Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1158 - 270: The Path Deep into the Core

Chapter 1158: Chapter 270: The Path Deep into the Core

"Tap, tap, tap," light footsteps echoed deep in the dense forest, followed by the sound of dry branches breaking, the rustle of leaves against cloaks, the friction of metal, the sound of breathing, and the thuds of bumping against tree trunks. In the deathly still forest, every sound was clear; even with their eyes closed, the girls could visualize exactly what their teammates were doing based solely on these sounds. This condition reminded the girls of Pannis’s perception skills in the darkness; perhaps in his world, his sensitive hearing kept him in this vigilant state all the time.

"Rustle, rustle," a hand covered in metallic scales brushed aside a swath of branches and leaves. The hand’s owner, who bore the Falcon Shield on his arm, revealed half of his body from behind a tree. The Falcon Shield cleverly formed a defensive line with a nearby large tree, shielding from all possible angles of attack and creating a secure observation point for the knight behind it. The knight girl scanned her surroundings briefly, then made a safe gesture to the others behind her. Simultaneously, the leaves overhead were pushed aside, and Pannis appeared head down from the treetop, also giving a thumbs-up to indicate safety ahead. Afterward, Pannis remained hanging from the tree, motionless, as his senses, including his energy perception, extended in all directions, monitoring every change. Meanwhile, Catherine kept her body low, minimizing the area vulnerable to attacks, and quickly darted from behind the tree to another large tree over thirty meters away before turning back. Following her, the other teammates maintained their defensive formation and ran from their previous position. By the time the knight girl turned back, she could have responded immediately had they been attacked.

Once her teammates reached the safe spot, restarted their defense, and vigilance, Catherine looked up and signaled to Pannis above. She then swiftly zigzagged between several tree trunks, minimizing the time she was exposed outside the cover of tree trunks while maintaining rapid progress. As she resumed her forward dash, Pannis also silently disappeared into the treetops. After a few rustling friction sounds, the treetop fell silent, as if he had disappeared into thin air. The girls were accustomed to this, however; Pannis’s silent movement skills, even Legendary Rank thieves and assassins would admire, and the absence of his sounds no longer surprised the girls.

A moment later, the knight girl who had moved thirty meters away signaled safety once again, and Pannis simultaneously responded safely. The main body of the team began moving again, crouching low as they raced toward the new safe point where Catherine was located. It was not until then that Dillie, a scorpion-tailed lion nearly as tall as a man, stepped out of the shadows of the bushes at the team’s original position. His padded paws made his movements completely silent, and he quickly joined up with the girls.

Actually, when they left their base earlier that morning, they had not progressed in this highly alert manner but had followed Catherine in a straight direction. Being in an almost plant-less wasteland, there were no obstacles to impede their progress, and everyone moved very quickly. In little time, they had crossed over ten kilometers and reached the border between the wasteland and the dense forest. It must be admitted that the condition of the border was very peculiar; in the outside world, if the terrain changes, it is mostly gradual, as seen where the Country of Sand and the Neutral Land meet. The fertile land slowly becomes barren, the vegetation gradually diminishes, the desertification worsens, and eventually, it turns into a desert. Almost all terrain changes are similar, but here, the border between the dense forest and the wasteland was strikingly abrupt.

In the eyes of the young girls, the two terrains seemed as if a man-made boundary line had been drawn between them; on one side was a dense forest, with loose, moist soil, and droplets still falling from the canopy above, evidently after a recent rain. However, on the other side was a lifeless wasteland, arid land covered with shards of stone, completely devoid of any moist air, as if the rainfall had intentionally avoided this area. The transition between the two terrains was extremely clear, with fertile soil and fragmented stones lying side by side, yet without any signs of encroaching upon each other, the boundaries as neat as if measured with a ruler.

Upon entering the dense forest, Catherine immediately halted, signaling for a highly cautious advance, and the entire team raised no objections. In the combat meeting the day before, they had already agreed on this approach, after all; the open wasteland offered an excellent range of vision, making it difficult for enemies to ambush. Even if, like the two Modified Undead magical beasts they had encountered before, they buried themselves in the soil, as long as the team maintained high speed, it was impossible for them to truly launch a surprise attack on anyone. But once they entered the forest, it was different; the range of vision was reduced to the minimum, and the surrounding plants added interference. If there were any ambushes, they would be difficult to detect, so maintaining the highest alert was absolutely necessary.

