How To Survive In A Isekai World [On Break]

When they looked at the origin of the voice, they were surprised to find Claire with a confident yet anxious expression on her face.

Charlotte was shocked and immediately began to raise an objection:

"You can't go! This is too dangerous! How do you want to defend yourselves if something were to happen?!"

"Defend? There is no defending! What about Vincent and Panda? Do you think they will be able to defend themselves against those monsters?! In the worst case ... in the worst case there is nothing we can do. Yet they are still willing and so am I! No buts or ifs! I have decided to take this risk as well!"

"Then I will go with you!"

"No, you can't!", now Anastasia raised an objection, "If there are too many people, even the darkness won't help us anymore and they might notice the group before it even reached the edge!"

Charlotte seemed unwilling to step down but after continued pleading from Claire's side, she gave up arguing for now.

Sieg and the rest respected Claire's decision and didn't question it more than necessary. Time was precious so the group departed when they finished discussing every important detail for the hundredth time. But shortly before the departure, Vincent suddenly requested another half hour with Gorst alone. Strangely enough, he also wanted his clothes to wear on. Of course, the rest didn't budge at first, so he had to explain himself a little more. After a period of explanations, Jafar was the first to burst out laughing:

"Hahahaha, yes, yes, I approve of this, haha. I wish I could be there with you, haha!"

The rest of the group was impressed but also uncertain wether this would work at all. But Sieg added then:

"I also think that it's a good idea. We can't be too naive and think that there won't be any disturbances. At least, we have countermeasures this way, just in case."

Vincent was satisfied to have gained some recognition and told Sieg:

"Well done, newbie, at least you can see my brilliance!"

It wasn't hard getting Gorst to take off his clothes as they imagined it to be. Being outnumbered and threatened by an axe and wooden clubs seemed good enough reason to obey. And when he asked wether they wanted his u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r as well, some made puking expressions on their faces and strongly insisted on him keeping it. His almost n.a.k.e.d body and b.a.r.e sweaty skin were disgusting to look at. But the marks and scars on his body gave off a dangerous vibe ...

At the end of Vincent's time alone with Gorst, they heard Gorst curse and insult Vincent with uspeakable things and expressions they had never heard of. Some children just giggled others blushed lightly because of the high level of obscenity involved. They wondered what the content of their conversation was about, but Vincent just shrugged it off.

After torturing and interrogating Gorst some more, they received enough information to form up the strategy and possible tactics. Their strategy was to go unnoticed and sneak into the the camp without or the least amount of attention on them. They wanted to use the cover of the night and they also treated the white uniforms of Panda and Claire with mud to lower their visibility. Gorst had told them that the captives were held in the middle of the camp. The problem was that the camp didn't have a clear structure, because the bandits seemed to move around a lot from place to place. There was a hill nearby which the scouting party should use to get a better view. With the flames of the torches inside the camp and their estimated distance to it, it should barely be passable as a vantage point. The good news was that inside the camp stood one prominent big building which they could use a landmark to find their right position and location. The bad news was that the building also stood near the centre of the whole camp and belonged to .... Gorst's Boss! They had to be careful when near that place.

Sieg found something weird and had asked Gorst wether they had any defensive constructions but which he denied and claimed:

"No, the Boss heard Angel's whispers and lead us to this 'Calm Zone'. There aren't any dangers around this part of the Maze Forest in the short term and that's why he didn't put up any defenses and made building his personal house a priority!"

"Again so much rubbish!", Sieg rolled his eyes and sighed inwardly. But what he understood was that they didn't need to be alarmed against possible watch towers and fences. But the next thing Gorst spouted out made Sieg's guards go up again:

"But you have to be careful about my Boss's three-headed hellhound Tiberius! If you aren't paying attention you might end up ... end up ... as his snacks ...", at the end Gorst's expression looked like someone who had involuntarily remembered something gruesome and horrible.

Again, Sieg and the rest felt disturbed at this new piece of information and couldn't clearly seperate what was real and what was just faked ...

