The millipede burst out of the ground into the cavern above, the very place it had attacked Aren from. Aren immediately unsummoned it, landing on the ground with a thud.
He looked around, and the bodies of all the ants that they had killed were still littered around, so quickly, he used Shadow Summon on them, but not all sunk into the shadow, only about thirty percent of all the ants turned into shadows.
Specifically, the ones that he had killed.
"Hmmm, so that’s how it works then." Aren muttered. He had to kill it for him to turn it into his shadow. That made sense.
Since he was done here, he headed into the passage that they had come from initially, his footsteps echoing against the walls. When he was halfway there, he could hear voices.
When he stepped out of the passage and back into the campsite, he was greeted with swords and spears pointed at him.
"Whoa." He lifted his hands to show that he wasn’t an attacker.
When the group saw who it was, they reluctantly dropped their weapons and allowed Aren to pass through. But he could feel their disdainful eyes locked on him as he passed.
When he got to the main camp, he saw Elena speaking to Leon and Aiden. Immediately, Leon spotted him, his attention shifting from what Elena was saying. He immediately waved and called out.
"Aren!" Leon rushed to meet him. "Bro, you are alive."
"Did you want me dead?" Aren asked.
"No, that’s not it. I didn’t think you’d survive after that insect dragged you down," Leon explained. "We thought about going down to help, but the risk factor was too high." Leon said, carrying an apologetic look on his face.
"I didn’t expect you to, so don’t worry about that." Aren said casually. They didn’t know themselves enough to make such a risk.
Elena walked up to the two of them speaking. She folded her arms, her face carrying no emotion or expression whatsoever.
"Leon said you were attacked by a massive monster and dragged away. Glad to see you are still alive." She said calmly.
Aren looked at her. He could already tell that this was a setup to something else. She surely had more to say, as she would capitalize on the fact that he was attacked to say it.
"If you had listened to me and not gone out on your own, none of that would ha—"
"Please, let’s not go there." Aren wasted no time cutting her short. "I got into my trouble and I got myself out by myself, so let’s not talk about that. I am hungry and exhausted, and I’d pretty much like to have something to eat." Aren said.
The moment Leon heard that, his face turned grim, and Aren noticed it. He looked at Leon. "What’s wrong?" He asked.
"The food stuff was assigned to everyone here." Aiden came forward and said. He looked at Elena. "We stated that some reserve should be kept just in case, but Elena insisted on sharing it all." He added.
"It was the right thing to do," she said, her expression resolute. "Everyone should have their equal and use it for their survival. That was what was agreed on by everyone, and as the leader here, I listened to what they said." She spoke as if her actions were very righteous.
"You listened, but you didn’t think about it." Leon said. She looked at him with a raised brow. "I told you, but you refused to hear. There will always be unprecedented situations, and you have to plan for that." He explained.
Her expression shifted into one of anger. "Don’t tell me all that. If all of you had just done exactly what I had said, he wouldn’t have gone missing and he would have gotten his share.
His hunger is punishment for running off on his own. The rest of you are actually lucky that you returned before the sharing, else you would also not have any."
Aren stared at her while she spoke. He didn’t utter a single word yet, just allowing her to blab as much as she wanted, and then, when she finally stopped, he chuckled.
His chuckling pulled their attention. They looked at him, confused.
He then let out another chuckle and then looked at Elena. "Punishment, you say?" He asked. "You want to punish me?" He took a step forward, evidently pissed despite his smile. She clenched her fist, ready to go whenever.
"If I don’t get something to eat now, I’ll show this campsite what real danger looks like, and you better pray that you have the skills and strength to stop me before I slaughter half your manpower." His eyes burned as he spoke right in her face.
She stared back at him in defiance. "You wouldn’t dare. You are the same person that preached killing is not the means to an end. You don’t like killing, and you won’t risk your life for something like this." She said, speaking as though she understood him.
Leon ended up chuckling when he heard her. He shook his head slowly. "Your ability to read people is terrible." He said. She looked at him, confused.
Aren spoke again. "I don’t care if you are in a power-drunk state now, but whatever you are doing doesn’t apply to me. I want to eat, and if you make a big deal out of this, I’ll do what I said."
"You think I’d allow you to do anything?" She asked. "Order must be maintained for an organization to run properly. If you want to get food, then you’ll have to promise that moving on you’ll listen to me and work with me.
’You might be strong, but we are almost the same level, and I have the whole two hundred people behind me. You can’t do anything. Your threats are empty. I’ll finally force you down. And to think it would be food I use.’ Elena thought.
Aren, on the other hand, looked at her with a flat expression, as if he was tired of it all. ’This bitch is pissing me off.’ He thought and summoned Wolf Guard.