Savage Forest - Chapter 116.1

Enya was on the brink of despair again when Silanda yelled sharply.

“D*mn it, stop just moping around here!”

Startled, Enya stubbornly retorted.

“I, I’m not moping…!”

Despite her harsh tone, Silanda’s expression had softened significantly compared to before. Enya could sense sympathy in her gaze.

In the meanwhile, Reyhald also seemed to be just as confused as Enya. Suddenly, he began to grab at his hair as if he had lost his mind.

“Wow! So you’re saying we have a pregnant woman with us? In this Nervana forest ruled by the Skull Spider…!”

Reyhald’s voice was filled with terror as if it was a suicide mission. Silanda couldn’t hold back and scolded him sharply.

“You idiot! Why should having a baby be a cause for despair? Instead of thinking about how to protect a pregnant woman, you’re just panicking! Are you even a real man?”

He looked taken aback by her abrupt and harsh words and for calling him an idiot. However, he stood his ground against Silanda, not backing down.

“Hey? You’re an outsider who knew nothing, what’s your problem? If one of our women is pregnant, the entire tribe pulls together to protect that life!”

Reyhald then launched into a detailed account of how skull spiders prefer pregnant prey.

“Have you ever seen a skull spider in action? It climbs trees using its web. It’s faster than a bird despite its size. Once it targets you, you’re done for!”

The vivid description of the skull spider from his experience sent shivers down Enya’s arms.

Of course, Silanda wasn’t the type to be intimidated by such tales. She scoffed and mocked Reyhald.

“You’re such a coward. Just be honest.”

Not only was she mocking him, but she seemed to be rather triumphant. It was as if Silanda was finally encountering a worthy opponent aside from Fiarca.

“So you said you were left behind by Tarhan’s group, right? Did you get left behind while taking a dump?”

“What? D*mn it, yeah, I got left behind while taking a dump. This woman!”

Caught between the two, who were growling at each other like fighting dogs, Enya looked distressed. She squatted down slowly, sitting with a glum expression in front of them.

She was utterly exhausted.

As she buried her face in her knees, something was suddenly whining and licking her cheek.

“Spot!”

Startled, she realized it was a wolf and shouted in surprise. The wolf, panting and wagging its tail, licked her face with its tongue.

“You’re alive!”

Reyhald, who had been grabbed by Silanda, scratched his head and responded.

“Enya, that wolf saved you. It swam through the water and brought you to shore.”

Spot seemed to understand Reyhald calling it a dog and growled in annoyance. Then, it started wagging its tail at Enya.

“Thank you, Spot.”

As Enya murmured as she petted the wolf’s neck, Spot barked once and wagged its tail again. Holding its neck, she thought of Tarhan.

‘…Tarhan is in this forest.’

That single fact provided a huge comfort, and all other concerns seemed irrelevant. Her heart felt like it was warming up in an instant.

Enya looked down at her stomach.

After hearing Silanda’s words, she wondered if her lower belly seemed a bit more rounded.

‘I thought I was just gaining weight because I ate everything available, thinking I should take every opportunity to eat.’

Enya struggled to push away her self-reproach. Regret now would change nothing.

‘If I were pregnant just before Tarhan had gone out, it would have already gone through a few full moons.’

She gently rubbed her belly.

It seemed to be smaller than it should be for the number of months. Comparing it to her previous pregnancy, it seemed even more so.

Enya hugged Spot’s neck tighter to calm her rising anxiety.

Night fell quickly.

The group decided to follow Reyhald’s advice, who was familiar with the forest, and wrap up for the day.

“We’ll camp here tonight. And tomorrow, we’ll do our best to reunite with Tarhan or Fiarca’s group.”

Reyhald found a suitable spot and wrapped himself in a large leaf, which was bigger than him. Silanda watched him fall asleep almost immediately after his head touched the ground with a look of irritation.

“Honestly, is that a trait of Nirvana people? Falling asleep as soon as your head touches the ground?”

“Maybe.”

Enya replied with a bitter smile. Now that she thought about it, Fiarca was also someone who could sleep soundly no matter what happened.

Silanda and Enya each took a leaf and settled down for the night.

Lying side by side, listening to Reyhald’s snoring, Enya was struck by how eerily quiet it was.

Reflecting on the day’s events, a wave of overwhelming emotion surged through her again. She sniffled and curled herself tighter within the leaf. Despite the not particularly cold weather, her body began to shiver as if it were chilled.

Then, Silanda murmured in a very quiet voice.

“I gave birth in the cave. It was my first child.”

Enya blinked in the darkness. She was momentarily unable to process what had just been said.

Silanda was sharing a personal story she had never mentioned before. However, it seemed she wasn’t expecting a response from Enya as she continued speaking without caring whether she replied or not.

“The baby died immediately. My condition had been very poor since late in the pregnancy. Not long after the baby died, I had to have my left arm amputated. That cave, with not a single ray of sunlight, felt like hell to me.”

Silanda spoke in a very plain, factual tone as if it were someone’s ancient story.

However, Enya knew well that Silanda had gone through this ordeal not long ago. She kept her mouth tightly shut as she lay there.

“Everyone in the cave called me a monster. I had been so mean to the people there. At that time, I hated and despised everything. I wished everything would just disappear from my sight. Most of the cave dwellers listened to me well. If I told them to leave, they would flee without looking back, never to return.”

Silanda turned restlessly and muttered softly.

“Except for one person.”