The camp was accessible from all sides, but Gorst told them that the east side was easier to get through, he knew the guards there and guaranteed that they were either completely drunk or not far away from achieving that condition.

These were valuable information but the authenticity was hard to prove. Panda went up to Gorst and talked with a casual tone while inspecting his fingernails:

"I have a small question for you, if our cover were to blow up and we were captured succesfully and your Boss found out about your 'failure', being imprisoned by us children ... I really wonder what he would have in store for you. Would he reward you? How would he reward? I wonder how great his rewards could be for a Boss who doesn't give a sh§% about his subordinate's lives ... more so for useless subordinates who were overwhelmed by us weak pitiful children ... hehehe", he laughed grimly at the end and looked into Gorst's eyes as if he was looking at a dead man's corpse.

Gorst felt shivers ran down his spine and his breathing quickened. He wasn't the least bit scared of Panda but what he told him was the absolute truth for Gorst! His Boss really didn't care about his subordinates and killed them when he was in a bad mood or didn't like their behavior in ridiculous ways. He could already feel the coldness of a blade c.a.r.e.s.sing his neck and he thought that his fate was already carved in stone. His face took the colour of chalk when he came to that point but at the right moment, Panda patted his shoulder and whispered into his ears:

"But that is only if he were to catch you!", when Gorst looked quizzically towards Panda, he continued saying:

"The only way for you to stay alive is by helping us achieve our goals! I don't think you will be able to survive on your own without your clothes and weapons, so cooperate with us and get us out of this 'Maze Forest' and your chances of survival may increase from absolute zero to a couple percent more. Of course if you don't want to cooperate, we can also promise to release you after our mission is over. You can crawl back to your Boss, beg him for forgiveness and see what happens then, hehe. So, what is your choice? Be quick or we will withdraw our offer!"

Gorst felt like in front him didn't stand a child but a devil incarnation from the depths of hell. He hated the thought of becoming these children's servant and doing their bidding as he was told to but ... they both knew he had no other choice if he still held his life dear! What irony! He wanted to use them and become rich overnight! Now he had to follow their orders and work to keep himself alive! Gorst wasn't stupid and when he made decisions with absolute considerations, he followed them through! He swallowed down his stubbornness and pride and quickly changed his attitude. He licked his lips and put on his most subservient smile he could do and begged Panda:

"Please no! Master, please don't do this to me! Don't abandon this pitiful servant! You are absolutely right! I am nothing without your Lord's graces! I can't survive in these woods without your benevolence and generosity! Please accept this Gorst! Please accept me!"

He tried it very hard with his act and attempted even harder to make some tears come out of the corners of his eyes ... with success!

Panda was stunned! Everyone else who had followed their conversation was stunned! This man could turn his attitude and behavior around 180° degrees in a matter of seconds!

"A master actor!", exclaimed Vincent under his breath.

Anastasia recovered and supported Panda:

"Talk less rubbish from now on and we can accept you! So is there anything we should be aware of about your Boss's camp, something importan to note ..."

"Erhh, you know Milady, my mind must have been clouded by unexplicable thoughts earlier. When I mentioned the guards patrolling the sides, I actually meant the west side hahaha. The west! That's the easiest place to get into the camp! My head is still clearly influences by my old Boss's evil thoughts! Thank God I found salvation in your grace! The people will definitly not hinder your progress and plans! I swear by ...".

"Ok, ok we got it! I hope that it's true this time around! No chances left for you!"

Nobody would have thought that Panda would pull out a stunt like that! They praised him for his ingenuity, and he explained:

"It wasn't much, you just have to understand how they tick. Know what they fear and how you can turn that fear into self-preservation. Once you find that out, the rest is experience..."

The last part sounded rather dubiuos but he didn't explain any further.

With the new and hopefully more reliable source of information, the group of children felt more assured in executing their plans.

While the scouts departed quickly after to their destination, Sieg and the rest tried to plan contingency plans and their further actions and measurements in certain scenarios. They had to be prepared and use their time wisely.

But unbeknownst to them a figure sneaked in the dark and disappeared into the woods.