Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1027 - 142: The Stranded Plan

Chapter 1027: Chapter 142: The Stranded Plan

The Forest of Death’s specialty, thunderstorm rain, came without warning and left just as unexpectedly. Due to the presence of the Soundproofing Array, the young girls couldn’t hear whether the heavy rain outside had stopped, but the Array couldn’t block out the light. Just three seconds ago, the temporary shelter was as dark as midnight; three seconds later, the sunlight had already reached the shelter nestled within the low-lying forest. Bright sunlight shone through the tiny gaps between the broad leaves of the Thick-leaf Ferns, casting a hazy halo around the edges of the thick leaves covering the whitevine tree.

Three hours had passed since the torrential rain began, and the brief thunderstorm rain had fallen four times consecutively. The phenomenon of day and night swapping outside the shelter had also repeated four times. After this break in the rain, the clear chirping of birds gradually rose from the nearby woods. However, inside the shelter, silence prevailed. No one spoke, everyone quietly went about their own business. Having been overly exhausted by the previous running, the girls were depleted of energy and were now huddled together for a short rest. Freya was lying flat on the cleaned ground, with a thick Katatak Beast pelt spread beneath her providing warmth and moisture resistance, making the oval-shaped girl sleep very comfortably. On the same beast pelt, Lina and Vivian lay on either side of her belly, their heads rising and falling with each of Freya’s breaths, which looked quite amusing. Ava still sat on a log, looking upright, but motionless and with no sparkle in her eyes, making one wonder if she had entered some special state unique to machinery. By her side, two Undead huddled together, the little ones sensibly keeping quiet knowing their sisters were asleep, merely huddling together and looking at a storybook that one could easily guess where they found. Although they would occasionally squabble over whether or not to turn the page, they would quickly sit close together again in intimacy.

Catherine wasn’t particularly tired, for as a knight, she could barely manage this level of physical exertion. Therefore, she didn’t rest like the others, but had disassembled the scale Armor that covered her body and was carefully maintaining the badly moisture-affected armour. The leather lining inside the scale mail was already softening and starting to give off a decayed smell due to the dampness. If not promptly dried out, the girl would likely need a new set of full body armor soon—a terrifying consequence that certainly exceeded the patience of the young knight, and thus, despite struggling, she had to persevere in taking care of her Armor.

As for Pannis, he had long been pulled away from the girls by Conaida. Now the two old friends were sitting facing each other in a corner of the shelter, with ten standard leather flasks already laid out in front of them. The number of flasks capable of holding one kilogram of liquid each and the strong alcoholic scent still emanating from them explained how the two had spent their time. Yet both seemed as though they had drunk only plain water, showing no irregularities.

"Huh?" The knight girl, who had just finished taking care of her scale mail, was startled by the chirping of the birds and listened to the outside sounds before asking, "It seems like all the animals are out and about. Does that mean the rain is completely over?"

Sitting next to her mother with a compact hunting bow about half a meter long and chatting about something, Flare turned to Catherine and smiled, nodding, "The rain has stopped, and for about three days, this region won’t likely see such downpours again."

"That’s really good news." Catherine could only respond with a bitter smile to the sudden rain, "Since the rain has stopped, should we not set off now? Wasn’t the original plan to reach near the boundary line before tonight?"

"Now that the thunderstorm rain came early, the plan definitely has to be put on hold," Pannis said, shaking the wineskin in his hand and sighing with regret, before tossing it aside and adding, "As for the reason, you’ll know once you step outside."

Catherine lifted the door flap, puzzled. The world outside the shelter was bathed in light. The leaves, washed by the rain, had become even greener; the air was fresher. Droplets hanging from the leaves sparkled with colorful brilliance under the sun’s rays, dazzling and bright. But if she lowered her gaze, she could see the dismal aftermath of the rainstorm just outside the shelter. Since their location was on flat terrain, the slightly lower ground had already filled with puddles. With every step, the water would rise above her calves, covered by a thick layer of fallen leaves - a masterpiece of the rain’s rampage. Not just leaves but also some small branches had been knocked down by the rain, scattered haphazardly on the ground. Perhaps before long, this debris would rapidly decompose in the damp environment, returning to the earth and providing nourishment for the forest trees. Fortunately, the temporary shelter was situated on slightly elevated terrain, with dug drainage ditches and flood barriers to ensure that the inside hadn’t flooded. Otherwise, they might have had to spend the past three hours soaking in water, an experience certainly not to be desired.

"To think there’s so much water, just how heavy was that rain?" Catherine sighed with surprise, "It looks like we really can’t leave now."

Just as she thought, moving through the Forest of Death under these conditions was not a wise decision. On the one hand, the standing water made the terrain even more complex and impossible to gauge visually, easily leading to obstructions. Moreover, she had seen some wildlife.

After the rainstorm, the creatures of the forest finally shook off their constraints. Although most beasts and magical beasts simply continued their usual daily routines, a few were lured by the rainfall and the puddles to become especially active.

What Catherine saw were swarms of mosquitoes, extra active at such times. These ubiquitous, tiny creatures, insignificant one by one, could form a huge mass that obscured the sky when countless numbers gathered, continuously circling over the waterlogged lowlands. The buzzing sound produced when they flapped their wings didn’t draw much attention from a single mosquito, but the collective sound from so many was overwhelmingly loud, sending chills down the spine of anyone who heard it. These indistinguishable insects were prolific in number – Catherine estimated millions, if not tens of millions, within her field of vision alone. She wondered where they usually hid, but felt it was better not knowing. She didn’t believe these insects to be harmless; according to Pannis’ words not too long ago, harmless creatures simply didn’t exist in the Forest of Death. Even with herbivorous animals, one could end up dead in mysterious circumstances if not careful.

"Don’t provoke those insects; they survive on blood, and our physical defenses are no match for their proboscises. Unless you keep a Shield up continuously or simply set them ablaze, they’re hard to fend off. Even demigods would be in trouble if they attracted their attention... huh?" Pannis, while speaking, suddenly raised an eyebrow, stroking his chin and said, "It seems we have a visitor."