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Inspiration = Review
Courage = STONE
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"What's this noise? Did someone fall? Has someone found this place? If the Patricians discovered us, I don't have the strength to fight them right now. What should I do? I have to do something; I can't give up this place so easily, even if it costs me my life."
" If they find out about the new food source, we're doomed. They might kill all of us to keep this secret from spreading." John's mind raced as fear gripped him. If they lost control over the food, it would mean certain death by starvation, and the Patricians wouldn't hesitate to silence them.
Just then, the crying voice echoed again.
"Father... Wake up... Ahhhh... Ahaha..."
"A child's cry? Oh, thank God, maybe they're not Patricians. But wait, if they're not Patricians, then who could they be, wandering this mountain at night with a fire?" John felt a moment of relief, but new anxiety quickly replaced it.
"Who is this child crying? And those two loud thuds... A child doesn't weigh enough to make such a sound. It must be two people, so I need to step carefully," John thought to himself, his mind racing with possibilities. Then, a sudden realization struck him.
"What if the crying child is Leo... And maybe Uncle Victor returned, exhausted and collapsed. But then, who's the other person?" With this in mind, John looked ahead and shouted loudly,
"Who's there!?"
"This is my son Leo's voice!" Clara recognized the sound of crying immediately and, panicking, she shouted and rushed towards the direction of the voice.
"What... This is Leo's voice, but... Why is he crying? What happened to him?" Derek said as he moved forward, holding a torch in his hand.
"Victor... Victor... Are you there? Answer me!" Uncle Tom shouted loudly when Clara confirmed that the crying was indeed her son's. Believing Victor must be with him, he started calling for Victor, but no response came from the other side.
"Brother-in-law... Brother-in-law..." Dylan also called out for Victor, but he too got no response, only the sound of crying.
"Ahh... Arggg... ahaha... Father, get up, what happened to you?"
Hearing this, Clara became even more anxious. "Leo... What happened... To your... father? Answer me!" Clara began running even faster towards them.
"Please... Please... Let nothing bad happen... Please..." John muttered to himself as he started running faster.
Everyone started running quickly, and after a short distance, they saw a roughly 15-year-old boy kneeling beside a body, shaking it, and crying.
When they saw this scene, everyone was paralyzed with shock.
"Da... Darling... What happened to you... Get up..." Clara knelt down and, confirming that it was indeed Victor lying there, began crying in panic.
"Victor... Victor..." Uncle Tom sat down on the other side of Victor and shouted loudly, but Victor's eyes were closed, and he appeared to be in very bad condition.
"Mother... Look what happened, Papa isn't waking up... Look... Wake up Papa... Please..." Leo, with his thin body, tattered clothes, black disheveled hair, and innocent face, couldn't stop crying as he looked at his mother.
"Brother-in-law..." The four brothers spoke in unison, shocked and worried, as they surrounded Victor.
The fear that John had always harbored finally came true.
"What... should I... do... What... should I... do..." John muttered to himself as he looked at Victor's condition, unable to figure out what to do in this situation.
[Host, first take these five bodies to the hut.]
Hearing this sudden instruction, John felt a bit relieved, realizing he could help them with the info. "How could I forget about the info? I'm such an idiot," he cursed himself, then looked towards Victor. But he wondered, "Wait... Five bodies? I only see Leo and Uncle Victor. Why did you say five bodies, Info?"
[Host, on your right side, 25 meters away, there are four unconscious bodies lying on the ground.]
"What... Four bodies... Are they enemies or people who came with Uncle Victor? I'll think about that later. First, I need to get them to the hut."
With this thought in mind, John looked at everyone who was trying to lift Victor.
"Listen, everyone, we need to take them to our hut, and once we're there, we'll examine them properly."
"Yes, you're right, John... Let's lift Victor," Uncle Tom said, hearing John's suggestion and looking at the four brothers.
"Okay," the four brothers replied in unison, and Derek lifted Victor, starting to walk towards the hut.
