The four sand donkeys tied next to the car were lying on the ground, with no signs of struggle visible, as if they died silently. Lily reached out to pick up the neck of one of them, and found that only a light skin was left on it.
Along with the bones that supported it, the muscles and blood inside were gone—or, obviously, left with the butterflies.
"They died of poison." After a brief examination, Elena came to the conclusion, "Toxins that paralyzed the nerves, and toxins that dissolved into the blood and stopped the heart. Everything happened within a few seconds.
I'm afraid they can't even feel the pain and have lost their lives."
In other words, this is the reason why they have never been heard of - any traveler who sees them has become their food. Lily can't help but be afraid. If she fails to avoid these in time, as a citizen of Edda,
She and Alphonse, who is also not afraid of poisons, might still be able to escape, but others might not be spared.
The rising sun once again filled the desert with orange-red mist. It seemed that the hard work just now took a lot of time. Lily looked at the glow on the horizon, stretched hard, and let go of the tiredness remaining in her body.
disperse.
"In short, the crisis is over." An handed her the written notebook in front of her. The girl still remained calm, as if everything just now was no big deal, "The carriage can't be used, what should we do next?"
"We can only walk. Fortunately, it's not far away." Lily replied nonchalantly, "Or if you want, you can continue to ride on us."
An shook her head vigorously and quickly wrote, "Absolutely not." Then she thought about it and added two more words, "Sorry."
It seemed that she was not used to the 'ride' just now. Lily was secretly amused. She clapped her hands and said, "Then, Al, I would like to trouble you to carry An on your back. Do you have any objection?"
Al nodded in agreement, ignored the girl's blush and waved her hand to refuse, and carried her firmly on his shoulders. Ann's body was petite and light, and she seemed quite coordinated sitting on Alphonse's shoulders.
A group of seven people simply packed up the luggage they had left behind, threw aside the bulky and useless items, and continued walking northward.
The journey after that was still not smooth sailing.
As we approach the Ghost Forest, the desert nights begin to become extremely cold. The cooling caused by magical convection can reach ten degrees below zero, and even thick tents cannot completely withstand the severe cold. There is not enough wood for heating in the desert, Alphonse
and Elena can only use their magic to protect everyone from the low temperature. Lily transforms into the form of a giant wolf every night to shield everyone from the biting cold wind - as she is used to living in the snowfield, such cold
It’s nothing.
Another problem comes from the surrounding magical creatures. Their numbers become denser as they advance. These beasts living in the desert are extremely aggressive, making it almost impossible for the team to sleep peacefully for a day. What's worse is that
, many of them know how to launch attacks from below the desert, making early warning extremely difficult.
The most dangerous time was when Ann was almost stung by a giant scorpion that was more than two meters long. Fortunately, Alphonse used his body to block the blow for her - the giant scorpion mainly relied on poison to hurt the enemy and physical attacks.
On the contrary, it was limited. However, that scorpion also became everyone's breakfast, and it was considered to have paid the price for its hasty attack.
On the sixty-third day of the spring month, the eighteenth day after the team set out, the border between the desert and the forest finally came into Lily's sight.
The gray sandy soil was gradually replaced by the same gray-black trees. The blocking pine trees blocked most of the sunlight, making the so-called ghost forest look ghostly. Just like in her memory fifty years ago, the appearance of these trees was the same.
The branches and leaves were filled with the smell of death, completely different from the "warm place" that had been her home.
The female mercenary walked at the front of the team, looking back and forth at every tree she passed, reaching out her hand from time to time to caress the cracked and decayed tree trunks. Elena followed not far behind her, and Lily turned back several times.
I saw a strange sympathy in the traveling nun's eyes.
"They are still alive, but some kind of evil force entrenched here is constantly sucking out their lives." Seemingly noticing Lily's gaze, the traveling nun explained, "Perhaps, as long as we can destroy some magical creation that exists here.
, we can bring them back to life.”
"Then what are you waiting for? Find that evil person quickly -" Lily suddenly stopped her voice, raised her head, and sniffed something in the air, "...who is there, come out!"
What she responded to was a hoarse and low howl, and heavy and slow footsteps gradually approaching from a distance.
A huge wolf slowly appeared in the sight of the female mercenary. It had a gloomy aura all over its body, and its fur was gray and messy, as if it hadn't been cleaned for a long time. There was a faint red light in its half-opened eyes, fierce and fierce.
It was restless, but there was a hint of arrogance. A bunch of gray-white beard, which was one meter long, hung down from its chin into the air. Although it was much sparser than in memory, it still showed its innate majesty.
There seemed to be concerned inquiries from her friends around her, but Lily didn't even listen to what they said. From the first moment she smelled the smell, she had a judgment in her heart - the creature that appeared in front of her,
Her reluctance to believe it was completely shattered.
Hissa, one of the first "demigods" created by Ada, had taken care of her "mother" countless times. Lily knew that she would sleep forever in this forest, but she never expected to meet her in this form.
See you again.
"Hey, you--" She took a step forward, narrowed her eyes into a straight line, and at the same time released the breath of September, "Do you still recognize us?"
The giant wolf responded with a low roar and continued to approach everyone. It bared its sharp teeth and dripped hot saliva on the snow, leaving sunken holes.
"Lilinono." It was Al's voice, which was a little louder than before, "It looks very dangerous, should we--"
"Mind your own business!" The female mercenary interrupted the agency man's inquiry rudely, without looking away from the giant gray wolf opposite for a moment, "Are you waiting for us here?" There was a hint of emotion in her voice.
Trembling, "You, Xisa, have been waiting here to let us...bring you relief?!"
The surrounding sounds disappeared, and now only the two of them were left in the whole world. Lily gently arched her body and declared her determination with a long howl that turned from low to high.
The next moment, a silver-white giant wolf similar in size to the opposite one occupied the position where the female mercenary was originally. She straightened her body, raised her head, and walked towards Hisa step by step. The other party seemed to have emerged from her form.
Feeling the threat, he slowly closed his sharp teeth and arched his body, showing a posture ready to attack.
"Don't interfere, that's fine." Lily, or rather Jiuyue, declared without looking back, "This is our task, and it can only - and must be completed by us!"