Why must the devil be Defeated?
Chapter 518 - 488 Taiger Forest_2

Chapter 518: 488 Taiger Forest_2

However, Merica often quietly cast her gaze towards Shane, and whenever Shane noticed, she would hurriedly lower her head in a flustered manner, with her face blushing red. That scene had become quite an enjoyable sight along their journey.

To this, Shane had grown accustomed.

He had already figured out what this elf girl was thinking, so he wasn’t the slightest bit anxious.

Not only was he not anxious, Shane was secretly looking forward to whether the elf girl would, one day, like Tielle, rush up for an unwarranted scolding.

Still, Shane found Merica’s attractiveness very tempting.

But he was in no rush.

No, more accurately, being anxious would be futile.

The girl was much more innocent than he had imagined; he could scare her off just by trying to strike up a conversation, so he could only wait like this.

He couldn’t very well force himself upon her, right?

Wouldn’t that be hooliganism?

He was not that kind of person.

With such thoughts, Shane remained cool and composed.

Well, if it weren’t for the fact that his "Inner Destiny" seemed to be as ineffective as his previous Resistance Skill for some reason, having no effect on Princess at all, causing the flesh on his waist to be tormented hundreds of times until it was nearly numb whenever Merica blushed, he definitely would be even more composed.

The two days of travel passed in this state.

Apart from eating and sleeping, Shane and his party hardly ever dismounted from the dragon’s back.

As for meals, Shane and company would just find a mountaintop or a scenic spot to land, and then Big Sister would imperceptibly prepare piping hot dishes, allowing everyone to enjoy the pleasures of a picnic; and when it was time to sleep, they would find a town and rest in an inn, without any of the hardships of meals in the open air and sleeping under the stars.

This made Luoqi feel as if not even going to Elf Country, and just continuing this aimless journey, wouldn’t be too bad.

But eventually, on the second day, Shane and his group still successfully arrived at their destination.

"Is that Taiger Forest?"

Standing on the dragon’s back, Shane, holding Lilith, looked down below with a flash of amazement in his eyes.

Not just Shane, but Luoqi beside him also murmured in astonishment.

"Such a vast sea of trees..."

Indeed.

A sea of trees.

Below where everyone’s gaze fell, there was an endless sea of trees resting upon the land, utterly enveloping the earth in a vibrant green hue.

Within the sea of trees, each incredibly huge tree soared into the sky, every one of them at least a hundred meters tall, resembling an ancient forest, vast and time-worn.

This was the Human Realm’s widest and largest forest—the Taiger Forest.

Merica also gazed at the forest below, feeling a mix of homesickness and pride as she spoke.

"It is said that this is the forest that first appeared on the earth when the world was born."

Merica explained in a melodious voice.

"After the Supreme God Ominis created the world, the Three Great Goddesses also used their Authority to perfect the world, making it truly operational."

"Fate Goddess Lidas guided all the beings in the world."

"Life Goddess Anima then created the various Races."

"Nature Goddess Nuadra created the continents, the seas, and the forests, and this Taiger Forest is one of Goddess Nuadra’s earliest creations."

"However, even Goddess Nuadra did not expect that deep within the forest, due to the rich Life Force, elves like us, born from Nature itself, would unexpectedly appear."

Merica thus spoke.

"If one were to say that the creators of the various races of the Human Realm are the Life Goddess Anima, then we elves would be the sole exception."

"Although our birth is also somewhat related to the Life Goddess Anima—for it was her authority that filled the earth and forests with life force, ultimately leading to our birth—we were, however, born of nature itself, coalesced from the essence of the forests."

"Thus, our creator is the Nature Goddess Nuadra, and she is also our highest faith. The authority of the Anima Goddess was merely the catalyst for our appearance."

"Even if the Nature Goddess Nuadra did not intend to create our race, we still regard that goddess as our mother."

Merica’s words allowed everyone to hear a kind of faith, a kind of worship.

"The Nature Goddess Nuadra?" Shane mused for a moment before asking with barely contained curiosity, "Then Merica, have you ever seen the Nature Goddess?"

"Of... Of course not!" Merica quickly shook her head, humbly saying, "While the Nature Goddess Nuadra favors our Elf Clan, even elves are but a tiny part of the vast throng of beings. Unless one receives the Blessing of the Nature Goddess, probably only members of the Elf Royal Family would have the chance to meet the Nuadra Goddess. An ordinary elf like me would certainly not!"

"Is that so?" Shane suddenly seemed doubtful, "Then why did the goddess inform me, urging me to help you when those low-life nobles wanted to harm you?"

"This..." Merica became rather unsettled, speaking with extreme uncertainty and lack of confidence, "Could it really have been some kind of mistake?"

The girl still believed that receiving attention from the Nature Goddess was an incredibly unreal occurrence.

Luoqi, however, spoke up.

"I think it must be some special trait within you that caught the goddess’s attention," Luoqi reflected, "It is said that the Nuadra Goddess can manipulate nature and even become nature itself. Such a goddess is always watching over this world, giving particular attention to the Elf Clan, so perhaps she noticed something exceptional about you that made her take special interest?"

"Is... Is it really so?" Merica still appeared very unsure of herself.

On the other hand, Shane, prompted by Luoqi’s words, suddenly recalled something.

That was, during his duel with Aridia, by leveraging his "Outer Destiny" perception, he seemed to have sensed the presence of a "person."

"A goddess who can manipulate nature and become nature itself, always watching over this world..."

Could it be that "person" was...

Shane raised his eyebrows and focused his mind, trying to heighten his "Outer Destiny" perception just as he had during the duel with Aridia.

Unfortunately, this time, no matter how hard he concentrated, Shane could not enter that state again.

Which was quite normal.

The reason Shane was able to enter that state last time was not only due to "Outer Destiny," but also because of one of the effects of "Outer Destiny"—"When engaged in combat, one can dispel all distractions and instantly adjust one’s spirit, qi, and consciousness to a perfect state."

Thanks to this effect, Shane was able to dispel all distractions and focus his spirit, qi, and consciousness to a peak perfect state, and in combination with the "Outer Destiny" perception, he could even glimpse the flow of the atmosphere and the pulse of the earth.

Under normal circumstances, entering that state would not be so easy for Shane.

"What a pity..."

Shane sighed with a sense of regret.

Nevertheless, Shane turned to someone else with a lingering hope.

"What kind of person is the Nature Goddess?"

He asked Ai Yi, who had been dealing with the Divine Race since ancient times.

"Her?" Ai Yi yawned, and upon hearing Shane’s question, furrowed her brow and said indifferently, "She would probably be someone that all women aspire to be, right?"

"Someone that all women aspire to be?" Shane repeated, puzzled, "Why?"

"Because that goddess embodies every attribute of a perfect woman," Ai Yi said expressionlessly, "Sister Sera has said more than once that the goddess stands at the pinnacle of the concept of ’woman,’ manifesting the beauty, dignified grace, elegance, and politeness of what a woman should possess. She’s at the complete opposite end from my utterly unladylike second sister."

That last sentence was muttered by Ai Yi in a very, very soft voice.

Shane then fell into contemplation.