[Huff… huff… Meliya… Milin…]
Lian was fast asleep. Beside her, Iyue lay on an unfolded sleeping mat, staring up at the tent’s fabric ceiling.
She couldn’t sleep… because a thousand thoughts were churning in her mind.
She recalled everything that had happened in Jingye Village, and she also remembered what Captain General Alexis had told her about Milin’s whereabouts.
Apart from the overwhelming changes to the entire Sea of Trees and the village she once called home, everything seemed to be progressing smoothly.
They just needed to wait patiently to capture those two Demon Race fugitives, and they could also retrieve Milin.
The only real problem was likely the family. She had to return to that detestable place… because Milin was there, and perhaps the relic that could unlock Lian’s Magic Seal was also in the family’s hands.
‘It’s understandable that those two demons want to leave via the Grand Teleportation Array… but before Lian En communicated with Milin, she shouldn’t have known the demon fugitives were heading for the Sea of Trees… Why did she leave with Nefi?’
This was a key point that puzzled Iyue. Nefi could indeed help her slip out of the heavily guarded Seles City after the attack, but with Milin’s skills… she might very well have been able to do the same thing herself.
The letter she initially left said she was leaving to rescue the possibly kidnapped Lian En, capture the Demon King’s Daughter, and find Feiyin… It was unlikely she would act outside of these goals.
Yet she still went to the Sea of Trees with Nefi. So she must have known in advance that the demons were going there, or she deduced herself that they planned to leave via the teleportation array…
Or perhaps she intended to use the array to go to Nolan or the Demon Realm herself, to find Feiyin and the two fugitives.
There were many plausible motives… And since she refused to communicate with them, Iyue ultimately couldn’t be sure which guess was closer to her true purpose.
But ever since the conversation in the office at Honglian Palace, she had harbored a strange feeling.
Because everyone’s targets were coincidentally converging on the Sea of Trees… Not just those demons, but also the palace officials who had experienced the upheaval, and even herself, who had been gathering relics abroad for years, was drawn back to her long-separated hometown by that one letter—
‘…It’s almost as if we’re being manipulated by someone. This is all a bit too coincidental.’
‘Mmgh… Senia… Don’t come any closer…! I told you… It’s really not okay…!’
Just as Iyue was troubled by the tangled mess of information, Lian beside her let out a string of sleep talk… Iyue saw her curl up as if avoiding some terrifying monster.
‘Ah… I forgot about this. This kid’s issues with Her Majesty are also a headache…’
Looking at her, Iyue felt both amused and exasperated. She stroked Lian’s cheek, then quietly slipped out of the tent.
The night wind through the forest whispered. Iyue saw the spirit in the campfire not far away, obediently staying within the flames… No matter how fond it was of Lian, it couldn’t follow her into the tent.
[!]
But upon seeing Iyue emerge from the tent, it immediately became lively again. Iyue walked over… and it hopped right onto her shoulder.
“You’re really too restless, aren’t you? Wasn’t playing with her for so long earlier enough?”
Iyue smiled and poked it with her finger… At the intermediate rank, Elemental Spirits already possessed a physical form. It felt soft and squishy, just like Lian’s cheek.
The spirit affectionately wound around her finger… This lifted her mood considerably. And the fresh night air in the forest cleared her mind.
“Wait… What is this smell?”
The air carried by the night wind was distinctly mixed with a faint scent of blood. Iyue was very familiar with this smell… because it was the scent of a beast.
The fire spirit on her fingertip also grew restless… then flew into the air. It flew left for a while, then right, finally settling on a direction and flashing repeatedly there.
“Are you telling me to follow you?”
Iyue asked… and as she spoke, she saw the spirit’s flashing frequency increase. So she took a step forward, following the fire spirit into the woods.
“The team members are gone.”
Passing by the trees where the Ranger Corps members were resting, she found the sleeping bags and hammocks empty.
The forest floor was covered with grass and leaves, making almost no sound when stepped on. Iyue followed the spirit’s guidance into the woods, relying on its increasingly dim light… and she saw a figure beneath a tall ancient tree.
Alexis Nairf was standing under that tree, and at her feet lay the corpse of an animal.
“Thank you… little one.”
Iyue waved at the dimming spirit… Because it had moved too far from the campfire, its glow was already very faint. It touched Iyue’s finger, then slowly flew back to the campsite.
She walked towards Alexis, also clearly seeing the animal corpse not far from her feet—it was a spotted deer with its throat bitten through… Blood was gushing from the horrific wound bearing what looked like human tooth marks.
