Chapter 69: Cave
Khan stopped sensing the Kred and humans once they entered the cave. Istrone's ground created a wall that his senses couldn't pierce. The darkness of the night also hindered his vision and prevented him from gaining a clear understanding of the whole area.
Only the faint azure lights running through the ground and some glowing plants illuminated the area and created shadows that Khan could study. Still, they weren't enough to allow a proper inspection of that empty spot in the middle of the forest.
Some of Khan's companions had noticed the Kred entering the cave with the prisoners. They didn't see much, but they managed to confirm that Khan wasn't leading them across the jungle blindly.
The scene made them reach similar conclusions that they didn't hesitate to whisper among the group. There was a high chance that the cave was one of the locations meant to hold the survivors of the attack.
Another realization quickly followed that understanding. The Kred didn't explain much, but they had given important information that the recruits could connect to that scene.
Only the leaders of the rebellion knew where to bring the prisoners, which implied that the cave had more than simple foot soldiers. That structure would probably contain strong Kred.
"We have to go in, right?" George asked after the group remained silent for a while.
"We must save the others!" Luke exclaimed while keeping his voice down.
"I agree," Dorian added. "We can't leave them there."
The other recruits remained silent since it wasn't their role to make decisions in the group. They had different views about the issue, but they waited for Khan to make a decision. Their only option was to follow him.
Khan remained silent while those words reached his ears. Saving others wasn't even close to being a priority in his mind, but he was out of options. He didn't know anything else about Istrone, and hiding wasn't really a possibility due to the foreign environment.
The humans and aliens inside the cave could reveal a path that his poor knowledge ignored, but an eventual raid required thorough preparations.
"Let's remain here for a couple of days," Khan ordered. "We need to study their routine before attacking."
"Days?" Luke asked. "People might be dying there!"
"The forest isn't safe for us either," George added. "You are the only one who can sense the Kred hiding among the trees. We'll be in the dark whenever you lose focus."
"I won't," Khan replied with his firm voice. "Everyone will remain inside the range of my senses, and we'll alternate ourselves to spy the cave. I'll handle the guard duty on my own."
"You can't stay awake for so long right before attacking!" Cora exclaimed while keeping her voice down, but everyone could sense the worry in her tone.
"She is right," George continued. "You are the strongest among us. You should be at your peak before the attack, not the opposite."
"I can handle it," Khan revealed, "And I will. We don't have other options, so let's skip the complaints. We'll have time to worry after we return to Earth."
Khan didn't give anyone the chance to argue, but the recruits slowly understood that the situation was quite helpless. Attacking the cave blindly was too reckless, and only Khan's senses could ensure their safety during the inspection.
Khan gave a few instructions before leaving the edges of the forest and moving in a spot at the center of his companions' activities. He could cover the kids busy with the surveillance and those tasked with gathering roots from there, so he sat on the ground and began to meditate.
His senses had grown sharper after spending so long in the jungle, and the constant suppression of his emotions made him quite responsive to the fluctuation of the mana in his surroundings. Khan could meditate without lowering his guard, but his task didn't allow him to do anything else in that situation.
The other boys and girls had to study the cave and gather food without alerting the Kred moving through the area. Khan wouldn't normally trust all of them for those tasks, but that had to do due to the helpless situation.
The group began their silent surveillance of the cave while Khan didn't move from his spot. No one spoke, and those spying on the target did their best to avoid making noises.
Cora took care of bringing food to Khan every few hours, and the latter often forgot about thanking her since his mind was elsewhere. He paid attention to the surrounding area even while munching roots and moving mana through his body.
The girl didn't mind that lack of attention. Her worries about Khan even intensified as time passed. His companions could sleep and rest, but he had to remain alert for the whole time to make sure that no Kred approached their position.
Khan spent two days in that condition. He had sensed Tainted animals, Kred, and fainter presences getting close to his position, but none of them had threatened to discover the group. He had never needed to alert everyone to force them to change location.
Two days of surveillance weren't enough to understand the complete behavior of those living inside the cave, but that time had to do. Khan's resilience was inhuman, but it had limits that a longer time in that condition would definitely make him reach.
