NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 28: JOE
The sky remained crimson red, and there were no visible changes to its color.
"An artifact spirit?" Arlo continued while walking towards the forest that seemed to stretch with no end. Gazing to his left and right, he couldn't see the boundary of the forest.
In addition, the forest had a somewhat eerie atmosphere to it.
"What? Is that all?"
[You are too weak to know more.]
Arlo let out a cold snort.
After a few minutes, he finally arrived at the forest.
"I can't help but have a bad feeling about entering this forest."
[…..]
"Hey, what do you think?"
He still didn't receive a reply.
After taking a few deep breaths, Arlo finally set foot into the forest.
Meanwhile, deep within the silent forest dyed with crimson rays of the sun, three adults could be seen chasing after a small boy of about ten years old.
*Huff.*
*Huff.*
The boy ran for dear life.
He didn't dare to stare back as fear had already filled his whole body.
Anymore, and he could be scared to death.
'Big sister' Tears rolled down his face as he recalled his elder sister. He recalled what his sister told him.
"Joe, our eldest sister has been held captive. I am the only one who can save her. So I need to leave and seek strength."
Her face was filled with utmost resolve, but small Joe could not understand anything of such.
"It will be dangerous to stay with me, so you will have to depend on yourself from henceforth."
Saying so, she turned around and walked away. She gripped her fist tightly until they drew blood, but her step didn't falter.
"Big sister," Joe called out.
"Please don't leave me." He quickly ran to her and gripped her skirt tightly, refusing to let go.
Her body trembled when he came in contact with her. She clenched her teeth to steel her resolve.
She bent her body slightly and held Joe's hand then she shoved him aside before she quickly sprinted away.
Joe bruised his hands on impact with the ground, but he still crawled on the ground, his hand raised in her direction as he cried out:
"BIG SISTER!"
*WUAAH!* he wailed like a little child, snot and more snot running down his nose until they filled his mouth.
…..
"Boy, stop right now! If not we will punish you greatly before taking you back to the group," one of the men voiced out angrily as his patience was already nearing its limit.
Joe ran even harder, leaving snot and tears in his wake.
'Big sister, save me. I am scared.'
"Shit. This boy is really from the royal family. He is only a child, yet we still can't catch up to him," Another one of the pursuers voiced out angrily
"Maybe we should just attack him. That would make things easier."
"No, we can't harm him. He is a royal. If he is damaged in any way, we won't be able to gain the maximum profit from selling him."
It was at this time that they heard Joe shout out, his voice clearly filled with hope:
"Please, save me!"
"Help me, I beg you."
The pursuers lifted their head in Joe's direction just in time to see him embrace a kid who looked younger than him, filling the boy's shirt with his tears and snot.
"I beg you. Please save me."
*Wuaah*
After a few breaths, the pursuers arrived in front of the two.
After studying the newly appeared boy, they could not help but exclaim in unison.
"A HUMAN?"
.....
Arlo had already been walking in the forest for about two hours.
At first, he was a bit enthusiastic as he shifted his head left and right, his mind filled with anticipation about what he would encounter in the forest.
However, after walking for about two hours, he grew bored of the wide tall trees that were as high as hundreds of meters, and the occasional creaking of insects.
Besides, he had been trying to start a conversation with the artifact spirit, but the other didn't respond to him at all.
Just when he started losing his mind, he felt some movement up ahead.
Focusing his attention on the front, a small boy who was probably a bit older than him entered his vision.
A smile automatically adorned his face as he raised his hand to call out to the other.
However...
After catching sight of the snot and tears on his face, his raised hand flinched a little.
He was just about to move aside from the weirdo's path when...
*Whoosh.*
Joe instantly appeared in front of him.
Arlos' eyes widened like saucers
'Fast...'
Before he could react, Joe jumped into his embrace like a lifelong friend.
It was quite comical as Joe was half a head taller than Arlo.
Feeling his shirt immediately get soaked with Joe's dirty liquid, Arlo gritted his teeth in anger. He gripped Joe's shoulder and tried to yank him off his body.
"Get off, you weirdo!"
However, Joe held onto him as if his life depended on it.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Get off me now!"
"No, please save me. You are the only one who can help me!"
A fierce glint flashed in Arlo's eyes. He clutched Joe's black hair and yanked it back with force as if he wanted to tear it off his head.
"AAAH!" Joe screamed out in pain.
"Will you get off me now? Or else I will…..AAAH!" Before he could complete his words, Arlo screamed out in pain as Joe's fingers bore into his shirt and pierced his body.
"Saviour, you...ah... are the only...ah... one that can save me."
"You bastard." Arlo almost coughed out blood from anger.
*Whoosh.*
Arlo felt more movement as he caught the presence of three more people.
Releasing Joe's hair, and ignoring his embrace (which was basically Joe kissing his chest with tears and snot, and his legs dragging on the ground), Arlo focused his gaze on the three new arrivals.
'What is this feeling?'
'They look human but they don't feel like one.'
'The same applies to him.' he shifted his gaze down to the embracing Joe briefly before he returned his gaze to the three middle-aged men.
"A HUMAN!" The man with black hair suddenly said, traces of disbelief visible on his face.
'Huh?'
'Aren't they humans?'
"What is a human doing out here?" another man, this one with yellow hair exclaimed, his body seemingly trembling from excitement.
"A human has not been seen in years now."
"HAHAHAHA!" the last man with long brown hair tied into a bun suddenly laughed.
"Who would have thought this royal brat would lead us to such a treasure."
The three grinned at him with greedy smiles, their eyes filled with malicious intentions.
Joe suddenly turned around, with one hand still holding onto Arlo's back, and the other pointed at the three men.
"You are still laughing? How long can you keep that up?"
"Huh?" the three men wore puzzled expressions.
"Hmph." Joe harrumphed with a displeased expression.
Using his raised hand, he wiped the majority of tears and snot off his face, before he swiped his hand in their direction, raining a murky liquid formed from the combination of tears and snot on their faces.
Done with that, he smacked that same hand on Arlos' chest before he shouted:
"THIS BROTHER HERE WILL BEAT YOU. SCRAM OUT OF HERE BEFORE I RELEASE HIM BECAUSE ONCE I DO, I CAN'T GUARANTEE YOU WILL KEEP YOUR PATHETIC LITTLE LIVES!"
*Haa haa,* he panted hard from shouting for too long.
Meanwhile...
Arlos' body trembled greatly.
'This bastard wiped his shit on me.'
However, Joe misunderstood his reaction as he turned to Arlo and flashed him a beautiful smile (although it didn't really look like one) as he squeezed out the words:
"Don't worry. I will set you free soon. By then you can kill them as you like."