This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 224

Setting Up Camp

Aman grabbed Ellie’s small frame and pulled her behind him, openly displaying his displeasure. For other matters, he might take time to think them over. However, when it came to Ellie, Aman felt his temper flare. It wasn’t just because his brother had ordered him to take care of his love, but because Ellie, in Aman’s eyes, was his only friend that he needed to protect.

The Setter family had never involved themselves with other power bases. They relied solely on their own strength to gather resources, unlike the royals who, just talked the talk but couldn’t walk the walk, pretended to be powerful but secretly groveled to the big noble families.

Thus, regardless of whether it was the prince or even the Emperor himself, the Setter family wouldn’t let their future lady get involved in such matters.

"Of course, given Your Highness’s status, cherishing what you want isn’t difficult. However...I hope that what you want isn’t within our Setter family. Because compared to us...your way of cherishing things is nothing,"

Aman warned. He sensed something off in the way the prince looked at Ellie. Was he interested in someone important to the Setter family!? If he dared to think so, the Setter family wouldn’t show any mercy.

The prince narrowed his eyes, his smile fading. He was not pleased with Aman using the Setter family’s status to threaten him. Aman was just an ordinary person, not particularly skilled. This was why he despised noble families!

Vida, watching from the sidelines, felt deeply uneasy. The prince’s words and actions didn’t seem like he wanted to get close to Ellie just for connections with the Setter family. His actions even indicated he was willing to clash with the Setter family. But...what was his true motive for approaching Ellie...?

Vida’s eyes flickered. She felt like she couldn’t believe in an unsettling thought that crossed her mind. She quickly dismissed it, knowing Ellie would never see the prince in that way. Regardless of the prince’s intentions, her engagement with him wouldn’t be shaken.

Yes! Vida only wanted to remain engaged to Prince Jason, to stand by his side in the future. She didn’t need to be his one true love. Given the prince’s status, he would have many consorts to strengthen his power.

What mattered now was that the Jarlon family stood by the prince in all situations, even if he already chose to declare war against the Setter family...

“Second Young Lord Aman, it seems you’ve forgotten that the Setter family once relied on the palace. Wasn’t it the palace that provided what your family needed to save an important member of your family? It’s strange that you claim to cherish people better,” Vida interjected. Aman narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. This duchess seemed to be so head over heel with the prince that she didn’t see the gravity of the situation. Was it really the Jarlon family’s place to interfere?

Of course, Prince Jason was also displeased. He glanced directly at Vida.

“Second Young Lord Aman and I are discussing our mission plans. I don’t think this concerns you.” Hearing this, Vida felt as if she’d been slapped again. His words were clearly telling her that she was meddling.

“Your High—”

“Enough, Aria. Your Highness, I apologize for the intrusion. However, I have already given what I intended to. With that, I’ll take my leave.” Vida didn’t want Aria to argue with the prince any further. She glanced at the item in Ellie’s hand and then departed. At least she had managed to give her gift. She just hoped the prince would return safely.

As the future queen, she didn’t need to explain her actions to everyone. Even if her fiancé didn’t understand, it was her duty to support him in achieving his goals. The Jarlon family existed for this purpose. Her power and that of her family were meant to support him, with no other intentions.

Silence settled over the group. Those in the Stratagem Branch felt particularly uneasy. They hadn’t even started the mission, yet the key students were already quarreling. This made them hesitant to speak.

“Alright, it’s time. I think we should set up our base in the Green Forest first. Otherwise, it will be dangerous later.”

“And...will the second young lord of the Setter family cooperate with me? Or will you harbor your displeasure and unleash it on everyone else?” Prince Jason was the first to break the silence with a smile.

He looked around to show how much he cared about the group. Aman was also worried about Ellie. He had promised his brother to take good care of her. Now, before they even started, she was already facing irritating stares.

It was no wonder his brother had insisted on building a private shelter for Ellie, with guards to prevent anyone from bothering her. It seemed his brother had already been wary of Prince Jason.

Those in the Stratagem Branch was very obedient; once the prince said they should hurry, they promptly prepared to leave. However, the direct students handpicked by Ellie remained calm, waiting for their group to move first before following suit.

Aman wanted to set up their camp away from the prince’s camp. However, the safety of many people necessitated his cooperation with the other side. Prince Jason had only Ryker with him, while Aman’s side had more fighters. Leaving them to fend for themselves might result in significant casualties.

The campsite was chosen by the prince himself. He knew more about this area than anyone else because he was a member of the royal family and had some hunting experience here.

The forest he selected was dense, with few small plants due to it being a habitat for large animals. This contrasted with the Green Forest adjacent to the Hunter’s Association city, where both small and large animals lived together. It wasn’t surprising that the royal resources were less diverse, often necessitating missions for the association’s assistance.

