Chapter 50 Returning Home "It's still this plague... it was released by the Vatican..."

Lucas walked over from the side.

“My Lady Witch, Uncle Benson and I would like to go back to the camp first.” Although so much time had passed, Lucas still couldn’t shake the habit of addressing her. “I’ve been gone for quite a while, and I’m afraid they’ll worry.”

He sneaked out, leaving only a letter for his mother. Now so much time has passed, and yesterday there was another sudden surge of monsters; I wonder how worried his mother must be.

Catherine didn't try to stop her, as it was only natural.

After Lucas finished speaking, he and Benson set off without stopping. However, in the first few steps, he couldn't help but look back every few steps, appearing very reluctant to leave.

The Devil's Forest was so vast and so dangerous. If it weren't for what happened with Uncle Benson, he would never have come here alone. After returning this time, he would most likely never be able to see the "Witch" again.

As the sun began to set, the witch finally returned just as the entire day was drawing to a close.

Catherine glanced around and, unsurprisingly, didn't see Xavier. She guessed he was still fast asleep.

The witch pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere, wiped her hands, and then tossed it back into the air. An invisible pocket immediately opened wide and swallowed the handkerchief.

"Everything's taken care of~ Little girl, how are you going to thank me?"

Meanwhile, on the other side of Devil's Forest

After constantly correcting their direction and route, Benson and Lucas finally found their new camp location by relying on some inconspicuous markers that occasionally appeared. The humans were located at the very bottom of the Devil's Forest, and for safety reasons, they would change locations from time to time, but at the same time, they would leave public waypoints so that their companions, who did not know when they would return, could find them again.

But as soon as he entered the camp area, Benson keenly sensed that something was wrong.

It's too quiet...

The entire camp was too quiet.

He scanned his surroundings warily, while extending a hand to block Lucas from falling into any traps.

However, the Devil's Forest is densely vegetated, and even the most careful person will inevitably step on a few fallen leaves. The sound of leaves cracking alerted everyone in the camp, and the camp instantly fell silent.

Having gone hunting in Devil's Forest so many times, Benson and Lucas had long since developed a sense of danger.

They keenly sensed that something was amiss in the atmosphere and instantly became more vigilant.

Hidden from view, behind the dense vegetation in front of the camp, several people were already standing in close formation. Each of them gripped a weapon tightly, waiting for Benson and his companion to approach and catch them off guard.

The air was so tense and still that it seemed as if water could freeze from it.

"Lucas!" A cry piercing through the air suddenly erupted, halting the imminent battle.

Lucas watched as his mother ran from behind the trees and hugged him tightly. Her embrace was so tight that Lucas could hardly breathe. But when he saw the tears welling up in his mother's eyes, he instantly lost the strength to push her away.

Mrs. Karen sobbed, reminiscing about how much she missed Lucas since he left: "Where have you been all these days! You haven't come back, do you know how worried I was..."

Mrs. Karen held her son and cried for a long time before finally letting him go. She looked Lucas up and down, making sure every part of his body was the same as before she left, and that he hadn't been injured.

Lucas obediently accepted Mrs. Karen's "inspection" while keeping his eyes on the people slowly emerging from behind the vegetation behind his mother.

There were many more people in the camp than when they left.

Noticing Lucas's scrutinizing gaze, Mrs. Karen, using her sleeve to cover herself, tugged at his hand.

"You must be very tired after being out here for so long. Let me take you to your tent so you can get some rest."

Lucas realized that his mother had something to say to him, so he quietly followed her away.

They had only walked a short distance when Lucas asked in a low voice, "Mother, where did all these people come from?"

Speaking of this, Mrs. Karen sighed, her voice lowering: "They are people from small towns near our old town. The plague outside... has worsened again..."

Through his mother's narration, Lucas gradually learned what had happened after they left. Because there weren't many people left in the camp, nearly half of the hunting party had to go out each day, while the rest carefully gathered together to set traps at the various entrances to deter wild beasts. The people from the nearby towns were brought back by the hunting party a week after Lucas left.

