?654 The Caravans (2)
The figure that had just spoken was a tall, fit, four-eared man with numerous glyphs tattoos—some resembling a ball of fire, lightning, and various others—on his arms and other parts of his body. He dropped his curved blade by the side before drying away the water from his body.
"Also, although I understand your worries, there is no use complaining about it now that we are this close. All we can do is face whatever is ahead of us and hope for the best result," the man said.
As he reached out for his clothing—a long gown crafted from leaves—the river below them sounded once more, and another figure shot out of the river, landing inside the boat.
The figure was a fit four-eared woman who seemed to be in her late 20s. Though some of the glyphs on her body resembled those on the man's body, they were still vastly different, with numerous others on some parts of her body.
Nonetheless, they both possessed an extremely thick metallic bracelet on their right arms.
"Leif is right; complaining about the results won't change anything. The only thing we can hope for now is to try our best and see if they would accept us," the woman said, shaking her head tiredly, with a sigh escaping her lips.
She dropped her rounded-bladed weapon to the side of the boat, which she had used to clear away the Vylkr vines attacking them from below the river, and then bent down to take the cloth she had kept earlier to dry her body.
Lyndon clenched his fists so tightly that his veins began to show before he abruptly released a deep breath and slumped his shoulders downward in defeat.
"Besides, if anything happens, then we can use our strength to force them to take us in," the woman added, observing Lyndon's demeanour.
After drying her body, she picked up her attire—a long gown crafted from leaves—and wore it, staring at the others with a confident smile.
Leif, however, shook his head in response.
"Though I'm glad that you agree with me, Leona, I don't think it's a good idea for us to plan on intimidating people we hope will assist us. Remember what the Patriarch said about these people, calling themselves villagers—humans who eat and fight the Vylkr vines with nothing but crude weapons."
"From that information alone, we can tell they are strong. It would be best for us to handle our first meeting peacefully and not risk heading into battle with them, forming another enemy with a group of people whose capabilities we aren't yet aware of," Leif responded.
Isadora nodded in agreement. "Leif is right; we shouldn't be thinking about being aggressive during our first approach. Remember, we've already lost all our top and best units. It would be bad for us if we lost the remaining ones," Isadora said.
"Humph! I'm just saying that it doesn't matter how weird or unique they are. As long as they aren't god's chosen, I'm sure we'll be able to defeat them and forcefully settle ourselves there if things don't go as planned," Leona said as she traced her finger along the thick mechanical bracelet on her right arm.
"Also, I am sure that them being able to eat Vylkr vines and utilize the Vylkr energy is a lie made up by the Patriarch so that we won't face the situation without caution," Leona added with a wide grin.
Leona couldn't help but snort inwardly when she remembered the Patriarch's words. After all, how can such a dangerous world-level threat—a threat which would give the highest-
levelled sanctuary problems and always requires cautiousness to be dealt with—be something that a village of backwater individuals would be able to handle, to the extent that they could even eat it and utilize the Vylkr energy?
How ridiculous was that?
Nevertheless, even if she was wrong because she doubted that the Patriarch would lie to them and lead their entire race to a dead end, she figured that they must have another way to protect themselves or be able to utilize some kind of lower-
ranked energy, which was strangely similar to the Vylkr vines. This might be the reason why they had been able to survive to this extent.
Leona was still confident that they could defeat them. After all, as one of the wielders of the 'Devourer's bracelet,' which made it possible for them to utilize the Vylkr energy, she knew how powerful the Vylkr energy was. She also understood that it isn't something that just anyone can wield, as history had repeatedly proved, whenever anyone tries to do so forcefully.
"And what if the Patriarch isn't lying, and these humans really have a method of using the Vylkr energy?" Leif asked, his eyes fixed on Leona with a raised brow."
"Then we'll simply have to find out who has the best compatibility rate between us and them," Leona responded, a glint flashing through her eyes.
Isadora wanted to open her mouth and speak; however, she abruptly sealed her lips and thought, 'Forget it.' Isadora could tell just by staring at Leona, even though the other tried to be playful about it, that she was more than ready to do anything to ensure the survival of their race, no matter the odds they might face, even if it meant gaining another enemy.
However, as one of the only remaining units they had, Isadora could only hope that Leona would have calmed down before they arrived at the Village.
Turning her attention to Leif, Isadora asked, "Are we still being followed by the enemy's vessel?"
"Yes, Princess. I personally investigated, but there was no sign of their vessels. It's safe to say we lost track of them about a month ago," Leif replied seriously.
Isadora breathed a sigh of relief at the reassuring news.
"How many vials do we have left?" Isadora asked. Having just cleared away the Vylkr vines, she needed to ensure they had enough vials to survive on until they found a settlement and got back on their feet.
Leif quickly ran the numbers through his mind.