The Gamer's POV-Chapter 203: Home of the Hollow Ones [19]
Two and a half hours later, Aika opened her eyes. She looked down to her side and saw the pouch of water and the Health Elixir. Her gaze traveled from them to Cedric, who was lying on his back in front of her using his hands as a pillow. She couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or not, but she could see that the injury on his face had healed, leaving only a minor scar across his cheek.
’Damn. That scar makes him look hot... in a rugged sort of way,’ she thought. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
She also noticed that the two hours of rest had brought some color back to his face. She smiled, then picked up the pouch of water and began drinking from it until she emptied it, before throwing the empty pouch into her inventory. After that, she also emptied the vial, then threw the empty glass to the side.
She then looked away to the side where she saw Aurora kneeling in front of Alicia’s corpse while June stood quietly by her side with her hands folded in front of her. After a moment, the princess, who seemed to have been crying, wiped her eyes. She touched the corpse, then eventually withdrew her hand and stood up.
Aurora lingered for a second longer, before she finally masked her expression with a cold, regal indifference, then turned back toward the rest of the group.
She walked up to where Leon was lying with his head on Uriel’s lap. Uriel continued to slowly run her fingers through Leon’s hair, and both of them looked up as Aurora approached.
"Are you able to check what’s going on outside?" Aurora asked, halting her steps a few feet away.
Leon looked at her for a brief moment, then let out a small smile and replied in his usual lazy tone. "Nope. Sorry, Princess, but as you can see..." he pointed to himself and Uriel. "...we’ve both got only one eye at the moment, and uh... I think it’s best if we just keep them shut."
Aurora let out a weary sigh, her shoulders dropping just a fraction.
When Leon saw her disappointment, he chuckled softly and added, "But... I’m not the only one with good eyes, you know?"
"What?" Aurora asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Leon pointed to where Cedric lay and said, "There’s a reason why my friend over there is my party leader. Just like me, he’s got good eyes." He paused and his expression soured a little bit, then he added with a bit of annoyance and envy, "Maybe even better eyes than mine."
Aurora turned her gaze toward Cedric, who was still sprawled out on the floor, looking like he was dead. She hesitated for a moment as she considered whether to wake the man or not.
When Leon saw that, he sat upright, then stood up and said, "I’ll wake him up for you."
He walked over, pulled his leg back, and kicked Cedric right in the ribs with enough force to make a thud.
Cedric let out a strangled wheeze, rolling over as he clutched his side. "You absolute bastard son of a syphilitic whore!" he hissed and his eyes snapped wider. "I hope you trip and fall on your own sword, you overgrown, one-eyed sack of horse manure!"
While Cedric was still busy questioning the purity of Leon’s entire bloodline under his breath, Leon turned back to Aurora with a smug grin and said, "You are welcome."
Aurora blinked a few times in stunned silence as Leon walked back and settled back down as if he hadn’t just assaulted his own party leader. She looked between the two of them, her regal composure momentarily replaced by a look of sheer disbelief at their chaotic dynamic.
Meanwhile, both Aika and Uriel just sighed and shook their heads. After a few seconds, Cedric finally stopped his colorful tirade, sat up, and rubbed his ribs with a grimace while sending a death glare in Leon’s direction.
"Tsk. You’re lucky I’m too tired to actually kill you right now."
He took a deep breath, then looked up at Aurora, who was still standing there awkwardly. Then he wiped his face with the back of his hand and let out a long, heavy exhale. "What do you need, Princess?"
"I uh... uhm... So Leon said you’ve got good eyes?" Aurora stammered. "I was... wondering if you could maybe check the situation outside?"
Cedric stared at her for a moment, then blinked. He looked over at Leon, who was currently telling Uriel how he felt so much better now. Cedric then looked back to the princess and sighed.
"Yeah, I can do that," he muttered. He lay back down on the ground, once again tucking his hands beneath his head.
Suddenly, several translucent screens appeared in his vision, visible only to him and Aika. His eyes darted between them, studying the flickering data for a moment before he began to report.
"There are only four hollow ones guarding the temple entrance right now. The rest have probably moved on to defend the city."
His gaze shifted across nine specific screens. "It looks like nine of the red bridge monsters have been taken care of already. It turns out, not everyone was as unlucky as us. We had to deal with a monster guarded by almost three hundred hollow ones, but most of the others only had a hundred or so. The lowest count was only fifty-seven. Even so, the parties that took them on have suffered heavy casualties, just like us. They are all resting at the spots where they fought."
’Damn. We really were unlucky.’
Truthfully, while Uriel had used her bonded ability earlier to check where the nearest red bridge monster was, Cedric already had that information. He knew where all the other monsters were, including how many hollow ones were guarding them. And so, he knew that the one his group was taking on had the highest number of guards by far.
However, he hadn’t said a word. If he had mentioned it, they might have tried to switch to a target with fewer guards.
So, he kept quiet and let his group take on this one. The reason was simple. Aurora’s group had the most powerful cadets. What better group to take on this specific target than them? He decided to let the other parties take on the monsters with fewer guards while the strongest party took on the one with the most. That way, they would actually have a chance at destroying the red bridge.
He paused for a brief moment and sighed. Then his brow furrowed as he processed a few other screens, before adding, "Six parties are currently still engaging with six red bridge monsters. Among these six, one is close to being completely wiped out."