Of course, in the forest now invaded by the Forbidden Land of Living Souls, the team’s vigilance clearly wasn’t directed at the fearsome magical beasts that used to be omnipresent. Those creatures had either turned into Twisted Souls due to the sudden expansion of the Forbidden Land or had sensed the danger early and migrated to other areas before the land expanded. In any case, no living animals could be found here anymore. Therefore, the team’s vigilance was partly due to the sudden increase in Twisted Souls as the Forbidden Land expanded, akin to the distorters like Catherine’s grandfather. On the other hand, the main object of their vigilance was the potential Undead ambushers. The team was getting closer to their destination, moving in a straight line, which clearly indicated they knew the location of the temple. As Divine Servants controlling the two moribund, no one believed they remained ignorant of the team’s movements or that they were just sitting at home doing nothing. Naturally, the simplest countermeasure was to send out a large number of Modified Undead creatures and use the advantageous conditions in the forest to launch an ambush against the approaching team. Therefore, everyone unanimously agreed to be extremely cautious after entering the forest, giving no chance to ambushers. Even if such vigilance ultimately proved to be just a waste of energy, with no ambushers present, it was much better than overlooking the enemy’s successful sneak attack due to a moment’s negligence. Previous consecutive ambushes had made the young girls sufficiently wary, no longer allowing for any careless oversights.

As they advanced in a staggered formation, Catherine suddenly paused and extended her right hand backward, making a stopping gesture. A few seconds later, Pannis appeared above the knight’s head, looked around, then whispered something to the girl. The girl nodded, slowly gesturing towards the rear; the girls understood the implication and did not move, but instead gathered closer to Catherine’s position in a defensive posture. Fortunately, nothing happened along the way until they regrouped. Once they reached Catherine’s side, the girls frowned, as their sensitive noses detected a pungent scent. Although faint, the girls were not unfamiliar with it – it was the smell of decaying corpses.

"It’s been a long time," Freya said, habitually covering her nose, "but although the smell is faint, it’s quite distinct."

"This smell is very strange. If judged by its intensity, it seems to have been over half a year old. However, if we go by the smell itself, it seems to be less than a month old," Catherine frowned as she spoke, "Could it be a modified undead magical beast? It doesn’t quite seem like it. The modified undead beasts we encountered before never emitted such a rotten stench while alive."

"It’s still impossible to determine," Pannis shook his head as he said, "It might also be possible that a modified undead died here for some reason. After all, if it’s been a month, there shouldn’t have been any animals here by then, which makes the possibility of a modified undead somewhat higher."

"It is somewhat concerning," Catherine felt a trace of unease and pointed ahead, "The smell seems to be coming from over there, from that cluster of bushes. Since we must pass by them, why not go check it out? I wouldn’t want to be attacked from the side as we pass or be caught in a pincer attack afterwards. But, could there be any danger?"

"Nothing apparent as of now, but this is the core area of the Forest of Death, and the Forbidden Land of Living Souls. Anything happening here wouldn’t be surprising," Pannis was also doubtful and thought for a moment before saying, "Let me go closer and observe first. You all stay on alert here."

"Be very careful," Catherine instructed, "Don’t take any risks. If you must do something risky, come back first and then we can all go together. That way we can also look out for each other."

"Don’t worry, standing before you is the best explorer from Quinzel Town," Pannis grinned, showing an arrogant smile and raised his thumb, saying, "I’m a professional, not like those frauds."

Pannis’s words made the initial three girls momentarily recall the scene when they first met years ago. Visions from the past flashed before the girls’ eyes, bringing a warm smile to their lips. Amidst the smiles, Catherine gently bit her lip and softly said, "Then we leave everything in your hands, Mr. Professional Explorer. We’ll be waiting here for your victorious return."

"Your will, Captain, I shall return shortly," Pannis responded with a smile, saluting with his chest, then vanished into the shadows of the trees nearby amongst the malevolently murmuring but uncomprehending scorpion-tailed lion.

Indeed, he returned very quickly. Thirty seconds later, they saw him leisurely strolling back from the front.