A Story of Evil

Chapter 149: Crystal Hunting II

Within the territory of Hex, Damian paid a visit once again. The citizens didn't notice when he arrive specifically because his wings were plucked out as, these were necessary sacrifices in order to revive the trinity. Yet this doesn't make him someone who can easily be defeated or looked down upon. On the contrary, Damian was still more powerful than any servant of the emperors and, he was certainly still more powerful than Jubilee.

This weakened Damian came to [Serpent's Fang] for a single purpose. The request he made on the creation of the potion was taking a long time too long for his liking. Forcing him to come back to the lady serpent who, as always, was busy with her work.

"Oh hey, you're here again." The lady commented, also weakened because of the ceremony.

"Yes. You should also be aware why I'm here Hex."

"I want to guess but all my brain cells are already working on the thing you want so, can you just tell me?" She said in reply, reading through some papers.

"Hex, don't you think you're taking longer than usual?" Damian said in a strict tone of voice. 

"Oh on the contrary, I believe that I am working just on time Damian." She said, bringing down the stack of papers she was holding and giving the head emperor a stare.

"You see the formula is almost complete. I gotta hand it to that human, he purposefully made some of the equations a bit more difficult to understand."

"So you can't decipher it after all?"

"Did you not hear what I just said? This is almost complete. The only thing left for us is to find a crystal dragon. That's where we need to place the formula because, leaving it in its liquid form won't produce any results."

"That would be a bit difficult." Damian said in reply. 

It wasn't like defeating the crystal dragons was too hard of a task. In fact, Damian himself could take one down without breaking a sweat. The problem was that, these same creatures have fled from their last nest. Making their current whereabouts a complete mystery.

"Yeah well...that's our problem now. Do you want me to send out my troops to look for it?" Hex asked.

"No. That would take too long and time isn't something that we have in abundance." Damian said in reply.

"What are you planning then? Search for it yourself?"

"Precisely that. I'm gonna bring some crystals back within ten days." Damian said.

"You sure you can do it chief? You're not particularly in the best shape." Hex said in reply, referring ot how Damian was weaker due to the condition of his wings.

"I'll be fine. This isn't the first time I'd be fighting solo." Damian said as he finally headed out. Searching for the dragon which had the exact same material that Sol's team needed.

Mana Crystals.

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...

...

Nighttime has finally come. Within the domains, this means rest from a long days work as everyone withdrew to their own abodes. But not for Shard, the team that went to look for mana crystals. For them, this means setting up camp for the night.

The women were in charge of cooking - slicing, mixing, as well as serving portions equally. Meanwhile, the men were in charge of building up the tents. The roles were not gender based. It just so happened that Cinder was a natural cook herself while, Alice was proficient in cutting things. From where she had practice was something nobody liked to ask because the last one that did wasn't able to eat a decent meal for days.

Meanwhile, there was no better person to make the tents than someone as strong as Hendrickson. Although unable to use any long range steel spell, he could bend nearby steel to his will. Allowing the tents to not only be secured but, almost look like proper houses.

Covering the group was a [Shadow Crystal], another item produced by King Jubilee's meddling with the natural state of things. Through it, Sol could summon Pandora's shadow. A seemingly living entity which cloaks all the mana they use and emit from the outside world. Furthermore, it also covers all the light being released. Hence, even with a bonfire going, nobody could actually see them.

The only limitation to the item is that, it needs to make use of an already existing shadow. The height of this original shadow and, its width of coverage, would both be variables imitated by the [Shadow Crystal].

At that moment, the group was directly under a slanted building. With vines, branches and roots of a great tree holding it together. This humongous shade was used as a catalyst and, through it, the team was able to secure a safe haven for the night. But it wasn't like they came across any threat yet.

During the day, the team has encountered no problem. It was almost as if the place was deserted of any monsters. Any place they went to, even the ones which seemed to be natural tents for monsters, were left empty.

What they didn't know was that, this was caused by the marching of Herald's army. Since his troops were closest to the domains, his monsters were mostly scattered near it. And because King Jubilee has wiped them all out, it was highly unlikely for Shard to see any monsters for quite a while.

Yet even if they knew this, Sol would not be the type to lower his guard. And so, whether they knew it or not gave no benefit to Shard.

However, unlike the operations before, their supply was limited. Since there was no clear route nor destination, no courier could be sent to give them food. Partly because this would also give away their location to their enemies.

It is purely due to this that the team needed to eat sparingly. Even Hendrickson's appetite needed to be tamed. Something which the iron user isn't even sure if he is capable of. But it wasn't like he had a choice. Not with the food they had for that night cabbage soup.

"Dinner would be ready in a few minutes guys." Cinder announced in an upbeat tone.

"Are we really only going to eat that grotesque thing?" Hendrickson's tone sulked.

"Why Rick? Can't you handle a bit of fasting."

"Of course I can! Who do you think are you talking to?"

"Good. Then I don't want to hear any complaints anymore or it's no dinner for you." Sol said, getting the agreement of every member of the group.

The few minutes Cinder talked off passed by quickly. Since the food was simply soup, it was easier to prepare. Everyone got their portion placed on a modest sized bowl. With a spoon also being provided. They each had a small piece of bread to go along with this soup but, no meat was provided.

Hendrickson who vowed not to complain anymore simply dug in to the food and, he found it to be quite delightful. Not getting enough after simply having a few sips. The bread's texture, smell and taste all blended well with the soup. This is primarily due to the garlic like taste that came with the soup which matched everything the bread had to offer quite well. With the baked yeast and dough melting as soon as Hendrickson placed it inside his mouth.

The group was in a lively mood again as they saw how Henderson's opinion on soup rapidly changed. With the steel user being the one who finished most of the soup from the cauldron. Making him the first one to withdraw to his tent to sleep.

"Look at that guy. It's like he wasn't complaining a while ago." Alice commented.

"Well it's not like we can blame him. Cinder's cooking is really superb after all."

"Don't be silly, I just did what I could with the dish." Cinder's comment always went along this line.

She didn't brag about the fact that she was actually the daughter of a chef. After all she wasn't claimed by this same family. Nevertheless, she developed a love for cooking which she always believed to be something uniquely her own, not something she inherited.

"So who's in charge of the scouting for this night?"

"Jade would be in charge of the first shift. We have small numbers so we can't afford having two scouts at the same time. Plus the [Shadow Crystal's] cloaking should be enough to hide us from any potential threat."

Everyone agreed with Sol's decision. Primarily because he was right and, a bit partially because they wanted to sleep too. 

"I'd be taking the shift after him. The rest of you can sleep soundly for the night." Sol said, proceeding to mentioning the ones who'd be on the same duty the following nights.

With this, supper was finally finished. Everyone cleaned up and, retired to the comfort of their own beds. That is, aside from Jade who begun to keep watch and, someone else who came out after three hours elapsed.

"I thought you were already asleep." Jade said, knowing who it was that was walking towards him without having to turn Solomon.

"I just needed to make sure that everyone else is in dreamland before I talk to you. This isn't something we can discuss freely after all."

"Yeah well, that just means you somehow believe me now right?"

"Not quite." Sol said, sitting right in front of Jade as he followed up:

"Let's discuss how to handle this situation."