14 Chapter 14 Friend in Need

"Full auto mode? No, sir. We have never heard of such a thing."

"I thought so," Hax replied. "Let me show you."

Hax braced the stock on his shoulder, aimed at the target dummy and stuck his finger on the trigger.

BRATATAT!

The rifle sprayed the dummy target with bullets like a rapper roasting his ex. Empty shells fell like raindrop near his feet as he keep shooting at the target. The dummy in front were filled with holes. After he used all the thirty bullets inside the magazine, Hax put down his rifle.

His audience was speechless, staring at him with their eyes wide.

"So powerful!"

"With this weapon we don't have to fear the cultivators anymore."

"Coming here was the right choice. I should have convinced my brother to come."

Hax waved his hand to silent them. "I heard the people are preparing to fight the Nefarious Sword."

"Yes, sir. Because you have a lot of men that can produce guns, we have a lot of pistols that we can distribute to the people. This gave them ideas that they should bring the battle to the enemy."

"I see," Hax replied. He was just about to leave and take a rest until the system panel popped out.

[Mission]

Mission: Help a Friend in Need

Requirement: Mankind is a social creature. They realized that by helping each other, they could also benefited themselves. Please rescue the Black Wolves.

Reward: 2000 Access Points

That was shorter than usual. And why did it feel like the system acted like an old man giving him advice about humanity and aliens. Well, that wasn't a problem. At least the reward was good. With that much access points, he could get a few more knowledge.

"What about the Black Wolves?" Hax asked.

"The latest news said that they were being chased to the forest."

"Chased? Did they lose?" Hax acted dumb. He didn't know exactly how, but the system knew that the Black Wolves needed a rescue.

"The Nefarious sword is a sect that specialize in close-combat, sir. Considering that our weapons is similar to a bow, I think it's normal for them to keep the distance to their advantage."

"No, no. I don't think they ran to the forest to keep their distance. The Black Wolves is losing. They are running for their lives."

They looked at each other before turning to Hax.

"Then what should we do, sir?"

Hax also did not know what to do. But he couldn't ignore the mission. He considered reinforcing them, but he only had vague numbers of the enemy. If he helped the Black Wolves without sufficient information, the risk would be high.

What if the Nefarious counter-attack group had a much larger number. What if they had a secret weapon? If the norms faced a huge lost, the morale would drop and his plan to start a wide-kingdom rebellion would stall. Two thousand access points were nothing compare to the power suit blueprint.

He feared what the cultivator could do. None of the norms had sufficient information of their capability, especially if the cultivator had high cultivation stage. Stories about them were so exaggerated, but he did not dare to think them as false because he did not know the truth.

His fragmented past gave no solution to this. He only knew some information about aliens and how to eradicate them in a specific way. And the system could only give information about technology and his old universe.

Hax sighed. There was no other way. If he let the Black Wolves die, he would fail his mission, and the momentum would die down too. It was good that no one realized the true state of the Black Wolves.

"I have a plan. Someone please call Bodin for me. This operation is too large for me to do it alone. I need all the help I can get."

"Yes, sir."

…

Nesterin and his men walked through the thicket. They heard the river flowing from this direction. They were at the end of their rope now. Their lips cracked, and their throat burned.

None of them spoke as that would reduce the valuable water in their body. Thankfully, a few minutes later, they arrived in front of a river.

Nesterin and the other rushed into river and dived their head. They filled their mouth and nose with water, and only stopped when it choked them. The water felt so refreshing. They felt alive again. Their lips started to turn better, and their throat no longer in pain.

"That's the best water I ever have in my life."

"Couldn't agree more."

After they quenched their thirst, their stomach rumbled.

"We should hunt for something."

"What about the spider?"

"That will not be enough for all of us."

Nesterin nodded. "Me and Jharteel will set up a camp here. The rest of you can go hunting. Make sure you stay close to each other."

"Yes, sir."

They left the river, and went back into the forest looking for food. Leaving Nesterin and Jharteel under the moonlight.

"Go get some firewood," Nesterin said. "I'll make tents."

Jharteel nodded and went for some firewood.

Nesterin on the other hand looked for sticks and leafs. He also got a bunch of vines that he would use as a rope. When he piled all the items he needed, he saw Jharteel trying to make a campfire.

"You cannot just spin the stick," Nesterin said. "You need to push it down too."

Jharteel nodded and put pushed the stick into the wood before spinning it. Smoke came out, which gave Jharteel hope.

Nesterin shook his head. None of the younger men knew how to live in the wild. It wasn't necessary since they never left the city before, but that might change.

