Chapter 484 - 455: Whispering Forest Collection

Chapter 484: Chapter 455: Whispering Forest Collection

Roland nodded gently at Hom.

"Yes. I’ve eliminated the monster that was lurking deep within Sui Cang Hall."

He stated this as a simple fact, then continued.

"What’s more, we’ve successfully repaired and activated the ancient machines inside the hall. Once we’ve gathered the water and food our team needs and departed, you are free to use them."

Hearing this, Hom froze on the spot, as if petrified.

First, his sunken eyes filled with utter disbelief. Then, like melting ice...

...an overwhelming wave of ecstasy and gratitude, so immense it threatened to crush his frail body, surged forth.

He lurched forward, his gaunt hands gripping Roland’s arm with surprising strength. His voice was choked and trembling with overwhelming emotion.

"Th-Thank you! Great Veil Breaker! You... not only did you drive out the Demon, you... you returned our Holy Land to us! You’ve given us... given us Hope to live on!"

He stammered his thanks, nearly falling to his knees.

But then, he seemed to remember something more important.

He released Roland’s arm and staggered around to face the tall, headless, armless stone statue. With a posture of both sorrow and profound piety, he once again fell heavily to his knees in the dust.

He raised his arms high, gazing up at the statue’s broken torso, and cried out in a voice thick with tears, yet remarkably clear.

"Thank you! Great Watcher! It was you who guided our savior, you who dispelled the Darkness and brought peace back to the Holy Hall! Your grace will be remembered for all eternity!"

His cry echoed through the empty ruins. The other survivors, as if moved by his fervor, also turned toward the statue and prostrated themselves with even greater reverence.

The air was thick with an indescribable mixture of sorrow, Hope, and unwavering faith.

"Watcher?"

Hearing the title, Roland raised an eyebrow.

He quickly scanned his memory for the names of various Deities. Confirming that none went by that title, his curiosity was piqued, and he asked.

"This statue... you don’t know its original name?"

Hom slowly rose from the ground, dusted off his knees, and shook his head.

"I don’t know. Since the time of my ancestors, and their ancestors before them, we have only ever known him by the revered title of ’Watcher’."

This answer only deepened Roland’s confusion.

"So, this ’Watcher’... is not a Deity, then?"

Hom paused, taken aback. He seemed to have never considered the question before. He shook his head again and began to recount the faded origin story passed down through the generations.

"According to the stories passed down from the Elders, in an age so distant it can no longer be traced, a great disaster or crisis fell upon this land."

"The Watcher stepped forward. A mortal, he performed the work of Gods and saved our ancestors who were struggling to survive here."

"To commemorate his grace and his guardianship, our ancestors raised this statue in his honor. We, their descendants, have venerated it for generations, grateful for his benevolence and praying that he continues to watch over this land."

At this point, Hom seemed to grow emotional, and the words began to flow freely.

He looked up at the damaged statue, his voice filled with regret and indignation.

"I’ve only ever seen it in this... broken state, for as long as I’ve been alive. But the elders in my tribe say the statue wasn’t always like this."

"It was once whole and majestic, as if it could truly perceive all and stand guard over the four corners of the land."

He clenched his bony fists, his voice thick with suppressed rage as he cursed under his breath.

"I don’t know what kind of Cursed bastard, what blind fool, would have destroyed the Watcher like this! It’s... it’s unforgivable! A desecration!"

Roland was moved by Hom’s curse, which came from the heart and was filled with anguish.

He looked up again at the broken, headless, and armless statue, his mind racing.

’From the way Hom spoke, the Watcher’s deeds had occurred in an impossibly distant past. So much time had passed that even his real name had been worn away.’

’So what earth-shattering, awe-inspiring deed did this "Watcher" perform in the distant past? What could he have done to make his descendants, after all this time and suffering, still hold his memory so dear that their reverence has become an almost instinctual faith?’

He let out a long sigh, pushing aside these unverifiable speculations for the time being. He turned to Hom and asked.

"Hom, are there any places nearby where Demons gather in large groups or significant numbers?"

Hom looked taken aback, clearly not expecting such a question.

He frowned in thought for a moment before replying.

"Demons? If you mean the wandering, dangerous monsters... well, according to refugees who occasionally pass through from farther away, there are places far to the north of here, and to the west in a place called the Sobbing Blood Hills, where Demons run rampant. They’re very dangerous."

