Chapter Nineteenth: The Lost Forest

  A week's time passed quickly, and I and Freya enjoyed the pleasure of fish and water in these seven days. At the same time, the iron cage ordered by Liveman was also completed. Looking at the thick iron fence as big as a thigh, I thought that even with the terrifying strength of the violent ape, it would be impossible to shake it.

  In terms of manpower, after paying a fee of 10 gold coins at the mercenary guild's office in Hyde City, we left a message for the Gale Mercenary Group. Their efficiency is indeed fast enough, and it only took a short day to arrive here. The people in the group were very happy to see us again, especially Koro's gaze at me made me know that a new wave of temptation would unfold.

  When everything was ready, our party finally set off again towards Morsang with a large convoy.

  "Look at this team, it's really weird"

  "It's just that, with such a thick iron cage, what are they trying to get back?"

  "You don't get it, they must be going to buy slaves."

  "You think I've never seen this before? But do slaves really need such a big iron cage? Usually they're just put in wooden cages"

  "Are we going to buy a Berserker's slave? They would certainly make use of that cage."

  "Pfft, how could a Berserker possibly be caught and enslaved? There are only dead Berserkers, no captured Berserkers! Don't insult my idol!"

  ……

  Along the way, people kept talking about our team. Also, ordinary merchant teams were already familiar with them, but a team with many iron cages was rarely seen, and except for slave traders, probably no one would bring cages on the road.

  Under the curious gaze of the crowd, we drove out of the gates of Titis Fortress and headed into the Labyrinth Forest. Cilina and I had already changed our clothes, although those who knew me were very strange about my change, but they didn't ask anything because they had already considered me a trustworthy partner.

  On the way, perhaps under Koro's instigation, Jill and Pajie both quarreled with me to compare martial arts. Pajie was easy to talk to, I casually threw the Moon Cutter to his feet, and the heavy landing sound instantly made his face pale. To know that the big knife that had smashed a pit on the ground was only a few centimeters away from his feet. He struggled to pick up the Moon Cutter, but after dancing for a few times, his hands were already sore and weak, and he could only reluctantly admit my superior strength.

  As for Jill, it's even more unnecessary to mention, his archery skills are accurate, but under my five consecutive pearl arrow technique, he is instantly overshadowed. Moreover, I have now switched to an iron-framed bow, the original bow could shoot 150 meters, and with my great strength, it has increased to 200 meters. Now that I've switched to an iron-framed bow that can shoot 300 meters, coupled with my power, even if the opponent is 400 meters away, I can still pierce him with one arrow.

  Gil and Pajie, who had been defeated miserably, pestered me to teach them how to get stronger. Having no other choice, I gave them some pointers. The two of them were quite determined, Gil learned the Triple Arrow Technique through persistent effort, while Pajie became my knife husband, carrying the heavy Moon Slasher for me every day, and has gained some strength over these days.

  All the way, we just made our way forward like this, and it wasn't boring at all. Moreover, Freya, who was brought by Rifman to the convoy, often used chatting with Celine as an excuse to run into our carriage, and then let Celine, who had already known about it, cry out loud together with her after being done by me. Fortunately, this car is specially customized by me, with excellent sound insulation effect, otherwise their screaming voices would have spread throughout the entire convoy.

  "Halt! You are to be inspected!" The advancing convoy was suddenly intercepted by a group of cavalrymen, and the leader of them spoke to Koro who stepped forward to inquire.

  This is the third time that we've been stopped by the Mosan cavalry. Next, they began to inspect everyone in the vehicle, not letting a single person off. At this moment, I couldn't help but admire the fake hair and color-changing contact lenses that Rifelman had obtained. I discovered that they were mainly searching for people with black hair, while others were just given a glance before being let go. As for me, with my blonde hair and blue eyes, I didn't attract even a bit of attention from them.

  It's being checked so strictly now, it can be seen that Alstom is determined to turn Mosan upside down. If I and Celine hadn't changed our clothes, we would have been exposed for sure under such a strict inspection.

  Because I was worried that there would be wanted posters of me in places where people gather along the way, and if someone from the caravan leaked the secret, things wouldn't be good, so these days we've been trying to avoid some tribes that we used to pass through often.

  As time passed, we gradually penetrated deeper into the interior of Mosan, and during this period, the number of times that Mosan cavalry came to patrol became fewer and fewer. It seemed that Alsto's attention was mainly focused on the border areas, and as for the interior, after a large-scale carpet search by cavalry had not found anything, they gradually relaxed their inspections.

  After walking for a few more days, we were a team of cavalry who had not encountered each other before. Everyone's mood also began to relax, and the tense atmosphere that was repeatedly checked by the cavalry earlier gradually eased up.

  After traveling for more than a month, we finally arrived at the Lost Forest. After crossing a slope, the vast and endless sea of tall trees suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes, even covering the horizon with their branches and leaves. I suddenly felt a sense of returning home, unaware that it had been several months since I left, and not knowing if everything was okay in the village.

  And my companions beside me were quite uneasy about this forest full of terrifying legends, after all, it's one thing to say that you're going into the Lost Forest, but when the time really comes to enter, people can't help but feel a little panicked. The terrifying legend of the Lost Forest for thousands of years was like a huge stone weighing on everyone's heart.

