The scouting balloon trembled as the basket touched down lightly onto the bumpy surface. It was a nearly perfect landing but to me, it felt like the world was falling apart.
The moment the basket stabilized itself, I practically leapt out of the basket, tumbling roughly onto the floor as I landed unceremoniously with a thud.
Mo Chuan: What happened?
Di Qi Ju: The the…the treetops…a bunch of vines attacked me when we were 35 meters above the canopy. They wanted to drag me down into the jungleā¦
Halfmoon Leakāage: Oneāday High, was this so?
Oneāday High: I was busy controlling the balloon Leakāage-chan. I didnāt get a clear look but I definitely felt the basket shake from sudden force.
Lee Soleāshot:…Iāve already sent out the news, I just hope that none of the other teams descended to that height as well.
Lee Soleāshot: Ah—Officer Breman is here!
Breman galloped in on a mount that looked like a cross between a wolf and a horse. As his mount came to an abrupt stop in front of us, kicking a tiny storm of dust, he immediately listened to report of the veterans without even getting off his mount.
Well, this is a new sight for me, I bet if the ladies saw him now, they would be swooning over his gallant display.
Breman: Oneāday High, Di Qi Ju, are you guys alright?
Oneāday High: Iām fine, the one who was attacked was Little Ju.
Di Qi Ju: Iām…alright too…the vines wrapped themselves around me but I managed to escape in time.
My heart violently pounded as I said those words. Truth be told, I was deathly afraid…if they dragged me down there, there was no way I could survive without my wish points and abilities.
Breman: Can you give me the specifics, Di Qi Ju?
Di Qi Ju: Understood. The vines were growing around the tops of the trees. As we closed in on the canopy, I saw them writhing slightly before disappearing an instant later. Next thing I knew, they wrapped themselves around me.
Breman: So youāre saying that the vinesā intention was to attack any living being that closed in on them?
Di Qi Ju: Most likely…plus, I noticed a slight shaking of the ground as well, as if those something crawling underneath it, like the beastial wrath I encountered.
Breman: Beastial wrath…underground beingā¦
Breman cupped his chin as he lowered it, seemingly deep in thought. Suddenly, his eyes darted to my hands and narrowed.
Breman: Whatās that white powder on your right hand?
Di Qi Ju: White Powder?
I lowered my head and stared at my right hand; there really was an unknown powdery substance on it. It was right at the spot where the vines latched onto me.
On closer inspection, perhaps colorless would be a more apt description.
Breman: Oneāday High, your head seems to have some as well.
Oneāday High: Huh? Touch touch…there really is some there.
Oneāday High: Whatās this thingie?
Di Qi Ju: Donāt tell me…itās a part of that vine? Right as it broke off, it whipped about for a second. Perhaps it threw out the powder then.
Breman: Let me take a sample.
Breman put on a pair of membrane-like gloves and gingerly grabbed onto my wrist, with the other gloved hand, he gathered a swab of the powder with his finger.
Surprisingly, that grip felt extremely gentle as if I was being treated extremely tenderly. I wonder if thatās the effect of the gloves?
This level of tender loving care…hard to imagine that he is actually the head of these meat headed macho men.
—-*spit*, what nonsense am I thinking about again!
Itās almost like that previous āincidentā with him…what a terrifying personā¦
Breman: Iām done.
Di Qi Ju: Phew—-
Mo Chuan: Why the long exhalation?
Di Qi Ju:…what do you care.
Breman: We need an alchemist here. Go get me Ethan.
Breman: Oh and send out the word, no one is to descend below 50 meters while theyāre above Starfall.
Bodyguard: Yes sir.
Hmm? Alchemist? Ethan?
Roughly ten minutes later, Ethan rode in on a similar mount.
Ethan: Sir Breman, Iāve handed over the task you assigned to me to an executing officer. What do you require of me here?
Breman: Come have a look at this.
Breman took off his membrane gloves and handed over the powder-stained gloves to Ethan.
He received the gloves and gently closed his eyes. 10 seconds later, he opened his eyes again and stared at the white substance.
Ethan:…
Ethan: Sir, itās [Silicon Dioxide]
Di Qi Ju:…!?
Di Qi Ju:……
I was startled by his words. Twice.
The first was the fact that he had just used a chemistry term. According to my understanding of this worldās progress, this shouldnāt be possible.
If thatās the case, thereās only one reason for this: Ethan mustāve had the relevant wish abilities to analyse this power. With that kind of ability, calling him an alchemist seems to be an understatement, he should be called a chemist.
The second thing that scared me was the properties of silicon dioxide. According to my high school knowledge, this shouldnāt be possible. Open air, found on a plant, with a pale color that tended towards colorless, this silicon dioxide powder mustāve had a relatively high purity. No matter how you looked at it, this shouldnāt be possible.
Breman: Whatās silicon dioxide?
Ethan: In theory, our military is able to produce this material as well. It is a pretty good fire retardant material.
Ethan: But this level of purity…itās on the level of a āmajor discoveryā.
A āmajor discoveryā. If such a thing ever landed in the hands of an exploration merchant, it would mean the birth of a wealthy businessman.
