They continued along the path Noroi was leading them through, silence being the only thing that surrounded them, while the soft breeze brushing against their faces blended in with the sound of their footsteps pressing down on the grass beneath them.
Yamka nudged Haruki's side with her elbow, catching the attention of the frowning boy. As soon as he turned to her, she leaned closer, placing her palm in front of her mouth to whisper in a low voice so Noroi wouldn't hear, her tone teasing as she pointed at him with her other hand.
"Psst. Look at him ,don't you think his hair color matches his clothes? They're all black."
A short "pfft" laugh escaped Haruki's lips before he pressed them tightly together, trying to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out. He also placed a hand in front of his mouth and tilted his head toward her to whisper back.
"Raven cosplay, hehe."
Noroi's attention was drawn by the sound of giggling behind him, so he turned his whole body toward them.
But the moment he did, both of them adjusted their posture at the same time, avoiding his sharp gaze and pretending to look around instead.
Noroi's eyebrow rose when he noticed them deliberately avoiding eye contact before he asked in a cold tone.
"What were you two laughing at?
Haruki turned his head toward Yamka with a shocked expression and asked.
"Were we laughing?"
The girl immediately shook her head, playing along with him. Haruki then turned back to Noroi, placing a hand on his side and speaking with a worried expression that barely hid his amusement.
"The world must be starting to mess with your mind."
Noroi rolled his eyes, not believing their lie but not caring much either. He turned back to the path, giving them his back as he took one last look at the map before saying.
"We've arrived."
Both of them rushed to his side, curiosity killing them, they wanted to see what this fortress they'd been searching for looked like.
"Wow!"
The word slipped out of Haruki's mouth instinctively as his eyes widened at the sight of the structure before him.
There was still a fair distance between them and the fortress, enough for them to clearly see the layout of the place: a wooden wall surrounding several enormous, tall trees, with open space all around. Each tree was connected to the next by bridges and ladders, and on every tree rested houses and platforms of varying sizes depending on their use.
All of it was adorned with thick green moss, some hanging down from the top, and others clinging tightly to the tree trunks as if they were veins.
Haruki muttered, the corners of his lips lifting into a smile of admiration and awe.
"This place is amazing!"
Yamka pulled out her axe, gripping its handle tightly with both hands, her eyes blazing with a spark of fiery excitement, perhaps even recklessness, as she shouted.
"Let's smash this wall!"
Both Noroi and Haruki exchanged a look before rushing to Yamka's sides, each grabbing one of her arms in an attempt to stop her from moving forward.
The reckless Viking girl struggled against their grip, trying to break free, and when she realized they wouldn't let go, she simply continued marching ahead, dragging both of them along with her.
Noroi spoke in a warning tone, his voice firm.
"Stop it, you idiot! This is a military base for third-level monsters!"
Yamka stopped struggling against the boys' grip at those words, and she turned to Noroi, looking at him with her narrowed green eyes, annoyed at being held back from a fight.
She asked, irritation dominating her tone.
"And what about it?"
Noroi pointed with his finger toward one of the platforms hanging on the fourth tree to the west.
As soon as Yamka focused her eyes in that direction, she found a massive creature standing on it , broad-built, with muscular arms that ended in large hands tipped with sharpened black claws. The dominant color of its skin was a pale green. It had a long drooping nose, small shining yellow eyes, and on both sides of its head, pointed ears set far from the fangs jutting out from both sides of its mouth.
Noroi spoke, explaining what kind of creature they were looking at.
"Trolls , also known as level-three creatures. Stronger than anything we've faced. And there are hundreds inside."
___
Thank you for reading! If this moment touched you even a little , please consider adding it to your library.💐