Chapter 73

Early morning.

In a certain mountain forest on White Sturgeon Island, a dimly lit woodland.

No one could be seen; only a low, deep conversation could be heard.

"Ahead is a dead end; if we keep going, we'll all die!"

This voice was very young.

"I certainly know that, but I really have no choice. That guy not only has my life in his grip, but also the lives of my whole family!"

The second voice was deep and resonant.

"Dying in battle is a warrior's fate; I could disregard my own life, but my family, especially my little daughter who has just learned to walk—I really, really... sigh~~~~"

Within the long sigh lay deep sorrow and helplessness.

The young voice sounded again.

"So, you would drag the entire tribe of nearly 5,000 people to their doom just for the fate of a small family?"

"You are utterly disappointing; you don't deserve the title of Child of the Forest, let alone be a hero of the tribe!"

The deep voice was angered.

"You say it so easily; if it were you, would you be willing?"

The young voice gave a cold laugh.

"If it were me, I wouldn't have fallen for his trick from the very beginning!"

"He truly has great magical power, but his methods and character are utterly unworthy of the title of Prophet."

"Now, I want to remind you of something: you may certainly hesitate because of your family's fate, but the Baron has already issued the Peace Edict, and your pitiful alliance is on the verge of collapse."

"At such a time, if you do not step forward to save your tribe's fate, you will be utterly abandoned by the other tribespeople who wish to survive."

"By then, you and your family will die just the same. After death, their souls will suffer countless curses from the tribespeople, and their bones will be trampled as a foundation for dancing."

After these words were spoken, the mountain forest fell silent for a long time.

Finally, the owner of the deep voice said, "I cannot openly betray him, nor will I join you to fight against Heg. But I can tell you some information about him."

"Don't push me; this is the limit of what I can do."

"Alright, speak."

The mountain forest returned to silence again, but this time only for a short while.

"At first, we found some strange stone tablets inscribed with many mysterious symbols."

"We couldn't understand them, so we didn't think much of it."

"He couldn't understand them at first either."

"But everyone else gave up, while he did not. He kept pondering, and then one day he suddenly gained a fearsome power."

The young voice listened attentively.

"How big is that stone tablet?"

"Yes, it's huge—about the height of two people, very heavy, located in a cave at the summit of Dragon Sleep Snow Peak."

"At the mouth of that cave there is a large patch of snow lotus flowers, making it easy to find."

"Oh, I know that cave."

"Knowing it is enough."

"In other words, to oppose him we must find a way using those stone tablets?"

"I don't know; maybe."

After a pause, the deep voice continued, "Even now, the Heg tribe still follows him steadfastly. Ando Xia is an even more fanatical madman, firmly believing that the Prophet can destroy all enemies on the island."

The young voice gave a cold laugh: "But the Princess is not from the island; she comes from outside."

"It's useless; you can't reason with a madman, right?"

"That's true; then the only option is to destroy him."

After a pause, the young voice added, "I know you're still hesitating, but I must remind you that the Forest Spirits' fear of the Baron is quickly outweighing their fear of him."

"Perhaps most Forest Spirits are still hesitating, but Ted's son is an ambitious and highly strategic individual. He is a hero of humanity, just as you are a hero of your tribe."

"He will not give his opponent a chance to breathe; his next move is about to be played!"

"By then, fear of the Prophet will become insignificant. And at that point, when you sleep at night, you must be careful not to have your head cut off by the tribespeople!"

The owner of the deep voice, however, remained hesitant: "Don't push me; my mind is in turmoil now, I don't want to do anything—I just want to sleep well."

"Alright, Phoenix, you damned coward!"

"Say what you will, but at least the trees and mountains won't mock me; they will silently protect us Forest Spirits. I don't believe the Baron could overturn Dragon Sleep Snow Peak."

Having said that, a rustling of footsteps came from the woods, the sound gradually fading until it disappeared.

Another figure appeared behind the bushes—none other than Igo Ni Ni, the Forest Child of the Igo tribe.

He watched the direction in which the Forest Hero Phoenix had departed, let out a soft sigh, turned back along the same path, and returned to his tribe's mountain cave.