To the expedition and country, this was an momentous gain.
Breman: —we can think about the riches later, tell me the information I want to hear.
Ethan: Yes sir. This substance shouldnāt have come from a plant, thereās no traces of it having been stored in a plantās cells.
Ethan: It mustāve landed upon the vines.
Breman: Couldnāt it be that the vines were stained with this powder while travelling at high speeds?
Ethan: But, this level of purity shouldnāt be possible in nature, there must be something weāre missingā¦
Breman:……
Breman: Record it down first. We can analyse it once we have more information.
Ethan: Understood.
Breman: A vine that attacks peopleā¦
Breman: This thing mustāve been one of the culprits for the deaths of our soldiers those ten years ago.
Ethan: Itās highly likely that thatās the case.
Breman: —by the way, you said that this silicon dioxide thing is a fire retardant material right? So that means it canāt be destroyed by fire?
Ethan: Thatās right.
Breman: Alright, I have a plan then.
Breman: Get the logistics team here. I want them to strap on a pourable storage device along with some counter balances.
Breman: Also, get the supply teams at the back to ship over a batch of āFire Dragonsā and some Jungle-type extinguishing agents,
Ethan: ā¦ā¦
Ethan: Understood.
Except for the pair, everyone looked at each other, confusion clearly written on our faces. None of us understood the implications of his words.
Breman: The men are to be reassigned to patrol duty. Their mission is to carry the fire dragons along with them as they patrol five meters away from the borders of starfall.
Breman: The moment they see any plant life that moves, I want them to burn that area to the ground!
Breman: If the fire gets too big, the scouting balloons will pour the extinguishing agents over the fire.
Breman: The fire dragons will be used by the veterans who have had experience wielding them. If any beasts try to interfere, slaughter them.
Breman: That will be the second step of Operation Redemption.
Breman: Letās see how this place reacts to our declaration of war.
ā¦ā¦
ā¦ā¦
Dawn, the next day.
The scouting balloons were fully modified by now. A tank full of fire retardant foam was attached to the bottom of the basket.
Oneāday High was currently tinkering with said tank. Apparently, this contraption can be controlled by the balloonās controlling device.
As I walked around, I discovered the true identity of the āfire dragonsā mentioned yesterday. They were devices attached with what looked like firehoses.
The device had two nozzles on it, one shot out fuel while the other shot out embers.
It was a simple and crude device that didnāt seem the least bit high-tech.
The fuel efficiency seems to be rather high but the skill needed to operate these were high as well.
Lee Soleāshot was currently toying around with one such dragon, dissatisfaction written all over his face.
Mo Chuan: The veterans arenāt here?
Halfmoon Leakāage: Theyāve been assigned to protect the other teams on fire dragon duty. Thereās only us here.
Mo Chuan:…sometimes I wonder if they trust us too much or if they simply donāt care about us.
Halfmoon Leakāage: Letās just take it as the former.
Halfmoon Leakāage: Iāve already figured out how to use this contraption. Mr. Seasonal Wolf, do you mind being my bodyguard?
Mo Chuan: If our opponents are similar to a beastial wrath, I should be fine handling them.
Halfmoon Leakāage: Oneāday High will be in the air awaiting instructions with the foam. Then that leaves Lee Soleāshot and Di Qi Ju to form a team. Will you guys be alright if they make us take a different route?
Mo Chuan: That would depend on how well Lee Soleāshot can shoot his fire.
Di Qi Ju: You seem pretty confident about me being a bodyguard.
Mo Chuan: Naturally, as long as youāre outside the range of Starfall, youāll be fine.
Di Qi Ju: I guess thatās true. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Halfmoon Leakāage: Donāt underestimate the danger just because you managed to make it out of the Grand Ravine. This is a totally different scenario.
Di Qi Ju: I know. No oneās willing to play around with their lives.
Halfmoon Leakāage: Then, weāll head off first. Mo Chuan.
Mo Chuan: Seeing as youāre no longer afraid of me, Iāll accompany you just this once.
Oneāday High: Bye—have a safe trip!
As I saw the two of them off, I turned around and glanced at Lee Soleāshot.
Di Qi Ju: —-what the heck!!! Why did you take the fire dragon apart?!
In just a short span of time, Lee Soleāshotās fire dragon was reduced to pile of parts and a fuel tank.
On Earth, there were soldiers who were able to take apart and reassemble their guns in seconds. Iām just not sure if Lee Soleāshot was one such soldier.
Lee Soleāshot: Err—all these parts are useless to us!
Lee Soleāshot replied with a grin on his face as he lifted the fuel tank onto his shoulders.
Lee Soleāshot: All we need is this baby.
Di Qi Ju:…?
After leaving, I finally understood what he meant by those words.
Unbeknownst to me, he had gathered a bunch of plants and peeled off their outer epidermis, revealing the translucent membrane beneath.
Using these sheets of membrane, he fashioned a bunch of fuel pouches by pouring some of the fuel into them and tying them up.
These pouches were then secured to the tips of his arrows, creating a fuel arrow of sorts.
Looking at him with his giant bow on his back, he truly resembled an experienced hunter in the wilds.
