The journey back to the land from Sky City didn’t take long. After staying in the cabin for a few hours, Rocky felt the Skyship’s speed slow down, which clearly meant they were nearing the land.
So he and Liliya left the cabin together and stood at the bow looking down, just in time to see another vast forest below them.
“Lucky us, another forest.”
Discovering their landing spot was a forest made Liliya sigh with relief, for the terrain was ideal for their operation. Escaping danger would be easier in the woods than if they had landed in a large plain or desert, where they wouldn’t have a place to hide.
“Steer the ship to the edge of the forest, then we can land.”
Liliya turned to the guard accompanying them and issued an instruction before turning to look at Rocky, only to find him unusually quiet and solemn.
“What’s the matter, you nervous?”
Seeing Rocky acting differently from before, Liliya asked with a smile.
“Yeah, a bit nervous.”
Glancing at her, Rocky couldn’t help but take a deep breath and nodded.
He hadn’t felt the slightest bit nervous when imagining all this before, nor when he was in the cabin, but now, as the Skyship was about to land, he couldn’t help feeling tense.
“It’s normal to be nervous. After all, demon hunting is no game. One careless move and we both might not make it back.”
“But you don’t seem to be nervous…”
Looking at Liliya, Rocky couldn’t help but admire her, as he couldn’t sense any nervousness coming from her.
“Between the two of us, you handle the nerves, I’ll handle the calm.”
Curving her lips into a smile, Liliya cracked a rare joke.
The joke finally drew a smile from Rocky, but he knew in his heart that Liliya’s extensive experience allowed her to be calm and composed at critical moments, a skill he completely lacked. He still had much to learn.
“We’re about to land.”
Just then, Liliya’s voice brought him back to the present, and he saw the Skyship hovering at the edge of the forest, making its descent.
Soon after, the Skyship settled steadily onto a grassland on the forest’s outskirts. Rocky and Liliya disembarked and headed straight for the forest. As they ventured further away, the Skyship slowly ascended and flew back to Thunderhawk City.
“Now we’re truly on our own…”
As he walked toward the forest with Liliya, Rocky looked back just in time to see the Skyship climb slowly, muttering to himself.
Although this had been his own decision, the reality of being left on land made Rocky feel uneasy, or perhaps… scared?
“What do you mean ‘on our own’? You still have me.”
Liliya rolled her eyes at him and said, “Stop fretting, let’s get into the forest. We need to find the demons before they find us, otherwise we’ll be at a disadvantage.”
After saying that, she quickened her pace, and after taking a deep breath, Rocky followed closely. It wasn’t long before the two of them vanished into the woods.
This forest was different from the one Rocky had visited last time. The vegetation here was sparse and the trees were not lush, making it hard to feel a sense of verdancy. Instead, the whole forest exuded an aura as if it were on the verge of decay.
And when Rocky and Liliya truly entered the forest, they gradually slowed down and became more cautious.
“Do you remember what I told you?”
Liliya, leading the way, casually chopped off a branch blocking their path with her sword without looking back at Rocky.
“I remember, if we encounter a high-level demon, we run as fast as we can.”
“That’s right.”
In this world, demons were ranked in tiers, with a great variety of species. The strength gap between different types and levels of demons could be tremendous.
The strongest were, naturally, the high-level demons. Regardless of species, high-level demons were formidable. Warriors and mages stood no chance against them. Only a great warrior or an archmage, especially when equipped with Void Magic Armor, could fight a high-level demon, otherwise, it meant certain death.
In comparison, low-level demons were much weaker, though their danger depended on the species. Some species might be classified as low-level, but their strength was still formidable, making them equally perilous entities.
Over the past several days, Liliya had told Rocky much about the types of demons and the hierarchy of their levels, so he could be prepared and clear about their target for this mission.
So, while Liliya didn’t look back as she led the way, she continued, “Our target this time is low-level demons, the lower the better. Hence, if we run into high-level demons or more than two low-level demons, we’ll run immediately.”
“Got it, we probably won’t be that unlucky to run into high-level demons right off the bat.”
