One, two, three...
The situation was much better than Su'er expected. Due to the planting and concealment conditions, the herb planting site chosen by Su'er's former settlement was indeed difficult to find. The most gratifying thing was that this place, full of hope, hadn't been discovered even after the Werebeasts destroyed the settlement. At the same time, it was also incredibly lucky that it hadn't been affected by the casual attacks of those races capable of altering the planet's surface.
Even if he couldn't remember all the types of herbs discovered by humans, Su'er had seen many that would be effective for Credo's condition.
"Try to keep the root system intact and speed up a bit," Su'er urged again in a low voice while quickly digging in the soil with a dagger.
He didn't know if it was because of that decision in the cave, the one he wasn't sure should be called a wrong one, but for a long time afterward, he maintained a sense of urgency and panic that kept his heart lodged in his throat.
It was as if something was silently watching them, just beyond the reach of their five senses.
And the worst thing was that such a vague feeling might be true.
Something *was* truly watching them.
It seemed as if some invisible rope was gradually tightening in the air, and Su'er endlessly hesitated between two decisions—leave now, or dig a few more herbs before leaving.
Everyone's life was in his hands at that moment, and his decision would determine whether they survived this expedition. Believe in his intuition or not. Su'er's hand, holding the dagger, even trembled slightly in his panic.
"Everyone... pack the herbs and evacuate immediately."
Taking a deep breath, Su'er gave the order.
In the past three years, many herbs had grown, but now only less than one-third had been collected. Su'er's sudden decision made his team members look up in astonishment.
"But, but there is still—"
"Quick!"
Interrupting the man rudely, Su'er took the lead in wrapping the excavated herbs in a small piece of cloth.
No more questions were raised. Although they still harbored great doubts, everyone immediately followed Su'er's orders, quickly wrapping up the collected herbs and preparing to evacuate.
However, the heavy feeling in Su'er's heart showed no sign of dissipating. He watched the team members tidy themselves up in mere seconds, watched them quickly clean up the traces they left, watched them reluctantly glance at the two-thirds of herbs that hadn't been dug up in time, until—
"Oh? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
The voice was strange, like the sound of a leaky bellows, as if someone had a hole in their throat. Every word was accompanied by a hissing sound of air escaping. That was definitely not the sound of Su'er's team members. After all, even the language they used was different.
Silence.
For a moment, it seemed that only the sound of his rapid breathing was left between heaven and earth.
'Is this the only way to go…'
And—
"It's an order! Run!"
It seemed as if his ears had lost their function. He could not hear anything. Su'er just looked at his hand stretched out in the empty and soundless environment, and threw the small bag of herbs into Lenny's arms. He also looked at these people, who had already realized they wouldn't hesitate to die even if ordered to do so, and turned around and started running wildly.
Time seemed to slow down at this moment. Su'er could see Lenny struggling to reach out to him but was pulled hard by others to run. He also saw those familiar faces, each etched with the most delicate expressions.
Only he did not move.
There was no tearing pain, no whistling wind. Su'er knew that he had to stay, and he was the only one who could stay here.
He was the only one among all those who followed him who was proficient in the Werebeast language. In other words, although he didn't know what the owner of the sudden voice was thinking and hadn't attacked, he was the only one who could delay for a moment, who could speak a few words.
Turning around slowly, surprisingly, the only thing echoing in Su'er's mind at that moment was Riku's words, which he had emphasized countless times before—
[We don't exist, we can't exist, so we won't be sensed. Human resistance is not allowed at all, and we have to become prey to be hunted. We can't resist because there can't be any threats. Even if we fight back a little and win a little, what's the use? ]
This was the survival strategy that Su'er's colony had been able to continue to develop to this day.
'Is it my turn this time?'
So, if sacrificing one person could allow others to survive... it was a win anyway, right?
His calves seemed to be shaking uncontrollably.
The tightly grasped dagger was quietly reversed, at this angle, in this direction, but it was not to launch a desperate counterattack, but to end his life before his body was bitten and broken.
But... why couldn't he lift his arm?
Too fast, everything had changed too fast. Even when the dark side of Su'er privately emerged, he thought about it, had already practiced it, and the rules agreed upon by everyone, that when he was truly in danger, he would order others to go out and lure the enemy away.
When Su'er reacted, everything had become a scene where he was facing such a scene alone—he was the bait, the sacrifice.
Even this order, this decision came from his own mouth.
In that first second.
Su'er finally turned around.
Should he call it fortunate? The owner of the voice didn't intend to give chase. Of course, it could also be a kind of confidence—that no matter how these monkeys moved, they couldn't escape their hunting prowess.
The pale long hair was casually scattered, the gray wolf ears stood erect, a ferocious, devil-like mask covered the face, the figure was burly, and the body was covered with standard warrior-like armor, which reminded Su'er of the unique culture of the island country in his previous life. A sharp long sword was casually placed on this Werebeast's shoulder. Su'er could even see several notches on the blade of the long sword, and the Werebeast's sharp nails flashed with a cold light under the red sky.
"Aren't you going to run?"
The voice was full of interest, as if watching a monkey jumping in a ring of fire. How much joy could it bring to oneself? The Werebeast in front of him even easily took the long sword off his shoulder and used it as a crutch, leaning on the ground with one hand.