My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 50: Manager and Strategy

A few moments later, inside the forest, "swooosh," Dennis dashed past one tree after another as the woods grew increasingly dense ahead of him.

"Ugh... this forest is seriously thick and dark... did I pick the wrong terrain?" Dennis asked in his heart as he kept pushing forward.

He opened his smartphone to check the map and see his current position. While he was looking at the screen,

[Watch out, Master. In front of you.]

Dennis looked ahead and saw a knife charged with energy already right in front of his face. "clank," he parried the blade with his iron gauntlet, then the knife fell to the ground and he came to an immediate stop. He instantly scanned his surroundings while crouching down to pick up the knife from the ground. After that, he stood back up and stayed on guard.

"Thanks, Sami," Dennis said in his head.

[It seems someone is controlling the knife from a distance, Master—the ability of the man named Hyunjin.]

"Is he near us?" Dennis asked in his head.

[No. Based on the energy, that knife just now acted as a trap and a sensor for him to know if anyone passed through the forest path. He is likely still at his fortress.]

"Hmm... so this knife is a scout and an alarm all at once," Dennis muttered while looking at the knife in his hand.

[And for killing, too, if the person passing by is caught off guard.]

"Alright, let’s go Sami, let’s keep moving," Dennis said.

[One moment, Master. Let me display a map with the positions of your friends and your enemies.]

"Oh... you can do that?" Dennis asked.

Sami didn’t answer. "vwoong," an interface opened in front of Dennis’s face. The entire map of the island appeared within it. Six red dots, signifying the enemies, were clustered around the southern tower and weren’t moving. Meanwhile, three yellow dots were moving through the rocky hilly field on the left. A single dot marking himself was stationary in the middle of the forest, and two dots sat atop the northern tower.

Dennis immediately thought hard while looking at the map. Then, he spotted bluish-black dots indicating the positions of the crawlers in the forest, and more bluish-black dots for the crawlers in the rocky hills.

"Hmm... Sami, if I lure the crawlers to their tower, do you think that would work?" Dennis asked.

[It is worth a try, Master. I will display the crawler data.]

Another interface appeared in front of Dennis’s face, displaying the data and photos of the crawlers in the forest.

*******************************************************

Crawler Name: Spider Chameleon

Rank: B

Abilities:

1. Blend with the environment.

2. Acid web.

3. Snaring tongue.

4. Fast movement and can crawl anywhere.

Weakness: None.

Description: Easily provoked; will never let go of its prey.

*******************************************************

"Wow... you can display statuses and even photos of crawlers?" Dennis asked.

[Of course I can, Master. I am your assistant.]

"Hmm... now let me think of a way to lure that monster to the enemy tower. I already know the crawler’s location," Dennis muttered in his head while thinking.

[That is an easy matter, Master. But please, look at the positions of your friends.]

Dennis watched the positions of Gary, Kimberly, and Daisy advancing through the rocky hills; his eyes widened when he saw the three of them approaching the crawler’s location.

"Hey, what should I do to warn them?" Dennis asked.

[Use the Placing skill. Since your wife is registered as part of your team, move her dot on the map and relocate her position.]

Dennis immediately used his manager placing skill. He moved Daisy away, and it looked like Gary and Kimberly followed right along after her as he shifted Daisy’s point on the map. When Daisy’s position moved clear of the crawler—which was actually a trap—and Gary and Kimberly were seen following her on the map, Dennis exhaled in relief.

[Your actions were correct, Master.]

"Hmm... can I move myself using Placing?" Dennis asked.

[Of course you can, Master.]

"Hmm... okay, I have an idea. I know how to bait the crawler. Let’s go Sami, let’s do it," Dennis said.

[Understood, Master.]

Dennis immediately bolted, but he wasn’t heading for the enemy tower; instead, he was moving toward a crawler located deep within the forest.

***

Meanwhile, in the rocky hills, "haah... haah," Daisy looked like she was hyperventilating, gripping the rocky hill beside her while clutching her chest. Her face was still filled with fear, pale and confusion, and she was sweating profusely. Gary and Kimberly stood beside her.

