“So, we go through the Black Forest, and then we reach Blacksoil, cutting through this wild area. It will take a day or two, I think,” Jacob was showing them a map with the planned route. They would split almost immediately and then converge to a common point.

The Black Forest wasn’t too big, and the name was overhyping the simple foliage of the place. There were very tall trees at certain points that made it difficult to see the sun, but there were two or three spots at max like this.

“Most of our scouts have already gone through the Black Forest,” Juliet said.

“Yeah, but they are not me,” Jacob added, “and there will be some changes since the last time they went. The topography will keep evolving for a while. Mountains get higher, and forests get more dangerous and populated. And so on. Since we have to find a Demonic Boar yet, it might be the right time to also hunt for a couple of those and raise them to bolster St. Peter’s food reserves.”

“And you also hope to find some other Ancient Ruins?” Juliet asked.

“It’s not that simple. I know there is another place, a simpler one, but with many Alchemical supplies that would make my life much easier in the future. It’s just hidden between trees, or maybe it did not manifest yet. Hard to say, honestly. This apocalypse is not going as I expected,” Jacob told her.

They were discussing the plan alone, ready to brief the others a moment after. It was the break of dawn, and they were going to depart in two hours.

“You know that the newbies will cause problems, right?”

Jacob looked at her and shrugged.

“I know, they are green, and they have to learn. Plus, the threats that we are going to face are all pretty weak, honestly. There is not that much to worry about. We might take a few losses if people do something incredibly stupid, but that’s what you team leaders are for.”

“Are we going to stop at Woodsea or Fort Oak after?” Juliet asked.

Woodsea was relatively close to Fort mountain, almost equally distant from the destroyed ruins and Blacksoil. Fort Oak, instead, was on the other side of Fort Mountain, closer than the first to St. Peter.

“Woodsea’s situation is very stable. Fort Oak has had some problems, but Blacksoil is our priority. They have had murders, and some people have disappeared; I need to investigate what’s going on. Humans killing each other are the worst possible outcome.”

“And what about the tyranny thing that came out yesterday?” Juliet asked.

“Well, let people think what they think. We are fighting terrifying Demonic Beasts. Dragons, Hydras, and even Charybdes have razed to the ground the major cities of humanity. If someone has enough time to waste arguing about politics, right and wrong, democracy and so on, let them sweat it out with some hard labor.”

“Ok, Mussolini,” Juliet said while adding a roman salute.

“Christ’s Juliet,” Jacob gestured toward her to cut it out, “don’t do that. That gesture is dangerous.”

“Afraid people might start doing that while saluting you?” her arm was still up while talking.

Jacob got up from his chair and tried to jump up to make her lower the arm. But, sadly, he was still short, and Juliet had a good fifteen centimeters or more over him.

“Come on!” Jacob kept jumping.

“Mister Mussolini, this is hardly the appropriate behavior for a man your stature,” she giggled.

“Oh man,” Jacob sighed and stopped trying. “If we ever have to save someone near Bologna and you do that sh*t, we might find ourselves with a civil war on our hands. But, you know how sensitive people are, Juliet.”

“Well, didn’t you just say it we should just put them to do some hard manual labor in that case? So why go back now?”

“Because we can’t put nine people out of ten to do hard labor, can we?”

“Why not, Jake. You have to start thinking bigger, kid,” she took a solemn tone on the last few words.

Jacob chose to ignore her and started mapping out the courses for their teams.

“Juliet, cut it out. Listen now, and I have already given my explanation of what to look for. First, we need the Alchemical supplies. I can start brewing some serious concoctions if I can get the right reagents. Also, there is a hidden Alchemical Garden inside the tree. It’s basically like an underground spot flushed with Qi and Mana where Spiritual Herbs grow much faster. There is a potent Formation in place, and I might be able to disassemble it and move it to St. Peter.”

“Jake, you have already told me thrice. Do you think I’m deaf? For God’s sake, I got it!” Juliet was getting annoyed with him.

“There might be a Demonic Beast protecting the Alchemical Garden, Juliet. I will need you to help me kill it in that case. Given all the energy there, it might have become much stronger than the rest of the Demonic Beasts in the Black Forest. It might even be in the Intermediate Great Stage of the Mantis realm.”

“I’ll fry it, don’t worry,” she said.

“No, no. You won’t fry anything, missy. I need those herbs intact. There is going to be no Phoenix’s Fire close to my precious treasure. You are going to use your hands and body to take care of it. No Spells close to the Alchemical Garden!”

Juliet and Jacob started bickering about whether or not to use fire.

…

In the meantime, a creature stirred in the Alchemical Garden. It felt an impending sense of doom, a sudden change in the currents of Qi and Mana.

“What’s happening?” the creature whispered with a raspy voice.