Chapter 504: Rowdy forest
Silvaria, frontier town, airfield…
A lot of airships are here, you can catch a ride on a big airship or a small one. If you're in a hurry to get somewhere, there are jet-like airships, there are also airships where one can take in the sights while flying in style. It's the main mode of transportation for the denizens of this world. The airfield is brimming with people and business is booming for everyone here.
But, today, the airfield is welcoming more arrivals than departures. Moreover, the airfield is rowdier than usual.
The people who came here are dressed in a military loadout. They also looked like they are here for work and not to play. They organized themselves and they headed into town.
An airship approached the airfield, landing on their designated spot, the members all disembarked. The ladies who descended are all drop-dead gorgeous.
The people around them stopped momentarily. They continued to work but they kept glancing in their direction.
It's Mikoto and the others who are here to bust the sister out from their sticky situation.
Mikoto, Shokuhou Misaki, Ikaros, Astrea, Kinuhata Saiai, Frenda, Takitsubou Rikou, and Misaka 10032 formed a group after checking their stuff.
Shokuhou Misaki took a look around the airfield and she spotted the unusually high amount of soldiers and mercenaries. She frowned before making her concern known.
"I feel like something's going on here…"
The others also looked around and they spotted them as well. They exchanged looks.
Mikoto mumbled.
"Are they setting out for Giant Beast Forest as well?"
"This is the closest human settlement to the forest so I think they are preparing to storm the forest, says Misaka after analyzing their information and equipment…"
Misaka 10032 said. The others concurred with a nod. 10032 and the other clones had been here the longest among their company so she knew when someone is going into the forest just by looking at their equipment.
Kinuhata Saiai glanced around.
"I might be wrong but it looks like a lot of people here are gearing up to enter the forest?"
"In the end…"
Frenda continued.
"Are they here to save their comrades as well?"
"I don't think that's the case…"
Takitsubou Rikou chimed in.
"I don't think our situation is a reflective sample of the population, I doubt these people had comrades stuck in the forest."
"I see…"
Astrea stood on her toes as she tried to see into the distance.
"But, the Misaka clones are many in number no matter how he sliced it."
The others are surprised that Astrea said something astute like this contrary to her ditzy personality.
"Who cares?!"
Mikoto shook her head, she clenched her fists.
"I don't care if they have comrades who are trapped in the forest, we are here to save the sisters, let's get a move on!"
They moved past the airships, they traveled towards the same general direction as the soldiers and mercenaries, into Giant Beast Forest.
The Giant Beast Forest is the only known place in Silvaria that is the main habitat for monsters. It's extremely wide in area, possibly even bigger than all 3 empires put together. The monsters here are killed and harvested for materials. Materials from these monsters can be made into armaments and armor. There are also tons of herbs and treasures in the forest that can raise one's power. It's not wrong to refer to Giant Beast Forest as a giant treasure trove.
Due to the proximity of the frontier town to the forest, the facilities and goods traded here are top-tier. It's easy to find rare materials that can't be procured anywhere else. Tourists with money usually stayed in the town for a few days in addition to hunting for valuable treasures.
But, the frontier town had a weird air around it.
The new arrivals didn't take a gander at the stalls, they all moved towards the forest with grim looks. The folk in town all started spreading rumors.
Exiting the frontier town, the girls arrived at the entrance to the forest.
"What…"
Kinuhata Saiai gasped while pointing in front of her.
"There are way too many people here!"
They set up camps here and the whole place looked like a really busy market area. It's also loud as hell.
"What the…"
A shocked voice came from behind them.
"Mikoto! Why are you girls here as well?"
Mikoto looked back and Mikoto gasped.
"Sister Fei Fei, why are you here?"
Fei Fei in full armor appeared. She bitterly laughed.
"I thought I was the one asking the question first?"
Fei Fei looked behind her and her eyes widened.
"Even the queen of the school and her trusty subordinates are here. I see you girls are here to investigate the disturbance in the forest as well."
Shokuhou Misaki replied.
"So you're here for the same thing, I presume?"
"Yes.."
Fei Fei shook her head in a helpless manner.
"The Forest is a very crucial place in Silvaria, if something goes wrong, something might happen to the beasts and the precious resources in here. It's going to affect military power and the average strength of a country."
"As the greatest noble family in the Ailu empire, we harvested a lot of resources from the forest as well. The disturbances are adversely affecting us, our resource gathering teams are getting forced out of the forest. The patriarch gave me orders to investigate and, if possible, bring an end to the disturbances here."
The other girls finally knew why she appeared here, so far away from Silvaria World Institute. Shokuhou Misaki crossed her arms.
"So these people are all from noble or powerful families, I reckon they have the same objective as you."
"Yeah."
Fei Fei nodded.
"What about you girls? Investigating the disturbances too?"
"No…"
Mikoto shook her head.
"Our comrades are stuck in the forest, we are here to get them out."
"I see. I propose we enter the forest together."
They gathered their stuff and they entered the forest.
Unknown to them, a big surprise is in the forest waiting for them to find out, and it's not pretty.