CHAPTER 79: AMBUSH.

Ignoring the subtle sting that came from coming into contact with the waters of the dark river, Garrick placed another Oasis Flower into his bag.

The Oasis Flowers floated in the surface of the river. Beneath them was a root system that was also meant to be collected with the whole flower.

Their quota was to collect twenty of them. Garrick’s gaze secretly scanned the area.

They already had the twenty. Now, everyone was using the rest o the time to gather up any more they could find.

Depending on your luck, one could get as much as they possibly could, to as few as none.

At the moment, he had already gathered three extra flowers. And there was till an hour left.

Garrick wiped the sweat off his face and looked around.

There was a subtle beauty to Malady’s Garden, even with all the darkness.

The surrounding nature, no matter how twisted, felt natural in its own profane way. It brought a slight feeling of serenity that couldn’t be found in the dank, dirty streets of the City.

Garrick grimaced. The only thing he couldn’t get behind were the bugs.

A sudden yell caught his attention.

His head snapped in the direction of the voice as he rose from his crouch with a frown on his face.

The hell had come from Lawson, who was staring wide-eyed at something right before him.

The others had already gathered around him and were staring down at the item with wide-eyed expressions as well.

"What’s the matter?"

"Lawson found something." Obed said, the greed and envy in his eyes unable to be hidden.

Garrick raised a brow, wondering what they all could have possibly seen that would make them react in such a way.

His gaze traveled. Then his eyes went wide as well.

"Is that...?!"

Lawson let out a roaring laugh,

"The gods have truly decided to favor me today!"

In his hand, was a little flower with a tiny bud that glittered like it was made from crystals.

Most hunters, despite not being learned, possessed rudimentary botanical knowledge on the local flora. Because of this, they were very keen on all the kinds of treasures that could potentially be growing within the forest at any given point in time.

One of these ever present treasures, was the Crystal Water Lily.

The Crystal Water Lily was a unique and rare plant always sought after by the Templar Order of the Verdant Ash Sea, solely for the very rare property its crystal buds possessed once ground up and turned into dust.

This strange dust, was the main material used to make wards that kept evil spirits and ghosts away.

As such ,the material was always sought after and cost quite a pretty penny too.

Selling a single one would be more than enough to feed a hunter and his family for six months.

Garrick was unable to stop his greed from flashing through his eyes as well.

He turned to stare at Lawson who was too engrossed in his bloss to notice.

"Lawson." Garrick called out slowly.

A gently breeze cut through the world.

The afternoon sun had long since begun its descent, bathing the world in much warmer shades of orange and amber.

Lawson suddenly froze.

He hadn’t noticed it previously, but the surrounding air had suddenly become a touch darker.

A subtle feeling of dread washed over him.

His voice trembled lightly as he clutched the Crystal Water Lily closer to his chest,

"N-No, Garrick! This is mine! I found it!"

Garrick wore a frightening grimace as he took a step closer to him.

He shook his head slowly,

"Everything found on the journey belongs to the entire party. We will split the profits equally. Wasn’t that the deal?"

Lawson’s eyes went wide like a cornered prey as he hissed,

"Cut the bullshit ledgers, Garrick! You know damn well that’s a lot of crap!"

Garrick’s expression softened a bit. However, the light in his eyes were bright as ever,

He gestured behind him,

"Everyone here agrees with me. Or could it be you want to act selfish all of a sudden?"

Lawson’s expression was ugly as he scanned the faces of every other person.

In an instant, a chill ran down his spine.

He could see it on all their faces.

These people had no regard for anything. If he refused any longer, they would murder him in cold blood and dispose of his body in a heartbeat.

Humans in that sense, were no different from the Abominations they all fought. They just looked a bit less ugly.

Lawson trembled as he grit his teeth.

If the profits from the Crystal Water Lily were sold, then he would only receive a meager amount. With the amount of debt he was in due to visiting the brothels and gambling dens, it was only barely enough to make a dent.

But if he refused, he would die, without a doubt.

"Fuck you, Garrick! Fuck all of you!" Lawson growled with bloodshot eyes as he pointed his finger right in Garrick’s nose before throwing the flower at him furiously.

A small smile made its way onto Garrick’s face as he gently plucked the flower out of the air.

"With this, all of us should make something—"

His words were interrupted by a shadow that suddenly descended.

His eyes widened, and in a show of incredible dexterity and reaction speed, he dropped to the ground.

BANG!

The ground behind him scattered in an explosion of dirt and dug up pieces of bramble.

Wincing, Garrick felt hot blood pouring down his shoulder. Despite his reaction, he had been unable to react fast enough and had ended up getting raked across the arm.

He gritted his teeth as he rose to his feet,

"Oh no... Garrick! We are surrounded!" Obed called out.

Geor took a heavy step forward and placed his shield in front of him as his eyes shot all around.

In front of them were incredibly strange looking creatures. They had large, muscular arms and large heads. However, their bodies were thin and lithe, making for quite the interesting picture.

Garrick grimaced,

"Brandors."

They were surrounded by an entire pack of them, each one a grade F.

Their situation had suddenly become quite dangerous.