"I'll teach you some tricks. In exchange, you have to do something for me."
Ligi and Gotang kept talking seriously but there were glimpses of smiles from both of them. Whenever Ligi would speak, Gotang smiled with pride.
The members of the Defending Tip saw their leader getting friendly with the newcomers. They didn't mind this as their leader was just getting friendly, there was no harm in that. But Resi was different.
His hands curled forcefully in anger. His brows furrowed as he stared down Ligi. He hated Ligi down to his core. What's worse was that the man receiving the death stare from him was ignoring him. He was a fly on the wall. A bystander. He was a helpless man watching a thief take everything away from him.
Resi never got along with his group. He thought their philosophy in life was a symbol of the weak. Defense is the best offense? No, offense is the best offense. Even though he considered himself different from them, deep down he still considered them family.
There was even a time when he tried hard to fit in. He tried their sword art, he listened intently to their teachings, he did everything. But that guy, that Ligi. He just comes here like he owns the place. He was the perfect guy in everyone's eyes. The embodiment of 'defense is the best offense'. He would never get along with a guy like that. It only served to remind him of his failure. His trauma.
———————
Ligi listened to Gotang with a gleam in his eyes. He leaned forward as if wanting to catch every word out of Gotang's mouth. His hands curled in excitement. His eyebrows jumped as he learned important wisdom from Gotang. This is what he wants. This is what he needed. A smile started to grow on his face. But something in his eyesight ruined it.
He saw Resi staring him down. His eyes quickly stole a glance at Resi but hurriedly took it back. He would never give Resi the pleasure of knowing that he gave him his attention. Ligi hated him to his core.
Ligi remembered his greatest failure. He disobeyed Bang. Tab got killed and now they were being blamed for it. His mind knows he did the right thing but his heart told him otherwise.
He remembered how Bang almost died because of Resi. It was his fault. His arrogance and his disregard for the rules almost led him to fail his duty. Freedom? What's the use of that without rules to govern them? He hated how Resi was the embodiment of his failure. How he tried to disobey orders and failed due to it. He would never get along with a guy like that.
———————
Bang let Gotang and Ligi talk. Having him tutor Ligi will only benefit him in the end. He just rested to prepare himself for the worst. He knew this trip would be dangerous but he never thought that he could die. Today was a very close call. Who knows what kind of monster lurked further in the swamp. They had done their job. It was now time to get out.
Bang walked over to Ligi and Gotang while still holding his injured shoulder.
"Hey, I don't think we'll continue with you further here. We've done our job and scouted the place."
Gotang heard the words of Bang and he creased his forehead. He blinked his eyes multiple times in a short amount of time. He seemed confused at Bang's words.
"Go? You do know that you can't go back outright?"
'Ha?????'
Bang quickly looked at Gotang to see a hint of a joke coming but all he saw was an unchanging deadpan expression. This indicated he was serious.
"What do you mean we can't go out? You're joking, right? How do we get out? How will you go out??"
Bang quickly spat out these questions as if the words were hot in his mouth. He had to repeat Gotang's words in his mind to figure out the meaning of his sentence.
"The Dreaded Valley doesn't allow you to backtrack. You have to keep advancing to get out."
'What?!?!?!?!?! That fxxxing blacksmith led us to our deaths!'
Just thinking about it gave Bang shivers in his spine. If they had been alone and faced the scorpions, they would have died. They would be carcasses feeding the scorpions by now.
Bang held his head with both hands in frustration. How would they get out now? Thankfully, Gotang had a solution.
"We'll just continue. We'll get out when we reach the end."
Yeah sure. Like that'll be easy. They had trouble with measly little scorpions and they weren't even considered Limaws. The only consolation Bang could think of was that they are not alone now. Bang could use the Defending Tips as a meat shield.
At least when Bang looked at Gotang, there wasn't a shred of hesitation and fear. He could only see the determination in his clear blue eyes and thick fierce eyebrows.
Bang didn't want to talk anymore and just stayed silent and tried to recover. It looked like they had a long road ahead of them.
Once fully rested, they once again set foot back on the swamp. The mist got thicker and the smell became putrid. They were in a formation once again that had a parabolic curve.
In Bang's group, Ligi and Resi were separated by Lobo. Rightly so since the two apparently couldn't stand each other. They were deliberately avoiding their line of sight with each other. Bang didn't know what to do since they're supposed to work for him in the future and they'd be really useful if they worked together.
The place that they traveled to was the same as the one they were in before. Bang would think that they never even left if they hadn't been walking for hours. The swamp was the same. The dry and dead trees all looked the same. The soil, the smell, everything.
Everything was going smoothly until Bang noticed a faint smell of a sweet, subtle, and soft flower. He looked around to see the source of the smell and he saw that he wasn't the only one who noticed. The group had stopped walking and inched closer together. Those afraid of the unknown turned to Gotang for instructions.
Gotang put his hand up as a signal to halt all movement. Suddenly, Bang started to see members of the Defending Tip sway left and right. They looked like they were drunk on a Friday night and was just about to go home. Bang felt a slight pain in his head. A migraine was starting to form.
Those who were the first to feel the headache now started to fall helplessly to the ground. Bang looked to his surroundings and saw that Ligi and Resi were already down on the ground. The only ones left standing were Bang, Lobo, Gotang, and a few guards surrounding him.
Bang turned to his reliable system. If anyone knew what to do, it's the system.
'..........'
Bang closed his eyes, the pain was making his eyesight blurry. He felt sweat coming out of his skin and onto his shirt making it stick to him. Bang decided to let go and just faint. The system would protect him if things go south.
Gotang was just silently enduring the pain. He knew this could happen. In his research before embarking on this journey, this event had a low chance of happening. There are many events more dangerous and perilous than this. But the reason Gotang dreaded this the most was that the result was out of his hands. He couldn't help his members get out of this one. They had to rely on themselves.
After a few more minutes, Gotang couldn't take it anymore and he fell on the ground with one knee. Even unconscious, his body still refused to surrender. He still held his sword in his hands. His thick eyebrows were firm but relaxed.
After everyone fainted, still in their formation, the ground started to swallow them up. The soil grew from their feet onto their legs, their waists, their chests, and finally, their heads were fully submerged in the ground.
The ground was pulling the bodies deeper and deeper underground. Roots started to cling to each body to help the ground to swallow them whole. Nobody was awake when this happened or else they would feel suffocated just helplessly watching their bodies disappear into the darkness.
Bang awoke from his slumber. All he could see was the darkness surrounding him. He felt dirt on his face and all over his body. He quickly got rid of the soil thinking that he would finally see light, but he did not. All he saw was a dimly lit cavern that was enormous. The ground he was sitting on was made of soil and even the walls and the ceiling were made of soil. Soil that looked familiar with the one they were walking on earlier. Was he underground?
He suddenly felt something on his shoulder. He felt a chill in his spine as he instinctively backed away. His eyes were wide open, looking for the faint outline that touched him. He could hear his heartbeat and he was pretty sure the thing that touched him could hear it too.
This thing towered over him and all he could do was back away. He couldn't defend himself. Ligi wasn't here. He didn't have a gun. If this was a Limaw, he'd be dead. The tension was in the air as he saw the thing step over to him. It was Gotang. All tension was lost as he sighed a big relief in the familiar face. At least he wasn't alone in this place.
Bang suddenly saw Gotang take out his sword and aim it at Bang. He was speechless and he couldn't even ask the reason for this aggression as he saw Gotang's sword accelerating at him.