"Dylan, Brody, and Blake, wait," John called out to the three from behind.
"What's the matter, John?" Uncle Tom asked, noticing that John had stopped the three brothers.
"Uncle Tom, there are four more bodies over there. We need to take them as well," John explained the reason for stopping them.
"What... Four bodies? Where? I haven't seen any, " Uncle Tom said, looking at John. He hadn't noticed the bodies earlier because he was focused on Victor, and neither had the other three brothers.
"Leader, we haven't seen them either," Dylan said.
"Follow me," John said, leading the way to the right side, with Dylan, Brody, and Blake following behind, along with Uncle Tom.
After walking for a while, they found the four unconscious bodies lying on the ground. They looked similar to Victor's condition, though one of them seemed to be in slightly better shape.
"Does anyone recognize them?" John asked.
"No, leader. This is the first time we've seen these four," Dylan said, examining the bodies on the ground.
"I might recognize them, but I can't remember," Uncle Tom said, carefully observing.
"Alright, we'll question them when they wake up," John decided.
"But leader, if they turn out to be enemies, it could be a serious problem for all of us," Dylan pointed out, considering the danger if they were enemies and took over the area.
"Then let's restrain them," John suggested, agreeing with Dylan's concern for safety.
"Yes, that's a good idea, John," Uncle Tom agreed.
"Okay, let's move them. We'll each carry one, Uncle Tom, you lead," John said, bending down to lift one of the bodies.
Hearing John's instructions, Brody, Blake, and Dylan also bent down, lifted a body each, and started heading towards the hut.
"Darling... Darling... Wake up... Please... What happened to you... And my mother... Where is she..." Clara said, crying loudly as she walked.
" Big sister... Don't cry... Brother-in-law will be fine, he will definitely wake up," Derek said, trying to reassure Clara as he carried Victor, heading quickly towards the hut.
About 20 minutes later, they arrived at the hut with Victor and placed him down. Inside the hut, there was light from the fire, making Victor's condition clearer.
"Darling... Who did this to you... Ahhhhhhh..." Clara cried out in shock as she saw Victor's body clearly, trembling and weeping as she touched his face.
Seeing Clara cry, Leo also began to cry. " Father... Wake up... Ahhh..."
" Big sister... Big sister... Hold yourself together... Brother-in-law is okay," Derek tried to console Clara, though he was also shocked seeing Victor in the light. His eyes widened in horror, but he fought against crying; if Derek started crying too, it might worsen Clara's distress and cause her to lose consciousness from the shock.
John's Side....
John, Brody, Blake, and Dylan, carrying the four bodies, quickly made their way towards their hut. Uncle Tom, holding a torch, led the way. The night was filled with a deep sense of worry and sorrow.
After a short while, they reached the hut and laid the bodies on the ground. They began tying their hands and feet with the help of ropes, then proceeded to head outside to see Victor. Uncle Tom was the first to go inside to check on Victor. As soon as he entered, he was speechless, staring at Victor in shock .
" Who did this... How could anyone be so ruthless... What kind of enmity could lead to this kind of treatment..." Uncle Tom thought to himself in shock.
When Uncle Tom entered the hut, John followed a little later to check on Victor.
As soon as John saw Victor, he froze in shock, unable to say anything. He just stared at Victor, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing. After a few moments, he snapped out of it and quickly asked Info for help.
"Info, can you tell me what Uncle Victor's condition is right now?"
[Host, I can provide that information.]
"Great, tell me quickly," John urged, anxious to know Victor's condition.
[Host, Uncle Victor's condition is severe. Some of his joints have been dislocated, and a few bones have been broken due to pressure. Additionally, His Soul Energy has been drained from his body.]
"What... His Soul energy has been drained? How? And what kind of pressure caused this? Who could have done this?" John asked, shocked and trying to understand what Info was telling him.
[Host, this is the work of those with Power Circles.]
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Next Chapter [What The F*ck !! ]