Chapter 275- Double Turning (Patreon)

Double Turning

Ursus made his way across the slum lanes to the south gate. His companion this time was a wiry young man who had visited with the Boss. Similar to his relation to Little Tuck, in the beginning, this man proved a poor conversationalist. Threading past some unsavory looking characters, however, this individual radiated a firm aura. Ursus felt a sense of protectiveness while walking with this person. They finally stopped at the junction to a narrow lane.

"Tenth house on the right. Your family is waiting."

The man said. Hesitating, he then turned to Ursus.

"Little Tuck did you a big favor in asking the Boss to spare your life. Don't let him regret it."

"I won't. My life was worthless to my previous master but my new boss not only spared my life but saved my family. When I return to House Gofart, I'll spin some story about my escape and deliver the news the boss instructed. As he said, I won't believe the words of those blackhearted nobles anymore. I WILL have my vengeance..."

"Good. Have a rest and clean yourself up. I believe the Boss would have provided new work for your family and some provisions after the sudden move. Tomorrow, Little Tuck will come to find you with instructions."

The two parted ways...

On the other side of the slums, Little Tuck sat drinking with the boss.

"I can't believe this plan worked Boss. The instructors working for our head boss must have learned to read the stars. Ursus was practically fawning over me in the end. The prison literally broke his spirit making it easy for me to befriend him. When you came in the end and dropped your story, he ran into the net with open arms."

"Hehe, don't underestimate our bosses, Little Tuck. One of these days I'll have you accompany me to our monthly meeting with the heads of the other division bosses under the behemoth gang. When you hear of the number of different ways to break a man's soul, you'll understand our head Boss is no ordinary person."

The scar-faced man praised while guzzling the ale in his cup.

"But what about the story you spun for him?"

"No need to worry. I called in a favor from the Boss who handles that division of the Behemoth territory. Our boys arrived in time to prevent the staged abduction of Ursus's wife. Obviously, they dropped hints as to who they were working for. By providing a better home, food, and work for his family, Ursus owes us more than one lifetime of service. All we have to do is treat him right."

Chuckling, Boss Loggs thunked his cup on the table. In the presence of the instructors, he felt he and his gang occupied the positions of minor and fleeting characters. One could imagine that the head Boss of the Behemoth Gang, may not even remember their names in the future...

"Now, let's head over to our next guest. It's amazing how the instructors provided us with so much information. Did you see the look on Ursus when I vomited his life story? I swear they know everything in the slums, much less the city. Remember, Ursus will be our spy in the city. We need to place Rudd permanently outside the city so they don't clash. Luckily, our targets are big families with lots of resources outside the walls. Hahaha, what a successful Double-Turning!"

***

The spring season brought not only warmer days but torrential downpours.

"Whose idea was it to head out yesterday for a two-day hunt in the forest?"

Ming grumbled while shifting under a large tree deep in the forest. His dancing failed to avoid the raindrops penetrating the green canopy high above. A frustrated shout escaped his lips when another droplet plopped perfectly deep inside the back of his neck while avoiding his lowered hood. Like a drenched rat, he shook his matted black hair before continuing his complaining.

"Arrrgh! Who pulled back my hood? Don't you know the forest is no place for games?"

"Nobody touched you. If you paid attention instead of prancing, you would have noticed when it got stuck in that briar."

Lucy silently explained. She then pulled her dried cloak closer as she sheltered under the eve of a rocky outcropping. The older teen finally noticed the clawing thorny vines and retrieved the dagger from his belt to hack a few of the slender greenish fingers away.

"Oh. Well, you should have told me earlier. That spot looks mighty big for only the two of you. Why don't you give this big brother a squeeze."

"Keep your distance, you frizzled fowl. Do you want to drench us like yourself? And what squeeze? Do you think you're in the tavern drooling over a serving girl?"

Miki retorted while standing next to Lucy. She shot a menacing glare at Ming that quietened him down. The respite, however, didn't last long.

"What's the use of having wild pets when they can't forecast the weather? I'm sure I smelt rain yesterday in the forecast. If I could do it, then so could those wolves right? I say we cut their rations for spoiling our training, Chu."

Ming said while turning to Chu who sheltered inside a tree hollow. His eyes flickered to the redhead sitting within another dry hollow. The green eyes narrowed as Dyna smirked at him.

"What? You want me to have my wolves forecast the weather for you now? Elder once said the battlefield doesn't always suit your liking. Did you think your foes will sit and wait out the rain with you for a sunny day? Nobody asked you to stand out under the tree and take a bath."

"See that, did you hear that, Chu? No respect. I'm the eldest, so you should have offered me that hole you rushed and crawled into when the downpour began. You're the same as your wolves, biased against me. I don't know why Jill went and got only male pups again. They really are your thug's descendants since I've already spotted them looking at me with scorn..."

Ming voiced while wringing the bottom of his cloak. The dripping water became lost in the puddles at his feet.

Chu sighed on listening to this idiot rant within the treacherous forest. Normally, he might have silenced this individual with a slap but he knew their voices poised no issue. Stalking around them between the trees prowled two snow-white wolves with furs highlighted by an unusual reddish tint.

