Chapter 224: Spoils From The Wolves

The moment Aelric finished his explanation, Aureleah asked with furrowed brows.

"I still don’t understand how the Black Stalker’s involvement in the attack has anything to do with you not telling us about it first. I mean, how do they even correlate?"

"She’s right," Caelestra agreed while folding her arms. She looked at Aelric sharply and then spoke further.

"Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that the Black Stalker was the true mastermind behind the ambush and that, whether we liked it or not, the attack was inevitable. But why is it that when you eventually noticed it, you didn’t warn us then? Also, why is it that you had to wait until Veyrath’s warning? And even after that, you still ditched us."

Caelestra’s barrage of questions was filled with so much indignation and frustration that the others knew for certain it was a way for the silver-haired Merchant to vent the feelings bubbling up within her.

However, just before Aelric could open his mouth to give some form of explanation or anything else, Regaleon suddenly spoke up.

"You know what, guys? Whether Aelric is at fault or not isn’t something that we should be debating right now."

Ignoring Aelric’s look of gratitude, Regaleon continued with what he was saying.

"I mean, this back and forth amongst us is something that would do us no good other than wear us down even further. You know what I would propose? I would say that we should get back to the camp and recuperate. I mean, we just survived a harrowing fight, so that is probably the best thing to do right now. And if you want, after we do all that, you could hold Aelric accountable and whatever."

Hearing that last part, it seems that whatever good feeling the green-eyed youth was already having towards Regaleon disappeared as his face fell almost immediately.

Meanwhile, Regaleon didn’t make his proposal because of anything else other than the fact that he wanted peace and quiet to reign. He knew that should they remain standing there, nothing was going to come out of their conversation, and the only thing that would happen would be the escalation of tensions. As a matter of fact, he was already seeing traces of the particular tension and he wasn’t about to stand by and let it escalate.

The moment he made his proposal, there was a brief moment of silence. Then Aureleah spoke.

"Well, I guess what you said makes sense," she said while looking at Regaleon, who simply flashed her a small smile.

After that, the silver-haired Assassin then turned toward Aelric and added, "However, I just want you to know that this is not over. The moment you get back to the cave, you have a lot of explaining to do... An awful lot."

And with that, the girl kept quiet, holding her peace.

Though Aureleah’s attitude might seem forceful and somewhat confrontational, especially since they all were beneficiaries of Aelric’s generous disposition, that wasn’t the case at all.

This is because if one were to observe things from her perspective, then one would understand the reason behind her attitude and the purpose for which she behaved.

As an Assassin, Aureleah had been taught from a young age not to trust anyone, and while she could work together with someone, she had been taught to know better than to rely on such a person. This teaching had been practically drilled into her that it has become nothing more than a second nature to her; a code on which she lives in subconsciously.

Furthermore, it was because of this particular indoctrination that it had been somewhat hard for her to warm up to the rest of the group, and even when she did, that still didn’t imply that she trusted them completely.

And one could detect that very aspect from her when Veyrath betrayed Regaleon.

The moment that occurred, the very first thought that came to Aureleah’s mind was that Veyrath couldn’t be forgiven and should rather be killed. After all, she had been taught that the wages of betrayal was death, no matter the cost.

Moreover, as a result of this peculiar inclination of hers, everything surrounding Aelric’s actions—from his discovery and deliberate concealment of the wolf pack from them, to his sudden action of leaving them to fend for themselves—all of these were things that Aureleah considered acts of betrayal.

As a matter of fact, had it not been because of Aelric that she gained the chance to become a Flesh Artificer, Aureleah would have been much harsher and harder on him than even Caelestra herself.

But because she didn’t want to appear like an ingrate while addressing betrayal, that was the reason she chose to mellow down and speak calmly. Also, it was because of this that the moment Regaleon said that they should let it go, she had no choice but to listen to him, even though it was something that she wasn’t ready to do.

And while she didn’t know it, Regaleon was quite appreciative of that fact. This was because he knew that should Aureleah continue to be unyielding on that matter, then the rest might not be too inclined to leave it alone either.

Nevertheless, after hearing what Regaleon had to say, the group eventually left Aelric alone and didn’t try questioning him. Also, the matter concerning Veyrath’s betrayal was placed aside, but there was no doubt that they would come to resolve that later. Perhaps after they had gotten back to camp.

The tranquility that once existed amongst the group gradually returned as a calm atmosphere settled over them.

Then, just as they were gathering themselves for their journey back to the cave, Regaleon spoke once more.

"Before we begin, I suggest we harvest the Aether Cores within the wolves. After all, we wouldn’t want to waste such precious resources now, would we?"

The moment he said that, the previously weary group suddenly seem reinvigorated.

Valmyr in particular was almost jumping on the spot as he rushed toward the body of a nearby wolf and began skinning it. It wasn’t long before the failed Vanguard brought out a glowing amber crystal from the chest of the creature.

The moment the others saw that, a visible wave of excitement rippled across them as they also went to work. Even Aureleah moved toward a fallen wolf and began skinning the dead canine before bringing out another crystal from its chest.

The battlefield was a wreck, but to the members of the cohort, it was a ground of abundance.

Aetherium knew that the battle had been something difficult; however, they couldn’t deny that the spoils of war were proportional to the amount of strength they had expended during the fight.

Although they were now successful Rank One Etheryeans, that didn’t mean they didn’t need Aether Cores or that the crystals wouldn’t help them in any way with their cultivation. As a matter of fact, this was perhaps the time that they needed them the most.

Since the essence from the Essence Pool had been drained dry during their earlier session, it meant that they couldn’t go there to make another breakthrough into the Middle Stage. For that reason, every trace of Aether was something that was particularly useful to them now.

And as Aetherium would have it, there were more than a dozen, or even a score, of wolves lying dead across the battlefield.

No doubt that the wolf pack was actually enormous, both in terms of numbers and physical prowess. For that reason, everyone was able to harvest enough Aether Cores that it even got Valmyr grinning from ear to ear.

The moment they were done, the previously grim battlefield suddenly looked ravaged, as though it had been thoroughly stripped of its spoils.

Surprisingly, Regaleon had only talked about the Aether Cores, but the group went far beyond that to even harvest other necessary materials from the wolves, such as their furs and claws.

Furs, because they would need to make new clothing, as the ones they were now wearing had been damaged during the battle. But besides that, they were also trying in their own way to prepare for the journey to the Sanctuary and were trying to make sure that they were prepared for anything that they might need while they sojourned.

Finally, after they finished gathering the Aether Cores, which numbered more than a hundred, they handed them all to Caelestra for safekeeping.

And the moment that was done, the group began their journey back to their base.

But throughout all those encounters, no one realized the crimson vein-like patterns running along Regaleon’s Armour pulse softly before suddenly dying down. Even Regaleon himself didn’t notice it.

And not only that, but some of the rust that had also coated his Armour had fallen off, exposing shiny portions of the Soul Essence.

Somehow, it looked as if the Soul Essence was preparing to undergo an ascension to the next tier. Unfortunately, that was not a matter for today...