From far to near, even though the tremors weren’t strong at first, Lifa’s keen senses still detected the problem.
The few small fish in the lake began to grow restless, and birds were constantly startled from the forest in the distance.
“There are demonic beasts—”
Her gaze immediately turned to where Ron and Isis had just entered the forest.
“Teacher and Sister Isis are still in the forest.”
The source of the tremors kept approaching, and as Lifa stood up, she didn’t forget to focus and listen.
The sound of trees snapping, the ground shaking…
Many different sounds existed independently, coming from all directions.
“Hmm.”
Lifa looked at the Thorn Blade beside her.
These sounds indicated that many demonic beasts were gathering and rushing here, as if by appointment. And now that Teacher and Sister Isis had entered the forest, they hadn’t returned for a long time.
These two points combined instantly made Lifa anxious.
“Why… of all times, now.”
***
After waking up, Isis’s strength had been weakened again, and Ron couldn’t provide any actual combat power.
Gripping the Thorn Blade, Lifa looked at the various magic-inscribed engravings on the sword, but she also didn’t know where to start.
On the Uthis Continent, high-level weapons and equipment almost all had various magic inscriptions added by alchemists or archmages.
And the power of these weapons mostly came from the various buffs and effects attached by the magic inscriptions.
“Oh well, at least it’s better than the previous weapon.”
Lifa hadn’t had time to familiarize herself with this weapon, and Isis hadn’t explained it either.
Time was pressing, but Lifa remained optimistic as she raised the Thorn Blade, listening to the sound getting closer, and decided to first head toward the direction of the forest where Ron and the others had entered.
However, her move was a step too late.
As if every move was being watched, just as Lifa stepped toward where Ron and the others were, several boulders as tall as a person came flying from the distant forest like falling meteors.
“They’re here this fast?”
Lifa reacted quickly. After dodging a few times, she jumped onto a boulder that had embedded into the ground, sprinted steadily up the slope of the stone, then flipped and jumped to the highest point of a tree, then leaped forcefully.
“Ha!”
After a series of movements, Lifa briefly soared through the air. Even while wearing the Radiant Set, she still jumped above the average height of the boundless forest sea.
She gritted her teeth.
“One… two… three…”
Her gaze first turned to the direction from which the stones were thrown. On a tall ancient tree over there, a demonic beast resembling an ape was still
“Four… five… six…”
Then, Lifa looked toward the various directions from which sounds came. By the time she landed back on the ground with one hand, she still couldn’t count how many demonic beasts were rushing here.
“Lifa!”
Then came another wave of stone-throwing attacks, and amid the clouds of dust stirred up, Ron’s voice gradually emerged.
“Teacher, I’m here!”
Lifa’s eyes widened. The dust from the thrown stones made visibility poor. Finally, relying on instinct, she moved toward the source of the voice.
“Cough, cough, cough.”
The sound of Teacher’s coughing became clearer. Soon, Lifa encountered Ron and Isis.
“It’s a demon beast tide, or rather… we might be targeted.”
Isis walked over to Ron’s side. She was also paying attention to the changes around them and explained the situation most concisely.
“It might be the guardian beast of that Origin Crystal. Demonic beasts above the sixth tier possess wisdom not inferior to ordinary humans. It’s very likely that it’s now somewhere directing this group of demonic beasts.”
Ron glanced at Lifa. Sweating profusely, he began to analyze.
“Yeah.”
Lifa’s response to both of them was only a single “mm.” Her emerald eyes were now focusing downward.
Ron’s right hand and Isis’s left hand were now held together.
Even after meeting her, they still held tightly.
“We need to shake them off and determine a direction.”
Lifa was still watching, but Isis had already moved first, still pulling Ron along as she walked into the dense forest while speaking.
“Ah… Isis… don’t go so fast!”
Just now, at the same time Lifa noticed the abnormality, Isis, who had just finished talking with Ron, also sensed the situation around them.
To meet up with Lifa as quickly as possible, Isis moved with Ron in tow.
Although the act used hand-holding as a link, Ron felt more like a flag blown up by Isis’s rapid dash, fluttering messily all the way.
Lifa caught up to Isis.
“Sister Isis, c-could you slow down a bit…”
“Teacher is just an ordinary person; he can’t handle this.”
Lifa was quite distressed and worried about Ron’s condition.
The three had been exploring deep into the Magic Beast Forest gradually and methodically. Now they were urgently evacuating, so naturally they couldn’t accommodate Ron’s pace as before.
“Yeah, I understand.”
Isis’s outer coat was still that gray cloak with a hood. As they moved rapidly, the brim of the hood rustled loudly against the air.
“The beast swarm is trying to surround us. We’ll definitely encounter demonic beasts in the current direction too.”
Ron’s voice was as unsteady as his feet, which left the ground every few steps. After hearing Lifa’s suggestion, Isis did slow down a bit.
“Sister Isis, let me handle the fight! You take Teacher and go ahead.”
Lifa didn’t forget to observe the seemingly unchanging forest scenery around them.
When she had jumped up to scout earlier, she hadn’t noticed the demonic beasts in this direction. That was either because they were small in size, or…
Boom boom boom!
Three distinct sounds of collapse came from the ground beside the three.
“It’s a fifth tier demonic beast.”
“Isis, don’t mind me. Go with Lifa.”
Ron shouted at Isis beside him.
When it came to identifying demonic beasts, Ron’s judgment was far faster than Isis’s or Lifa’s. Almost as soon as he saw the ground collapse and the long section of hooked tail emerging from underground, he understood the matter.
“It should be a non-poisonous scorpion beast, but it attacks from the ground, and also uses the ground to dodge and defend.”
Ron noticed that after he finished speaking, Isis was staring at him, so he continued to explain some characteristics and precautions of the beast blocking their way.
“Yeah, then I’ll go too.”
Among the three, Lifa had already gone ahead to engage the earth scorpion beast in battle. At that moment, the scorpion had burrowed underground, so she kept an eye on Ron and Isis’s safety with her peripheral vision.
Then she saw Isis walk over to Ron’s side again before coming to support.
“What’s wrong?”
Ron asked.
“Nothing.”
Before Ron could react, the expressionless white-haired brave crouched slightly, then picked him up in a handsome princess carry.
“Huh!?”