Bear School Astartes

Chapter 1040 - 1022: Dark Forest

The atmosphere in this grove is not friendly.

Lann has been in this world for two days, this is the second grove he has seen, but both groves give off the same feeling.

He couldn’t tell if this was a common characteristic of the groves in this world.

The grove is large, or rather, it should be called a forest.

The surrounding trees grow densely, the density almost makes one feel suffocated and hard to breathe.

The twisting branches grow chaotically, and there is no sign of vibrant biological activity within the forest.

There are no bird calls, no sounds of wild beasts, not even the chirping of insects.

Coming out from Tom’s cozy cottage and the tidy lawn, Lann and his companions felt extremely abrupt with this dramatic change in atmosphere.

Even now, Qilin is still somewhat dazed.

But fortunately, Lann was the first to complete his mental adjustment.

His nerves started to tense moderately, and his muscles began to heat up under the activation of active nerves, getting into a suitable state for movement.

His left hand rested on the hilt of the Aron Dite Blade at his waist.

"Rong Buqiu."

The Demon Hunter cautiously looked around while calling his companion’s name.

"I’m here, meow!"

Just after rolling up the small cloak and tucking it into the pack on Qilin’s back, Elu Cat raised a paw and responded.

"Climb up first, look at the sun’s position and the surrounding terrain. We need to figure out where Old Tom has thrown us."

Rong Buqiu responded swiftly.

Its breathing suddenly changed, and with its innate nimble cat-like frame, it climbed swiftly onto a nearby twisted tree with the Light Body Breathing Technique.

Even when Rong Buqiu’s body swiftly entered the upper tree canopy, the wind stirred by its speed rustled a large patch of leaves.

Soon after, a cat’s voice came from the tree canopy.

"I see the sun, meow! It’s now...wait! Boss! Something is coming from that direction, meow!"

From the small cat’s view.

At this moment, Elu Cat is already at the top of a tree’s canopy branches within the forest.

With its racial advantage, Rong Buqiu’s Light Body Skill has reached the level of high-level Lonely Shadow Group members from Iwami Country.

It can stand atop the tips of swaying branches without breaking them.

This provides it with excellent visibility.

And in the direction of the sun, far away in the dense forest, patches of disturbance appear in the tree canopy.

The shaking branches caused by collision and tugging form a straight path, rapidly approaching in their direction!

It’s clear that something huge, or perhaps a large group of creatures, is charging in this direction!

So Rong Buqiu uses the Light Body Skill to swiftly descend like a shadow while loudly alerting Lann.

But actually, Lann didn’t need the reminder.

After all, the commotion over there was truly significant.

Lann stared in that direction and patted Qilin’s neck.

The Ancient Dragon understood; blue electric currents started linking and flashing between its hooves.

In unfamiliar territory like this, even if they didn’t want trouble, turning back to retreat could lead them right into something.

It’s better to wait and see what’s crashing through this forest.

Even if the situation requires them to retreat, the warmed-up Qilin can unleash great speed to take Lann and Rong Buqiu away.

Elu Cat also leapt down from the tree at this moment, using Lann’s shoulder for leverage before landing on Qilin’s saddle.

The Thunder Cat Sword, with paw print patterns on the handle, was drawn from its back, ready and facing towards the increasingly noise-filled direction.

The grove and shrubs naturally absorbed sound well, in a dense jungle, you might not hear someone’s shout ten meters away.

But nearby, the crackling of snapping tree branches and the rustling of leaves rubbing together has become continuous, somewhat noisy in this otherwise silent forest.

Rong Buqiu stands atop the saddle, holding the Thunder Cat Sword.

Lann also has his hand on the hilt at his waist.

Qilin with its head lowered, its khameru horn extending from the magic horse harness facing forward.

The three of them are on alert, and not far ahead, besides the chaotic sounds, the trees and branches in view are already shaking violently.

The atmosphere grows sharper, with Lann’s hand having already drawn a small length of blade from the sheath.

If at this moment any monster were to charge out of the dense foliage, it would probably be...instantly...

"Whoosh!"

Something suddenly rushes out of the shivering bushes, but Lann’s eyes first squint slightly, then return to normal.

He didn’t cut out instantly, but rather sidestepped a bit, making some room.

Several grey shadows in succession leap out.

Rong Buqiu keeps its sword raised, ready for battle, but its expression freezes.

"Meow?"

