CHAPTER 333: THE HEAVENS MUST BE ANGRY

After giving some hints to Aisha on how to steer the drone properly, Cassius turned his head, spotting Skadi still circling and swiping at the floating drone like a bored cat with a very expensive toy.

"Skadi..." He called out.

She froze mid-step, ears perking up, then bounded over instantly.

"What is it, Master? What do you want me to do?"

Her tone was already laced with excitement, as if she expected a hunt.

"Do you want me to go around and chase someone down? Track them through the woods? Or..." She spread her fingers to show her long, sharp claws, her grin turning downright scary "...do you want me to get to someone and make all of their innards fall out? I can do both with ease. I’m a specialist in both."

Cassius raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Nothing so...violent this time."

Her face dropped into mild disappointment. "Oh."

Then, without warning, he reached out and gently poked her nose. "Instead, I want to use this cute little nose of yours."

Skadi blinked, caught completely off guard. "My nose?"

"Mm." Cassius said with a playful smirk. "Think it’s good enough for this mission?"

At that, Skadi immediately straightened and stuck her nose out proudly.

"Most definitely so, Master. This is the best nose in the entire continent! I can even smell a fart from miles away!"

She declared without an ounce of shame, at least at first. But then her expression faltered, going pale as the memory of such moments clearly came rushing back.

"...Though, smelling farts and poop from far away can actually be quite dangerous. Sometimes I’ll have a nice meal, and then, bam, something disgusting drifts into my nose and I lose my appetite...Worst feeling ever."

Cassius chuckled. "Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you to sniff around a latrine. I just want you to tell me if you smell any bandits nearby. You know what they smell like, right?"

She tilted her head, then nodded with certainty.

"Of course, Master. Bandits usually stink of blood, metal, and sweat. Disgusting. They never bathe, always camping in the forest, so their smell gets...pungent. I can pick them out easily from any crowd. They reek worse than a corpse in the sun."

Cassius nodded, pleased. "Exactly what I wanted to hear. You’ll be helping Aisha navigate the drone. Can you try it now?"

"Smell the air, tell me if there’s even the faintest trace of a bandit in the area. You don’t need to pinpoint the exact spot, just a general direction."

"Understood, Master."

Skadi closed her eyes and began to sniff the air. At first, her face lit up like she’d smelled something delicious...Then she frowned, confused.

Then came a look of outright disgust, followed by another pleased expression, then back to disgust. The constant change of emotions was so exaggerated that Julie had to hide a small smirk while watching.

Finally, Skadi froze, eyes widening, mouth curling into an excited grin.

"Jackpot!" She declared. "It’s faint, barely there, which means it’s far away. But it’s definitely the smell of bandits." She jabbed a clawed finger toward a thick patch of forest. "Coming from that side, deep in there."

She bounced on her feet, her tail flicking eagerly.

"Should I track them down? Hunt them now?"

"No. That’s exactly why we can’t go individually into the forest hunting bandits." Cassius shook his head. "It’d take too much time to track them and then return to the road. Maybe we could handle one or two small groups that way, but I’m after more than that. It’s not efficient."

Then he suddenly smiled, turning toward Aisha, who was still fully absorbed in flying the drone. Without warning, he stepped behind her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a warm, secure embrace.

Aisha froze at the sudden closeness, her cheeks going red, especially with Julie watching from the corner of her eye, her gaze sharp and assessing.

Aisha knew her captain was probably suspecting something between her and Cassius. But even so, she didn’t pull away. She simply kept her focus on the screen, though the heat in her face betrayed her.

Cassius leaned down slightly, speaking close enough that his voice was almost a whisper against her ear. "That’s why we have you, Aisha."

Her fingers twitched on the controls, and she swallowed. "W-What am I supposed to do?"

He hugged her tighter, like she was a soft, warm teddy bear he refused to let go of.

"You just have to follow the direction Skadi gave you. See if there’s anything there." He pointed at the screen in her hands. "Follow that treeline, look for signs of movement or camps."

Aisha nodded shyly, still not looking away from the projection.

