Chapter 180: 180: A Foul Plan

I was surprised that Sensei wanted me to keep the eggs when he was adamant about getting rid of my nestlings in the beginning. 

But whatever his reason may be, the eggs and their hatchlings deserved to be with their own kind and not kept here against their will.

As for Morgana's punishment, I had a much better idea.

She would spend two days in prison, after which she was to join Ophelia in her caretaking duties for as long as it took the nestlings to recover. She also wasn't allowed to keep any eggs, and I informed Typhon that as soon as they hatched, they would be sent on their way.

I felt like my punishment was justified, but Typhon still felt it wasn't enough and recommended an even harsher sentence. But after what felt like a reluctant stare down, Typhon eventually agreed, and told Morgana her fate.

Unlike Galahad, she threw no tantrums and simply nodded, which made me wonder what exactly was going on underneath her calm exterior. Perhaps she was secretly unhappy, but she gave no indication.

With everything seemingly settled, I left Typhon to enforce the punishments on the captains, before going over to the ape's corpse. 

Under normal circumstances, I would've used [Appraisal] to find out its skills, but now, I just hope to find some clues about its hideout.

I observed its elongated claws and sharp fangs, and its feet that were stained with bits of dirt and moss, which made me think that it didn't live exclusively in trees. Its lair was perhaps a wet mossy cave deep in the forest somewhere.

«You wish to go after them?» Sensei asked.

"Not exactly. But if they're going to attack us, I need to know more about its kind."

«The creature is called an Argolossus.» Sensei decided to pity me with some information. And I would gladly take it. «They are mostly opportunistic feeders, but they have been known to exterminate whole colonies if they feel slighted.»

Great. A creature with a vengeance – just what I needed.

I didn't ask for more details because I knew he would just make things worse.

Soon, I noticed the dark fae approaching from behind and turned to her. 

After frolicking around on Typhon's head, she happily buzzed around me, looking every bit like a smug brat.

[The big snake wants to tell you something.] she announced.

But I had a very important question for her and refused to let her settle near me.

[Did Typhon ask to fight with me, or did he ask to go hunting with me?] 

The dark fae looked thoughtful as she crossed her arms. [Don't they mean the same thing?]

I wanted to face palm, her confused face making me wish I could swat her away like a fly. 

[No they don't!] I replied.

Now, it made sense why Typhon was so happy after coming back – I'd basically given him the hunting experience he wanted. 

And to think I had been trying to scare him. 

The dark fae flew right against my head, appearing three times her size as she fidgeted awkwardly. 

[When will we go to the spirits? I need a new dress. This one is bad.] 

I sighed. [Not yet.]

It wasn't safe to leave for a while and the dark fae began to sulk.

But when Typhon arrived, accompanied by the captains, she cheered up immediately and buzzed over to him instead.

I wondered if I should feel pleased or betrayed by their sudden closeness?

In answer, It seemed my captains wanted to know if they should discard the corpses of the scorpion creatures that had died inside the cave, because they were afraid their scents would attract more.

Now that I knew the creatures had a great sense of smell, I realised they had a point.

It was dangerous to keep them, but moving them was even more careless for many reasons.

Throwing the corpses outside would likely release their scents back in the air, drawing even more attention.

Also the cave hadn't been attacked by the scorpion creatures aside from the first time, and so perhaps the trail had since been lost.

But then, Galahad came forward, seemingly wanting to say something to me directly, but Typhon hissed at him to stay back, choosing to relay his request to me instead.

It seemed during their attack on the scorpion creatures Galahad had stashed away some of the corpses he killed, so as not to create a trail to the cave, fully intending to go back at a later time and eat them, and now he was wondering if he could still go back for them.

My answer was of course a resounding NO! What a reckless idea!

But it seemed he wasn't the only one, Morgana admitted she had stashed five, Galahad, four, and Artemis, three.

Cygnus was the only one who didn't hide any, but Morgana who hunted alongside Ophelia, revealed she had hidden away nine of the creatures. 

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Hearing all this made me shiver.

I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I didn't come back in time.

Had they gone to retrieve any of those corpses any later, the delay would have given the scorpion creatures enough time to sniff them out – if they hadn't already.

