Freedom Jumper-Chapter 168: After The Fall

The chaotic carnage of the Rind of Godhand had not halted even with the destruction of the forest. In the aftermath, multiple bodies were being pulled from the ash, and anyone who was strong or lucky enough to survive was busy slaughtering the beasts that continued to run.

An already lost battle was what the warriors were fighting for. Numerous numbers of deaths and injuries that would tank the power of Gion, but more so the outpost that would require more reinforcements. Scattered below the Godhand Fjord's and above the Kingdom of Gion were about 14 different outposts meant for different objectives.

While some of them did overlap, they consisted of different places to harvest mass amounts of mana crystals, exclusive fruits that couldn't be grown elsewhere, defense from beasts and the neighboring kingdom, and simply spreading out their territory.

Fireworks consisting of bright red lights were shot through the burnt and decayed forest. This signified a full retreat to the outpost while also leading on the ravaging beasts that didn't seem to want to stop. This was not a surprising fact considering they were beasts, but something about the coordination that caused the forest to be turned into an ashy wasteland was suspicious.

Only when the Godhand Outpost had secured themselves momentary peace would they decide who to send back into battle.

Elijah had regrouped with Niko and Kithus, and was also joined by Ronny whose clothes were burnt, revealing his abdomen and part of his left thigh.

Just like Elijah and Niko, Ronny was a simple man who didn't care for the bedazzlement of high-end clothing. One fact was certain, the boy loved the color red as the underside of his dark gray cloak was a vibrant red – revealing his knives neatly organized throughout the inner layers.

"Ronny, is that a special cloak considering it wasn't burned in the fire?" Kithus asked curiously, hinting at himself investing in something like that.

Just moments ago, he had been saved by Niko after tripping. Subconsciously, his body ached to run as fast as he could, but a flaw that created a mental barrier instantly halted him – shoving his face into the dirt.

"Yes! It is! I'm actually glad someone noticed. I was actually gifted this by a special person." Ronny tilted his head down in embarrassment.

Kithus threw his hand light at Ronny's chest. "Oh! Do you have a girlfriend?!"

"I don't know what to call it... but, I think—"

Ronny lifted his head up in surprise from the screams that were headed their way.

"GET YOUR ASSES OFF THE GROUND AND GET IN A CARRIAGE!!"

The voice of the man that dragged a broadsword against the dirt ground surprised everyone, even Elijah.

His exclamation did make sense. The fire was slowly moving quickly towards them, and would eventually burn their means of effortless transportation.

While calmly sitting in the overcrowded carriage, strikes that resonated through the trees were heard multiple times a minute.

A random adventurer who held a slim rapier was sitting awkwardly, voicing his opinion about the situation. "Carodoc is truly a madman to think he can handle that with his squad."

"I think they can handle it, even if not a single one of them has the means to heal themselves. That is why they call them the bonecrushers, because nothing can withstand a strike from any person in that squad." Finn Leaperman, the marksman, responded to the arrogant man's statement.

The return was filled with an ungodly amount of bumps as they had somehow missed the entrance to the path, and were now looking out for any buildings through the tall pine trees. It was rather easy to pinpoint the location of the outpost considering the thin but packed leaves did not begin until about 17 feet above ground level.

Elijah's soiled shoes and sore eyes moved awkwardly through the commotion of the outpost. Not only were people rushing into extra carriages going by, but all mana crystal mining operations that were preparing to leave were completely halted. This gave room for the protectors that would usually be surrounding the miners near the mana geyser a chance to help the kingdom through different means.

Thankfully, all academy students or anyone under the age of 18 were barred from leaving camp due to the safety concerns.

Within each outpost lies a General at all times, someone who manages everything happening from within, but also the missions that would be carried out. Very rarely, the current General of the outpost was seen due to her "nature", but was obviously taking action at the moment.

While the General was someone who was not one of the strongest, she was in fact far more useful in other ways – giving her command of even General Carodoc Hallowdane.

"What is your name, young one?"

Behind Elijah, a tall scandalous woman with long wavy white hair stood perking her lips and lowering her eyebrows, appearing within thin air, and without making so much as a sound. Her breasts were almost falling out of the purple gown that didn't cover her shoulders with an open black cloak that stopped at her waist.

By just her looks, Elijah assumed this woman was in her early thirties, but also extremely important to this outpost. Likely, this woman obsessed over her body to the point of neuroticism, achieving timeless curves in all the right places. This woman was around 12 percent body fat, but nearly perfectly lean while understanding starving oneself is not healthy.

Understandably, Elijah coughed the moment a word tried to come out of his mouth, then restarted only to crack his voice!

The sight of a healthy woman will always catch him off guard, especially one to explore the natural aestheticism of a female body. Of course, this was not in the mindset of a mindless idiot, but of someone who respected commitment and effort.

"My name is Elijah Veran."

'You have to go be joking! How could I stumble like that?!'

The woman did not change her expression, and quickly got to the point. "Care to tell me what you saw on the Rind?"

Stopping the swinging of his arms, Elijah stilled his mind. "May we talk in private?"

"I thought you would ask that. If you will, follow me." The woman turned her head, throwing her hair into the air.

In the midst of this conversation, Niko and the others could only be confused by what they saw.

"Is this guy talking to someone?" Ronny glanced at Niko.

Elijah turned around only to be surprised by their confusion, but then realized something felt off from the very beginning. This person must be someone special to not be noticed by anyone else.

"I will be right back." Elijah abandoned the trail he was following to return to his tent, and followed the phantom-of-a-woman into the outpost hall — the main building that houses all the important figures, meeting rooms, storage, and weapons.

Upon walking up a staircase in the back, They followed a long hall with around 6 doors on both sides, then reached the final door on the end that this woman literally walked through. Beforehand, she had only smiled and sarcastically said said, "Goodluck!"

Creak!

A door swung open to reveal a bearded man with extremely short black hair, clothed in shiny silver armor that only covered his vital points. The thick ended staff the man held was riddled with complicated patterns whereas the rectangular tips held different runic symbols.

"What exactly are you doing here child?" The developed man said with ego behind his voice.

"I am here to meet the lady dressed in purple." Elijah responded quickly, trying his best to keep a cool face.

"Go on, in the door in front of you." The man responded annoyingly, then expressed his opinion to himself after Elijah had passed through the door. "Damn, a kid?"