"Alright." Her voice was quiet, almost timid, though the blush on her cheeks hadn’t faded in the slightest.

"Skadi..." Aisha called without turning. "About how far away do you think the smell is?"

Skadi tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "Six Lints from the road."

Aisha gave a small nod in response and gently adjusted the drone’s direction, sending it gliding through the air toward the distant treeline, while Julie and Skadi moved to stand beside her, all three watching the little projection screen intently.

Julie squinted toward the dense, endless green ahead.

"I don’t know how you’re seeing anything, Aisha. To me, this all just looks like...more forest. Trees, bushes, shadows, it’s all the same."

"That’s because you’re not me." Aisha’s lips curled in a small, confident smile without looking away from the screen. "I come from the feline race, we’ve got sharper eyes than most."

"I can track movements and patterns you’d never notice. Even from up here, if something is out of place, I’ll see it."

Julie raised an eyebrow, folding her arms. "Out of place? Like what?"

"Like..." Aisha narrowed her eyes, guiding the drone further along the treeline. Then she suddenly leaned forward. "Ah, just like that. Look over there." She pointed to a faint discoloration on the ground displayed on the projection. "See those cracks in the earth? That’s not natural. Someone’s walked through here."

Julie and Skadi both stared at the screen, but to them it looked like nothing but dirt and shadows.

"I...guess I see it?" Julie said hesitantly.

Skadi tilted her head. "I don’t see anything. Just brown stuff."

"Exactly." Aisha said with a knowing tone. "That’s why I’m doing this part. These are old footprints, someone’s been moving through this area, and not just once. Let’s follow them."

The others, unable to argue, just nodded and let her follow the trail. Slowly, she guided the drone along the faint track from above, weaving between treetops until—

"Oh." Julie breathed, eyes widening.

Skadi’s tail swished, her voice sharp with excitement. "There! Bandits! Look Master, bandits!"

On the screen, a ragged campsite came into view. Half a dozen rough-looking men lounged around lazily, some gnawing on hunks of meat, others sprawled in the shade napping. Weapons lay scattered about, shields leaning on rocks.

"It’s them. Real bandits." Aisha’s voice was quiet but firm.

"You actually found them..." Julie let out a low whistle.

Cassius, who had been standing just behind Aisha, slid an arm around her and pulled her closer. His voice dropped into a soft whisper, warm against her ear.

"Good job. I knew my Aisha could do it."

The way he said my Aisha made her heart skip a beat and before she could even react, he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

Her face burned red, and she was certain if Julie or Skadi looked her way, they’d see it, but both were still staring at the projection.

Cassius then let her go, straightening as his gaze shifted to Julie. "Now that Skadi and Aisha have done their jobs, it’s time for you to do yours."

"So...I’m the one who gets to go down there and hunt them all?" Julie’s eyes gleamed. "Makes sense, I’m the fastest in the group."

She smirked, then coughed lightly.

"Well, fastest aside from you, obviously. You’re a monster in your own right...But still, give me a few minutes and I’ll be back with all their heads." She gripped her sword’s hilt, practically itching to draw it.

But Cassius quickly raised a hand and waved her down. "Stop, stop. Like I said earlier, no one is going into the forest. We’re not barbarians right now. This is tactical warfare. No hand-to-hand combat."

Julie frowned. "Then...what am I supposed to do?"

Instead of answering, Cassius pointed to a nearby patch of massive, thick-trunked trees. "You’re going to slash those down."

Julie glanced at them, then back at him, clearly confused.

"Slash trees? That’s easy. One swing’s all it’ll take, no matter how thick. But...how exactly is that going to deal with the bandits?"

"I’ll show you in a second." Cassius only smiled. "For now, just cut them."

Even Aisha and Skadi exchanged puzzled looks, but Julie shrugged and walked over to the treeline.

She stared at the trunks, took a slow breath, and then in one fluid motion drew her blade and slashed at the air.

Swoosh!

There was no sound, no visible impact, yet if one looked closely, every single tree bore a thin, clean cut running straight through its trunk, as if an invisible blade had passed through them all at once.