Though Liliya’s words were true, Rocky felt it wouldn’t be so unfortunate for them to encounter high-level demons right away. They weren’t as common as cabbages on the roadside, surely they wouldn’t stumble upon one so soon?
He had just finished speaking when suddenly a roar came from a distance, and at the same time, the ground beneath him and Liliya began to tremble continuously.
“This, this is…”
“Jinx!”
This sudden, but ear-splitting roar, along with the trembling of the ground, undoubtedly signified great danger!
So after giving Rocky a fierce glare, Liliya immediately dragged him behind a large tree for cover.
In fact, both of them could tell that the roar did not come from the forest they were in; rather, it came from a very distant place, which only made it more evident how terrifying the source of that roar was. Liliya was afraid that the roar would disturb the demons in the forest, and naturally, they had to hide just in case.
And if just a single roar could affect such a vast distance, one could imagine that the demon emitting the roar must be a high-level demon!
They waited until the roar had completely subsided before Liliya and Rocky emerged from behind the tree where they had been hiding and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Liliya, what exactly happened just now?”
Turning his head towards the direction from which the roar came, Rocky couldn’t help but ask.
“It’s likely that someone provoked a high-level demon. The two sides must be fighting.”
Just like Rocky, Liliya also turned to glance in that direction but her answer was not certain.
“Could there be others like us, hunting demons as well?”
“I don’t know.”
Shaking her head, Liliya sighed, “We’re better off minding our own business. Even if the others are hunting demons, their target is a high-level demon. Do you really want to encounter such a person?”
“…”
Rocky opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. Those who targeted high-level demons—what kind of beings were they? Indeed, it was best to avoid provoking them, better yet, not to meet them at all.
“Let’s not worry about this anymore.” Withdrawing her gaze, Liliya stepped forward to continue their progress, “Stay alert. If there are demons in this forest, they surely have been disturbed by that roar. We need to be cautious.”
“Alright.”
Agreeing, Rocky followed Liliya, his alertness heightened.
The two of them cautiously made their way deeper into the forest, walking and stopping intermittently, always ready to halt at the slightest rustle of leaves or grass, prepared for combat.
But despite their caution, they still hadn’t encountered any demons, a fact even Rocky found unusual.
So, as night fell and Liliya decided they should stop to spend the night in the forest, Rocky couldn’t help but ask,
“Liliya, what exactly is going on? Where have all the demons gone?”
Sitting by the flickering campfire, looking at Liliya who sat opposite him, Rocky was somewhat agitated. It was beyond him how they had traveled the entire day without encountering a single demon; the phenomenon was just too abnormal.
There’s an old saying—abnormal occurrences often spell trouble; this was clearly not a good sign!
“Something isn’t right…”
Even Rocky had noticed something amiss, so how could Liliya, with her more extensive experience, not realize there was a problem?
But she was also at a loss to understand what was happening.
Initially, Liliya’s biggest concern was that the two of them would face a swarm of demons or even bump into a high-level demon, leaving them no chance to escape. Yet, after traveling through the forest for a whole day, they hadn’t met any demons at all.
Could it be that, by some coincidence, there were no demons in this forest?
This possibility was quickly dismissed. The land had been occupied by demons for over a century; they were everywhere. How could there be no demons in this particular forest?
However, no matter the reason, Liliya couldn’t figure it out. She could only be certain of one thing—there was definitely a problem!
“Maybe something happened that we’re unaware of. Anyway, be extra vigilant tonight. It should be fine.”
After thinking for a long time without reaching any conclusion, Liliya gave up and then started to discuss the night watch with Rocky. They hadn’t encountered any demons during the day, but that did not mean they would not encounter any at night, so someone had to keep watch.
But just at that moment, while Liliya was getting ready to rest and Rocky was bracing himself for the night vigil, a furious roar suddenly erupted from within the forest!
This roar startled them both because they could tell that this time the call wasn’t from a distance; it originated from within the forest, and it was very close to them!
Finally, the demons had come!