Soon he saw his grandmother again and truthfully reported the situation to her.

The white-haired Forest Spirit elder fell silent for a moment, then sighed lightly: "Ah, it seems I overestimated Phoenix, but regardless, we now know of the existence of the mysterious stone tablets."

Igo Ni Ni whispered, "Grandmother, Ando Xia of the Heg tribe has always been a clever fellow who would not easily cut off his own retreat, but this time he's acting like a madman."

"He is nearly the strongest warrior of our Forest Spirit clan; even if his family's lives were threatened, he wouldn't be so easily manipulated—so why is this happening now?"

"Could Mbahat have poisoned his soul?"

The Forest Spirit elder shook her head: "Our Forest Spirits' souls are protected by our ancestors; Mbahat lacks the ability and dare not administer such a soul toxin. Otherwise, given his nature, he would not have given it only to Ando Xia and not to Phoenix."

This convinced Igo Ni Ni.

The elder narrowed her eyes; her usually clear amber eyes also showed a hint of confusion.

"I suspect that Mbahat possesses some powerful assassination technique, and Ando Xia believes he will surely succeed in assassinating the Baron and the Princess."

Assassination and beheading is now the only means capable of turning the tide.

Igonini blinked slightly: "Grandma, do you think it can succeed?"

Surely it's quite powerful, but using it is definitely troublesome, and it might not even work on the Baron; otherwise Mbahat wouldn't still have let the Baron live until now.

"Grandma, what should we do?"

The old woman thought for a moment, then said: "Go out first, guard the cave entrance, don't let anyone in. I want to sleep."

It was a strange answer, but Igonini did as she was told.

Because he knew that what Grandma meant by "sleep" was to try contacting the goddess in her dream.

It might not succeed, since the goddess sometimes ignores people, but it's better than doing nothing.

Inside the cave, the Forest Spirit old woman took out a piece of wood, threw it into the small stove beside her and lit it. When a wisp of faint green smoke emitting a strange fragrance spread out, she curled her body on the warm animal hide, slowly closed her eyes, calmed her thoughts, and silently recited the goddess's name in her heart.

"Melikelina~~Melikelina~~Melikelina~~~"

She kept chanting, chanting, and gradually sank into the dark dreamland.

After an unknown amount of time, the Forest Spirit old woman felt a faint light before her eyes, and then realized she was sitting in a warm, dim, sealed cave.

In the middle of the cave burned a leaping bonfire, and in the darkness where the firelight could not reach, a somewhat blurry figure sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Salli, what do you need from me?"

The figure spoke, a young woman's voice, several times more melodious than the forest's snow-tufted bird.

The Forest Spirit old woman immediately straightened her knees, clasped her hands before her abdomen, and solemnly bowed to the figure.

"Goddess, I'm terribly sorry to disturb your rest, but I have no choice but to come, for the situation on the island is now extremely urgent."

"Huh, Mbahat said it was urgent three months ago, so why is it still urgent now?"

The goddess's voice sounded confused.

The Forest Spirit old woman immediately said: "Because Mbahat has not faithfully carried out your will. He did not, as he claimed, restore the island's balance of power, but instead utterly destroyed it."

The blurry figure shifted, moving from a lazy, slouched cross-legged sit to a proper kneeling posture and asked: "What major event has happened outside?"

"Yes, goddess, Mbahat used some immoral scheming and tricks to kill Baron Ted."

"Oh~~~~"

The goddess seemed quite surprised: "Ted, that ill-tempered baron, is he really dead?"

After a pause, she added: "But this probably isn't a big deal, right?"

"Human lords always like to indulge in wild fantasies and always die in various accidents. Ted still has a son, doesn't he? Just let him come back and continue being baron."

Forest Spirit old woman Salli sighed lightly: "That's right, Ted's son has returned and intends to avenge his father."

"Oh~~~ Mbahat really did a terrible job; all that was needed was intimidation, so why did he instead stir up new hatred?"

The blurry figure shifted again, propping an elbow on its chin, looking somewhat troubled.

"However, I've heard Ted's son isn't very talented; he probably can't accomplish his revenge, right?"