The trees remained standing exactly as before, unaware they were already severed.

"Good job." Cassius stepped up beside her and patted her shoulder. "Now it’s my turn."

He turned back toward Aisha. "There should be coordinates from where the drone and remote are located displayed at the top of your screen. Look for two numbers, X and Y."

Aisha nodded, scanning the display. "X-3492 and Y-4704. Is that enough?"

"That’s perfect." Cassius’s grin widened as he walked towards the trees that had been cut in half.

Skadi, curious as ever, trotted after him as he walked toward one of the thickest trees near the edge of the clearing.

"Master, what are you doing now?"

"Step back a few paces." Cassius glanced over his shoulder, resting a hand against the tree’s bark like he was testing its width. "I don’t want my puppy getting hurt."

Skadi tilted her head, still confused, but obediently backed away to where Julie and Aisha stood.

And now all three now watched him with anticipation.

Cassius gave them one last, knowing smile, then wrapped both arms around the trunk, his fingers barely touching as he gripped it. With a low breath, he drove his fingers deep into the wood, burying them as though the tree were soft clay.

Crush!

The girls’ eyes widened as his hands sank further, anchoring into the core of the trunk. Then, with casual ease, he straightened his back and, astonishingly, lifted.

Scrrrrchhh!

The massive tree, roots and all, rose from the earth as though it weighed nothing more than a broomstick. Dirt crumbled from the roots in thick clumps, scattering across the ground.

Aisha’s mouth dropped open. Skadi let out a half-laugh, half-gasp. Even Julie, who personally knew Cassius was way too strong for his own good after battling with him, felt her breath catch.

They’d seen him display his power before, but watching him lift a tree that probably weighed more than several loaded carriages, as casually as one might pick up a fallen branch, was something else entirely.

If lifting the tree wasn’t already amazing enough, Cassius took it to the next level.

Slowly, he began to spin the massive trunk in his hands, almost as if he were playing with a child rather than handling a weight that could crush an entire wagon in a single drop.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

At first, it was a slow rotation, the branches swaying lazily through the air, but then the speed built, his grip firm and unshakable, until the entire tree was whirling so fast they could feel the wind it generated rushing against their faces.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The spinning branches scraped the soil beneath them in quick, rhythmic swipes, sending small bursts of dirt flying outward.

While still spinning the tree, Cassius then looked over at Skadi with a glint in his eyes.

"Give me a countdown." He said.

Skadi had no idea what the countdown was for, but her excitement flared instantly, a wide grin spreading across her face. She straightened her stance like a sports announcer and shouted.

"Yes Master...Now—"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"...Lift off!"

The moment the last word left her lips, Cassius gave the trunk one final, monumental thrust before letting it go.

Whoosh!

The momentum, combined with his inhuman strength, sent the tree soaring into the sky.

It was an unbelievable sight, this colossal mass of wood and leaves hurtling upward, spinning like a thrown spear, before sailing far into the distance.

Their eyes tracked it, dumbfounded, as it became smaller and smaller in the horizon, until Cassius suddenly broke into a sly smile.

"Quick, look at the screen...You’ll want to see this."

Aisha’s hands flew to the viewing device, and the three of them crowded close, peering over her shoulder with rapt attention.

On the display, the feed showed the distant bandit camp, peaceful and still. A few figures were lounging by a fire, eating and chatting lazily, while others lay sprawled out in the shade, dozing.

And then, out of nowhere, a massive shadow swept over the frame.

The next instant, the spinning tree crashed into the heart of the camp with bone-shattering force.

Boom! Crash!

The sheer weight and speed turned it into a battering ram of nature’s fury. The trunk slammed down with a deafening crack, splintering tents and smashing through the firepit.

And atleast fifteen bandits were obliterated instantly, their bodies crushed beneath the monstrous impact.

The camera feed shook from the sheer force, showing blood spraying and scattering like paint across the dirt, the camp’s lazy noon suddenly transformed into a scene of chaos and carnage.

And just like that, the peaceful tree of the forest had, in a single motion, become a weapon of rage and destruction...