This was the source of part of the blood scent… The reason she could confirm it was only part was because Iyue was also an excellent hunter.
She could smell a heavier, more intense scent of blood permeating the forest, and she knew those wounds couldn’t have been made by the teeth of an ordinary forest predator.
Moreover, she also sensed a violent, malicious magical aura that instinctively triggered revulsion.
“Magical Beast… Judging by this aura, only one?”
Alexis didn’t reply. In the dim moonlight, Iyue saw several Ranger Corps members darting through the surrounding trees… exchanging gestures and signals with each other in extremely low voices.
“Magical Beast.”
Unlike the Demon Race… things labeled with this title were mostly ordinary beasts that had been exposed to high-concentration magical environments for a long time, causing their forms and instincts to become twisted.
That violent magical aura was getting closer… and the low growls of some creature were echoing through the forest.
Iyue’s hand rested on the holster at her waist. But before she could act, Alexis raised her hand.
It was a simple, clear gesture to stop.
“You need not intervene, great Hero.”
Alexis said in a low voice.
“Your gunshot would disturb the spirits in the area, wake the other resting team members, and could also attract other Magical Beasts.”
Her gaze swept over the holster at Iyue’s waist, her tone leaving no room for compromise.
“The Ranger Corps will handle it.”
Iyue was silent for a moment, then removed her hand from the holster.
Under the tense vigilance of the Ranger Corps members, the Magical Beast finally appeared.
It was a creature that looked like a stag, but now its limbs were severely disproportionate, its back hunched, with unnatural dark purple patterns pulsating beneath its skin.
Its eyes glowed with a murky light in the darkness… and its mouth had grown sharp teeth, far removed from those of a herbivore, designed for tearing hide and flesh.
Its hooves thudded heavily on the ground… each step accompanied by a pained, low roar.
Several arrows were already embedded in its back—it had been driven here by the Ranger Corps members.
Iyue saw two members on the trees behind it, continuously shooting arrows at it.
Synchronized with their movements, the Ranger Corps members lying in ambush here also acted.
No commands, no shouts. One member leaped down from the branches first, landing with almost no sound.
Simultaneously, four other members blocked its retreat from the left and right, their bowstrings taut, the nocked arrows shimmering with a cyan magical glow in the moonlight.
But this already wounded beast sensed the danger… Its eyes quickly found the weakest point in the encirclement—the front, blocked by only one member.
Its mutated, sword-like antlers charged fiercely towards this member… Judging by her silhouette and the green gem hairpin flashing on her head, Iyue recognized her as one of her two disciples, the stern-faced Small Captain Se La.
Facing this ferocious charge, Se La neither dodged nor retreated… The next moment, her arrow and those of her companions left their bows simultaneously.
Her companions’ arrows weren’t aimed at the vital points the beast had tightly protected with its mutated muscles and hide after being injured.
Instead, they precisely targeted its vulnerable joints and muscles, piercing into them.
And Se La’s arrow, with astonishing accuracy, passed through the beast’s mutated antler and pierced one of its eyes.
Amidst a series of pained roars, the beast’s charging speed slowed… but only slowed. The will to survive, driven by its demonic frenzy, urged it to continue its desperate charge.
This collision could easily kill the slender Se La… so she retreated. In her place stepped the Captain General Alexis from beside Iyue.
She strode forward, drawing the longsword from her waist as Se La withdrew—
Then, with a clean, decisive slash, severed the Magical Beast’s head.
Her sword was so fast the beast had no time to roar… Dark purple demon blood sprayed into the air… Alexis retreated lightly to avoid staining her cloak.
The moment she stepped back, the beast’s body, now without control, collapsed heavily.
The fallen leaves on the forest floor were stirred up by the impact, the beast’s head rolling to a stop.
As its violent magical aura gradually faded, peace returned to the woods.
The Ranger Corps members didn’t cheer or engage in unnecessary conversation. They waited silently in place… for Alexis to walk over to the beast’s corpse, sword in hand.
Alexis swung her sword, slicing open the beast’s body, and from within the flesh and blood, she used the tip of her sword to lift out the beast’s core—a deep purple crystal, the source of its magic after demonization.
She took the core from the sword tip, then shook the blood off her blade and sheathed it.
Se La, standing nearby, handed her a piece of bloodstained cloth.
She used it to wipe the blood from the core and placed it in her waist pouch.
“Stand down.”
She issued the order to her subordinates, and they quickly climbed the trees, disappearing into the shadows.