Chapter 57

The trip took a week and a half, during which, to Nicole's happiness, nothing unexptected happened. It was again the same boring routine of the road, this time even worse since Soi had to sit outside and steer the borrowed Velkrath. Nicole ended up spending most of the time together with Iloe.

"Hey, Nicole!" The catgirl's eyes shone. "You know, I wasn't slacking off at the castle!" Her cute, round face was slightly lifted with pride as she spoke. "I was studying and working hard. And I learned so much! For example, here!" She pushed a clay vial into Nicole's hands. "It's a special oil that is going to make your spear's lightning strike stronger! Just coat the edge and hit someone!"

Nicole spun the oil in her hands. "Wow, thanks, this is surely going to be helpful. You invented it yourself?"

At the question, Iloe's eyes darted to the corner of the room as she blushed a little. "N-no… I just saw someone making it and wrote it down..." After a second, her cat ears perked up. "But it doesn't matter, right? It's useful, and that's important! I have something for Soi too!"

Nicole chuckled and petted the top of Iloe's head. "Thanks again. But tell me, have you found anything to help with your mom's issue?"

The catgirl sighed, her previously actively swinging tail dropping to the floor. "A little. Rather, not much. At least they gave me some honey for my own experiments. I just need to gather more information and learn even more." The girl sobbed.

Nicole hugged her, pressing Iloe's head to her chest and gently petting her. "Don't worry, we will find a cure. Everything will be alright."

Unlike the previous time, there were no stops for the night. Nicole found out that Bee soldiers were used to sleeping while sitting in their wagons, and the only food the girls got were rations in the form of tasteless tiles of grey-green mass and water. Luckily, Nicole had saved some dried meat in her storage, so the girls were happy to have at least that.

The Zanokai tribe. Let's hope they are not going to stand a chance against trained soldiers of the Queen.

"Iloe, do you know what the Pig racial ability is? And its ascended form?"

The catgirl smiled, happy to share. "As far as I learned, the fat in their bodies is different from everyone else's. It's more… durable? Like natural armor, protecting their muscles and insides. And because of it, they weigh a lot more, so their bones and muscles are apparently stronger too. The ascension, on the other hand… All I know is that the effects get even stronger, but no details. You know, it's hard to study someone you would prefer to never encounter, hah, so there is not much known about that."

As the days passed peacefully and they were getting closer to their target, Nicole was getting more and more nervous.

Is Annie alive? What if she is in a different village? What did they do to her through all that time I spent on the island?

She clearly had too much free time, and her mind was drifting in the wrong direction. Nicole knew that, yet no matter what, she couldn't relax and think of something else. She tried making stuff, but everything seemed to turn out wrong. Sleepless nights didn't help, and the warm embrace of her friends was powerless.

What if something happens and we lose? Will we get captured, and what then?

When just a couple of days were left, Nicole had dark patches under her eyes and seemed like a ghost of her former self. She just sat against the wall of her wagon, motionless.

Fuck! Ugh…

She had to bite her lip hard enough to draw blood, the pain and metallic taste in her mouth washed the gloom away for enough time for her to stand up and take a deep breath.

Alright, enough. If I'm going to be a fucking zombie anyway, I can at least spend the time more usefully.

Suddenly dropping to the floor, startling poor Iloe, Nicole started doing push-ups. One, two, three, until all she could think of was the count of repetitions and nothing else.

The new way of coping with stress turned out to be a brilliant idea, if not for the fact that on the last day Nicole was tired and afraid of underperforming during the raid. But at least normal sleep came back, thanks to her getting too tired for her thoughts to stop her body from resting.

Finally, the time came. It was deep night already. Every wagon stopped as the commander shouted orders. Bee soldiers got into perfect lines and rows, listening. Nicole noticed a group of other Bees go to the side, into thick bushes. After an hour, they emerged clad in armor that seemed like tree bark and followed by horrific blends of animals and plants, many animals with thorny vines wrapped around them or with heads seemingly bitten off by huge carnivorous plants that now nested in their bodies.

The fuck is that?! Fucking disgusting shit.

Nicole spotted the tall Bee soldier who was in charge of the mission and approached him.

"What now? Are we close? Are we just going to go on foot to the village?"

"The scouts just notified me we are an hour away. We will be spotted sooner or later anyway, so it's better to attack as soon as possible to give them the least amount of time to prepare. Velkraths should be enough to break through their walls. The Queen said you have some goal there in the village. We will entertain the Zanokai for as long as we can and buy you time. Whenever you hear our horn, it's a signal to get back as soon as possible."

Nicole nodded. "I got it."

