Chapter 214: The Seven Night Poison

Chapter 214

The Seven Night Poison

"Ah!! Senior, help."

"Senior!!"

"Senior Luke, o-over there!"

"Senior, we’re being attacked by poisonous beasts again!!"

The girls’ cries echoed through the forest. No matter which way they moved, it seemed they were always in the wrong place. Despite their careful checks to ensure they were far from any nests, the poisonous beasts still attacked them.

The 4 female students, although they did nothing to provoke the attacks, were constantly startled and screamed, which made them feel like their energy was draining rapidly.

However, at the same time, they also witnessed how strong Senior Luke was. He didn’t even ask his beast for help. When dealing with larger poisonous beasts, he used his bow. For smaller ones, he effortlessly slashed them with his knife, making them fall. Watching him handle the beasts with such ease increased their respect for him even more.

The little Apple benefited the most. Previously, while handling the beast corpses, it had easily advanced to level 1, but that’s because there was a lot of corpses. Initially, Ellie thought it would take a long time for it to reach level 2. However, after just the remaining half day, the little Apple was already at the high end of level 1, just a step away from officially reaching level 2.

Now she realized that it could advance more easily by consuming poison rather than just random beast. Although there were many beasts among the corpses, how many of them were truly poisonous? Compared to the constant influx of poisonous beasts drawn by the quality "bait," this elite food source rapidly increased its power.

"It’s getting late. You should rest outside. I’ll escort you to the entrance of the Fragrant Held Forest," Ellie said to the 4 students. If they stayed with her in the forest, they wouldn’t be able to get any sleep.

The 4 looked at each other. Despite feeling a bit disappointed, they agreed with Senior Luke. Although he could protect them from harm, they still needed rest.

"So, tomorrow..."

"Mmm, I’ll wait for you at the forest entrance again," Ellie replied. She didn’t want to miss this harvesting opportunity. Even though she didn’t know what herbs they were after, the constant attacks from poisonous beasts meant the 4 wouldn’t complete their mission easily.

Upon hearing this, the girls felt very happy. They had feared that Senior Luke would get bored and refuse to guide them anymore. They hadn’t expected him to offer to escort them again.

"A-actually...Senior, won’t you rest in the city with us?" Nara asked shyly.

In truth, it was a normal question, if not for Nara’s shy demeanor that made it seem otherwise... Emma wanted to say something, but ultimately held her tongue. She hid her dissatisfaction, not daring to be impolite in front of Senior Luke.

And yes...the reason Emma was holding back her emotions was because she was experiencing the blossoming of young love!

Even though no one knew who Senior Luke really was or where he came from—he might not even be a high-ranking noble—but he was the only one who could protect her during this perilous time. Many times, when Emma was almost attacked by beasts, it was Senior Luke who intervened and shielded her. Thus, in Emma’s heart, there was only Luke now.

Ellie, on the other hand, had no idea that Emma might have feelings for her, but she was most interested in Emma. After spending the entire half-day together, it became clear that most of the beasts attacked after Emma used her magic. Therefore, it was highly likely that Emma was the student with the hidden magic power that attracted poisonous beasts.

Nara twisted and turned shyly, like a young maiden in bloom. Ellie wanted to laugh out loud. If she were a real man, she might have been charmed by Nara’s actions. Throughout the day, this beautiful girl had tried to get close to her, sometimes pretending to stumble, other times staring at her for long moments and then acting like she just regained her composure, feeling embarrassed and hiding behind others. Ellie called this behavior "baiting," a tactic Nara often used with men she was interested in.

However, it was strange that Nara’s standards seemed lower than in the novel. Usually, if a man wasn’t one of the strong heroes, Nara wouldn’t show any interest. Yet, after Ellie came into this novel, Nara seemed to approach almost every man she met. Even Camp Leader Garik from previous event, Nara also tried her best to approach him.

Maybe the heroine was charming everyone, but the author chose to detail only the interactions with the main characters?

"Mmm, I agree with Nara. Senior, why don’t you rest in the city with us? If you do, I’ll treat you to a meal to thank you," Mirin suggested, breaking the silence wisely. She didn’t think much of it, and simply didn’t want the atmosphere to be so silent.

"No, thank you. I’ll continue my mission in the meantime," Ellie declined. In truth, she just didn’t want to reveal her identity to the 4 girls. Besides, resting in the Fragrant Held Forest wasn’t overly dangerous. Even though beasts had attacked throughout the day, without the bait, the density of the attacks wouldn’t be as high.

Because of Ellie’s firm refusal, the 4 girls reluctantly agreed to return to the safety of the city. Once they left, Ellie disappeared into the forest. She aimed to level up the little Blue Apple as quickly as possible. Along the way while searching for the rest area, if she encountered any beasts, she would deal with them and turn them into food for her little Apple. However, she encountered only a few poisonous beasts. It seemed having the bait around was indeed more beneficial.

Ellie found a small cave to rest in, as she usually did, scattering powder around to mask her scent and using spores to monitor the area while she trained her power. The night passed quietly until nearly midnight when Ellie hadn’t closed her eyes yet, but she noticed something unusual.

