Eternal Freedom's Ascension

Chapter 165: Nectar Garden

The next day, Class-E gathered once again, ready to discuss their strategy for the day.

Hazel stood with her brows furrowed. Two things were on her mind at the moment. The confrontation between the Class-B students and Liam’s team yesterday left her perplexed.

Why was Class-B trying to sabotage other classes?

However, this was now a matter of the past. Now, there was another issue at hand.

"Uhm, Hazel. A lot of people want to visit the Nectar Garden. Is it possible we could add it to our plans for today?"

Ysabella came over and asked with a strained smile. She was obviously suspicious of the so-called Nectar Garden, but couldn’t reject her friends’ requests to visit the place.

Hence, she decided to ask Hazel about her opinion. Hazel had also caught whispers of this discussion going around since yesterday.

’This sounds very suspicious. But I can’t tell if it’s credible or not without confirming.’

She shook her head internally.

’Even if it’s indeed true, it would only be a distraction to our current target. What kind of bullshit idea is this?’

Scowling, she prepared to turn down Ysabella.

However, Ariel stopped her from doing that. He observed the expressions of his classmates, then said in a low voice.

"Just agree. If you don’t allow them to go now, they’ll sneak away later. Even Liam wouldn’t be able to control them."

Hazel was conflicted. She wanted to remain adamant and avoid the Nectar Garden. However, she also considered Ariel’s words.

In the end, she sighed. "Fine. Tell them we’re all heading there together. No separate teams, and they better listen to me before doing anything."

Ysabella was surprised, having expected Hazel to refuse. She took a glance at Ariel, who stood behind the black-haired girl.

’It must have been him, right? Her little advisor dog...’

Ariel raised his head to look at her, causing her to avoid his gaze bashfully.

"Alright, I’ll let them know."

She smiled and nodded, returning to her friends with light steps. Her heart, though, was dark and heavy.

’Damn you, Hazel!’

Her little plan to destroy Hazel’s leadership over the class had been nullified, and she could only return without achieving anything.

’Well, hopefully, this Nectar Garden becomes a deadly location.’

In less than half an hour, the entire Class-E departed, heading towards the supposed location of the Nectar Garden.

"Where is Kaiser?" Hazel asked, adjusting the cuffs of her sleeves.

Ariel walked beside her, his arms folded behind him.

"He left the camp very early. That’s all I can say."

Hazel fell silent, calculating the possibility of Kaiser also coming to the Nectar Garden.

’I can’t say. He’s always unpredictable.’

"We’re here." Liam’s voice quieted the murmuring, and everyone began surveying their surroundings.

......

In the watchtower, the instructors began noticing the strange movements of the students and the direction they were heading to.

"What? Isn’t this a program set for their third semester as first-years? Why are they heading there prematurely?"

Instructor Natalie exclaimed, her pink eyes dark with worry.

Instructor Rina also frowned. "Someone from the upper classes must have leaked information to one of the classes. Then..."

"... it spread to the other classes." Instructor Steve completed, his expression solemn.

The Class-C instructor folded his arms and asked, "Do we stop them? Or do we let them be?"

Everyone turned to Instructor Rutherford. He was the instructor with the highest authority among them all.

The man stared at the projector calmly, his gaze locked onto the location of the Nectar Garden.

"No need to interfere now. They have already chosen this for themselves. Let them realize the consequences too."

Instructor Steve nodded in agreement. "We can always step in whenever things get too dangerous."

Although Instructor Rina and Instructor Natalie were worried about their students, they also agreed to this.

"Not bad, let’s see how these gremlins fare. We’ve been training them harshly for the past three weeks."

Instructor Myke grinned, his thin eyes watching the screen with interest.

Meanwhile, Instructor Rina sighed. ’This is really going to be hectic.’

...

The entire first-year body finally arrived at the Nectar Garden. To most people’s surprise, it was true.

The place was large, almost half a hectare in size. The grass here was trimmed and neat, looking like a cultivated garden.

Beautiful trees lined the garden, bearing golden fruits dripping with honey.

Instantly, several people gulped at the sight. Still, no class stepped in immediately. Instead, they all glanced at each other with faint hostility.

Hazel’s expression darkened, sensing the greed from her classmates. She had only come here to take a look, and wasn’t really interested in the nectar present.

’Class-B’s core forces aren’t here. It’s so obvious. They must have leaked the information.’

she noted, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. This was something any other class could notice, and instantly tell that it was a decoy.

Yet, why was Adela standing before her class with a confident smile? Did she think others wouldn’t understand her plan?

Liam approached Hazel, his brows furrowed. "Class-B isn’t fully present."

Hazel was glad that he noticed too. She had almost sighed in relief when he continued.

"That means we can easily outclass them in combat and claim the most nectar fruits. This is actually a boon for us."

Hazel glared at him instantly, making him flinch.

"Are you blind? Can’t you see that she’s trying to stall everyone else here, while her other classmates reap the greatest benefits by killing more Nirad Creatures?"

Liam’s eyes widened in realization. "I... why didn’t I think of it that way...?"

Hazel shook her head and turned around. "We’re leaving."

Just as her classmates prepared to protest, Adela spoke up.

"Some of my classmates were injured by your classmate yesterday. You wouldn’t pretend you didn’t hear this too, no?"

Hazel paused, turning her head to look at the girl. In her brown eyes was a strong determination and faint hostility.

"That merely happened because your classmates were unreasonable. Don’t pin the blame on the wrong people."

She retorted, not bothering with the girl again. All she wanted was to return to the hunting grounds and stay out of whatever conflict was going to happen here.

Adela sensed her intentions and grinned. "Too late."

The next moment, loud buzzing sounds filled the air.