"I already said a word to the Narakai, but I don't know their plans."

The girl got back to her friends and explained the plan of attack.

"Iloe, it may be better for you to wait at a safe distance. I don—"

"I am coming with you." The catgirl sounded unusually serious and confident. "I am not as defenseless as you may think." She pointed at two leather straps on her torso with flasks of some liquids. "I am not going to wait idly while you risk your life out there."

Nicole hugged her tight.

"Thank you."

When the preparations were done, the caravan moved forward again.

One hour. Just one more hour. Hold on, Annie, I am coming.

* * *

As the small army approached the village, the Velkraths increased their speed. They got out of the forest and then—

BOOM! CRACK!

The running giant insects crashed into the wooden outer wall and gate, making holes and carrying the wagons with them. As soon as they were inside, the doors opened and soldiers poured out.

A loud horn sounded, and Zanokai people rushed at the attackers, surrounding the wagons and beating the Velkraths, who, in turn, used their horns to smack the unlucky ones, crushing their heads.

Nicole's wagon was still in the forest. The three girls left it and sneaked up to one of the freshly made holes.

"I think they keep all captives together somewhere. The building will probably differ from the regular ones. Keep your eyes open."

Constantly looking around, they moved away from the battlefield through the dark streets. The houses were not much different from the ones she saw in the Torakai village.

"RRAAAGHH!"

Suddenly, an axe swung from the corner, and Soi jumped back at the last moment. A tall Zanokai man stepped out of the shadow. He wasn't how Nicole imagined them from Iloe's words—instead of having a fat body, his thick build was strange. It was as if an incredibly muscular body was wholly covered in a layer of fat, making the edges smoother.

The man swung his axe at Soi again and opened his back to Nicole. Blue sparks flew in the air as she stabbed him, but it barely pierced the skin of the villager. A bit of blood started dripping from the wound. Iloe took one of the vials and threw it, hitting the guy's neck. The clay shards fell to the ground as a dark-red liquid splashed.

"Aagh, fuck!! It burns!"

The man roared, dropping his axe to start scratching his back and neck. Nicole saw as pieces of his skin were quickly getting dry, and his actions tore his own flesh off. The show didn't last long, as the screaming man soon fell to the ground, his voice getting quieter until his movements stopped altogether. Nicole hurried to the side of the catgirl.

"Soi, are you hurt?"

"No. Let's continue."

On their way, they met a few more Zanokai, and sometimes choose hiding and letting villagers run past them to help against the raid.

In the middle of the village, there was a bigger hut, and the girls approached it cautiously. Nicole could hear a loud voice shouting inside, but it was too muffled to understand any words. They circled the building but didn't find any windows. When they heard approaching steps from somewhere nearby, the trio hid in the darkness of one of the alleys between the big hut and a smaller one. Peeking out, Nicole sighed when she saw that those were Narakai led by Jerar. She left the cover.

"Weren't you guys helping the Bees?"

"Oh, it's you." At first, Jerar got into a fighting stance but then relaxed after realizing they weren't Zanokai. "Don't forget that our goal is to see if there are any kidnapped Narakai. Voru'kai can take care of themselves."

Nicole pointed at the big hut. "We heard voices inside. Probably their elders."

"Yes, that's exactly why we are here." Jerar grinned wide. "If we get rid of their elders first, we won't have anything to worry about later and will be able to take our time rescuing everyone."

"Makes sense. Do we just barge in?"

"Just watch."

Soldiers holding torches approached the hut and started igniting the wood. Jerar took a clay bottle attached to his hip and took a sip.

Drinking before a fight? Like, for courage?

The man took a deep breath, and a powerful sound between a howl and a roar filled the area. Along with it, a giant cone of fire emerged from Jerar's mouth, hitting the wall and door of the hut. Nicole, like her friends, had to cover her ears to protect herself from the loud sound.

Luckily, it took only a few seconds before it was over. As the front of the elders' hut stood ablaze, the shouts from inside grew louder and clearer. Then the door was opened from the inside—or rather kicked open, flying ten meters from where it had been.

Nicole's skin crawled at the sight of the person who came out. A Zanokai man over three meters tall, in full-body metal and leather armor, looked around, his eyes locking onto the group of Narakai and Jerar. Behind him, regular villagers stepped out, forming a group of their own.

I could barely damage their skin, and now you're telling me there is one in armor?! Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Unexpectedly, the Zanokai man spoke. "Narakai together with Voru'kai? That's something new. Boys, it seems we have more than just insect meat for dinner!"

The group behind him bursted in laughter, their sharp weapons glinting in the light from the burning house and torches around the village.