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Chapter 12: Lake Reflections
The night passed for both sides in urgency.
Targus awaited the unfolding of the attack plan, while Brandon worried about not being able to grasp the time. Madara's army and Buchi's eleven young members moved side by side in the silent darkness, fate distancing and yet binding them to each other.
But the sun would ultimately rise as usual. The first rays of light seemed to just skim the tips of the hair, yet the morning passed quickly, with half the day passing peacefully, not even encountering the most common brown bears in the area.
After entering summer, the bears in the wilderness seemed to become gentle creatures.
Hearing the sound of bushes being parted up ahead, Brandon couldn't help but squint his eyes. Sunlight filtered through the fresh green leaves, casting a beautiful golden hue in the gaps. He lifted his head from the makeshift stretcher at the sound, and like a mirror, a shiny reflection entered his eyes.
It was a lake.
Like a green gem embedded under the mountains and forests, the ripples polished a pool of shimmering light.
"Look, it's a lake!" Little Phineas exclaimed in surprise.
Freya immediately knocked on the back of his head, making the boy cry out in pain.
This was not a good time for sightseeing. At present, each of them had better be cautious because no one could say whether they would encounter Madara's army nearby. Despite the peaceful night, safety wasn't assured; rather, it was due to the area's lack of strategic value, as Brandon had mentioned.
As for what strategic value was, Freya didn't know.
That young man from Braggs always seemed to know more than anyone else. Although she was somewhat unwilling, she had to admit it.
Was every young person in the city so outstanding?
Subtly, Freya's perception completed a transition from one extreme to another. She couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. If she had also been trained in the militia camp in Braggs, she would definitely have learned better than that shameless guy.
Life was really unfair. She thought to herself.
But only heaven knew that there was no such thing as a 'Braggs militia training camp'. The militia training of Su Fei, no, it should be Brandon, was completed in Drage. Of course, he would never reveal this misunderstanding at this time. He needed to maintain some authority to make these young people believe in him—a team without a leader wouldn't be able to get out of trouble.
Freya might be suitable for this position in the future, but not now.
As Brandon pondered this, his gaze involuntarily shifted towards her. The girl with the long ponytail scanned the surroundings, pausing briefly before easing her grip on the sword and exhaling a sigh of relief.
"We can rest here for a while." Freya ordered only after confirming there was no danger.
The crowd collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm exhausted."
"I bet when we get to Ridenburg, I'll sleep like a log without a care in the world."
"Let's worry about that when we get there."
"Ethan, shut your beak." Conversation immediately erupted from the young people at the edge of the forest, though they tried to keep their voices down, the words were filled with a sense of relief.
Everyone was too exhausted.
The night was not too long, but for the tense nerves, it was a kind of torment. It was hard for ordinary people to imagine the pressure of life and death moments.
The group had traversed through the mountain forest by the dim starlight, surrounded by pitch-black darkness. All that filled the air were the intertwined nocturnal sounds of insects flapping their wings, the distant hooting of night owls piercing through the forest.
In the darkness, the rustling sounds seemed to pass through one bush after another, and the collective silence enveloped everyone like a silent ghost seizing their souls, the chilling breath couldn't help but tighten everyone's nerves.
Hidden behind the dense branches and leaves was always the unknown, a concept familiar to every young member of the militia.
The chilly dew had only dissipated slowly at sunrise, and when the young people finally emerged from the forest, it seemed as though they had been plucked from the water, their faces pale and wet hair sticking to their foreheads; even Brandon was no exception.
In the past, he used to sleep in his own peaceful bed, away from all the turmoil. Now, however, he lay on a stretcher, surrounded by peculiar sounds. Particularly unsettling was the darkness, where blades of grass occasionally brushed against his face and unknown insects crawled on his neck, inducing a chilling sensation.
The thought of having to endure more than another week of such days was driving him a bit crazy. Now, he deeply longed for his past life, even if it was a bit dull, he still preferred to return to a stable life.
When a homebody first resolved to make a change, they would often do so with fervent determination, yet their enthusiasm would quickly wane. However, upon seeing the fatigue and worry etched on Freya's face, Su Fei's heart settled once more.
Because he was being trusted by those people.
He suddenly realized that he had to discard the identity of Su Fei and try to accept a new life. He couldn't help but touch his chest, realizing that it wasn't Brandon who had died, but Su Fei.
It wasn't that he accepted this world, but that this world accommodated him.
Brandon's stretcher was placed by the lake, with colorful pebbles not far away. He first checked on Jason's condition. The latter miraculously survived, but his physical condition was not optimistic.
"How is he?" Markumi couldn't help but ask.
"Hard to say," Su Fei, no, now should be called Brandon, shook his head.
Markumi fell silent, staring blankly at the lake in the distance. The lake was called Clear Lake. Their arrival there indicated they were close enough to Green Village, although only Brandon among them seemed to have a firm grasp of the direction.
As Brandon's gaze fixed upon a particular direction, he observed faint gray wisps of smoke weaving through the gaps in the forest canopy. It seemed like Kabirus had already launched an attack on the village, its fate mirroring that of Buchi's. Madara's army attacked swiftly, just like he remembered from the game.
Actually, Brandon still remembered this lake. He looked up and gazed into the distance at the other shore of the lake, above which the trees were lush and verdant. Underneath the dark mountains, however, he could no longer see the familiar figures.
