Chapter 79: Thunderstorm

It is the middle of the night. A thunderstorm with lightning strikes the ground. It's a violent storm, with the cold howling wind, deafening that the babies and children are crying nonstop. The animals and monsters that are with us curl up with each other, obviously frightened by the wrath of Mother Nature.

The bad guys are all in panic. A loud noise. Maybe a landslide, now that they're trapped. I can hear the word "schedule" and angry customers everywhere.

They're clearly pissed off because the weather is causing a delay in their transportation.

"Get out now and help us clear the way"

"And what if we don't?" [Diana]

"Loud mouth, huh, then take this!"

The man from the Aru village, obviously angered by my comments, didn't hesitate to kick me to vent his anger. I am neither a slave nor a product to be sold, and as such, he can obviously do whatever he wants to me. He doesn't really go crazy on others, maybe because he wants to keep them healthy and strong. A good, healthy slave fetches a good price on the market. I'm sure the deal here is that he gets some of the money and the money is used for the war fund for the village. Well, that is, if he doesn't spend the money on alcohol and such, which is unlikely.

"Please, she's just a child. Have mercy"

A father, who couldn't help but feel sorry for me when he saw me being kicked by that horrible Aru village man, shouted in the hope that the senseless beating would stop.

(Oh no, I wanted to go out and try to talk to a forest again! I appreciate your thoughts, but please don't interfere!) [Diana]

"Pfft, as if a kick here could do anything to her. Don't let up or my hand will get dirty" [Marianne's brother].

"Shall I spit on it to make it dirtier?" [Diana]

Because of Marianne's brother's quick thinking, or maybe because the guy from Aru village just couldn't care less about me, I get to go out in this cold thunderstorm.

The elven slave, knowing that I can communicate with nature, gives me a signal. They will make sure that I am hidden from the sight of the bad guy, so that I can talk freely with the forest. Even Marianne's brother starts to make a racket, so that I don't get all the attention. I'd like to believe that the ruckus he's making is for the sake of all of us, I'd like to believe that, but his acting is even better than Neloufa's acting on stage, which makes it look like he really doesn't want to start clearing the landslide.

The thunderstorm makes it difficult for the animals to follow me. The bees that were following us are now far away from our location. There are snakes here and there, along with wild dogs taking shelter, but approaching them will arouse suspicion, so the safest thing to do is just talk to the trees.

(The Hanging Treant is not far from your current location. Try to delay clearing the landslide as long as possible so that the Hanging Treant can catch up to you) [Tree A].

(One of the birds informed us that the witch Merlin is currently trying her best to help you. Surely you can rest now.) [Tree B]

(There is a group of knights and adventurers not far away. I think they're here for you.) [Snake]

(I see. Any idea how long this will take?) [Diana]

(They are far away. The weather is also making it difficult for them, and it's dark, making their whole journey even more dangerous. There's even a monster stopping them. I'm guessing two hours or so at best.) [Wild Dog]

Two hours... I'm hoping they'll make it by then, but the strong looking guy and the guy from Aru Village are using their powerful spell to speed up the process of clearing the landslide. I wouldn't even be surprised if they cleared it in less than an hour.

"Tchh. Damn lowlife" (How is it?) [Marianne's brother].

Marianne's brother approaches me. I guess he's doing that because some of the bad guys are starting to get suspicious of me. I quickly tell him what the forest has told me.

(Hmm... Can't you ask the forest to make a bigger landslide?) [Marianne's brother]

(They can't) [Diana]

(Is there a monster nest nearby? It could be anything from a simple goblin to something powerful like a golem. Anything. Ask the forest to provoke these monsters and lead them here.) [Marianne's brother]

(Are you crazy! The other one will get caught too!) [Diana]

(That, or we all meet a fate worse than death) [Marianne's brother]

There are babies and children here. I'm sure losing them wouldn't make a dent in the bad guys' wallets, so they wouldn't think twice about throwing them as a distraction, but if we don't hurry, they'll surely be separated from their parents sooner or later.

What should I do?

Chapter end