"That's all. Grab the equipment from me and immediately head to the forest. I can assure you that another outbreak won't happen under normal circumstances."
Noel and Anna exchanged looks as they walked to Shale. The latter only smiled at them as he had been told the situation by Evan.
"Good luck, both of you. Don't forget to work together and focus on the demons," said Shale, reminding them not to bother with physical intimacy when they reach the forest.
Noel's eyebrows twitched while Anna just ignored him.
"You carry the tent and cooking utensils. I carry the remaining tools as well as our bottles." Anna handed him a backpack.
Noel just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, so he accepted the bag without making a fuss.
After that, the two ran to the forest. Their training had strengthened them and improved their stamina, so Noel could go at a faster speed without getting exhausted easily.
Anna, of course, didn't go too fast either because they were not competing this time.
"Anyway, we will get ten crystals to complete the mission. After that, we will get half of the loot."
Noel listened to Anna's suggestion and agreed without hesitation. Although he didn't want to admit it, Anna was stronger than him. Yet, she wanted to give him half the loot.
He might hate the fact that he lived on the grace of his enemy, but over the past week, he had learned how to swallow his pride and shamelessly take everything. The faster he became stronger, the quicker he could exact his revenge after all.
Anna also noticed Noel's calm behavior. At least, he wouldn't be an impulsive young man that could endanger their group anymore.
"Well, I don't think both of us need a trap to handle a Low Level Demon. If you utilize Spiritual Energy, it will be easy to cut Low Level Demons. So, we only need to worry about the Mid Level Demon. I'm planning to hunt some Mid Level Demons in the Inner Region. What do you think?"
"Set up a base in the inner region and make traps."
"…" Anna scratched the back of her head. She just said that traps weren't needed, but Noel seemed to be firm about his opinion. Remembering Noel's fighting style, she reluctantly agreed. "Fine. But make the traps when you're on your night watch! We won't have too much time during the day.
"I don't think I need to remind you this, but I can wake up if I sense you coming to the tent. So, don't try to sneak up on me. I'm going to make you regret it when you do that."
Noel snorted. "Fine. But I'll be the one to choose the camping spot and where to go."
"I don't have a problem." Anna felt satisfied that they could finally make an agreement. This was an improvement in their relationship.
Little did she know, Noel only buried his anger. And that anger didn't disappear.
After making a decision where to go, they then headed straight to the inner region which would take two hours to reach.
On the way, they found their first Low Level Demon.
Without hesitation, Anna and Noel took out their weapons at the same time. As if the beast could sense the danger from Anna, it attacked Anna first with its claws.
However, Anna skillfully cut the claws as well as the paws of this demon.
But this time she had a more reliable teammate than Alfred and Lezlev. As soon as the demon was stopped by her, Noel used his Mega Slash, swinging the sword with both hands.
The sword cut through the monster's neck in a single swing.
"Hu…" Noel took a deep breath, feeling relieved that he could kill a Low Level Demon with a single swing. After all, this was the proof that he had gotten stronger.
"Don't be too proud of yourself. Killing one Low Level Demon don't mean you're strong. A Low Level Demon is the lowest rank among the demons. In a war, their number is the highest. Sometimes, you will be surrounded by a thousand demons.
"I have heard that the Demon Banner Army is going to train you for a year. If you complete your training, you can handle thirty to fifty Low Level Demon by yourself. But the elites in the Demon Banner Army are even stronger.
"According to the rumors, a single wave of the commander's sword can kill a thousand of Low Level Demons." Anna added, making sure Noel wasn't too proud of himself.
However, Noel only snorted. "I know that already. Do you think I'm satisfied with this? I'll only be satisfied after killing you."
"Yeah, yeah. I don't care about that. I just want you to know that even the commander is afraid of the demons. The reason is simple. Their number is overwhelming. Can you imagine a single fort taking the full brunt of millions of demons? What if we add Mid Level Demon or even those above them in the mix? I'm sure you know this already, but what you see here is just the edge."
"You don't need to tell me twice. I don't care if there are strong demons or not. I only need to become stronger than you."
"You love twisting my words, don't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Noel maintained his poker face the whole time while Anna tried to tease him from time to time, trying to crack that stone face of his.
Ultimately, the two of them met a total of eight Low Level Demon on their way to the Inner Region.
They stopped in the middle of the dense forest. It was pretty hard to even measure their exact position at this point.
Anna asked, "So, how are you gonna navigate in this forest?"
Noel raised his head and looked at the sun's position before pointing at the west. "That direction. We should be able to find a small lake that way."
"You have a map? Even me couldn't get a map from the instructor even though I asked him."
Noel closed his eyes, remembering the reason he knew this. When he was helping in the town, one of them was actually a senior soldier that had retired.
While helping him, the senior soldier started talking about his experience and knowledge. And when he knew about Noel's status as a trainee, the senior soldier gave him some tips and tricks.
Of course, he wouldn't tell Anna about it.
"Just follow me. If you don't trust me, then you can go somewhere else," said Noel as he started running, not waiting for Anna.
"I trust you, though." Anna smirked and followed him.