As we travel through the forest, which becomes increasingly sparse as we go deeper, the opening of the space gradually compresses the subconscious sense of security. Although no one says it explicitly, it can be seen that many people are beginning to miss the lush forest area that once hindered their footsteps.
.
The servants walking on the periphery of the team looked around frequently, casting inexplicable glances behind the rugged tree trunks, as if something would emerge from the light and mist in the forest that had lost its green curtain.
They had some boring chats and shared various scandals, but the monotonous life in the castle did not have much room for rumors to grow, so the remaining talk was quickly regurgitated and digested, and they could only start from the same old story.
Meaningless crumbs picked out of food and training support tasteless communication.
The endless chatter has lost its own meaning, just to maintain the sound in the ears and ensure that the team does not fall into empty silence.
This forest hides another side of it, leaving visitors to discover in silence that it lacks anything that can make a sound except itself. The background sound of the insect ensemble at night completely disappears, and it is difficult to hear even a bird song.
.
This is no different from drinking in the noisy atmosphere of a banquet, and suddenly realizing that the sound of the wine glass you put down against the table became the last sound in the entire hall, making people instinctively feel that there is something in the empty silence where everything around them has stopped.
Factors causing mutations will attract attention.
Every time we marched in the lifeless forest, the feeling of being spied on became stronger. Some people began to complain that the sparse plants made the team too obvious, and soon reacted to the unclear tree shadows in the distance.
For a moment, they are regarded as other objects.
At first, this impulse could be restrained. It was just a pause of a certain guard, interrupting the words being organized. However, after a day, it developed into low-pitched exclamations from time to time, and it was about a period of time somewhere in the forest.
Gaze and shake your head in denial.
It turned out later that it was indeed just a small visual error. A half-rotten tree trunk was deformed by its own weight, with wood tumors that looked like heads from a distance; or a slender bush, the details of which were modeled by diffraction.
People who are sensitive to emotional intuition can feel the tense nerves of most people, slowly and continuously increase the pressure under the constant cues from the environment, and only get better rest during deep sleep.
But after traveling here for more than two days, even the double increase of fatigue and strong armor cannot make people fall asleep quickly. They need to keep talking and comfort their spirits through the intentionally created atmosphere of human activities.
Group emotions spread like hyphae under the bark of a tree, covered up by things like knight's honor, training results, and personal dignity. They did not turn over to the outside, and the team still maintained order.
More than ever, they hope to see some animal other than themselves, even if it is a pagan attacking them.
This wish came true on the morning of the third day, or half of it came true.
The relatively good field of vision allowed them to discover a path that did not look like an animal trail. The bare soil surface that was stepped on appeared like the inevitable bald patches in the forest. Judging from Martin's hunting experience, this was closer to the path formed by human beings' frequent treading.
trace.
The team's mood was invigorated, and they even let out suppressed cheers, which were immediately restrained by Barrow not-so-sternly. They no longer cared about hiding their whereabouts, they just wanted to find the heretic's lair as soon as possible and end this riddle that had a long prelude.
Eliminating the time of distracted searching, the team's speed was greatly improved. Along this trail, they quickly encountered the first special thing found here.
In the dark green, a sharp-eyed guard saw a strange object leaning against the roots of a thick tree in front of him from a distance. Suspected to be dazzled again, he resisted the urge to speak directly and walked closer, only to find that
It is a group of lush fungi.
This is the first time I have seen something like this in the forest. All kinds of mushrooms are blooming on a small flower stand, including some exquisite ones with hanging curtains like ladies' lace skirts.
He half-knelt down beside him, wanting to touch this dreamy masterpiece.
"I advise you to stay away from that thing."
A cold voice came from behind, stopping the hand reaching for the fungus "flower stand", and the impulse of hunting was extinguished.
The owner of the voice grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away, forcing his eyes that were glued to the various bacteria to observe again from a few steps away. The outline of the "flower shelf" that was not seen at first glance became familiar as the field of vision changed.
It is indeed in a "leaning" posture, with half of it resting on the ground and the other half against the trunk of the tree. The top of the cage is integrated with the bark under the connection of the wide basal stipe, and the mouth is opened to fill the hemispherical soft cover.
.
【Mouth?】
This thought was like an ice cube sliding into his collar, making him shudder. He looked again at this gorgeous fungus flower stand. A terrible suspicion quickly turned into a fact, and reached its peak when the thing was pried off the tree trunk.
It was firmly bonded to the tree trunk. Kraft spent some effort to cut off part of the woody connection surface. Using a lever technique, he used a thick-backed machete to pry up the part that was probably the head. It felt like tearing it off.
The tape is very sticky and pulls out dense network-like filaments.
Before being completely separated, the brittle structure collapsed first, and half of the cage-like outline broke into several pieces, rolling to the ground together with the bacterial clumps growing on it, exposing the yellowish inner surface, and the nose could be vaguely distinguished.
The bone sinuses in the lower part are filled with flocculent silk balls.
"Looks like we're in the right place."
The back of the knife struck the remaining outline, and the frame collapsed, turning into a mixture of broken bones and mushrooms, still rich in bright colors rarely seen in this era.
At this time, the brighter the thing, the more creepy it makes those who see it, as if something peeking at them in the forest has revealed a corner, making them unable to find the right words to describe it. As a result, the conversation in the team was in doubt.
When I saw this thing, I was wiped out for a few seconds. My mind was struggling to understand and accept the existence of this kind of thing.
"Be careful." Martin took a deep look at the thing and calmed his breathing. "Take off the sets of full-body armor on the horse. It looks like we are almost there."
The guards tried their best not to look at it, and some of them helped the knight quickly put on the armor.
If you don't count the shock just now, this process was incredibly smooth. They successfully reached the surrounding area of the pagan stronghold without encountering even the slightest obstacle, not a single outpost or a hidden arrow.
Not to mention Martin, even Kraft felt that the situation was unusually smooth. They had been expected to respond passively and had no chance to use the full body armor. However, at this time, they were able to march towards the destination in peace.
After passing several fungus "flower stands" again, at the end of the trail, a forest glade opened by humans appeared in front of them. With a building with a spire visible as the center, and scattered huts built on the periphery, you can
See similar religious villages and towns anywhere in the Westminster area.
