Chapter 190: Chapter 190 – Another Choice

“The name is Russ,” the leader of the group introduced himself. He was being supported by the same two men who had threatened Mila with their kitchen knives.

They were trekking back to where Isabel and the rest were. Mila nodded, affirming she had heard. Her attention was still on the surroundings, looking for any possible food.

“Is this edible?” She pointed at a berry that looked almost familiar. Only the leaves were a little different from what she remembered.

Russ looked at one of the women, who shook her head. “Apparently not. So, about your name…” He tried again.

“If you see anything edible, inform me.” Mila ignored the attempt. She was already regretting picking up these strugglers. They would be a trail others could follow. She knew it was petty to not answer, but she wasn’t claiming she was a good person just yet.

“Right,” Russ allowed one of his comrades to wipe away his sweat. “I was a cook, by the way. These were my subordinates. That’s Ma-”

“Shh,” Mila stopped, narrowing her eyes, then jumped upwards, quickly climbing one of the trees. At the top part of the canopy, she managed to find a lone palm-sized bird resting on a branch.

After grabbing it and twisting its neck, Mila drooped down again. “Here.” She pointed at the creek. “Down the stream. Not far.”

The bird would not be enough for more than a bite or two. And fire was a problem. It was not worth the risk for such a meagre meal. Maybe if she found more…

“Uhh, so,” Russ still tried to speak. “That was… Impressive.” He slowly spoke. “I guess you were not joking about protecting us, huh?”

“I wasn’t,” Mila evaluated the corpse in her hands again. She prepared to put it in her inner pocket, realising she needed a new garb.

After a moment of hesitation, she turned around. “I will trade this for something to wear.” Mila extended her hand, offering the bird.

“Uh, huh?” Russ blinked. “That?” He looked at his group. “That’s not worth-”

“I will remind you that this forest is empty.” Mila interrupted him. “There is nothing here. This is the first living being besides us that I have encountered. And none of you are hunters even if there was a game here.” She pointed out. “And I can help with that. So, what it will be?” Her eyes didn’t leave Russ.

The small group had a few bundles they had brought with them. It was a guess they had clothes, but…

It proved to be true. After a moment of hesitation, one of the women with a child undid her package, taking out a dark cloak, a little on the larger side. “We… We planned to use it to cover ourselves during the nights.” She explained.

Mila nodded, trading the bird for a new cloak. She glanced at the young boy, who was eyeing the small morsel with great hunger. “Eating it raw is dangerous,” She reminded, turning away.

But before leaving, Mila glanced back. “I will get more. This cloak is worth it.” She addressed the boy, then quickened her step. “Keep walking. You will see my group in a minute or two. I will go and warn them.”

Without waiting for an answer, Mila ran ahead. Slipping between the trees, she changed her cloak, burying her old one and masking the traces the best she could.

The bloody thing could likely be used to track her. Mila had not disposed of it sooner only because she lacked anything to wear beneath.

But that wasn’t a problem anymore. Now, she just needed to find new underwear. Mila tidied her appearance, returning to her group. “I am back.” She announced her arrival.

“Mila!” Mortimer looked happier than Isabel. “What did you find?” He suddenly quieted down, looking behind her in fear.

“Another group of survivors.” Mila received Isabel’s hug, snuggling in her girl’s nape. “They know a way towards a village. It will likely take a day or two to reach it. But that is the best we have.” Her arms wrapped around Isabel and squeezed.

Mila breathed in the calming aroma of her love, then parted from Isabel. “And please keep the familiarities to a minimum. We will part ways as soon as we reach the place. We don’t want to make it easier to track us than necessary.” She reminded.

It was a moot point, but it was at least something. “I am okay,” Mila caressed Isabel’s cheek.

“...Happened…” Isabel tilted her head in a questioning manner.

“I just couldn’t leave them alone…” Mila sighed, hearing the other group come close. “They would have died without us.” She explained, knowing Isabel would understand.

“...Okay…” Isabel nodded. “...dangerous…”

“No. They are just people. Here they are.” Mila nodded towards the dozen people stepping out of the bushes. “The leader is Russ. The one with the injured leg.”

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“Hello?” The man himself was the first one to greet everyone. Despite his precarious state, he was at the front. “So, my name is-”

“We are moving. Enough resting.” Mila didn’t let him finish.

“Is she always like that?” Russ’s voice was growing annoyed.

Which caused Mortimer to sagely nod. “Yes. But she is a great person otherwise…” He glanced at Mila. “Probably.”

The last remark was entirely unnecessary and earned the thief a scathing glare from Isabel. Mila herself didn’t care. She glanced back at where Stilag had been. She had no doubts it was just rubble - if that, at this point.

“We must move,” She reminded. “Should I carry you?” Mila offered, but to her disappointment, Isabel refused.