He remembered spending a long time around here, leveling up by killing brown bears and foxes. Thinking back to the days of making money selling leather in the game, Brandon couldn't help but smile.
He withdrew his hand from Jason's forehead and said to Markumi, "Do me a favor."
"What?"
"Help me take off the bandages."
Brandon needed to change the bandages, but before that, he also needed Roma to distribute the sausages he had taken from his home to everyone, claiming to let everyone taste the flavor of the Goran-Elsun region's specialty.
It was both amusing and frustrating that these young people hadn't thought to prepare some food before escaping Buchi. Even Freya, who seemed so steady, hadn't thought of it.
So their food reserves were just a string of sausages.
"Let's talk about what you saw when you left Buchi, to understand more about the enemy... Ow, Markumi, be gentle," he winced as pain shot through him.
Seeing this scene, Freya couldn't help but sigh, "Let me do it, move aside, Markumi."
Brandon was taken aback, but Freya approached him, gently lowering her head to carefully untie his bandages. Yet, after a brief pause, she softly inquired, "Are you certain about giving food to everyone just like this?"
"What’s wrong with that?"
This damn guy, he obviously knows what’s wrong with that!
Freya gritted her teeth in frustration, but what amused Brandon was that even in her frustration, this kind-hearted girl still dared not make any slight moves with her hands.
"You know what I'm talking about, don't you? We can't go to Ridenburg, can we?" Freya's voice lowered even more, almost inaudible.
Brandon couldn't help but give Freya another glance. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Aren’t your aunt and uncle also going there?"
Freya lowered her head, her hands untying the bandages paused.
"I'm sorry," Brandon sighed, "If there's a chance, I'll try my best. But I can't guarantee anything. I can't bear such a big responsibility."
"Thank you."
A barely audible response.
"Big Sis, Brandon, what are you whispering about?" Phineas's untimely voice rang out, as he sat leaning against a birch tree, curiously watching the two. If Freya was the person he had always admired, then Brandon was his new idol.
His words successfully drew everyone's attention, and all eyes turned to them involuntarily.
As Freya's face flushed red, she suddenly realized she was too close to Brandon and quickly stepped back, stammering, "Oh, it's nothing, just talking about..." Unfortunately, in her naivety, she didn't realize her explanation only exacerbated the situation, making it appear more like a cover-up.
Especially her flushed face. The young militia members had never seen their chief commander appear so shy before.
Roma rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up from the ground, appearing as though she had just realized what had happened. Despite Freya's worry that she would misunderstand and her persistent gesturing, to her surprise, the merchant girl seemed preoccupied with something else. She merely smiled nonchalantly and said, "It's okay, Freya."
"Roma, you—" Freya stopped short of completing her sentence, instead flushing red with embarrassment.
She glared at Roma, almost wanting to go up and strangle that dummy.
But Brandon noticed a worried glance from Neiberto in the crowd. Did he perhaps have feelings for Freya? But lacking courage wouldn't do. He couldn't help shaking his head.
"Alright," he interrupted, "I was discussing the issue of food distribution with your chief commander."
Once Brandon spoke, there was a kind of natural authority that made everyone involuntarily turn their attention to him.
But Miss Roma, what's with those sparkling eyes of yours? Brandon couldn’t help thinking to himself, Are you eyeing a pile of treasures? Shaking his head, he continued, "This amount of food, even if we ration it, won't be enough for us. Besides, we need to maintain our strength to handle any potential encounters with enemies."
"But—" Freya barely uttered half a word before she saw Brandon shaking his head at her.
"Green Village is not far away. Why don't we go there to find food? Undead don't need to eat or sleep, and those things originally belong to us humans. We naturally have the right to take them back." He replied.
"Green Village? Hasn't it been attacked by Madara?" Ekko sitting on the ground asked. Brandon had bandaged his leg, and it had almost healed by now.
The bandages provided a potential healing value, indicating the slow effect generated during its next activation (change). In the game, it took effect every six minutes, but in this world, the recovery period had been extended to a day. Therefore, the wound would slowly heal over the course of a day until the next bandage change.
"Of course, there are enemies, but we're moving in small groups, so we might not necessarily come into direct conflict with them," Brandon replied confidently. He had long devised a plan for the escape route and felt assured about it at this moment.
"Small groups, meaning infiltration?" Phineas suddenly became interested.
"Yes, I'll pick a few people to go with me." Brandon nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone, "Ekko and Vlad are injured, Markumi and Neiberto, you stay to take care of them. Roma, you stay to take care of Bessa. As for the others, Ethan and Freya, you two come with me."
"No!"
"No!" Freya and Phineas both objected.
"Ethan and I can go, Brandon, you must stay." Freya took a deep breath, wondering if Brandon knew how serious his injuries were.
"I want to go too!" Phineas protested.
Brandon looked at the two of them, sighed, "Alright, I'll answer your questions one by one." He said, biting the bandage and then wrapping it around his body several times, tightening it.
A faint green +2 appeared from him the next moment.
He took a deep breath, feeling his strength gradually returning to his body. Although he was still weak, especially with the corrosive poison still eroding his vitality, at least he could barely move on his own now.
He looked up and asked, "Miss Freya, what's your reason for asking me to stay? Is it because of my injuries?"
"Isn’t that obvious." Freya responded in a huff, turning her head away.
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