The old woman Salli gave a wry smile: "Goddess, the rumors are wrong, completely wrong."

"In fact, Ted's son is an extraordinary hero; having returned to the island less than half a month ago, he has already driven our Forest Spirit clan to the brink of extinction."

"Ah? Is it really that serious?"

The goddess again expressed surprise: "I've only been asleep for three months, and it's already become like this in just three months?"

Three months ago, a Forest Spirit named Mbahat came to her and complained, saying that the Forest Spirits were being oppressed by humans more and more severely, making their lives extraordinarily difficult.

At that time he was sniveling and tearful, begging her to lend a hand.

Seeing how truly pitiful he was, she agreed to help.

As a result, three months later White Sturgeon Island still had no peace; the condition of the Forest Spirits not only failed to improve, but actually deteriorated to the point of facing extinction.

This... this... this is truly absurd.

It seems she must properly understand the situation, otherwise this fire will surely burn her.

"Salli, please tell me in detail what happened over these three months, especially after Ted's son returned to the island, and tell me everything you know."

The old woman Salli had been waiting for those words; she immediately gave a full account, telling the goddess everything she had learned from her grandson.

The goddess listened very attentively.

After Salli finished speaking, she shifted her posture, propped her chin on her hand, and softly remarked: "I really didn't expect it to turn out like this."

"As for Ted's son, he is indeed quite extraordinary; let me take a good look at him."

As she spoke, the bonfire in the cave began to leap.

Gradually, the flames traced a clear light-and-shadow pattern on the firewood, which was exactly an aerial view of Crescent Castle.

The light-and-shadow gradually pulled downward, the castle grew larger, and began to reveal more details.

Just as it was about to become clear enough to see the faces of the patrolling warriors, an accident suddenly occurred!

"Beep-boop~~Crack~~"

The firewood in the bonfire suddenly jerked violently, the formerly steady flames shook violently, and the clear light-and-shadow instantly vanished.

Then, the bonfire actually went out, and the cave was instantly plunged into darkness.

The darkness persisted for a while before being dispelled once again by the rekindled bonfire.

Salli knew something major had happened.

Because she saw the goddess rise to her feet, step out from the shadows in the corner, revealing a small half of her bodily outline.

Although it was only a small half-outline, her exact appearance was still not clear, but one could already sense the extraordinary aura emanating from her.

Amid her elegance lay a hint of loneliness and sorrow, like a snow-tufted bird that had lost its wings, or like a former favorite abandoned by the god of time.

This was the first time Salli had vaguely made out the goddess's appearance; she couldn't tell whether the figure was human or Forest Spirit, since the two races look hardly different, and she only felt deeply shaken in spirit.

A thought involuntarily rose in her mind: "Who would have thought life could look this beautiful."

But the goddess obviously had no time to heed the Forest Spirit old woman's thought; she fixed her gaze on the rekindled bonfire, and after a while withdrew back into darkness, returning to her blurry form.

Salli, I can't manage the affairs on this island anymore, you Forest Spirits do as you like.

Goddess, but why?

Ted's son, he is not an ordinary human hero, he might possibly be the True King candidate of Weilan Giant Island, in the future he might become a big figure who hunts the world.

After saying this, the cave, the bonfire, and the blurry human figure all disappeared together, and Salli's vision plunged into complete darkness.

No one knows how long passed, the Forest Spirit elder woman woke from the cave, and deep shock showed in her amber-gold eyes.

"A baron's son, a candidate for the True King of Weilan, yet what does he rely on to hunt the world?"

She didn't understand, but she knew that although the Goddess didn't manage much, she never lied. Since she said that, there must be a reason for it.

If the other party's vision is the Lord of Weilan, then this small island before us is merely a little stepping stone under their feet.

Those who block the road will surely be annihilated, while if one submits or even follows, it will be another scene altogether.

After some thought, the Forest Spirit elder woman named Salli already had a clear decision in her heart.

Igonini?

She loudly called out the name of her great-grandson, who is also the heir to the tribe's next chieftain.

I'm here, grandmother.

To Crescent City!

(End of chapter)