Chapter 134 134: A Uncovered Truth [Pt1]
"We do not need advice from a half-baked thing like this. We will be alright no matter what happens. After all, we have our Grandmaster."
Keith silently coughed to show his discomfort but he was ignored as always. He was half-glad and half-annoyed to be ignored this blatantly. But dd at being ignored. But he somehow managed to always remain calm.
As expected, no one else but Clair noticed his discomfort and tried to make him feel better. And Clair only laughed silently as she silently watched Keith suffer under the force of other people.
"Shhh, I hear something up ahead. Let us not make any noise if we do not want to get caught."
Master Fushi was ahead of the group. So naturally, she was able to hear what others could not with more accuracy. Her senses were also sharpened with mana because she knew this forest was dangerous.
And her practice finally bore fruit. She spotted the barely audible sounds in the forest surrounding them. But since she could, Master Fushi was sure she was not hallucinating right now.
"What kind of sound are you hearing right now? Can you explain it in a little more detail so that we can also understand what you are trying to say, woman?"
Master Shinzou replied as he also sharpened his sense to see what was coming their way. He heard the faint sound of breathing and he stilled. There was not one or two foreign breathing sounds, but a tone.
It was enough to make Shinzou worry. He quickened his steps to appear in front of their group and to see what it was all about. And he was just able to see a hoard of black in front of his eyes.
He looked at the field in front of his eyes again, and the black masses multiplied. In actuality, the black mass of balls in front of him was small puppies who had yet to open their eyes and look at the world.
In easier words, this was a Fenrir factory that was aimed to make more Fenrir beasts. It was a never-ending process for them.
"Fuck, what should we do now? There are a lot of these bastards and I do not think we have enough resources on hand to take care of them all. Even taking out one was too much trouble."
Shimi muttered as she finally had her first look at what was going on in front of her. And her expression of horror was given at that point. There were just too many beasts around them.
Keith did not want to think about what would happen if all these Fenrir beasts matured.
"So, the reports were true. These people were trying to make an artificial life form after all. I did hear about this but I never thought I would get to see this in person."
Nufort spoke up and only realized that he had messed up once he was finished speaking. He was too afraid to look up after that.
"Hmm, did you just say something, my dear friend? I thought you told us everything but now I can see that it was not the case. So, you better fess up whatever is left for you to confess."
Nufort tried to look away from the eyes looking at him. But the more he tried to look away, the more he was forced to face the people around him. In the end, he had no choice but to sigh and open his mouth.
"Fine, I guess I cannot keep it hidden any longer. I told you how young Master Steward was missing, right? Rumor was that he was working on artificial life and its implications. He was more into the process of reverse aging and such but you get it right?"
"So, as soon as he was reporting missing, the higher-ups decided to not take any chance."
Keith listened carefully to what was being spoken. This was truly his first time hearing all this. It was fascinating but not something related to him.
'But I wonder if I can help go back home if I save this person. Likely not but it would not hurt to try.'
"Grandmaster, are we going to help the government this time? I do not want to, but I guess it can be a good way to make those jerks own us one."
Shimi did not sound happy that they would have to help the government officials with their matters. And her opinion was shared by most of the people in Keith's group.
The only neutral one was Master Fushi but it might be because of her cold and impartial nature.
Seeing all this hostility being addressed toward himself, Nufort could not help but flinch and be taken aback. The more he looked at them, the more dangerous these people from the guild looked.
How someone could look at them and not feel a tinge of fear was beyond him.
"I-I am not sure if that is a good idea. Even if you people have quality, the government has quantity and it even has local support. Well, kind of."
It was difficult to say if the government would be able to win a popularity contest when the opponent was the guild alliance but Nufort wanted to believe it would be a close thing.
So, he tried his best to take things to sound reasonable. But so far, he felt as if he had done a horrible job at his explanation.
"Clair, what are the chances of us winning if we fight against the government?"
Normally, Keith would not have cared much but he suddenly realized that the government has a lot of resources at its disposal. Resources, Keith was sure he would be able to put better use to.
He could also find a way to go back home with them if he was lucky enough.
"Well, if you fight against them alone, you will not get far. Against the guild alliance? The chance of winning is 100%. Government people are not strong, they just have a lot of resources at their disposal."
Clair replied with a calm face. She did interest in the dog fight that was about to break out in front of him. Looking at her made Keith want to take a step back from her.
'But still, let's try not to anger the government this time.'
Keith decided to take charge before a fight could break out. Coincidently, the second he stepped up to stop the fighting, the breathing pattern around them changed.
Keith watched as a red eye opened and the black-skinned demon stared back at him. The small Fenrir pup that was awake looked directly at Keith and stared into his soul.
"-We do not need your funding. We have a lot of money-"
"-but the government has support and-"
The others were busy fighting but the Fenrir pup did not care. It was small (relatively big compared to the humans) and jumped toward them and Keith managed to somehow raise his barrier in time.
The Fenrir beast that attacked Keith was too young to know what was happening. So, when it rammed into the barrier, it did not know what it should do.
The hurried moment attracted everyone else's eyes and they also looked up and noticed the Fenrir beast.
"Fuck, when did one of the pups wake up? I did not notice it opening its eyes. Did anyone else notice?"
Nufort questioned as he held his fast-beating heart. His chest hurt after the Fenrir beast had rammed into the barrier at full speed.
"Well, what else can we expect from a useless government official like you? Of course, our grandmaster noticed this and he managed to save us in time as well."
Shimi taunted back with a happy and satisfied expression. Nufort looked back at Shimi with a slack-jawed expression in his eyes. He could not believe what he had just heard Shimi says.
"Hey, your grandmaster is the amazing one, not you. Why do you sound so proud? It is not your achievement you are hyping up after all."
Nufort commented after seeing how Shimi was behaving but his words caused Shimi to feel even more justified in her actions.
She puffed up her chest and stood tall in front of Nufort.
"Do not you know that the grandmaster belongs to me-I mean our guild? His achievements are our achievements so you can say that he is an extension of us. If you understood what I am saying, I hope you will not repeat ridiculous stuff like this. It lowers your class a lot."
Shimi acted and sounded entitled right now, making even Master Fushi and Shinzou angry at her actions. But Shimi did not care much for what they felt.
She did not want this foreigner looking at her grandmaster with any kind of eyes if she could help it. The Grandmaster belonged to her and she could never let him leave.
"Hey, you both can fight against each other later. Right now, we have a monster to take care of."