And perhaps set up a trap for any creature that came looking.

I was glad they informed me quickly, because their blunder just gave me an idea for a trap of my own.

I still had the ape's remains and perhaps if I moved quickly enough, I could redirect the trail away from my cave.

Firstly, I instructed my captains to tell me exactly where they had hidden the scorpion remains.

But unfortunately, due to the fact that they targeted the creatures from many places, their locations were scattered far and wide.

I would have to be directed by each captain to locate the spots. 

But luckily, this wasn't such a big problem, if me and Typhon work simultaneously. 

I informed Typhon of my plan, deciding to split the task of retrieval between myself and him. We were the strongest, in addition to Ophelia who was yet to awaken, and I was sure we could find the locations quickly and safely. 

I would go with Morgana to check on her and Ophelia's hidden stash, because they were the most plentiful of the captain's and the most at risk. While Typhon would go after those of Artemis and Galahad.

It was simply to check if any of them had been discovered, and if either had been, I cautioned Typhon to not get near them. Each captain had already got rid of their scent so even if their stash was discovered, it wouldn't lead back to the cave.

However, before we left the cave, I sent Typhon to retrieve an incredibly stinky object.

The cluster of eggs we had taken from the giant worm creature was still in the lower level of the cave.

We hastily abandoned it when we saw the cave had been attacked, but it was still somewhere in between the tunnel and the cave.

The eggs were contained within a sack of the creature's repulsive flesh which contained some of its foul blood, and I was sure one whiff of it would be enough to repulse and confuse the keen senses of any creature.

And as Typhon brought the fleshy sac up to the cave, it left a trail of purple blood and a foul stench filled the cave, that made every nestling present hold their breaths and gag.

But to me, it was the thing that would protect the cave and the nestlings in it.

And so, from there I concocted a simple plan. 

We would mark the entrance of the cave with the foul smelling blood, to further disguise any trace of the scorpion's scent that may have remained. 

And then, we would create an alternate trail with the ape's scent, leading from the forest where the ape creature had appeared, before connecting it back to the scorpion corpses. 

I hoped none of the corpses had been discovered yet, but the more time we waste, the more likely they would be, so we moved out immediately. 

As Typhon marked the entrance, I approached the ape's corpse, slicing off two of its limbs with my [Shadow Blade], to use to create a trail, leaving one for myself and giving the other to Typhon. 

Next, we found a pair of footprints that had been left by the ape creature and brushed its fur against the trees closest to the prints, before taking off in opposite directions. 

From there we set off for the respective stashes, leaving Cygnus behind to watch over the cave while we were gone.

Typhon set out for Galahad's first and then Artemis's while being accompanied by the two captains. I, on the other side, found myself in a rather awkward situation, accompanied by a brooding Morgana and an oblivious, chirpy dark fae.

We sped through the forest, both cloaked in [Stealth] as Morgana directed me towards Ophelia's stash first, but I couldn't help but notice how quiet she was. 

The dark fae was there to communicate between us, but she said nothing to her aside from giving directions and I realised she must be sulking from having her eggs taken. 

But I continued on regardless.

I really hoped the scorpion corpses were still there, as they would help me serve two purposes. 

First, I wanted to confuse both creatures by making it seem like the ape had attacked the scorpion's instead of us, by connecting the ape's trail from our cave back to the stash of corpses. 

And as we moved, I made sure to continuously stop at the trees we passed to mark the ape's scent.

I wasn't worried about the scorpion creatures getting drawn towards the cave, because the worm's repulsive stench was enough to dissuade any from entering, and Sensei did say, creatures went out of their way to avoid it. 

I predicted they would pick the easier path, which was to go after the ape creatures instead.

A rather foul plan if I say so myself, but it was the easiest way for me to find the lair of the ape creature's before the vengeful beasts attacked my cave.

In addition, if they were swarmed by hordes of scorpions, they would be too busy to come after my nestlings.

This was why it was essential that Typhon and I visit every stash point. 

The more trails we were able to connect meant we could connect more deaths to the ape creatures, which would anger the scorpion's even more. Effectively tying a tidy bow around the problem. 

But that all hinged on the corpses being present, and I hoped Morgana was leading me towards the right place.

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