing a lot or worse, thinking that she would bother her with her worries.

She quickly found the answer. Cyantha was fidgeting, clasping the hem of her blouse, swallowing her saliva, and doing her utmost to not meet her gaze. She needed help. Most likely that help would be a bother, and dangerous.

"If that’s the case then we need to gather more of that herb. We found them last time so close to that village. I bet there are lots of them inside," Jade thought loud up, one of her hands on her hip and the other tapping her chin. She didn’t pay heed to her friend who nearly jumped in panic as she spoke.

"It’s decided. Let’s enter that village and harvest as many herbs as we can."

"But–"

"What? This is the best time to go. During the day, people will beat us up if we are discovered even a hundred meters from that place."

"But your work–"

"These outsiders are probably asleep. Or doing their own thing. No one will miss us." Jade was already packing a few things, such as her backpack to gather the herbs. She knew the best way to convince Cyantha was to act. Discussing or letting her decide wouldn’t help. And her opinion would always be detrimental to her benefit.

Jade gestured at Cyantha to follow her as she peered outside. Seeing the empty alleys, they slipped away.

...

"Where is our Boss?"

A man, clad in dark green, leaned on a thin branch and complained. His two partners ignored him. One stared at the dark patch in the distance while the other kept an eye on the opposite side, the side from which they arrived.

"Hey Gary, do you think the information is accurate?"

"Who do you think those newcomers are, Vlad?"

The man who complained about his boss, switched from topic to topic as his teammates ignored him. He wasn’t loud but the twitching and the clenched fists of his partners showed how annoying he could be.

"Will you shut up!"

It was only a matter of time before one of the two would snap. This time it was the one keeping an eye on the dark patch who snapped first.

"Pay up, Gary."

Vlad, the one looking on the other side, stretched his hand without turning back and demanded his pay for winning the bet.

"Here," Gary spat as he put one golden coin in the wide palm of his panther. He turned to the man who finally shut his mouth and groaned. "Damn you Arnault. You and your fucking mouth will break my mind and pocket one day."

"Not my fault you two have an ongoing bet about who gets annoyed by me first," Arnault said with a shrug, not all hurt by his two friends finding him a pain in the ass.

"But seriously, we have been here a few days already. Do you really think we will find those Witchkins? Even they should know not to enter that village, don’t you think?"

Gary turned to face the darkness ahead and nodded.

"It’s difficult to believe someone would be foolish to enter the most dreaded place in the entire Wrixia. But the Boss believes it."

"The Boss believes every whisper, rumor, and gossip. He acts like a la–"

"Oh?"

Arnault froze. Gary and Vlad suppressed the urge to turn around and forced themselves to keep looking away from their friend. The voice, though barely a whisper, was their nightmare.

"You got an issue with my lady-like behavior?"

"N-No. Hi Boss. No Boss."

Arnault stammered and shuddered, his mind a mess. The soft features of the Boss’ petite build gave him a feminine look. But all three knew how much their boss hated being treated or compared to women. He didn’t hate ladies per se – they had seen him being a perfect gentleman with women and girls – but he hated being compared to one.

The three had discussed in length what might have caused such a behavior in their boss. The consensus was that he might have suffered childhood traumas and wished to prove his masculinity.

Unlike others, they knew how much strength was hidden in those frail-looking arms. They had seen him punch craters into lands, blast the sea away, and put a crack in one of the main branches.

"Anything?"

"No, Sir."

Vlad and Gary replied in unison. Their backs stiffened even more and they stared without blinking even the slightest. Neither had turned back to face their boss’ gaze.

"You are right, Arnault. It’s impossible to survive entering the village. But...the day that impossible becomes possible, we won’t be able to shoulder the consequences. So, I rather risk wasting time than allow those bastards a chance to execute their plans."

...

"Why are there so many people around us?"

Hex stared down from a side branch spiraling upwards.

"I don’t know," Elize replied. Her frown revealed she genuinely didn’t expect so many people at this place. As far as she knew, the village was considered cursed and people avoided it at all cost. So why did it seem like a tourist spot and that too in the middle of the night?

Hex sensed at least four different groups of varying numbers and strength near them. But he couldn’t avert his eyes from the patch of the darkness before him. He never felt his body react like it was doing near the darkness.

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