Novel Bin Chapter 227: Improving the Base
"Can you tell me what\'s that about? Captain didn\'t tell me anything," he asked.
"Well, you\'ve seen those people, yeah?" Erica asked, to which Cedric nodded. "They\'re from the nearby outpost that has gone MIA; they were our initial targets when we left around a month ago."
"As it turns out, the Outpost they were stationed at was destroyed. They\'ve been scraping by since then, and we found them and saved them from certain death. We were then tasked with cooperating with them and gathering all the intel they manage to preserve, sending it to the HQ for decryption. Because of the distance, we kept on getting delayed.
Add to that the fact that the demons are so active, and we\'re essentially told to stay here until further notice."
Chrissy continued from here: "We helped them out, gave them shelter, shared our limited resources with them, protected them from the siege of demons...all because we sympathize with what happened to them. However, one of them was particularly demanding. The captain put him on his place because he directly outranks him, but the fool had too much pride."
"A few days ago, we were attacked and that guy was captured. That\'s what we thought, but we then discovered that he actually willingly went with them; we confirmed this two days ago because we saw him working with them. He was promised a better life and security; I guess corruption got to him."
"We tried to eliminate him, but he was rescued by a pack of Demon Hyenas, probably the same ones you saw. We originally thought that he wouldn\'t last long because Demons are Demons. We still don\'t know if that person is still alive, but whether he is or not, it doesn\'t matter anymore."
"If he\'s already dead, good. That\'s what he deserves for selling us out," Erica spat. "If he\'s not, even better. At least Captain gets to personally kill him for betraying his kind."
"I see." Cedric hummed as he got busy.
This kind of situation wasn\'t really uncommon. After all, humanity was under too much pressure; there were bound to be some people who would try to search for an easy way out, and demons, the ever-opportunistic race that they are, would latch into that without a second thought. It\'s in their nature, after all.
"That means that the base is in dire need of an upgrade then," Cedric muttered as he looked around.
"Don\'t worry too much." Chrissy latched herself on his arms and smiled at him. "Our captain is strong, as are the boys. They could handle whatever\'s waiting for them out there. If they couldn\'t, they could always retreat."
"I know..." Cedric replied.
Even before arriving at this camp, Cedric already felt the muted fluctuations of Elric\'s aura. Despite hiding it, Cedric was aware that the bald captain had already reached the 1st Change Planar Traveler Stage. In fact, he\'s a smidge stronger than other people of the same strength level as him.
Darwin and Floyd are halfway there; they\'re just lacking the last push they need to make their breakthrough. As for Francis, he\'s also Tier 9 like the girls, but in terms of speed, he\'s unmatched within the team, minus Cedric, of course.
The slave scars seen on the Demon Hyenas and Sand Alligators mean that they\'re being raised by someone. Cedric could only think of a demon lord being capable of doing that. It\'s probably this same entity that promised that traitor a new and comfortable life. There\'s no need to be worried, though; Elric and the boys should be able to handle this on their own.
They\'re more experienced in this field compared to Cedric, after all.
"But just in case the unexpected happens, I better start doing something. Our situation is quite sensitive after all," Cedric muttered as he took out a Runic Quill from his knapsack.
He then began writing runes out of thin air, supplying them with astral energy and making them look like starry constellations.
"Oh wow..." Erica muttered in amazement as she watched her boyfriend work.
The way he skillfully drew and connected the symbols was nothing short of a work of art. It was as mesmerizing as it was masterful. Both girls knew that Cedric was skilled in many things, but it still astonished them just how good he actually is when he\'s serious about his work.
Cedric\'s hands turned into a blur of motion as he drew symbols in the air, stringing them together to form arrays and, later, a formation that superseded the one that the camp already has.
As soon as it was deployed, the girls immediately noticed a difference. The traces of corruption lightened up almost instantly. The depressing and gloomy atmosphere within the camp was dissipating at a rapid pace.
They also saw an almost invisible mist spreading outside the camp. They don\'t know what that\'s for, and they can\'t ask just yet because Cedric was still working.
Speaking of which, Cedric also sent a bunch of runes to the holding chambers where the captives were. This time, Erica recognizes the symbols he made. Cedric put them there to fortify the holding chambers. Unless a member of Team Elric was the one to open those chambers, there\'s no way it will open from either side, even if the captives were to use everything they have in an attempt to break it.
Cedric also scattered a bunch of runes on the ground, almost covering the entirety of the camp\'s territory with them. The girls saw those runes melting to the ground like they were being absorbed.
Next thing they knew, Cedric lifted a bunch of rocks, strange plants and trees, underground ores, etc. All of which are steeped in corruption and are deemed unusable to humans—not Cedric, though.
He slapped each one with a rune that engulfed it with bright orange flames. A couple of minutes later, much to the girls\' shock, they saw those materials return to their original appearance. All traces of corruption in them were expelled.
Granted, not all of them survived the cleansing intact. Some were damaged beyond use because that\'s just what corruption does. Still, Cedric didn\'t seem upset by this.
Before they knew it, Cedric had already created a campfire with the materials. They had no idea where he got a huge ass cauldron from, and they don\'t feel like asking. What\'s more important, though, is that they could smell something good in that cauldron.
Join the adventure on m,vlemp _y,r.
Cedric was cooking food. Just the thought of this caused their stomachs to rumble and their hearts to constrict in anticipation. The Lord knows how much they missed warm meals. Moreover, it\'s Cedric who\'s cooking; whatever he makes is bound to be a 5-star meal. The girls would know because they\'ve eaten his food before.
While the soup was boiling, Cedric was off doing something else.
He\'s working on another formation; he\'s even creating a separate tent that would contain it.
The girls could only watch as Cedric did the workload of at least 10 people, and not just any people—10 master-level experts—all by himself, and they couldn\'t even interfere because things were happening way too fast.
They were struck dumb to the point that they even missed the boys\' return. And similarly, the boys could only gape at the storm that Cedric was causing.
"Hey, Ced. Got a minute?" Francis, back to his usual tone, called out. The girls hissed at him, but he ignored it.
"Yeah, how\'s the mission, by the way?" Cedric replied without tearing his gaze away from his work.
"Handled, those stalkers won\'t bother us anymore," Francis replied. "But, uh, what you got right there? It\'s huge."
"Bathroom," Cedric replied with a shrug. "Should be usable in...well, now."
Cedric then stepped away from it, and the building flashed briefly with a faint light. He then looked at them and said,
"It\'s separated by genders; there\'s toilets and warm and cold showers too. Don\'t worry about the consumption or the waste; I\'ve already made something to deal with that. Use it as much as you want."
"Ah right, if you have any equipment that\'s in dire need of repairs, leave them next to the forge over there. I\'m a Master Smith; I can repair it for you. Knock yourselves out; I\'m going to improve the tents."
After telling them this, Cedric made his way to the tents with the materials floating behind him.
Elric and the boys could only watch him in awe. They were only disrupted by the pitched squeals of the girls.
"Oh my god! Shampoos, conditioners, soaps, clean towels!" Chrissy held them all while vibrating in excitement.
"Shit! It\'s real! Clean and hot water! Oh my god! This is amazing! Lord, have mercy on any demons who interrupt my bath time because I wouldn\'t!"
The boys could only look at each other as the doors of the women\'s bathroom closed.
"Ah, whatever! I\'ll ask questions later. I\'m taking a bath too. I freaking deserve it!" Francis declared as he chucked his equipment next to the forge and marched towards the men\'s bathroom.
The rest of the boys just shrugged and followed suit. They\'d be damned if they didn\'t take advantage of a luxury like this.