Di Qi Ju: When did you create so many arrowsā¦
Lee Soleāshot: Donāt forget I have an arrow crafting wish ability.
He flashed out a razor and with a few swift motions, carved an arrow out of a nearby branch.
My eyes barely kept up with the speed of his hands and by the end of the process, I still wasnāt sure how he did that.
Lee Soleāshot: Little Ju, help me carry the fuel tank for a while.
He took out roughly half of his arrows and dipped them into the fuel tank.
Di Qi Ju: These are?
Lee Soleāshot: Thereās some candles and matches over here. Once we begin our work, I need you to light up these arrows and hand them to me.
Di Qi Ju: Ohā¦
And so we continued in this manner, chatting, preparing and walking. By now, we were almost at the edge of starfall.
Roughly ten meters away, I saw a marker sticking out of the ground. These must be the location markers.
Di Qi Ju: Is this distance close enough?
Lee Soleāshot: No, we need to get a little closer.
We advanced another five meters.
Di Qi Ju: Isnāt this…enough?
I was slightly worried by now but Lee Soleāshot still shook his head.
Lee Soleāshot: Another two more steps, donāt forget to keep up with me.
Di Qi Ju:…alright.
As we stood merely three meters from the edge of Starfall, the sound of rustling suddenly emitted from the dense foliage in front of us.
Within the darkness of the foliage, a shadow was seen flashing through the tiny gaps of light between the trees. It was a sign of danger.
Di Qi Ju: Letās retreat! This is too dangerous!
Lee Soleāshot:…
Lee Soleāshot: This distance is perfect.
*Crack!*
The crack of a whip echoed throughout the trees, from the sound of it, it was out for blood.
I immediately ducked, as I did so, I felt a gust of wind pass over my head. I had narrowed dodged that first attack!
My eyes widened as I looked up at the culprit. Itās that vine!!
An overwhelming sense of anger and vengeance overtook me, pushing aside my fears of losing my wish abilities. I reached out and clenched my fingers around it in a vice-like grip.
*whoosh*
An arrow whistled past my ears, landing onto the body of the vine, two meters away from me.
An overwhelming smell of fuel filled the air as I heard something rupture upon impact.
—itās that fuel arrow!
Lee Soleāshot: Let go of it! Prepare the fire arrows!
Di Qi Ju:—got it!
I snapped off the portion of the vine I was holding onto and immediately took out the candles and matches.
Within seconds, the fuel-stained arrows were lit up but before the embers could grow any bigger, Lee Soleāshot snatched the arrow from my hands, nocked it onto his bow and fired, the entire process taking less than a second.
*whoosh*
Upon receiving an injury, the vine tried to withdraw into the safety of the jungle but before it could do so, the second arrow of Lee Soleāshot pierced into its oil stained exterior. The tiny embers of the arrow instantly roared into a giant flame that rapidly spread out across its flammable exterior.
Lee Soleāshot: Hah! A stunning victory right off the bat!
Di Qi Ju: Youāre such a quick shotā¦
Despite that moment of levity, my hands never stopped moving for a second. Right after that arrow, I immediately lit up the next arrow.
Di Qi Ju: —-watch out, thereās another attack!
Before I could even finish my sentence, he was already in the air, a vine crashing into the spot where he was just a few seconds ago.
*whoosh* *whoosh*
A couple of arrows whistled through the air. A second later, the offending vine was set ablaze.
He landed gracefully onto the ground, the next set of arrows already nocked onto his bow.
Twin shot! He even did it while leaping through the air!!
In less than 10 seconds, the second vine laid there, burnt to a crisp.
Di Qi Ju: ā¦ā¦
Di Qi Ju: Why are you so good at shooting?
Lee Soleāshot: Hah, because thatās all I have left.
Lee Soleāshot: Letās get a move on Little Ju. I donāt want to be a sitting duck for these vines.
Di Qi Ju: Then, letās retreat a little further back.
Lee Soleāshot: Retreat? No, weāre continuing along this edge.
Di Qi Ju: Sighā¦
Lee Soleāshot: Little Ju, what are archers to you? Are they merely people who stand miles away, firing off an arrow into the air at god knows where?
Lee Soleāshot: To me, real archers are warriors who can fire off arrows at close range targets, all the while weaving through the battlefield.
Lee Soleāshot: Five to ten meters is the optimum range for archers, anything further than 15 meters isnāt within my hunting range.
Di Qi Ju:……
That was definitely a new take on the word āarcherā.
If it was merely words, I wouldnāt have believed him. But having just witnessed his performance, Iām starting to become a believer.
This short-haired fellow was definitely a lot stronger than I had initially thought.
Lee Soleāshot: Donāt worry. At that speed and accuracy, those green whips will never be able to hit me.
Lee Soleāshot: With years of getting beaten up under my belt, āavoiding a blow to my fatal regionsā has become a talent equivalent to a 100 point wish ability!
Lee Soleāshot: Ah hahahaha—
Di Qi Ju: Like I saidā¦
Di Qi Ju: Thatās nothing to be proud of!
Footnotes:
Credits:
Special thanks to Steve Granger, Ichitsuzen, and LaRue Martin!!