Because what dashed out from the bushes...was seven or eight large rabbits with grey fur, nearly one meter long!

These rabbits all have harness ropes or similar gear on them, like sled dogs pulling a sleigh, lined up in two rows together.

Seeing Lann and his companions in the clearing between the trees, Lann caught sight of the leading rabbit’s eyes.

Its expression was human-like, filled with surprise and shock.

Immediately, the leading rabbit took advantage of the space Lann allowed, turning sharply and stopping abruptly.

This group of giant rabbits didn’t just line up like sled dogs; they were actually pulling a small cart behind them.

"Oh my heavens! Bambi, did you eat mushrooms and ruin your brain? Don’t stop!"

An elderly but strong voice came from the rear.

As the leading rabbits turned and stopped suddenly, the cart they were pulling got ’whipped’ out of the bushes.

It was a crudely but sturdily assembled wooden sled, with a scruffy old man yelling anxiously at the leading rabbit.

Lann’s eyes revealed a realization, questioning why the footsteps sounded so strange; it was because this combination itself was odd enough.

This elder was unusually scruffy.

He wore only a brown tattered robe, and Lann couldn’t confirm if it was originally brown or had become brown due to prolonged lack of washing.

A ragged leather hat adorned his head, revealing graying and knotted hair. He held a wooden magic staff taller than a person, topped with a crystal.

And on the side of his forehead... was that bird droppings?

A white and green plaster-like substance covered a large area of his hair on one side of his forehead.

Strangely enough, he didn’t emit a strong odor.

Once the wooden sled stabilized after being whipped out by the rabbits, the anxious old man scanned the surroundings and finally saw the three figures standing aside.

He instinctively shrank back, then hurriedly lifted the magic staff in front of himself.

His clouded eyes looked them over.

A tall figure, possibly human. A similarly large stallion exceeding its kin. And a... armored, longsword-wielding cat?

The scruffy old man blinked, seemingly confused, then rubbed his eyes with the hand holding the magic staff.

He seemed to doubt whether he had eaten mushrooms and made himself dizzy.

Lann also furrowed his brow, cautiously observing the old man before him.

Through the communication the previous day, the Demon Hunter had confirmed the existence of a Creator God, the bizarre master of this world.

Calling it the Mythical Era didn’t seem out of place.

Who knows what kind of character this old man racing through the forest with rabbits pulling a sled could be?

Wizard? Forest God? Sprite?

"Who are you? How did you come to this dangerous land?"

The scruffy old man rubbed his eyes, confirmed the three in front weren’t an illusion, and asked in a low, cautious voice.

All the while, the magic staff remained pointed at Lann alertly.

"An accident," Lann explained, raising a hand without approaching. "We don’t know where this place is; we just took a path and ended up here in a blink."

"Don’t worry, we mean no harm."

Using what could be nearly called innate charisma, Lann was soothing the scruffy old man’s clear vigilance and wariness.

When faced with such outrageous claims, a listener’s initial response often isn’t disbelief or rebuttal, but shock.

The scruffy old man was just like that.

But before he could react himself, the leading rabbit pulling the sled stood upright, rhythmically stomping a big foot on the ground with a ’thump-thump’ sound.

Rabbit calls are often not loud, so it used this method to issue a warning.

With the leading rabbit’s warning, the scruffy old man snapped back to his previous state—in a nervous rush.

"Is someone chasing you?"

Lann asked tentatively.

This drew a surprised look from the scruffy old man.

"You really don’t know this Dark Forest? What’s chasing me isn’t human!"

"Anyway, let’s go! Quick! Giddy up!"

He gripped the sled’s handle tightly, and the rabbits towing the sled sped away once more under the leader’s guidance.

Lann watched the scruffy old man wave at them, and calmly mounted his horse.

"Follow him."

The Demon Hunter patted the Qilin’s neck and spoke gently.

The Qilin nodded its head, its hooves swiftly and agilely starting to move!

Lann and his companions followed behind the rabbit sled from two positions away.

And shortly after the Qilin ran out of the forest clearing...

"Squeak!"

The sharp sound, accompanied by the rustling of bodies hitting the branches, came from behind!

Along with the sharp scraping noises of limbs sliding on tree trunk wood!

Lann turned to look, and a large swarm of bats rushed out of the forest! The kind that, with wings spread, can entirely envelop a person’s upper body!

And giant spiders too!

Spiders as large as Lann himself!

They all seemed ravenously hungry, chasing towards them.

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