At night, Tilan, Ores, and the newly acquainted Sura sat by the campfire.
The wood in the jungle was quite damp, sending up curling white smoke as it burned. The sections occasionally bubbled slightly, emitting a sizzling sound.
Beside the campfire was a slab laid askew, upon which were yellowing, hard flatbreads that released a faint aroma when roasted.
Ores was currently lying sideways next to Tilan, her head resting on the girl's lap, her arms slightly folded as she slept soundly. Her silver hair fell across her fair neck and the grass leaves, reflecting a faint halo in the firelight.
Occasionally, Tilan poked the fire with a twig while conversing with Sura opposite her. At that mont, Sura was fiddling with the musket in her hands, seemingly maintaining or repairing it.
"Did you make the gun yourself?" Tilan asked, looking curiously at the musket with the wooden stock through the fire.
"Yes, I've recently managed to find an abandoned lathe. After repairing it, the first thing I did was make this gun. But it seems there are still many improvents to be made," Sura explained as she used a screwdriver to disassemble various parts for inspection.
"Though I've had decent training, my size and strength are still too small. If I can avoid close combat, it's best to do so," she explained her actions, then seed to rember sothing and asked Tilan.
"You seem quite adept with the lance. Did you learn it before?"
"Yes, I learned from a group of knights before," Tilan replied.
"Knights, huh? It seems your family background isn't small," she appeared unsurprised at this dieval reference.
"Are there knights nearby here too?" Tilan inquired.
"Probably not around here. Maybe there are a few defenders resembling knights where the Grey Feather Species are gathered, but for an organized knightly order, you'd have to speak of the eastern Mouse-Ear Clan kingdom. They have very brave warbands."
"mbers of the Mouse-Ear Clan aren't tall, they're all about my size, but they are nurous and the kingdom has ford a cavalry patrol to continuously safeguard the territory."
"Didn't you say there are war machines roaming around marauding and killing? How can the Mouse-Ear Clan still establish a kingdom?"
"That's because my settlent and species are quite weak. There are also so powerful species that can maintain the security of their territories and have ways to divert war machines, keeping them away from their territory. If they allowed those machines to kill rampantly, the world would have long been destroyed."
"The chanical Council..." Tilan recalled the long history of the cult.
"Yes, it seems to be called the ρ chanical Council. They are creations of Sun Rou," Sura indicated her scholarly knowledge.
"Sounds particularly ancient." It was surprisingly the long-extinct seventeenth generation ρ chanical Council, Tilan was astonished.
The two gradually chatted while the flatbreads heated on both sides. Sura picked them up, divided them into three pieces, and handed two pieces to Tilan.
"We'll have to make do today; tomorrow when we return to the settlent, we should be able to eat sothing better. Although Elk Chief's hands and feet are a bit clumsy, he still cooks quite well."
"Hmm." Tilan took them, then shook the sleeping Ores on her lap to wake her for food.
Awakening drowsily, Ores's eyes were sowhat dazed but regained focus upon seeing the firelight and the flatbread in the girl's hand.
"Tilan, want to eat." She straightforwardly expressed her desire.
"Alright, take it slowly, don't choke." Fearing Ores might eat too quickly and choke, Tilan broke the flatbread into smaller pieces and gave them to her. Then she picked up a nearby makeshift wooden cup carved out and let her drink so water.
Soon, the third of the flatbread was gone, but Ores was clearly not satisfied and looked eagerly at the remaining portion in Tilan's hand.
"Oh…" Tilan chuckled and shook her head, once again dividing and handing half, which ant one-sixth, to Ores.
"I can't give you the rest; at least let taste it."
Ores continued to munch on the small chunks of flatbread Tilan broke apart and lastly licked Tilan's fingers, which had traces of flour. The tickling and moist sensation made the girl involuntarily pull her hand back.
"Don't lick randomly; it's not very clean." Tilan instructed her and then slowly ate her portion.
The wheat berries in the flatbread were not finely ground, with so remnants of bran mixed in—a situation hardly encountered in modern society, offering Tilan a sense of novelty. As for the taste, it was rather plain, considering there were no other seasonings. On the bright side, such flatbread could be preserved for an extended period after roasting, suitable for carrying on long journeys.
"What did you co out for, Sura, this ti?"
"I ca out to hunt, of course, but unfortunately didn't find suitable ga. Instead, I encountered those 'Black Spot Beasts'."
"The 'Black Spot Beast' is the beast you speared to death during the day, right? Doesn't it count as prey?"
"Of course not. Though it has plenty of at, none of it is edible. It's entirely poisonous," Sura shook her head.
"These creatures aren't a natural product but war beasts bred by the 'Red Poison Seed' akin to the war machines that love slaughtering, which are detested by the species across the continent."
"Oops," she suddenly recalled sothing.
"Tomorrow, we must hurry back. If 'Black Spot Beasts' appear here, it ans 'Red Poison Seed' should be nearby. These guys are marauding bandits, setting fires everywhere and capturing slaves. We need to hurry back and inform Elk Chief."
"Oh, is it that severe?" Tilan was quite surprised.
"Of course, while there are good and bad people in each species, you'd better not trust any 'Red Poison Seed'. They're rotten to the core. They aren't the favored of the Holy Sun but a species purely created for war."
"I've heard that in the past, when various Holy Suns fought, these guys were unleashed onto enemy planets. They have strong resistance to various poisons and radiations while constantly spreading toxins and radiations, damaging the local planet's environnt. This led to the massive death of the favored species and the holiness of the Holy Sun weakened."
"Wherever these creatures go, there's toxin. If they weren't exceptionally cunning and treacherous, they'd have long been eradicated." Speaking of this, Sura was very angry, leaving a scratch mark on the tool in her hand.
"Hmm, so going to bed early tonight?" Tilan thought for a mont and replied.
"Yes, early to bed and early to rise." Sura devoured the flatbread in her hand and then gulped a mouthful of water, subsequently tidying up her tools and musket.
Then the three lay down around the fire, extinguished the campfire, and used broken branches and leaves to cover up the surroundings to obscure the view and keep potential animals at bay. Gradually, they fell asleep.
The next morning, the three woke up early. Shortly after daybreak, they began their journey heading out of the jungle. All the way, the grassy vegetation and dense plants created a wild ss, making the trio quite tattered, with nurous leaves and mud adorning them. However, upon exiting the jungle, they gazed into the distance at a vast sparse tree savanna; the dry yellow mingled with green lushness, under the wide sky, several eagles soared across the heavens.
"Let's go, beneath that red mountain is our settlent ho!" Sura stood on a small dirt mound, pointing to the vaguely visible Red Rock Mountain in the distance.
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