"Daisy, what was... that? Why did you suddenly start floating on your own as if something was pulling you?" Kimberly asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, what actually happened? Is this our enemy’s doing?" Gary asked, glancing ahead and gripping his sword, staying on guard.

"I don’t know... but I don’t think it’s our enemy’s doing," Daisy answered, out of breath.

"Hmm... alright, stay here for a second. I’ll try to scout ahead. We’ll just follow this path, so don’t go anywhere," Gary muttered, taking a few steps forward to observe the area in front of them.

Suddenly, "clang," an energy-charged knife flew toward them, and Kimberly parried it. Both of them immediately looked down.

"Enemy... be careful, Gary, Daisy, someone is throwing knives at us," Kimberly said, drawing her two carbine rifles.

"Hmm... yeah, you’re right, I see it too. I’ve calmed down now. Be careful," Daisy said, drawing her katana.

Gary immediately backed up. The three of them stood back-to-back, assessing their surroundings and staying on guard. The rocky hills looked like a stone forest; though not as thick as the actual forest nearby, the darkness made the atmosphere even more terrifying. "Grrrk," suddenly a pile of rocks crumbled near them, and all three turned toward the sound. But before they could process the situation, "eh," Daisy was suddenly floating again and flying forward. Daisy looked terrified. Meanwhile, Gary and Kimberly, seeing Daisy floating away, immediately followed her.

"Ow... what is this... could this be Dennis’s doing? Ugh... we can’t communicate... this is so difficult," Daisy said in her head.

"Just go with it and surrender. You’re floating because of our husband’s doing," Number Four said in Daisy’s head.

"Yes, that’s right. He’s moving us because our position was too close to a crawler," Number Three added.

"How do you guys know?" Daisy asked.

"Our husband’s assistant is speaking in our council room. She explained our husband’s plan, so you have to tell Gary and Kimberly, but don’t tell them it’s our husband’s doing. That was the message," Number Five answered.

"Yep, true, but our husband’s assistant is a girl... her name is Sami, makes me so jealous," Number Six added.

"I’m not saying anything, don’t worry. I know she’s just our husband’s assistant, so stop panicking and just follow the assistant’s advice because she’s carrying out our husband’s orders," Number Two said.

"Save it for after we win, we must ask our husband for explanation. Oh yeah, she also said that knife just now was sent by Hyunjin, one of the opposing team members. They’re all staying back at the base to stall for time," Number Seven replied.

"Oh, so that’s how it is. Alright... thanks, everyone," Daisy replied, her face no longer pale as she finally broke into a smile.

In the end, Daisy just let herself go, allowing herself to float and surrendering to Dennis’s control. She also turned back, gesturing for Gary and Kimberly to follow her toward the enemy fortress and away from the spot where the crawler was stalking them. Of course, Gary and Kimberly immediately ran after Daisy as she drifted along ahead of them.

***

Meanwhile, Dennis was still controlling Daisy using his placement skill and watching his wife’s position on the map. Once she looked far enough from the crawler’s location and was in the middle of a relatively safe stretch of the rocky hills—not too close to the enemy fortress—Dennis lifted his finger and exhaled.

"Did you explain everything to my wife?" Dennis asked.

[I did.]

"Wait, what’s wrong? Why do you sound annoyed?" Dennis asked, confused.

[The six wives inside her head are incredibly nosy. They interrogated me, asking what my relationship with you is and how I managed to enter their council room. It took a significant amount of time to explain everything. I’m exhausted.]

"Huh... council room?" Dennis asked, baffled.

[I’ll explain later, Master. There is something more important.]

"Ah, you’re right about that," Dennis replied.

Dennis turned and parted the bushes in front of him. He saw a spider web that looked like liquid before him, along with a massive crawler. It had the body of a chameleon but possessed eight incredibly long spider legs and eight eyes on its head. Its form was truly terrifying in the dark and nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.

Seeing the horrific monster in front of him, Dennis swallowed hard, knowing that if he made even one mistake, he would be finished. He took a breath and gathered his courage. Once he felt steady again,

"Ok, now let’s bait this thing. Get ready, Sami," Dennis said, steeling his nerves to face the massive crawler all on his own.

[Understood, Master.]