Chapter 94 - 90: Confronting the Spirit of the Forest

Chapter 94: Chapter 90: Confronting the Spirit of the Forest

The guards from the Investigation Team dispatched by the Southern Army had returned.

But of the thirteen-man team that set out, only two came back.

When they took off their hoods, Lian almost didn’t recognize them.

Their faces were covered in deep wrinkles and dark age spots, as if decades had passed since they left the Bone Forest. Though they still wore their familiar military uniforms, their bodies were stooped and withered. Like a setting sun, the vitality in their eyes was completely gone.

"Lord Lian, we have completed our mission."

The aged Investigation Team guard said, his voice extremely hoarse, as if it had been repeatedly worn down by time.

Lian recognized him by the dark mole on his nose. It was fifteen-year-old Tahid!

And the other was Weber Aswede, who was just two years his senior.

At this moment, a red tag had appeared above both of their heads.

[Forest Spirit Invitation]The Spirit of the Forest’s believers have sharply decreased. To maintain its power, the Spirit of the Forest has issued an invitation to humans who enter the Bone Forest. Those willing to remain in the Bone Forest forever will become incredibly lucky. Those who leave will be cursed, their lives rapidly draining away.

Lian’s heart suddenly grew heavy.

’What’s the difference between what the Spirit of the Forest is doing and an Evil God?’

Lian led the two investigators to a vacant tent nearby. This tent was originally prepared for the Witch Sophie, but she clearly didn’t want to live alone, so Lian decided to commandeer it for the time being.

"Lord Lian, nothing happened right when we left the Bone Forest. It wasn’t until we returned to the High Wall that our bodies started to age rapidly. Haburi and the others didn’t last long... they... they died."

Though only fifteen, Tahid, the young Investigation Team guard with a wrinkled face and graying hair, couldn’t help but sob as he spoke of his comrades’ deaths.

Weber Aswede’s eyes also reddened slightly as he added,

"Tahid and I were young, so we managed to hold on long enough to complete the mission and rush back. Lord Alex and the supply convoy are outside the Bone Forest. We might need to send someone to meet them. If they enter the forest, they might get cursed too."

The resupply primarily consisted of wheat flour bread, wine, and Healing Medicine, as well as some weapons and Armor.

After learning that Lian and the Southern Army might be under a curse, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alex Pool, concealed the news from everyone in the territory and rushed to the outskirts of the forest with the supplies.

He didn’t dare enter rashly, intending to wait for Lian’s instructions.

The reason Catherine knew about Lian’s situation right away was because she was constantly monitoring the battle in the Bone Forest, having the Old Knight, Lord Kage Mori, stand guard at the High Wall’s gate.

If not for the help of Knight Kage Mori, the two aged Guards wouldn’t have even been able to enter the city smoothly.

The two of them recounted their arduous journey to Lian in painstaking detail.

About half an hour later, Lian finished listening to their report.

Lian patted their shoulders and said earnestly,

"You’ve been through a lot."

Weber Aswede and Tahid placed their hands over their chests in a standard military salute.

"We would give our lives for the Southern Army! We will be forever loyal to you."

Lian decided to remove the tags for them that very night. Although he didn’t know if their youth would return after the tags disappeared, he at least had to stop them from aging further.

He first took out a tranquilizer needle. This was the first batch he had made from the sap of the Golden Tree.

A single light prick was enough to make someone fall unconscious for a period between half an hour and an hour, depending on the person’s Physique.

The two Guards each took a needle and fell heavily onto their beds.

Sophie knew Lian was about to start working overtime again.

She decided to stand guard at the tent entrance for Lian to prevent anyone else from seeing.

Lian grabbed the red tag, [Forest Spirit Invitation], and his consciousness was dragged into Tahid’s Illusion Realm.

Lian saw the scene of Tahid’s first mission, the scene of him joining the Investigation Team, the scene of his life in the orphanage, and even the scene of his birth.

Tahid was a pitiful orphan. His mother was a prostitute at a pastry shop, and his father was unknown.

Abandoned at birth, he lived in an orphanage for over a decade before participating in the selection for the Investigation Team.

Five of his companions from the orphanage had entered the Investigation Team with him, and all of them had already died on missions.

Even so, Tahid still maintained a positive and optimistic heart.

He wasn’t afraid of death; he was afraid of dying a meaningless death.

He was a passionate young man.

Just as Lian was lamenting the young man’s life, Tahid’s mental Illusion Realm underwent a drastic change.

This feeling was very familiar to Lian. After all, he was a man who had directly faced the projection of a True God. A mere Spirit of the Forest... he didn’t exactly hold it in the highest esteem.

Lian’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he watched green mist envelop his surroundings.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t scared. The first time he faced the projection of a false god’s remnant, he had been tormented half to death.

Later, when he directly faced the projection of the God of Tiger, he nearly lost his life.

Now, facing the Spirit of the Forest’s projection—well, it was hard to say if it even was a projection. Although her Status was only equivalent to the Angel Tier, wouldn’t crushing a Four-star Shadow Knight be as easy as pie for her?

Rows of emerald green trees slowly appeared within the mist, along with a forest path paved with white bones.

An emerald green bird circled overhead, seemingly wanting to lead the way for Lian.

Lian braced himself and walked forward, his mind already scheming how to sweet-talk this Spirit of the Forest into willingly letting him go.

At the end of the bone path was the Emerald Palace, shrouded in lush greenery.

Sunlight filtered through the dense layers of leaves, dappling every corner of the palace. The mottled light and shadows swayed gently with the wind, and it seemed as if time itself had slowed its pace in this sacred land.

At the palace entrance stood several stone statues, mostly depicting chimeras of humans and animals. They looked bizarre, yet possessed a sort of discordant beauty.

Upon seeing Lian, these statues moved aside to clear a path.

Lian stepped onto the stairs and entered the palace in a single stride.

It was as if the master of the palace could no longer wait and was eager to meet Lian.

And Lian’s mind was completely preoccupied with his scheme.

Lian looked up and saw only an illusory, giant green tree.

Before the tree could transform into a form more palatable to Lian, the Illusion Realm suddenly began to collapse and shatter.

Lian’s consciousness was forcibly returned to his body, and at the same time, the red tag in his hand completely disintegrated.

’What just happened?’

Lian was a little surprised. ’Could it be that the Spirit of the Forest tried to corrupt me just now? Was it stopped by a side effect of the [Divine Wager]?’

Lian felt this was the only plausible explanation. Besides the God of Tiger, who else could scare the Spirit of the Forest so much that it fled without even showing its face?