He strode on the grass, looking for a good spot to make his tent. The grass was weirdly comfortable when it brushed his skin. It felt so different compared to the grass people feed to the cows. When he found a spot he like, he grabbed a few handful of grass and tied them with the vine. He made a pillow out of them. It was crude but at least it was something.

Stabbing the sticks on the ground, Nesterin tied them down together with the leafs, sticks, twigs, and vines. A few minutes later, he finished making the first tent. It looked simple. It had a square shaped at the bottom, before turning into a triangle at the top. The shape was to let water slide to the side.

"Three more to go."

The Black Wolves member in the forest only left with less than a dozen. Three tents was enough for them.

As Nesterin made more tents, Jharteel blew the wood as he spun the stick as fast as he could. The fire blared into existence, making his eyes lit up.

"I did it! I make the fire!"

The hunting group came out of the thickets, dragging a dead deer and boar along with them.

"Nice. Good job on the fire, Jharteel."

"It's nothing. We should thank our boss. He's the one who made the tents alone."

Nesterin finished tying the last tent, and approached the campfire. "Don't think too much about it. Now, prepare the food. I'm starving!"

The youngster pulled out their knife and skinned the animals. They also didn't forget about the spiders. They're too hungry to waste any meat. After they cut them down to pieces, they stabbed them into the stick and put it on top of the fire. The stick was held by two other stick.

"Now spin them nicely."

"I can't wait! Just looking at them making me hungrier."

"I wish we have salt or the spice from Barmwich."

"Barmwich? I heard Hax, the maker of the gun, is from that place, right?"

"That's right. Along with Bodin the Great Merchant."

"These two men will change the world. They will change how the norms will be treated in the future."

Nesterin slapped his head. "They cannot change the world by themselves. This is why people like us must help them."

"Sir, do you think it's possible for us norms to rebel against the world? I'm confident we can win the war in Ashbourne or even the Avatar Kingdom. But can we really win if we fight against more than one country?"

Nesterin stayed silent for a few minutes. "I believe we can. As long as we only fight against Low-level country, I believe we have a chance to fight."

His men looked enthusiastic when they heard that.

The food was done. Fat fell off the golden meat, pulling everyone' eyes towards them.

"Let's eat! There is enough for everyone even if you want to have seconds."

They grabbed one stick each and chomped down. Nesterin included. He was very hungry and the taste of well-cooked meat inside his tongue and throat satisfied his stomach.

Nesterin raised his stick. "Slow down a bit. To respect our fallen partner, friends, comrades, and brothers. Let us feast on this food to sate our hunger and fight for another day."

The other raised their stick. "Let us feast on this food to sate our hunger and fight for another day!"

"The Black Wolves will feast on Nefarious Sword. And when that happens we will set our sight farther!

"The Black Wolves will not die! We will come with a bigger pack. We will return stronger, braver, and smarter. For the pack!"

"For the pack!"

Nesterin looked at his men. "You may continue eating."

They pounced on their food like a wolf. Ripping it off and gulped them down without chewing. People might think they were possessed by wolf if they saw this.

After they filled their stomach with food, they went to drink some water and entered their tents.

"Good night, everyone. Let's get some good sleep.

They sleep soundly and woke up with fresh morning air, accompanied by the whistle of birds, and gentle water trickling and chuckling.

Nesterin exited his tent and took a deep breath with a smile. The smell of wet dirt, clean water, and grass entered his nose. The moisture tickled his tongue which strangely gave him some vitality.

He enjoyed this so much. Compared to the rough place in Boiling Volcano, this was much better.

"Hoam!" Jharteel yawn as he came out of the tent. "This is a fine morning. I can't believe waking up in the city is so different compared to this."

The other woke up too. They took a breath and all their burden lifted.

"I wish this could last forever," Jharteel said.

Nesterin asked: "What do you mean?"

"I wish this peace could last forever."

"It could," Nesterin replied. "As long as we keep fighting. Every norms in the world would feel peace in their hearts."

Jharteel smiled. "You're right. We should thank Hax for this opportunity."

Nesterin laughed. "I haven't even met the guy and you guys already worshiped him."

"Maybe he is worth it to worship."

"Haha! Well, I'm not going to prevent you from worshiping him."

Jharteel looked at him. "The cultivators are going to hunt him down, right?"

"Yes. And we must never let that happen. This is why we bring the fight to them. But since our numbers are low, we have no choice but to retreat. Let us tell the others of what we learn here. The more we know about the enemy, the less our friends die."

The other nodded to that statements.

The wind rustled violently. The leafs shook like a violent storm brewing within.

Suddenly, a dozen sword cut through the trees and went straight towards them with unprecedented speed!