BXBX NOVEL Chapter 273 The Expedition Starts!
It was barely morning when Lee Seng and the two other boys woke up. They were told to get ready to head out by Halys. Chimera's men had decided to stay in newly created cabins. The lizard meat was apparently a delicacy from what Lee Seng was told by the other Foxes. They also used that as an excuse to give the boys a warm welcome even if they weren't that welcomed by the Village.
Lee Seng groaned as he stretched his arms. Fox Spirits were in small groups, chatting away as Lee Seng tiredly stared towards the direction of the two suns. He couldn't help but think about Rox'su and Vox'su. They were complete opposites of each other, down to their physical appearances and personalities.
'I chose a path and now I have to see it through…' Lee Seng thought. He sucked in a breath of fresh cold air as Halys began to speak.
"Alright, everyone. We're headed to the Village. There we will split into smaller groups and head over to the Cursed Forest. We'll search for the curse wit the help of Lee Seng and Keng." Halys motioned at Lee Seng. Keng and Ritsuka bumped Lee Seng as they settled.
"You look like a ghost." Ritsuka whispered.
"I think those bath salts knocked me out again." Lee Seng whispered.
"You're tellin' me. They knocked me out good." Keng whispered.
"Lee Seng, Keng. Do you two have anything else to add to the expedition?" Halys asked. Lee Seng looked up. He realized everyone was looking at him. He cleared his throat.
"I appreciate you guys helping me with the last business the Saviors had before they all left." Lee Seng began. He pulled on the strap of his backpack and took a step forward. "This'll probably get repeated, again, but when and if you find the curse, alert me. I can see the energy clearly."
"I can hear the cursed energy." Keng added. Lee Seng looked at him. "What? I can."
"Anyways, alert me and/or Keng. It'll get dicey but you guys are all under Commander Chimera, so it shouldn't be too big of a problem for you. Keng and I must purify the curse so I thank you all for going on this expedition with us." Lee Seng bowed. Keng followed suit.
"Alright, if that's all, let's head back to the Village." Halys clapped.
"Yes, General!" The Foxes all saluted in unison. They all began to move towards the direction of the Village. Lee Seng let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at his friends.
"That was… something." Lee Seng sighed.
"You did well." Ritsuka smiled. He gave Lee Seng a reassuring pat and then motioned. "We should go, too."
"Let's not get left behind!" Keng patted the both of them before running off in the same direction.
It didn't take them long to get back to the Village. Three Foxes were waiting for them by the East entrance. Lady Vix'i, Zixin, and Nabi all greeted the soldiers as Halys and Chimera stood next to them. Lee Seng, Ritsuka and Keng moved past the group and popped up near the entrance. Halys and Chimera were chatting with Lady Vix'i when they were spotted.
"Over here!" Nabi waved. The three boys greeted the three and merged into their small circle.
"All of these people are coming with?" Lady Vix'i asked.
"Yes," Chimera nodded. "It's better to have more people searching for the curse. I was told they have two days here, before they must return to Earth." Chimera looked at the three boys. Lee seng nodded. "So, I would like to expedite this as fast as possible. If there's multiple curses, we can split the manpower to find it. Once they're found, Lee Seng and Keng will split and deal with two curses at once."
"You sure they can do that, Commander?" Zixin asked. He folded his arms together and glanced at Lee Seng and Keng. Chimera looked at Zixin and nodded.
"I believe these two are more than capable of dealing with curses on their own."
"The curse took a while to cleanse. They'll have to be protected." Lady Vix'i reminded the eldest sibling. Chimera nodded.
"That's why they'll take some of my men with them as well. The groups will split to search. I only have six groups of about six people, each. That'll be enough even with Halys and I joining a group. We'll split the three of us since we're the strongest in terms of tails, too." Chimera pointed at Lady Vix'i, themself, and Halys. "That way we can man about three teams each."
"So, Keng and Lee Seng will be split then?" Ritsuka asked. Chimera turned to face Ritsuka and nodded.
"We'll split them to combat that curse as quick as possible."
"If Eldest says so then we'll do that." Lee Seng nodded. He turned his attention onto Keng who gave a nod.