The footsteps of a group of people echoed. Although they tried to move quietly, their confidence that they were alone in the forest was high, so they didn’t use any magic power or devices to conceal their noise. Ellie checked on them and saw a large group coming from the depths of the forest, where the Green Forest and the Fragrant Held Forest connected. There were about 30-40 of them, a significant movement, unlikely to be a group undertaking an association mission.

Some hunters took large groups into the tower for the association missions, Ellie had seen such groups in the 1st floor before. But a group of 30-40 people hunting on the 1st floor should have been low-level hunters. However, the gear of this group didn’t suggest they were low-level hunters.

Their equipment, weapons, armor, and coordinated movements were more akin to soldiers from the palace, albeit without the kingdom’s official protective gears.

"Is this the Fragrant Held Forest?" The leader asked.

"Yes, sir. This is the Fragrant Held Forest of the Ares Kingdom Hunter’s Association."

"Mmm, good. Then let’s set up camp here tonight and start searching for that thing tomorrow," Ellie raised her eyebrows at their words. What was this "that thing" they were searching for, and who were these people?

The young woman was unfamiliar with the group’s identity, but she understood that her hunt for poisonous beasts for her little Apple was being disrupted!

"Sir, what should we do if someone enters the Fragrant Held Forest while we’re searching for “that thing”?"

"Hmm? Why? Are you worried about getting caught?" The leader teased, and the others laughed loudly, as if they had just heard a question from the coward, making the questioner feel embarrassed. He wasn’t scared as others thought, just wanted to know how to proceed.

"Alright, alright, don’t laugh too loudly. As for your question...if someone is unlucky enough to enter the Fragrant Held Forest while we’re searching for that thing, then just..." The large man made a throat-slitting gesture, sliding from left to right, symbolizing “killing”.

"Do you understand what I mean?"

"Y-yes, sir. But I’m worried if the Ares Kingdom finds out..."

"So what? Let them find out. They’ll know the name of our group, “The Seven Night Poison!” Our goal is to establish the 8th association. So, to be recognized, we need to create a reputation so big that no one will dare to mess with us in the future, haha," the leader laughed menacingly, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust, while the subordinates applauded his vision.

Their Seven Night Poison group aimed to become one of the recognized “association.” They wanted to be the 8th association globally by recruiting those skilled in using poison. They believed their poisoning skills were superior to other associations. So why should they live in hiding any longer!?

While Apothecary Association, Stratagem Association, and other associations were highly regarded, what did their association lack in comparison? Did they need skilled people? Their members were highly skilled. Did they need someone or equipment to deal with beasts? Their association had that too. To let the world know the greatness of their soon-to-be 8th-ranked association, they needed to gather resources and strengthen their people further.

This time was no different. They had traveled all the way to the city overseen by the Ares Kingdom Hunter’s Association because they had received intelligence from high-ranking leaders about some unusual occurrences. Several people had reported strange activity in the Fragrant Held Forest, which was teeming with poisonous creatures. Their informants had mentioned a group of women who seemed to attract a large number of poisonous beasts, reminiscent of a device their leader had encountered before.

That device had helped the Seven Night Poison group advance to a higher level. It was exactly like the rumor, this device could attract beasts, allowing them to congregate. The leader had established the base of the Seven Night Poison group with this magical device at its center, allowing poisonous beasts to live in the city, where they lived with them and studied their poisons extensively.

Now, if there was another such device, they could expand their territory to accommodate more poisonous creatures and establish another stronghold for the Seven Night Poison group.

Just the thought made him shiver with excitement!

“But, sir, what if they send strong individuals to deal with us? For example, if they send people from the Setter family, what will we do then?” Despite the leader’s confidence, one of his subordinates still voiced his concerns.

Recently, the Setter family of the Ares Kingdom had grown so powerful that they were almost as strong as an association. If they were raiding resources from other cities or kingdoms, there wouldn’t be such worry. But this...this was like challenging the authority of the Setter family. If those people decided to take action...

Smack!!

However, his thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain as the leader slapped him hard, swelling one side of his face. The leader’s eyes blazed with anger and displeasure.

“What are you so afraid of?!! If you’re that scared, why don’t you run away and hide?! They’re just the Setter family, an arrogant noble family. Haven’t you gotten used to the nobles in Rhea Kingdom who only have a reputation but no real skills?”

“Besides...even if the Setter family comes, so what? Even if they’re strong, so what? The Seven Night Poison group is destined to become one of the strongest associations! Don’t you believe in our strength? The Setter family is just a bunch of weaklings who will die from our poison!”

The leader spoke with confidence. Though he had never encountered the Setter family personally, he wasn’t afraid of them! In the Rhea Kingdom, those people often claimed to be skilled, but in the end, they were just weak noble families. Nowadays, wherever they went, people would avoid them, wouldn’t they? And that’s because they were the Seven Night Poison group!

Their arrogance this time was truly overwhelming. Of course, they had no idea that their thoughts were leading them straight to disaster. By the time they realized it...it might already be too late...