The plan was set, and carrying it out was the easy part. All Noel needed to do was bury the powder keg at a precise location and then head out to act as bait.
Once that monster chased him to the marked spot, he would trigger the detonation.
His wind magic could create a barrier to control the blast radius, but since he would be draining stamina and mana while acting as bait, it was best to find an open area for the explosion.
That would minimize collateral damage, which was exactly what Tias hoped for.
But finding such a spot was easier said than done. The trees in this forest were enormous, stretching tall and wide in every direction. There was hardly a patch of open ground, and even sheer cliffs had hardy trees clinging to them.
Wait, when that monster had been chasing him before, he vaguely remembered seeing a rocky hill with sparse vegetation.
That might be the perfect location. The problem was, Nohr couldn't quite remember where that rocky hill was.
He had been fleeing for his life back then and only had a vague impression of the place. There was no way he could clearly recall its exact position.
Nohr let out a sigh. This was so frustrating. He wanted to act, but couldn't. Was he just making excuses, giving up before even trying? How pathetic.
No, the best course of action was to head out and scout first, to get a feel for the monster's habits. That would also help in luring it to the right place.
Decision made, Noel wandered through the forest, scouting for both the monster and the location. Maybe it was just his imagination, but the plants didn't seem as vibrant as before, their leaves drooping, though he didn't know why.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
That familiar roar echoed again, the ground trembling underfoot, the vibrations growing stronger.
Noel tensed up, sensing that the Nue was approaching.
He climbed the tallest tree nearby to gain a wide vantage point, giving him a clear view of the Nue's movements on the ground. It was the perfect observation point, hidden under a canopy of leaves so he wouldn't be easily spotted.
The Nue's head was lowered as if sniffing for something. It stopped beneath Noel's tree, sniffing the trunk, then suddenly rammed it, making the whole tree quake violently.
Noel's heart dropped. It had found him. He clung tightly to the trunk, barely managing not to fall.
The Nue lost interest quickly, deciding it was a false alarm. It had caught a familiar scent, one similar to the one that had attacked it before, but apparently decided it had been mistaken. The scent trail continued onward, and the Nue's interest shifted, moving deeper into the forest.
Noel let out a shaky breath. It was finally gone. If it had decided to fight him, it would have been a death sentence, especially with his mana mostly drained from the recent alchemy.
If the Nue hadn't left, he wouldn't have even been able to escape.
Maybe it just didn't care about prey this weak, or perhaps it found no thrill in killing someone so fragile.
One thing was certain: it was familiar with his scent.
Noel scanned the distance from his perch to make sure the Nue was truly gone, wary that it might circle back using its hunting instincts.
After a long watch with no sign of the beast, he discovered something else: to his right was the rocky hill.
He now had a general fix on its location, but the forest was vast, and judging solely from his vantage point might not be precise enough.
Then, he remembered Mond's survival guide. It had instructions on navigating using landmarks.
Using his agility and the advantage of treetop scouting, Noel marked trees with stones to create a trail leading to the rocky hill.
After much effort, he finally reached the hill, leaving a clear trail behind him.
Then he rushed back to the treehouse by the Lake of Life, grabbed the powder keg, and followed his marked trail back to the rocky hill.
He used wind magic to carve out a hole and buried the powder keg inside.
Everything had gone smoothly. Now, all that was left was to lure the Nue to the rocky hill so it could walk right into the trap.
He wasn't entirely sure it would work, but the Nue seemed interested in him, so using himself as bait was likely the best option.
However, there was still the problem of ignition. If he were to light the powder keg himself, it would be too dangerous.
He might not escape in time, and the plan would cost him his life.
Noel wasn't willing to take that risk. He had already ruled out every plan that was too dangerous.
---
"Noel, how is the plan coming along?"
A familiar voice echoed in Nohr's mind.
"Tias? Why can I hear your voice?" Noel asked, startled. She wasn't nearby, yet he could hear her clearly.
"This is a special ability of us wood elves. As long as you're within the forest, we can communicate using the forest's unique electromagnetic waves," Tias explained patiently.
She rattled off a series of technical terms that Nohr didn't understand in the slightest, except that it required the forest as a medium.
"So where are you now?" Noel asked, concerned, remembering how she had collapsed earlier.
"I'm at the treehouse. And why did you leave me on the table? There was juice everywhere, and now I'm all sticky!" Tias complained, looking at the sticky sap strands on her skin.
"How was I supposed to know where else to put you…" Noel began to explain, but Tias cut him off.
"Never mind that. How is the plan going?"
Despite her complaints, her real concern was the plan, which determined the safety of the forest.
"I've found the perfect detonation site: a rocky hill with sparse vegetation. Even if the keg explodes, it won't cause a forest fire. You can rest easy about that," Nohr reported.
"That rocky hill is a great spot… I can't believe I didn't think of it," Tias said, sounding frustrated.
"It is a good spot, but…" Noel hesitated.
"But what?" Tias pressed.
"The risk of me lighting the powder keg is too high. If anything goes wrong, I won't be able to control the situation," Nohr admitted.
"You could have just asked me for help with that," Tias replied decisively. "Do you have a plan?"
"You could prepare a torch, and I'll use your vines to light it remotely. That would work perfectly," Noel suggested.
"Yes, that would minimize the risk while keeping you safe," Tias agreed after considering it.
"But the key issue is still how you'll lure the Nue to the designated spot."
"You don't need to worry about that. The Nue seems interested in me, and if I use my scent to lure it, it will definitely take the bait," Nohr said, surprising himself with his confidence.
"What?!" Tias exclaimed.
"The Nue is insane. If it's fixated on you, this could be dangerous. Please, be careful while luring it. Don't let anything happen to you," Tias said, her voice full of worry.
She had never truly intended for Noel to act as bait. When she suggested it earlier, she had hoped it would scare him off.
"It'll be fine. I can handle it, and I'm not that easy to kill," Noel reassured her, recalling how pale she had looked earlier. "Besides, you should take it easy too. Collecting those materials must have drained you."
"It wasn't that bad…" Tias mumbled, embarrassed, though she knew how drained she truly was.
The thought of Noel acting as bait terrified her, as the likelihood of him being injured—or worse—was high. She didn't even want to think about that possibility.
But maybe she needed to trust this child.
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