The area chosen by the prince was where royal soldiers previously held hunting events. Thus, the land was cleared and leveled annually. Any small trees that sprang up were easily dealt with, allowing for quick establishment of the camp’s fence.

Aman, Koross, the prince, Ryker, and Wint were all strong men. There were also many helpers from the Stratagem Branch. These individuals were good at detailed work, resulting in a more refined camp setup, not just doing it casually. Soon, they had a small camp with tents, a cooking area, and spaces for preparing materials and other needs.

Ellie’s tent was placed in the middle, between Aman’s, Koross’s, and Zoey’s tents, far from the prince’s and Ryker’s tents. Aman allowed them to choose their tent positions first to find a suitable spot for their group. Of course, Prince Jason knew Aman didn’t want Ellie near him, but he remained calm to avoid alarming the little rabbit.

The prince believed that during this war, he would eventually get close to Ellie one day and uncover secrets about her brother. He had nothing to lose. Even if he learned nothing, he was still on a mission for the kingdom. Even if he didn’t plan to get close to Ellie, it didn’t mean he could avoid the missions to help the kingdom.

Ellie, on the other hand, wasn’t concerned with anyone else. She was focused on finding escape routes in the camp. With the spore’s help, she was confident she could leave the camp, which was designed to prevent external threats, without much trouble. She planned to take on missions as Luke and become a renowned figure. Once the ordeal was over, Luke appearing alongside Ellie would solidify that they were different people.

As for what the misguided prince thought about her relationship with Luke, that was his problem to figure out...

Ellie continued her usual routine of walking around the camp to quicken the speed of spreading the spores. While most people rested after the exhausting task of setting up camp, only a few were still walking around, with Ellie being one of them.

She pretended to be inspecting the camp, but in reality, she was walking around to disperse spores. This was a royal city; not just anyone could enter. Although the forests in the 1st floor might look similar, the nature of the forests was different, especially the vast Green Forest. Ellie had never spread spores here before.

For safety and to monitor movements, she had become accustomed to using spores as her eyes. In this case, if any beasts strayed into the camp, she could warn them before they got too close.

"That’s it! Dig a little deeper. We need to hide it well, or it will be easily spotted."

"Understood, my lady." As Ellie spread her spores around, she heard a whispered conversation coming from the forest area, just outside the camp’s fence.

If it weren’t for her spores spreading into the forest, she wouldn’t have heard the voices. Ellie was slightly surprised; she directed more spores towards that spot and saw two people working hard.

It was “Nadia” and another student who seemed to be from her class but was the secondary student of the Stratagem Branch, so Ellie didn’t remember much about her.

The other person was digging while Nadia carefully searched for the right spot to place something in her hands. Ellie moved her spores closer and finally saw what made her smile.

It was a stratagem that acts like a trap, similar to the ones she had bought before. However, Ellie had chosen cheaper traps for her village, where the wild animals weren’t strong enough to warrant stratagems. But this time was different...here was the Green Forest, it wasn’t surprising to see people using traps that were a kind of stratagem.

This stratagem was designed to lure and capture large animals effectively. Once caught, they couldn’t escape. However, it wasn’t a popular method due to its high cost and complicated setup. If one wasn’t a stratagem creator who knew the placement well, it would be wasted when used.

Additionally, they could be stolen at any time. Their size was also a burden. For most hunters, their visits to the tower weren’t for leisure. Some had to walk from the entrance to other forest zones all day. So, how could they keep returning to check on the stratagems? It wasn’t just about the beasts falling into them, but these stratagems were like the traps; if they went missing, it would be a significant loss.

“Well done. Alright. Now step back. This stratagem will kill any large animals that come within 2 meters! This will make our camp much safer.”

“Yes, my lady. My stratagem might not be as effective as yours, but within a 1-meter radius, it will certainly trap any wild beast. Placing our stratagems close together means the area within 3 meters behind us is secure,” the secondary student from Stratagem Creation Branch clapped happily. Nadia also felt more confident.

For stratagem creators, they had their methods for using stratagems. However, if they had to follow other groups, it would be worse.

Those people, unlike Second Young Lord Aman and Prince Jason, preferred hunting by moving around. Actually, it was a reasonable thing to do, because setting up a camp meant bearing the risk of attracting many beasts, and it also required manpower to guard the camp. If they returned to find the camp destroyed, it would be a waste of time and resources.

Even during class, their professors emphasized quick movement. In the tower, constant movement prevented enemies from finding them. Slow movers would be seen as easy targets, and all students knew this rule. They tried not to stay in one place. If they ever wanted to stay in the Green Forest at night, they would rest in high places to avoid attacks.

However, Aman had declared that he would establish a permanent camp until the war ended. This decision...made many students anxious. Yet, it was also an opportunity for students practicing stratagem creation.

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