“...walk…” The brunette shook her head. “...protect…’ Her eyebrows scrunched together, showing how hard it was for her to speak. “...scout…food…” Isabel struggled. “...shelter… I can…”

“Okay, I get it.” Mila raised herself to her toes to pat Isabel’s head. “You are strong, amazing, powerful. And I have a job only I can do.” Her fingers combed through her love’s hair, sorting out some of the mess. “We need a good bath…” Her palm slid down to cup Isabel’s cheek.

“...kiss?” Isabel’s whisper was full of yearning.

“Of course,” Mila obliged. Her lips met Isabel’s slightly dry. She gently kissed her and, upon leaning back, gave a small lick on the tip of her girl’s nose. “I am going now,”

Mila slipped away from the blushing beauty, who was clearly fuming. She was quite happy with the result. Her little trick had improved Isabel’s mood. “I will scout ahead.” She gathered everyone's attention. “I will never be far. So, if you notice something, call me. Are we clear?” Her eyes met Isabel’s, making sure her girl knew the warning was mostly for her. “Don’t act on your own.”

With the last warning given, Mila sauntered ahead. She assured the now larger group was on the edge of her senses before beginning to scout in earnest.

But…

There was still nothing besides another couple of small birds Mila managed to find. After leaving those to her group, she resumed her duties.

Soon, Mila’s mind wandered back to the issue of her rather sizable mana pool and the lack of ways to use it. She still made circles around her group, her seemingly inexhaustible body not having problems with it.

However, now her thoughts were trying to figure out the best spell to form in her mind. The matrix would have to serve for a long time. She doubted there would be a moment when they wouldn’t be in danger for a long time.

The choice was still between improving her stealth and a ranged option. Both had their pros and cons. She could form both, but it would take time.

And with them lacking any ranged attacks, Mila’s choice was soon clear. Her current levels of stealth were good enough for most situations.

What they lacked the most was a way to force a distant enemy to engage them. If they met a backline caster, they had little in the way of disrupting their offensive besides a throwing weapon or two.

Or if they had to face someone who could stand in the sky and rain down spell after spell… Like that female Inquisitor who liked to throw around invisible bolts.

Yes. It was a fatal weakness to not have a way to at least force such opponents to move.

The question was, what spell to use?

Mila pondered, recalling the spells she had seen being used. There were no drastic differences from what she had experienced in her dreams.

Most of the arsenal Inquisitors used were standard spells, likely thousands of years old. Which made sense if the God Of Knowledge was truly dead and the world punished inventions.

But it wasn’t quite so simple. While there were no widespread changes, Mila had seen Inquisitors use spells in an unorthodox manner. Being some of the most talented mages, they honed their spells, adding their own touches. They simply didn’t share what they discovered. And the Sages existed, gathering new knowledge.

Which meant…

Well, Mila didn’t know. It could be anything. And she feared any guesses would attract unwanted attention from the World and Higher forces.

As always, it was a pain. After kicking a newly sprouted sapling, Mila felt better. Pointless destruction had a way of improving the mood. It wasn’t as good as Isabel’s smile, but it was something.

Speaking of her girl, Mila looped back to the group, checking on them. Seeing there were no issues, she returned to the spell choice.

After considering her options, Mila decided to choose something that would complement her ever-growing mana pool. She needed something she could charge or manipulate the power of by feeding it more mana.

Something like Isabel’s flamethrower. Although that spell was too wasteful for Mila. She couldn’t support it like Isabel could.

And if she wanted to strike against flying enemies, it couldn’t be earth-based. It would be too slow or mana-intensive. Maybe a lighting spell? Or water? Perhaps wind?

After finding her way to the tree top, Mila shuddered as a cold breeze passed her from behind. She glanced in the direction of Stilag.

At the horizon, Mila felt like she saw a cloud of smoke rising from where the city was. It made her feel uncomfortable.

This time, it wasn’t their fault the city had been razed. But neither had they saved it. Mila tore her eyes away from the illusion of death in the distance and then looked at the path forward.

It was only trees as far as her eyes could see. Another cold breeze seemed to bring the smell of ash. Mila shuddered again, her mind struggling to understand the scope of the massacre that had happened.

Mila watched the horizon for a moment longer before making her decision. After the last night's experience, she wished she had more ways to control cold. Her new body seemed to be surprisingly resilient against it, but she knew how hard it was to fight against it.

And while she did not plan to focus on micromanaging the ice as the Inquisitor she had killed, it also could be used to punch through defences. There were many ways to use ice.

An icicle thrown with enough mana behind it was quite damaging and not easily deflected. And water was easier to conjure when compared to an earth, with a high ceiling if she could pour a lot of mana into it. And it was useful in close combat, too.

Mila grimly looked into the future possibilities.

Yes. Ice seemed like a nice choice.