Savage Forest - Chapter 129.1

Fiarca stared, stunned, at the approaching group from Nervana Forest. It wasn’t until they were almost upon her that she regained her senses and spoke.

“Ki, Kiyan…”

Kiyan, who had dismounted from her yak, quickly approached Fiarca.

“I can’t believe it… Fiarca, is it really you?!”

Fiarca still couldn’t believe it, staring at Kiyan in disbelief.

“Ch, Chief…”

Piache, also running as fast as she could, looked around with panic in her eyes.

“Enya… What happened to the child?”

Despite her gasping, no one answered her question.

Piache’s face quickly paled.

“I see… I see… I understand.”

She placed her hand on her forehead and staggered, collapsing to the ground. Someone rushed behind and caught her. It was Ihita.

“Get a grip, old woman.”

Ihita, too, had tears welling in her eyes.

Fiarca couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.

There was a long silence. The massive Nervana group, who had been watching from behind Kiyan and Piache, also fell silent.

While listening to Fiarca, Piache pulled at her hair and wiped away her tears.

“D*mn it, even though we rushed here, we’re still too late…”

Kiyan, too, remained silent with a despaired look. The atmosphere around them had grown somber. After a long cry, Piache finally turned her gaze to Silanda and Jahan and spoke.

“Are these people from the leper den?”

She then looked at the cart full of weapons they had brought from the leper den. Kiyan and Piache exchanged a discouraged glance.

“It’s not over yet. The Perugia army, led by the red-haired woman, is still camped around the wide rock.”

Silanda said, grinding her teeth.

Lehijin watched Silanda closely with a sharp gaze.

“Is that the leader of the leper den, that Romba person mentioned?”

“That’s… not it.”

As Silanda answered in a low voice, Jahan quickly defended her.

“But Silanda was the closest to Senu. What she says is as good as what Senu would say.”

Sniffling, Jahan added.

“In the leper den, Silanda was Senu’s right hand.”

“…Lomba said that you could teach us how to use these weapons.”

Kiyan said, shooting a piercing glance at Silanda.

The leader of Nervana Forest pointed towards the cart they had brought, which was filled with weapons. The cart itself looked menacing. Despite Kiyan’s provocative look, Silanda remained unfazed and answered.

“I can’t… let Senu go like this. I’ll find a way to avenge him.”

There was a fire in Silanda’s eyes.

“As long as I live, Senu’s death won’t be in vain.”

Hearing this, Fiarca’s heart tightened. She quickly turned to Kiyan and spoke.

“Gernan is still alive, Kiyan. And Servia too. Even that damn Aquilea’s soldiers are still camped around the wide rock.”

“And the ones captured?”

“Yaru and Nihitan. And Aquilea’s Rigata and some of his subordinates.”

Lehijin’s deeply furrowed brow tightened further.

“Of all people, it had to be them.”

Fiarca added,

“Along with Cugnac and Reyhald, some of the younger ones are also bound.”

The situation was overwhelmingly disadvantageous. Kiyan, who had managed to get things under control, groaned, clutching her throbbing head.

“Even with these weapons, we have no chance.”

Silanda responded calmly,

“That’s not wrong. Our weapons are more suitable for digging tunnels or pits. Once they explode, they can’t be reused, and if they miss, there’s no way to counterattack, leaving us completely exposed. They’re not suited for direct combat.”

Kiyan nodded. As she had been told by Lomba, while the weapons had great destructive power, their efficiency and agility were lacking.

“Damn it, then I’ll take this weapon and go to the wide rock myself to negotiate with that red-haired woman!”

Inaken shouted. He was one of the few remaining fighters in the group, alongside Fiarca.

Fiarca’s gaze wavered.

Even with weapons, the only ones who could use them effectively were Fiarca, Inaken, Jahan, and Silanda. The rest of the Nervana group were women, children, and elderly people who couldn’t fight.

At that moment, Jahan, who had been silent, spoke up, his voice still nasally.

“Wait, you don’t always have to fight to win.”

“What are you talking about, Jahan? Are you saying that the Perugia army, led by the red-haired woman, will just fall into the waterfall and disappear on its own?”

Silanda shouted.

Jahan mumbled in a subdued voice.

“…That could happen. I mean, we should keep the possibility open.”

Silanda clicked her tongue and sharply turned her head away from Jahan. But at that moment, everyone except her noticed that Jahan was pointing at something with his finger.

“Wait, you don’t mean…?”

Fiarca muttered under her breath, following Jahan’s gaze. Kiyan and Lehijin also turned their attention to where Jahan was pointing. Piache and Inaken’s mouths fell open, while Ihita let her trembling hands drop to her sides. Finally, Silanda glanced back as well, her eyes widening as she followed Jahan’s gesture.

At the tip of his finger stood a massive dam constructed entirely of spider webs.

* * *

Enya regained consciousness once more.

Everything around her was moving too fast. Her vision was shaking uncontrollably. The fast-moving scenery made it feel like she was flying.

She noticed she was holding onto something. Soft fur.

“Huht…!”

It was then that she realized she was riding on the body of the skull spider.

Panicking, Enya quickly tried to get up, but she couldn’t move. She was bound by something. She was wrapped in spider webs on the flat surface of the skull spider’s back.

‘Did they tie me down to prevent me from falling?’

With heavy breaths, Enya looked around again. The scenery around her changed rapidly, almost too fast for her to keep up with.