  We set up camp outside the forest and started cleaning up the tools we needed for hunting. After all, we were about to face some legendary monsters, and no one wanted to die here, so it was always good to be over-prepared.

  For this action, Lievman had prepared a lot of things, such as the kind that can be applied to arrows and is said to be able to knock down an elephant, as well as thick ropes for giants, and some mechanisms made for capturing large animals. It seems he spent a lot on these things too.

  After a day of rest, we entered the Lost Woods at dawn on the second day.

  The dazzling sunlight was suddenly blocked by the dense leaves on top, and although it was broad daylight, it was as dark as night here. Walking on the ground full of plants, there was no sign of any road at all, and if you got lost, you would completely lose your direction.

  The crowd stepped forward on the unknown plants under their feet, and the lush grass leaves made a rustling sound under our trampling. Everyone's heart also became increasingly tense as the environment gradually darkened. Occasionally, a few animal cries could make them vigilant for half a day, fearing that some monsters would suddenly rush out from the side.

  Alyna stuck to me tightly as soon as we entered the forest, her two small hands grasping my arm tightly. I kept comforting her and telling her not to worry, but it seemed like there was no way to alleviate her tension. Women were just too timid after all. Meanwhile, Liefman and Freya squeezed themselves in among a group of mercenaries, determined to be protected throughout the entire journey.

  Finally, I couldn't bear it anymore. If they continued like this, they would collapse before encountering any danger. I loudly said to them: "Everyone, what are you afraid of now? We've just arrived at the outskirts of the Labyrinth Forest, where there aren't many dangerous animals. If we encounter any, I'll remind you all, so if you need to be tense, wait until I say it's dangerous before tensing up. For now, everyone must stick closely together in the group. If anything happens, be sure to notify me, and absolutely do not wander off alone, got it?"

  My words were quite effective, and it was only then that everyone remembered that there was a nightwalker living in our group. I suppose it was because of my disguise that I looked just like an outsider, and no one had thought of it before. But if other nightwalkers couldn't recognize me either, it would be troublesome. Anyway, after entering the Labyrinth Forest, we wouldn't have to worry about the Mosan soldiers' harassment anymore. I took off my wig and crystal chip.

  The team continued to move forward, and along the way, they shot a few careless wild boars, adding several dishes to their meals. Apart from this, they didn't encounter any other animals, which made Jill, who had been tense all along, somewhat disappointed. He had always wanted to hunt down a ferocious beast in the forest as a souvenir.

  After marching for a day, we found a relatively spacious place to set up camp. Several mercenaries lit bonfires, and the rest of us laid traps and warning lines around the perimeter under my command. If anything intruded, the alarm bells inside the camp would alert us.

  After the setup was complete, we gathered around the campfire and shared a big pork dinner. Unexpectedly, Koro was also a cooking master, the arrow pig on the fire was roasted to perfection by him, the golden brown skin outside was tender meat, and after adding butter and seasoning, even I, who was used to eating roast meat, was conquered by the deliciousness of his work.

  After dinner, everyone sat by the bonfire and started chatting. The surrounding forest, which had already been completely dark, occasionally transmitted a few animal calls. Only in places with many people and bright lights could they slightly reduce their fear of darkness.

  Shh, my ears picked up a faint rustling sound of clothes brushing against leaves coming from a tree in the distance. Has it arrived? I reminded Serina to be careful and walked towards that tree just now.

  I looked up at the tree, and in the darkness of the forest, it was as if it were daytime to me. I immediately saw the figure hiding in the thicket - a black cloak, an arched bow on his back, black hair and eyes, unmistakably a nightwalker. As my gaze moved upwards, I saw his face, and he too was staring at me.

  "Only special?"

  "Dick?"

  "Hahaha" He jumped down from the tree and gave me a big hug, I really didn't expect to run into someone I knew so soon, let alone my childhood friend Dick.

  He punched me hard in the chest one morning: "You little brat, you quietly ran away by yourself, it's really too unrighteous, didn't even call me to go together. Made me and others worry about you for a long time."

  "Haha, I didn't want to see you guys sad either, so I quietly left by myself. Besides, if I called out to you, would you have let Miz go?" I teased him.

  "By the way, who are those people and why are you with them?" After chatting with me for a while, he asked about our purpose in coming here.

  "This time, I've brought a business opportunity for our Ahart village. These people are some mercenaries I know, they're here to capture some ferocious beasts and take them back, in return, the leader of this troop hopes to get our help, he'll bring a large amount of supplies to our village as a reward."

  "What? Those ferocious beasts? They must be mad, I think they will soon become the food of those ferocious beasts. You also know the danger of those monsters, how can you still mix with them?" Dick heard that we wanted to go hunting for those ferocious beasts and thought we were all mad.

  "Don't worry, I've brought them here with confidence, you can go inform the village chief and the elders."

  "Alright, you wait here, I'll bring back the elder's decision," Dick said and disappeared into the jungle again.

  Back at the camp, I told them that the villagers already knew of our arrival, and everyone started to get anxious. If the village chief and elders didn't agree with our proposal, then we really couldn't stay in the Lost Forest anymore. The most worried was still Lieveman, he didn't sleep all night, after all, if this action failed halfway, his loss would be severe.