Chapter 140: ERROR CARL DETECTED

The mysterious man leapt from tree branch to tree branch with such grace that it looked as if he were flying. The way his feet barely touched the branch, yet could still propel him fast enough to keep up with Kanan, was extremely impressive.

Judging by his build, Kanan concluded that he was an expierenced warrior, a powerful one at that. A fisherman also seemed to be on his resume, as seen with the harpoon on his back.

Then again, that was probably the norm in the swamp, seeing as they were surrounded by water on all sides.

"May I ask why you travelers were inside the swamp? Were you looking for something, or did you happen to stumble across these parts and get attacked by the Gator Beasts?" The mysterious man asked

"You’re from the Helsik Tribe, yes?" Kanan deflected the question before answering.

"I am." He answered.

"We’re from the Nemean Tribe. We’ve come to warn you about a danger, but it seems like the danger has already claimed your home."

"The Nemean Tribe, you say? So the stories of that place are true! I thought it was only a legend."

"You know of our tribe?" Reda asked

"Of course. Our elders would speak of your tribe in passing stories, back when our people would interact. These stories have been passed down through the generations, so things might be different from what is currently being told. Tell me, is your tribe still powerful?"

’An odd question to ask. These are hard times for the Helsik Tribe, so if they learn that our tribe, while recovered and strong, has suffered at the hands of the Verminus Plant to the point of taking in the Typhon Tribe, then they might attack us.’

Just in case, Kanan forced his spirit energy through his companions, forcing them to push it out of themselves so they could keep quiet as he spoke.

"Our god, Lord Nemean, visits us often. Recently, he has led us on a campaign that had us take control of the Typhon Tribe. And this plant that’s killing people, we’ve quelled it in our land."

At first, Kanan’s companions didn’t understand what he was doing, but after hearing him speak, as well as noticing the man’s reaction to the story, they understood Kanan’s intentions, even Terin.

Alue was awake enough to listen in as well, though he was darting in and out of consciousness.

"I see. Then your tribe must be extremely powerful." The man said, not keeping eye contact with Kanan for long.

"We’re actually the weakest squad out of our warriors. This mission was pushed on us as a test to see if we were worthy of being part of the Nemean Tribe. We tracked the Verminus Plant to the swamp and were planning on killing it."

"The Verminus Plant?" The man asked, confused by the name.

"That’s right. It’s the plant that’s causing all of this chaos."

"I see. We call it the Uprooter Plant."

"The Uprooter? I can see how you’ve given it that name. It makes a lot more sense than Verimius, haha."

The group moved further and further away from the Helsik Tribe’s village, the treehouses getting smaller in the distance.

One thing that didn’t get smaller was the massive fish that happened to be following them, eating the Gator Beasts along the way.

"Dammit! That fish is still after us!" Reda cursed

"Worry not, friend. That beast is my companion." The man said to quell everyone’s worries.

"Your companion? You mean that the fish is working with you?" Terin asked

"That’s right. It is my beast. I have tamed it."

’Beast Taming! So that’s the power of the Helsik Tribe! Amazing. I wonder if they have any other abilities. I remember Elder Lars saying that the Helsik Tribe is great when it comes to herbs, plants, medicines, and poisons. They are elite brewers.’

"Great warrior, may I ask for your name? Mine is Kanan."

"I’m Terin!"

"Reda."

"Fera."

"I’m Lopis. And that guy on Kanan’s back is Alue."

"You can call me Carl."

[ERROR! ERROR! CARL DETECTED! INITIATING DEFENSE PROTOCOLS! ELIMINATION OF THE CARL VARIANT IS TAKING FULL PRIORITY!]

’Whoa, whoa, whoa! System! What’s wrong with you? Calm down!’

[Host, be wary of Carl. Across the universe, anyone named Carl has been known to be a traitor, a killer, or anyone who is deserving of death. Only a few people named Carl do not fit that category, and even then they are completely useless or irrelevant beings. Including Nemean the Second’s father-in-law.]

"I’m so confused. But deactivate those defense protocols, whatever they are."

[Defense protocols have been deactivated. Be warned, host: a good Carl is a dead Carl.]

Kanan was already wary of the man. This was why he was giving him false information. And now that the system agreed, although it seemed as if it had its own version of prejudice, Kanan was now more on guard.

Getting the attention of his friends, Kanan made the signal to watch him closely, putting everyone on guard.

Around an hour later, after traveling deeper into the swamp, a smaller but just as impressive village appeared in the distance.

It was built in the trees, just like the previous village, and had the same layered structure, although only having two layers instead of four. The trees weren’t as big, but they were still strong enough to support multiple homes and other structures built onto their surface.

"Welcome to my home. This is currently where our tribe is staying." Carl explained

"Wow. This is very impressive. For a people who had to leave their homes, you all managed to adapt pretty quickly." Kanan noticed

"This place was actually an old village, used by our ancestors. It had been abandoned up until a year ago. We repurposed it in an attempt to expand the reach of our home, but it turned into our sanctuary instead."

A similar situation to the wall in the Nemean Tribe. Sort of.

Carl greeted the guards and warriors on standby, explaining the situation to them as they got close. All of them were surprised to see people from the legendary Nemean Tribe in their home.

"You’ll have to report this to the council." One guard informed Carl.

"I know. That’s what I’m going to do now." Turning around to Kanan and his friends, Carl told them to follow him, as they needed to meet with the leaders of the Tribe.