They encountered a herd of wild boars and were chased and bitten until only this many people remained, and the rest were on the verge of death.

"They entered the Devil's Forest with their families, almost half the town's population. But when we found them, only a few dozen remained. It was a rare treat to encounter someone like us, so we immediately rushed forward and worked together to rescue them from the jaws of the wild boars."

Lady Karen clenched her fist and pounded her palm. Her next words sounded somewhat muffled: "Recently, there seems to be some...rumors circulating outside, I don't know where they came from, but they're becoming more and more widely believed. They seem to suspect the plague and the Vatican..."

Mrs. Karen didn't explain it clearly, but Lucas still understood.

The Demon Forest appears to be in complete chaos. People are beginning to suspect the Vatican, feeling that the plague may very well be orchestrated by them.

Thinking back to when they were in the remote town, Allen helplessly described the scene after the plague broke out in the town, which had almost become a ghost town. The words his mother was still saying, somewhat hesitant and unwilling to believe, gradually became unreal.

Lucas finally couldn't help but growl out.

"But the Vatican has not taken any action!"

Lucas glanced cautiously out of the tent window to make sure no one had overheard their conversation before continuing, "Mother! Whether the Vatican allows it to run rampant or engages in factional infighting, the end result is that they let the plague rise and spread without taking any action."

"We are suffering terribly, our friends and family are dying in the plague, turning into monsters that are neither human nor ghost! And what about the Vatican? What are they doing? When I went to rescue Uncle Benson, I went deep inside the Vatican, and it was peaceful and prosperous, completely unaffected by the suffering outside. I even, I even..."

Mrs. Karen's lips trembled: "You even what?"

"A thought even crossed my mind—did the Papacy really not know? Or was it this plague...?"

"They were released by the Vatican in the first place?"

"Shut up!" Mrs. Karen interrupted Lucas in a panic, lowering her voice as if she were seeing her son for the first time. "How dare you say such things?!"

"But clearly, I'm not the only one who thinks this way, am I?"

Mrs. Karen was speechless.

Lucas was telling the truth, leaving her speechless.

Mrs. Karen remained silent for a while before abruptly changing the subject: "Where have you been staying these past few days? You've been out there for over a month, just to rescue Benson?"

Lucas clenched his fist, and said with a somewhat uncertain tone, "I'm learning from the Witch..."

Mrs. Karen was stunned by such great news, and even somewhat incredulous: "What! Is it really the Witch?"

Lucas nodded.

He told his mother that, apart from the week or so he spent rescuing Uncle Benson, he had spent the rest of his time with the witch, learning about potions from her—in reality, most of the time he was being ordered around to do chores and being pranked by the witch. But Lucas, of course, wouldn't tell her these things.

If I said that out loud, I'd lose so much face!

Mrs. Karen was overjoyed as she listened. She gripped her son's hand, her face full of excitement: "Good, good! You should learn from the witch. Since you're not seriously injured this time, let's set off back as soon as possible."

Lucas: ?

Lucas: "...Huh? Why would I go back?"

"You brat..." Mrs. Karen slapped him hard across the back of the head. "Of course you should go back and continue learning from the Witch! What a great opportunity! Do you really want to give up on learning like this?"

Lucas, his eyes squinting from the beating, kept begging for mercy: "I'll learn, I'll learn! I'll definitely go back and learn!"

God knows that when he came back, he was thinking that he might never have the chance to go back again?

Lucas was lost in thought and didn't notice that Mrs. Karen's expression had become somewhat hesitant.

She hesitated, glancing at the floor and then at her son's expression. After a long while, she finally gritted her teeth and tentatively asked, "Um... since you're so familiar with the Witch, could you ask her... if she could help us?"

Help us, so that we may no longer suffer from the plague.