Roland keenly picked up on the geographical limitation in his words.

"You’re saying... there are none around here?"

Hom shook his head emphatically.

Then, as if a thought struck him, his gaze drifted back to the silent stone statue.

His eyes filled with a light of gratitude and reverence as he spoke with near certainty.

"That’s right, none around here. Aside from... aside from the monster you just took care of in Sui Cang Hall, in all my decades, I’ve never seen a single Demon in this area. It’s like they deliberately avoid this place."

He paused, his voice growing low and reverent.

"You might find it hard to believe... but we all believe it’s because of the great Watcher. Even in slumber, he is still, in some unseen way, protecting the land he once swore his life to defend."

Roland inwardly shook his head at Hom’s claim that the statue’s blessing was responsible for the area’s safety.

’That seems like complete nonsense.’

The moment he had arrived, he had already scanned the massive, broken statue with his Perception.

It contained no fluctuations of Energy or any special aura. It was just an exquisitely crafted, but ultimately ordinary, stone artifact.

However, seeing the unwavering piety in Hom’s eyes, Roland wisely kept this to himself. Instead, he pulled the ancient map from his coat, unfolded it, and pointed precisely to one of the markings.

"This place. How far is it from here? Do you know the exact route?"

Hom immediately leaned in respectfully, bowing slightly to get a better look at the map.

When he saw the map in its entirety, he couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp.

"This... is this... a map of the continent?"

A flicker of shock crossed his murky eyes before he composed himself. Once he made out the location Roland was pointing to, he frowned and began to speak slowly, as if dredging up old memories.

"The Whispering Forest Collection? This place... according to stories passed down from my ancestors, it was once a dense jungle. There was a marketplace in the middle of the forest, a place where Adventurers and merchant caravans used to gather to trade goods and information..."

As he spoke, he looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce the gray mist and stare into the distant desolation. His voice was filled with a sad nostalgia for a world long gone.

"As for now... I went out that way once, looking for something to eat. I saw it from a distance..."

"There’s no forest anymore. Just like everywhere else, it’s nothing but this endless, godforsaken wasteland."

He looked away from the distance and back to the map, tracing a straight line on it with his finger.

"But I suppose that makes the journey simpler."

"With no forest in the way, there are no winding paths. You just need to head straight in this direction. If you don’t get held up, at your pace, you could make a round trip in a day."

After getting the necessary information from Hom, Roland thanked him and returned to Sui Cang Hall. He told his companions he planned to scout the Whispering Forest Collection.

As Roland expected, it would take a considerable amount of time to both purify and store enough drinking water and to synthesize improved Rock Core Blocks from their limited materials to last them for the next several days.

No one objected to his decision. Duraga simply reminded him to be careful.

Roland nodded, organized his gear, and after ensuring his equipment and supplies were in order, set off toward the Whispering Forest Collection.

Hom’s description of the journey proved to be quite accurate.

He traveled for about half a day across the vast, gray wasteland. Besides the cracked earth under his feet and the perpetual haze of dust in the air, the scenery remained utterly unchanged.

But at the edge of this monotonous, deathly-still vista, an abrupt shadow began to resolve on the horizon.

As he drew closer, the shadow revealed its true form.

It was a sprawling field of ruins.

Unlike the relatively concentrated, grand complex of Sui Cang Hall, these ruins were more scattered and low to the ground.

He could vaguely make out what had once been buildings of wood supported by stone foundations. Now they were completely collapsed and carbonized, with only charred posts and fractured foundations tracing the faint outlines of former streets.

Scraps of metal, rusted so badly they had almost merged with the ground, were scattered among them.

Even a few of the sturdier stone buildings had not been spared. Large sections of their walls had collapsed, leaving only shattered remnants standing defiantly.

The entire area was permeated with a silence even more profound than that of Sui Cang Hall, as if the wind itself had stagnated here.

Roland slowed his pace, his sharp eyes carefully scanning the ruins.

Just as he was concentrating on his observation, an extremely faint but unusually dense SKITTERING sound reached his ears without warning.

The sound...

It sounded like countless tiny, jointed legs scraping rapidly across the dry earth and gravel.

...and it was closing in from all sides.