"Let's do that. Who're you gonna put us with then?" Keng asked.
"Well," Halys looked around. "We'll have about eight teams. Ritsuka could tag along with Keng and pair with Lady Vix'i, Zixin, Nabi and Valen." Lee Seng and Ritsuka nodded. "And then Lee Seng can stick with my team. It'll be you, me, Chrono, Ysa, Victoria and Vedi. The rest will go according to their usual six-man groups."
"Sounds good." Lady Vix'i nodded. "Shall we start this?" Chimera nodded and cleared his throat. He clapped his hands together and waited for the large group to quiet down.
"You know your six-man groups already, right?" Chimera asked.
"Yes, Commander!" The group shouted.
"Good." Chimera nodded. "Lady Vix'i, General Halys and I will split ourselves. That way we can command smaller groups as we enter the forest. You all have your halos, right?"
"Yes, Commander!" The group shouted.
"If you don't have one, Halys and I will set you up with one. Make sure to securely put it somewhere around your neck. It'll immediately pair via Human technology and you'll need to adjust it by turning the small crystal." Chimera grabbed the necklace around their neck. "I will be Channel 1, Lady Vix'i will be Channel 2 and General Halys will be Channel 3. If you find the curse, someone will alert the others and Keng and Lee Seng will act accordingly, alright?"
"Yes, Commander!" The group shouted.
"Good. Let's go." Chimera motioned.
"Here." Halys handed the three boys a crystal necklace. "Wear this and adjust it to the respective Channel. If you need to talk to anyone, tap the crystal once to talk. Tap it again to end the transmission." Lee Seng, Ritsuka, and Keng nodded. They all put the necklace on. The crystals began to change into different colors. Lee Seng's crystal turned red. Keng's turned blue. Ritsuka's turned gray.
The group set off towards the North gate. They would make the journey in a couple of hours with Chimera leading the group. Chimera's group cleaned out any monsters in the way with ease as Ritsuka and Keng hung with their group near the middle with Lady Vix'i. Lee Seng ran next to General Halys.
'A cool day.' Lee Seng sniffed the air. 'Smells like a storm's brewing, too.' Keng curled his lips hearing this. Ritsuka looked at him.
"What's funny?" Ritsuka asked.
"Lee Seng is talking to himself." Keng tapped his head. "Says it smells like a storm's coming." Ritsuka sniffed the air and didn't smell anything other than 'forest.'
"I don't smell anything." Ritsuka told him.
"You don't have a good nose like us." Keng sniffed. He could definitely smell water particles. "Something's brewing."
"Don't say stuff like that!" Nabi told him. "You could bring bad luck!"
They made it to the start of the corrupted area. They all split into their smaller commanding groups as the three older Foxes nodded and gave a thumbs up at each other.
"Alright, everyone!" Lady Vix'i spoke loudly. "My group will go left!"
"My group will go right!" Halys waved.
"My group will go straight!" Chimera waved.
"Let the expedition begin!" Lady Vix'i shouted. The groups split into three different directions. Lee Seng waved at Ritsuka and Keng before he ran to catch up with Halys and the others.
'Good luck.' Lee Seng telepathically spoke to Keng.
'Don't overdo it, Lee Seng!' Keng told him. Lee Seng let out a smile as he easily passed most of the older Foxes.
'Why would you say that?' Lee Seng asked.
'Cause you will probably overdo it.' Keng shook his head. Lee Seng caught up to Halys and the others. The Dark Matter skin tight suit appeared on his body as a gold aura began to glow. The edges of his pupils began to glow gold.
'Let's get this done so we can go back to Earth.' Lee Seng told Keng.
"Mmm," Keng answered aloud.
"Huh?" Ritsuka asked.
"He says let's get this done so we can go home." Keng smiled. Ritsuka nodded as they continued to move diagonally left.
"Keep an eye out!" Halys told Lee Seng. Lee Seng nodded and kept his eyes to the front. "You and Ysa will keep a lookout."
"Yes, sir!" Ysa and Lee Seng answered.
"Let's finish the Saviors' final job!" Halys shouted.
"Yes, sir!" The group shouted.