476 Camping (1/2)
Time passed by and Unit-17 continued on their not-so-merry towards the depths of Devil's Cradle.
During their way, they encountered similar breeds of Devils that assaulted them before. It was great boon for them that they figured out what these things could do before going deeper, thanks to that, they didn't have any casualties and the rest are getting more used to fighting them.
The atmosphere around the unit is still a bit tense but through the subsequent battles, an initial bond between them were starting to form. They could now work as a team, albeit only in the initial stages.
Somewhere along their journey, Raven brought up the topic of setting up the camp. Some were startled by the suggestion by when they heard his reason, they were surprised.
”If you haven't noticed it by now, let me remind you that there is no sun in this place. The sky is perpetually covered in dark clouds and there's only a huge ass moon present. Our perception of time is blurred in this place, there is no night and day here, only doom and gloom.”
”I've been tracking the time, and as I speak, it's already twelve hours since we started this journey.”
And as if confirming his words, some of his teammates felt either fatigued, hungry or lethargic. It was only then that they noticed that, just like Raven said, they weren't aware of how much times has passed. If it weren't for him informing them about it, they'd probably just collapse out of nowhere.
”Let's take it easy.” Raven suggested, ”Even though we could last long since we're cultivators, for now we're not really in a any heist for any battles, we already had our fair share of that today.”
His words caused them to ponder a bit before eventually agreeing. His words made sense anyway, specially the part when he said that there's really no reason for them to search for fights since they already fought many devils earlier.
Unit-17 had faced at least thirty devils at this point in time, although all of them are of the same breed, devils are devils at the end of the day. For a group of people to be thrown in an unfamiliar territory crawling with creatures like this, is already stressful on its own. Add the fact that they have to fight consistently, makes this trip more exhausting that they originally expected.
The team searched for a relatively clear and inauspicious spot to set up camp - which, thanks to Juniper's great sense of smell, they are able to find. This place doesn't reek off of any scent of Devils, there are no traces left or whatsoever, making it a fine spot for them.
Without saying anything, Raven took out a disk from his spatial ring and silently activated it.
”A Formation! Nice idea. What does it do?” Juniper asked curiously.
”It conceals our location and completely erases our life signals. It also has misdirection runes so that anyone or anything shouldn't accidentally discover this location.”
”Shouldn't?” Floyd raised a brow.
”Well, this is the first time I'm using it against Devils, so I have no idea if it'll work.” Raven replied honestly, ”If it does, then yay. If it doesn't, then we'll figure something out.”
”Oh, do you guys have tents and sleeping bags?” Raven asked, causing majority of his teammates to freeze where they stood.
Just from that reaction alone, Raven already knew the answer. Without saying anything unnecessary, he took out several supplies from his spatial ring and placed it carefully on the ground.
”Here. Do remember to return it after this trip.” He said as he held one and started walking on the spot where he planned on erecting his tent. However, he remembered something so he turned around and said: ”Right, if you're going to eat, then suggest to consume dry rations or ready made foods instead. The smokes and stuff will pass through the Formation, that might alert some unwanted attentions.”
”Additionally, we also have to make sure to always have someone guarding the camp, just to make sure. You guys decide on who but I suggest at least three people. Just inform me once your done.”
After saying his piece, Raven casually swaggered away to his preferred spot to build up his tent, leaving the rest at a loss on what to do next. They looked at each other before sighing.
”Man, he's something else isn't he?” Franklin commented as he picked up a tent and a sleeping bag from the pile.
”I 100% agree with you on that one.” Jason added while he too took a sleeping bag and a tent from the pile that Raven left for them. He was then followed by the rest.