Chapter 1007: Where the hell is the enemy base?
Chapter 1007: Where the hell is the enemy base?
A week passed since Erik and the others left the outpost, but their search for the enemy base in the sector had yielded no significant results.
Erik wasn't taking this news well. He didn't have a deadline, but with each passing day, the situation in Frant could change.
Besides, the lack of progress itself frustrated him. He had been hopeful he would be able to find the outpost relatively soon, but he didn't.
In a city, there were plenty of people and of electronics to talk to and use, so it was simpler to find something for Erik, but in the wilderness, in the middle of a war, with people trying to hide bases and secrets with the best of their abilities, it wasn't simple at all.
For all he knew, the blackguards might have started communicating by using birds. That was how bad the situation was for him.
Emily had been using her brain crystal power to glimpse the future and get some hints about the base location. After all, since Erik wanted to find this place, it was likely she would have seen something in her visions, because he knew he was bound to find it sooner or later.
Maybe it was because of Emily's power that he would find it, and in turn, finding it, gave the hint to Emily.
<I better stop thinking about these things if I don't want my brain to fry.>
However, while her visions were vague and difficult to interpret, those few clues they got narrowed down the search area.
The group knew they were in the right area, but the exact location of the base remained a mystery.
One of the most perplexing aspects of their search was the lack of enemy patrols or soldiers in the area.
It appeared the blackguards had vanished, leaving no trace of their presence. But the absence of visible enemies did not mean they weren't there, or that they were safe.
In the end, Erik was too tired and too nervous to keep searching.
"Let's make our camp, shall we?"
The others nodded. It was the middle of winter, and despite the temperatures, which were not that rigid, for some reason, it was still cold. There was a limit to what walking could do to keep them warm.
Since in the past months Erik used his Plant Master brain crystal power to make small wooden buildings they could use to rest, they didn't even need to start a fire to warm themselves because the insulation was great, and the number of people within those buildings made the temperature rise.
"This time, don't forget to make the foliage grow on it, and also remember to spread the Luminara Serpentis around. I don't want to wake up again in the middle of the night because of a wandering thaid," Mira said.
"All right, then. Let me get to work."
Erik channeled mana through his neural links. The surrounding air got filled with energy, which redirected itself at the surrounding vegetation.
The ground beneath him began to tremble and sprout, plants bursting forth with an almost sentient purpose.
Tall, sturdy vines shot up from the earth, intertwining and thickening to form the walls of a small building.
The vines wove together, creating a structure large enough to house ten people.
Leaves and branches formed a roof, providing exceptional insulation against the winter chill but also protecting them from anyone who could have seen it.
The wooden building looked like a giant bush, and at the same time, it looked like a tree.
Erik manipulated the plants further. Vines started taking the shape of beds, and plants with large leaves filled them.
Other plants, growing larger than they would normally have, twisted and shaped themselves into tables and chairs.
Next, Erik turned his attention to creating a secondary structure. He commanded the plants to shape a smaller building next to the main shelter.
This time, the vines grew in a more compact form, shaping themselves into a toilet.
The plants dug into the ground, creating a system that would carry waste away from the area, ensuring sanitation and preventing foul smells from reaching the ones who used the toilet last.
As he finished, Erik opened his eyes and surveyed his work.
<This is a good ass shelter. I should really work on architecture. Maybe when all of this is done, I can go into construction work. It would be cool to help people settle in a unique part of the nation. If I plant the Luminara Serpentis, I can prevent Thaids from attacking.>
The two structures stood ready. Satisfied, he nodded, knowing his companions would appreciate.
"That's nice," Mira said. "What about the beds?" she asked, giving Erik a wink.
"They are inside. With the bedrolls, I'm sure they will be very comfortable."
The group inspected the building. When they left, the other Chimaeric Demons may have used
it as a small outpost.
They were Erik's clones and had his memories, so not having the Plant Master brain crystal power might have been odd. It simplified things too much in the wilderness.
Erik's thoughts went back to when he made that giant tree in the White Desert. <I wonder if it is still standing...>
Maybe it died, but at least the trunk had to still be standing. It was gigantic, after all.
Emily approached Erik. "Sorry for not having been of much help," the woman said.
Erik looked at Emily with a frown. "Not helpful? We have been able to narrow down the search area a lot thanks to you. Don't be sorry."
Emily nodded. Indeed, her visions didn't help so much as to find the base, but they had been
useful.
The vision Emily had was blurred. It wasn't perfect, but Emily had been able to glimpse at something that gave them an idea where this base might have been located. She saw an orchid
put in a vase.
At the beginning, Mira, Amber, and June weren't that convinced that might be a useful clue. After all, orchids could have been picked everywhere. Though Erik knew it wasn't exactly like that here in this forest. The most plausible thing was that the orchid had been plucked
recently.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
The problem was where. The group didn't know the area that well, and they did not know where the plant might have been picked up.
However, Erik had always had a special connection to plants, and orchids need certain conditions. Orchids led to water. So, there weren't many places to search around.
That meant Erik and the others had to find bodies of water, even if small, and he sent the Chimaeric Demons to search around, shapeshifting into something that could fly. They found it, but Erik expected they would find the base itself, which they didn't.