He glanced over to Lucy who simply blinked a response. Miki appeared more vocal as she rolled her eyes. When the rain swept across the forest, they all scrambled for shelter. Except for this fool who decided on playing musical chairs. In the end, Ming chose the poor shelter for himself.

"Hey, how did you know Jill only chose male pups?"

Miki asked out of curiosity. As expected, this raven-haired girl zoned in on certain points when it piqued her interest.

"What do you mean? I did the same with the new pups as I did with the original three. Hoist them up by their back legs and spread them wide... Hey, why are you all looking at me like that? I saw that face Dyna! Chu, she's looking at me with scorn again for some reason. Those wolf pups raised the side of their lips just like that."

Ming complained.

"You do know those pups are yet to recognize us, right?"

Dyna informed. Before Ming could continue, Lucy raised an eyebrow while asking another question.

"Hey, how come your cloak isn't waterproof?"

The others suddenly realized that even if Ming stood out in the rain, he shouldn't reach the condition he now appeared. The boy gave a wry grin and then replied.

"I lent mine to Toll since he acts as the guard for the goblin woodcutters. This is a new one I grabbed out of storage. Don't you just like how the double-threaded stitching looks?"

Chu exhaled a long breath. If Ming had informed them earlier, then he would not be soaked. How were they to know that his cloak did not receive treatment from the barrel worm solution?

"You idiot, if you knew you didn't waterproof it already, then why did you stand out to get wet? Hurry and find your butt here."

He called Ming over since the shower showed no signs of dissipating. As soon as Ming squeezed into the hollow with him, an unexpected flash, with a simultaneous deafening boom, echoed out. Recovering from the sound, Chu witnessed the tree Ming previously sheltered under being cleaved into charring halves. The smoldering flames refused to be smothered by the rain.

"Crap! That could have been me! Just like that?"

"How did you know, Chu? One breath later and all that would have been left of Ming might be charred boots. These lightning storms are mighty dangerous. Who knows if it might blast our windmill apart one day."

Miki said while rubbing her ears. After the split-second blast, her ears had yet to cease ringing.

Her words initiated a raised eyebrow on Chu's face.

"Holy crud... remind me to tell Bon we need lightning rods placed on all our buildings!"

***

The training in the forest highlighted a couple of noticeable problems for Chu.

The first issue to arise lay in communicating to ensure a cohesive and fluid attack during a battle. Previously, he or Miki conducted the flow so as to ensure a safe and efficient skirmish. Because of their newfound powers, however, their timing required work. Since the party relied on speed, the commands and warnings arrived late.

"If we include Dyna and also Ishara in our party, things will only become worse."

Miki stated while gliding a sharpening stone over the blade of her dagger. The haphazard use of powers had them zipping around a small band of wildcats. Having powers that could activate endlessly proved great but the stall period created a dangerous situation.

Chu coined the term, stall period, as when they exited from using their speed and ocular sight. For a brief moment, they needed to adjust to normalcy. Currently, their Sersen powers progressed to an activation period of four seconds with a stall period of two seconds. Chu averaged a second as the time taken to breathe in a breath.

Four seconds at speeds eclipsing the fastest sprinter on earth allowed them to avoid arrows from nearby archers or swiping claws of wild beasts. The two breaths of pausing afterward to stabilize themselves, however, felt like hours of exposed vulnerability.

"The line-up requires re-arranging. From now, Ming will handle close combat. When Ishara joins us, so will she. Lucy and I will act as mid-range fighters using the crossbows and join in the fray if we don't whittle down the enemy numbers. Use Dyna and the wolves to protect you or as flank attackers."

Chu replied after some thought to Miki. By moving away from the front line, both he and Lucy could act as support in times of danger.

The thunderstorm also opened his eyes to the importance of his surroundings. The slippery roots and mushy ground impeded their speed and hence almost nullified their powers. Twice he initiated his speed, only to slip and fall flat on his back. Chu considered himself lucky, during the last fracas, Ming actually slid and slammed into a massive tree trunk face first. He frowned at his boots while thinking.

"When we return, remind me to have Old Hodge and Sherry work on our boots. Our boots should have more grip."

The relatively smooth soles of their boots surfaced while fighting. Chu decided to turn to the barrelworms again for assistance. Since he already had soft inside soles for comfort, he planned to modify the exterior. If he could have Old Hodge create a suitable mold for the rubber, then Sherry might be able to stitch the rubber grip to the bottom of the boot. Rain or shine, he wanted to move freely.

"What we all lack is a suitable deadly attack. We need a one-shot kill designed to cripple or inflict heavy injury on a beast like the Kurat. Forget helping on the farm for now since we can leave it to Clod and the others. By summer before we depart, focus on this goal."

"Is there any reason why you seem in a hurry to become stronger, Chu?"

Lucy asked while brushing a strand of yellow hair behind her ear.

"Ishara and the Kurat. I never expected to run into the likes of them. The world to the north is not as simple as it seems..."

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