Chapter 122: Demon Hunter

In the silent forest, a fierce tiger and a lynx paced forward, about ten meters apart.

Of course, they weren’t real beasts.

They were Mirror Shadow’s Niao Xiaomi and the Witch.

“Roar—”

“Meow—”

The tiger was the Witch, and Niao Xiaomi was the slightly clumsy-looking Oil Paint Lynx.

The Witch was a bit anxious: “Roar— (Lynxes don’t sound this soft.)”

Niao Xiaomi: “Meow? (I don’t understand a word you’re saying!)”

The Witch growled in frustration, striking a tree: “Roar! (You look like a cat, but you’re not a real cat!)”

“Meow. (Well, I don’t know what you’re saying, but you’re right.)”

“…”

The Witch covered her face with a paw.

A mistake. Last night, they had only agreed on a few key body signals and mimicked the beasts’ movements, but had forgotten to simulate their sounds.

Damn it. This one had killed so many lynxes—couldn’t she learn to sound fierce like them?

Instead, she sounded like a house cat freshly escaped from a cage.

Whatever.

The Witch raised her paw and pointed forward, signaling to speed up.

Niao Xiaomi kept her hunting spirit active and made a tail-biting gesture to send a message: [Be careful, there are people ahead.]

The Witch nodded in acknowledgment.

The forest was vast, and logically they could have avoided them, but there were just too many on the other side.

The Witch decided to leap forward and take the initiative!

“Roar!!”—

A thunderous roar shook the woods, causing the soldiers to shudder. That majestic, mighty bellow nearly scared the timid ones into wetting themselves.

“Whoa, that’s one huge tiger!”

“We must have trespassed into its territory.”

“Be alert! That thing’s enormous; it might be a spirit-infused beast. Avoid provoking it unnecessarily to prevent needless losses!”

At the same time, elsewhere.

Seeing the Witch’s tactic work, Wu Xiaomi decided to imitate it.

She suddenly pounced.

“Meoww~~~”

“Pffft—”

The searching soldiers burst into laughter.

“What’s the matter? Hungry? Uncle’s got some Fish Snacks for you~”

Wu Xiaomi caught the Fish Snack thrown by one of them and, satisfied, continued through the crowd.

“Purr purr purr~~~ (This Fish Snack tastes amazing!)”

Watching the chubby pig-like creature purring like a cat, the Witch’s brow twitched.

Fine. As long as they got through.

The two continued onward.

The Witch wagged her tail, curling it into a crescent shape: “Roar (Be careful), it’s a net search formation, with several waves of troops ahead. Those who just passed were only probes.”

“Meow? (You want Fish Snacks too? I only have a bit of fish tail left… whoosh, catch.)”

“…”

The Witch glared at the Fish Snack tossed right in front of her, a vein throbbing on her forehead.

She stomped the Fish Snack into the mud with one paw.

“Meow meow meow??!!!” Wu Xiaomi wailed in grief, “Wuu— (If you’re not eating it, don’t waste it! That was the best Fish Snack I’ve ever had!)”

She was angry.

Pouting, Wu Xiaomi sensed more soldiers assembling ahead.

Wondered if this soldier might drop Fish Snacks too…

In theory, monsters of the same type should drop the same loot, right?

“Meow~” Wu Xiaomi jumped out, pitifully.

“Damn lynx, die!” Without a word, the soldier kicked.

“Mieuoou—!!”

Wu Xiaomi screamed, dodged, and fled into the forest.

Damn it, how could there be such cruel people? Cursed be your path to always be splattered with bird droppings every day!

“Roar. (Stay serious. The upcoming search parties will only get tougher.)”

“Phew— (Why are you yelling? I didn’t get any Fish Snacks either. If you want some, go get it yourself!)” Wu Xiaomi turned her head.

Silence.

To avoid suspicion, the two temporarily reduced their communication.

Soon, they reached the third wave of the search net.

These people were clearly more formidable. Their gazes were focused, seemingly activating some kind of detection ability, seeking out any abnormal behavior among forest creatures.

They were consciously on guard against Mirror Shadow.

Fortunately, both Wu Xiaomi and the Witch chose tree-climbing forms.

They climbed the trees, pretending to rest on branches.

With reduced movement, fewer flaws were exposed.

Moreover, the Witch’s threatening, ferocious tiger form discouraged anyone from lingering.

The third wave passed successfully.

They descended and continued forward.

While in the trees, Wu Xiaomi had already spotted the tall white trees in the distance.

White bark, purple leaves, towering above the rest—standing out like a crane among chickens.

According to the Witch, that was the Saint’s Sanctuary of the Forest Rangers’ Divine Shaman.

They were almost there.

No room for relaxation.

The fourth wave of searchers appeared to be a group of officers.

They were chatting idly.

“What exactly are we looking for? Is such a large-scale operation really necessary?”

“I’ve heard rumors, but don’t tell anyone.”

“Oh?”

“Shh— I heard we’re after a traitor and a Forest Ranger’s Divine Shaman Maiden.”

“The Divine Shaman Maiden was lost seventeen years ago, wasn’t she? Stolen by that Ah Fu character. It caused quite a stir back then—she was placed on the most deadly wanted list in history.”

“Have you heard the urban legend? Actually, the Divine Shaman Maiden never left. It’s all part of His Majesty’s grand plan.”

“What grand plan?”

“Actually, His Majesty already knows the Maiden’s whereabouts and has placed agents near her. The goal is to wait for her to mature and gain the Forest Ranger’s Divine Shaman Power, then force the Rangers into alliance with the Nai Empire…”

“Hiss… you mean… restart the war?”

“If we can win over the Forest Rangers and break their absolute neutrality, it won’t be just restarting the war.

Once the balance is broken, our iron cavalry will easily trample every inch of the Limelight Theocracy’s land!”

“But you mentioned a traitor…”

“That’s right. No matter how much His Majesty planned, he didn’t expect that person to betray him.

Such a serious crime of treason—once captured, she will face the harshest Punishment.”

“…”

Treason?

Punishment?

Witch?

Wu Xiaomi’s steps didn’t falter, her acting remained intact, but hearing these words unsettled her heart.

Since the Witch said she was the stolen Divine Shaman Maiden,

doesn’t that make her the traitor?

When she reached the Saint’s Sanctuary, would she be… punished?

No!

If she truly was the Divine Shaman, then upon arrival she should be able to seek protection from the Forest Rangers.

And the Witch, as her protector, should also be protected.

That means there was still hope. Things hadn’t yet reached an irreversible point.

As long as she wasn’t caught.

As long as she wasn’t caught!

The officers had walked away.

There was still time before the fifth wave of the search net.

Stay calm. Keep moving forward. Once at the Saint’s Sanctuary, all difficulties would be resolved.

“Ah—”

While running, a sudden branch stabbed up from the ground.

Wu Xiaomi hurriedly dodged but still fell from the tree.

The “tiger” saw this and immediately leapt forward, blocking in front of Wu Xiaomi.

“We meet again.”

All the surrounding bushes suddenly rippled with a watery illusion.

They transformed into soldiers clad in armor completely different from the previous searchers’.

Leading them was the Demon Hunter.