At that mont, everyone but Stella Sterling was sitting on the ground, completely drained.
They had run far enough that the creature likely couldn’t catch them. Utterly exhausted, they had no choice but to sit and rest for a while.
The distant fire crackled, the sound carrying clearly to them despite the distance.
They looked over at Sterling, who was standing a short distance away and surveying their surroundings.
Their hearts swelled with gratitude. If Sterling hadn’t been so decisive, they might still be entangled in those vines.
If they had kept fighting, they would have all been killed by those vines as soon as their stamina ran out.
They hadn’t forgotten the skeleton they’d seen in the tree earlier. It had clearly been ensnared and drained of its lifeblood.
A wave of fear washed over them as they realized they could have easily t the sa fate.
Sterling had saved their lives again.
"Stop dwelling on it and get so rest. Once you’ve recovered, we’re moving out."
Stella Sterling glanced back at them, her voice tinged with displeasure. ’They need to focus on resting now. If their stamina doesn’t recover and they run into more danger, it could be fatal.’
"Yes, Sterling."
They all nodded, not daring to let their minds wander. They took out stead buns and water from their backpacks to replenish their energy, then sat back-to-back to rest.
Shane Lawrence, in particular, didn’t dare to waste a single second.
’Although he was a co-leader alongside Jed Sterling, his skills were no better than the others.’
’He wasn’t much older than them, and he had spent the last two years training desperately, determined not to be left behind.’
’But these four were the most outstanding of the newest batch of recruits.’
’They were already skilled before they joined, and they had received formal training after entering the base.’
’When it ca to combat skills, he was inferior to these four rookies.’
’He knew full well that his current position was only due to his seniority as one of the original mbers.’
’That was exactly why he had to prove himself. He couldn’t afford to drag the team down. So, for now, he had to use every available second to recover his stamina.’
While the others rested, Stella Sterling scanned their surroundings.
The Kryllian Mountains were normally desolate and uninhabited, virtually untouched by human feet.
The flora here was anything but ordinary.
In this spot, there were no towering trees like before, nor was the ground covered in vines. Instead, the surrounding trees emanated a peculiar, sweet fragrance.
After a mont’s thought, Stella Sterling took out a protective mask and put it on.
She then had the others put on their masks as well. "Once you’re rested enough, we’re leaving. Sothing about this fragrance doesn’t feel right."
The others nodded and put on their protective masks without a second thought.
By now, they harbored no doubts whatsoever about Ivy Sterling’s words.
Even as he rested, Nathan Cheney couldn’t help but reflect.
’He rembered the day the whole base gathered, the first ti he’d ever seen Sterling. Back then, he’d just wondered where this woman, a few years his junior, found the audacity to be so arrogant.’
’Even if Caeluna itself was powerful, she wouldn’t be able to hold her position as its leader for long if she had no ability of her own.’
That’s what he had thought at the ti.
But after spending more ti at Caeluna, he realized that no one else stood a chance of seizing power. The entire organization was run by its female boss; her word was essentially law.
On this mission with Sterling, he was finally starting to understand how she, a woman, had managed to attain her position.
Both the power Sterling displayed and the fact that she had saved their lives multiple tis on this journey had earned Nathan Cheney’s complete and utter respect.
He wasn’t the only one. The others felt the sa, silently vowing to never betray her.
At that mont, Stella Sterling was ntally manipulating her personal dinsion, planting one of the vines she had casually severed and collected earlier.
’This thing could be an effective surprise weapon against her enemies,’ she thought. That was why she had stored one in her dinsion.
She planned to cultivate more of them there, turning them into one of her secret weapons.
At this thought, her gaze fell upon the trees that were emitting the strange fragrance.
After checking to make sure she was completely covered and her protective mask was securely in place, she approached one of the trees.
It was a species she’d never seen before, beautiful and bewitching, as if it could lure away a person’s very soul. Just the small whiff she had caught earlier had made her feel unsteady on her feet.
While the others were busy resting and not paying her any mind, Stella Sterling silently moved a few of the trees into her dinsion and planted them with a thought.
’Once inside her dinsion, it didn’t matter if an item was poisonous or not; she feared nothing. Everything within it was under her control and could not harm her.’
’She’d have soone research these things when she had ti.’
They rested in place for nearly an hour before the others had more or less recovered.
Without any delay, they packed up their gear and set off to search another area.
Gradually, they began to discover bodies.
The bodies were still fresh; they appeared to have died recently.
Shane Lawrence examined them and found that so had died from weapon wounds, suggesting they had been killed in a fight with other people.
The wounds on others, however, were highly unusual. So looked as though they had been inflicted by a fierce beast, while the cause of others was impossible to determine.
Rembering the bizarre vines that had attacked them earlier, the others knew with certainty that other dangers likely lurked within the Kryllian Mountains.
They prayed they wouldn’t encounter anything else like that.
Compared to the primal dangers of the forest, they would much rather face off against people from other factions.
Stella Sterling stared at the corpses. ’They must have arrived here before us,’ she thought, ’but now they’re dead.’
"Sterling, the signs of human passage are becoming more obvious in this area. It seems many people have gathered here. Maybe Professor Lawrence is nearby."
Shane Lawrence approached Stella Sterling, his voice tinged with excitent.
"Mm. Everyone stay alert. Don’t let your guard down."
Stella Sterling nodded. The sky remained overcast, and as evening set in, visibility grew even poorer.
Unexpected dangers were more likely to arise under such conditions.
The group continued forward, and Stella Sterling decided they would rest again soon.
"People up ahead."
Suddenly, Sarah Sterling called out a warning. The group halted and cautiously moved forward to take a look.
Parting the tall grass, they saw six or seven people in camouflage uniforms sitting under a large tree.
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