"Multiple groups of Kred go out before dawn," George listed what he had learnt in the past days once the group gathered. "Many of them return empty-handed late in the night, but some bring prisoners. Others even carry corpses back."
"We attack once they leave then," Khan quickly concluded before glancing at the openings in the blue crowns above him.
His phone had died since heavy rain had never stopped falling in the last two days. The group still had a few working devices, but they preferred not to waste their energy to check the hour.
The almost two weeks spent in the jungle had made them grow used to Istrone's time, so they didn't have any problem keeping track of the passing hours. The recruits had even learnt how to alternate the guard duty without using alarms in the last period.
"Do you want to rest for a few hours?" Luke asked once Khan lowered his gaze. "The Kred have already returned inside the cave. We can handle the surveillance without you for a bit."
"Let's not take risks," Khan replied. "Focus on preparing. The attack will start in less than four hours."
The order forced all the recruits to realize that the beginning of the mission was close. Many of them closed their eyes to meditate and bring their condition to the peak, while others made sure to relieve themselves before the attack.
Tension accumulated among the group as time passed. Every minute felt like an eternity in their minds, and that feeling even interrupted their meditation multiple times. Only the four boys involved with the execution of Kred managed to remain calm and prepare themselves correctly.
The sky past the blue crowns grew brighter as dawn approached. Small teams of Kred began to leave the cave and disperse in the jungle to resume their daily patrol, and Khan made sure that none of them walked toward his direction.
The group waited until the morning arrived before leaving the forest and approaching the cave. Khan obviously led the group, and the other recruits created a line behind him as per his instructions.
The lack of information concerning the insides of the cave had prevented the group from creating a proper plan. Still, they had gone through some possible situations before leaving the forest. They had decided how they would react to specific issues beforehand to avoid freezing in front of the actual danger.
Khan was in front of the group because his attacks were incredibly fast. He could take care of any threat before eventual alarms and warning cries rang.
George followed closely behind him while wielding a thick branch already empowered with mana. His role was to deal with the enemies that Khan failed to handle or crossed.
The recruits behind George had the same task. The group's priority was to move forward, even at the cost of running past some opponents. Everything would be fine as long as one of the kids in the line took care of them.
Khan didn't show any hesitation when he reached the entrance of the cave. The narrow passage went downward and didn't feature stairs, but it had rocks that could become useful footholds.
The lack of enemies past the entrance made Khan descend through that unstable path right away. His agility allowed him to go through that narrow passage in no time, and a long tunnel unfolded in his eyes once he landed on stable ground.
Blue and purple plants filled the insides of the tunnel and illuminated it with their faint glow. Khan could see everything perfectly, and he didn't fail to notice a few holes dug on the walls.
Khan approached the holes while his companions descended through the entrance, but his eyes grew colder when he inspected their insides. The cavities weren't big, but the Kred had managed to store human corpses inside them anyway.
All the recruits ended up inspecting the holes as Khan walked forward. He even had to stop at some point when he heard Abel puking in the corner of the passage.
Jill and Ethel made sure to remind Abel about their situation, and the boy quickly suppressed his retches to proceed with the mission. His complexion had paled, but a newfound determination had appeared on his expression. There seemed to be even hatred on his face now.
The passage led to another descending path that ended up in a large hall filled with glowing plants and holes. Still, those cavities featured wooden sticks arranged to create what seemed to be the bars of a cell.
Khan peeked inside one of the cells and noticed that it contained a young girl tied with a few roots. Her eyes slightly opened when she saw the boy, but Khan promptly put a finger in front of his mouth to make her remain silent.
The faint sound of steps then echoed from the end of the hall. Khan turned and saw that a tall figure had appeared in the passage that connected the cave to the next area, and his vision immediately grew blurry.
Khan didn't hesitate for even an instant. The mana flowing through the many plants around him dulled his senses, but he didn't fail to link that tall figure to a Kred. He shot forward and arrived in front of the alien before it could open its mouth in surprise.
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Author's thoughts: I'll go premium on the 29th, with chapter 75. I'll keep the length variable to have some flexibility, so the cost of the chapters will vary accordingly. Moreover, the mandatory privilege will go online on the same day. It will cost 1 coin and contain 2 chapters.
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