The forest was very quiet. Brando pushed aside the overgrown vines and barely heard any sound as he moved through the forest. Even the birds rarely flew over their heads.
Looking ahead from where he was now, behind the layers of leaves was an open basin in the distance. The dense forest was like a dazzling jasper lying in the middle of the mountains. The terrain gradually lowered towards the center, forming a depression.
Looking further, there was a magnificent tree in the center of the basin. The tree's roots spread out in all directions, forming a mountain range. The nearest root extended less than a mile in this direction.
Andesha and her companions should have already arrived there. He did not dare to get too close. After all, the Lord of Withering was a half-Druid, and had many advantages in any forest.
He led the two women along a small path. Traces of the path's existence could be vaguely seen in the grass, although it had long been lost in the passage of time. However, the artificially carved slate fragments scattered in the dense forest silently told the story of the past.
Brando looked up. Now, only the dense aerial roots hanging down from the towering trees and the dense bushes under his feet were left. The grey-green plants clung to the waxy white rocks on both sides of the path. Only occasionally, through the gaps between the roots, could he see traces of what looked like words on the flat surface of the rocks.
However, they had long eroded away.
If Brando's guess was correct, those words should belong to the Silver Folk. Of course, it was not the Ancient Elven Language or the Wizard Language. The people who lived in Valhalla in ancient times should have long been lost in the long river of time. There was not a single word that mentioned who they were.
However, Brando guessed that the Silver Folk might have an inseparable relationship with the Children of the Forest. Today, Erouine's entire southern territory had their legacy.
But for some reason, even the Silver Elves did not have any description of Valhalla's past. In fact, the Silver Elves and Valhalla seemed to have the same origin. Brando had asked the Silver Elf princess, but the answer he received was not beyond what he knew.
Metisha once said that Valhalla should be much older than the Silver Elves. The Silver Elves, Mist Elves, and Moon Elves, the three silver bloodlines, and their common Elven Court, Alfheim, appeared in the era dominated by the Dark Dragon after the World Tree split.
Valhalla was already a legend even before the Dusk War. In the current Wohnde, the Twilight Dragon had long been an illusory symbol. Most ordinary people knew about this great demon, but they also knew that it was already dead.
The story that happened in the myth —
Only the monks and players of the Holy Cathedral knew a little about the forces of Chaos. But in comparison, they only had to deal with the cultists who acted in the name of Dusk.
Not to mention the War of Heaven and Earth in the Sacred Covenant, even the War of the Holy Saints with the Darkness was a distant history.
Not to mention the legends that existed in the same era as the Twilight Dragon, such as Valhalla, the Azure Knight, and the Blue Epic, which had long become ballads and stories of bards.
"If I'm not mistaken, those are words, right?"
Vahina asked softly behind him. Ever since this noble daughter did not dare to go back alone, she simply relied on Brando. She could see that although Brando was not like the other noble youths who were subservient to her and did not always get along with her, at least he would not really do anything to her.
"Can't you see for yourself?" Brando replied in annoyance.
"But I remember that the last time the people of Erouine opened up the Wilderness was fifty-three years ago. It was Baron Rumman from the House of Viero, and he was also the last pioneer Knight of Erouine. The book said that before that, the land south of Randner was a true Dark Forest, a land without a master, and no civilization had ever owned this place … But if these are really words and prove that there was a civilization here, then the Loop of Trade Winds is a land that once declined, and not a natural Dark Forest. Then wouldn't the book be wrong? "
"D-don't look at me like that. I was excellent in my Imperial Chronicles subject, and I was even praised by Master Von Hain!" Vahina replied uncomfortably under Brando's gaze.
"Is it the Dwarf Master who claimed to be able to decipher the Blue Epic?" Brando asked.
"Only part of it. Although Master Von Hain is a Dwarf, he is a naturalized citizen of the Empire." Vahina raised her chin proudly, unconsciously showing off her identity tag.
"But doesn't he know that the Druids lived in the Dark Forest five hundred years before the people of Erouine? What does he mean by the land south of Randner is a land without a master?" Brando mocked.
"Hey! Th-that doesn't count, the Druids have no need for land! "
"Yes, does Cruz dare to use this as an excuse to expel all the Druids from their borders? Then wouldn't the Empire's territory expand by another circle? Congratulations! "
"Y-you —"
Compared to this, what really caused Brando's dissatisfaction was the fact that Vahina's Imperial Chronicles included Erouine's history. This was also the reason why this noble lady knew so much about Erouine's past.
The people of the Empire had never seen Erouine as an independent country. In fact, he was very clear that in the eyes of the Cruz Empire, especially the nobles who supported the Empire's politics, Erouine was more like an overseas territory of the Empire.
It was this kind of arrogance that every player in Erouine could not tolerate.
Of course, Brando would not go so far as to make things difficult for a little girl who did not know anything. He was just stepping on the little tail of the noble lady that had just been raised, lest she get carried away. Then, the young lord turned around and looked at the lush green forest.
This path in the forest did not exist alone.
The path had always been used to connect the other parts of the 'city' that originally existed in the forest. Although Brando did not know where this path led to, it did not take long for them to realize this point.
After parting the heavy shrubs, the road led to an abandoned ruin in the woodland. The first thing that caught their eyes were the tall buildings piled up with rocks. These buildings were surrounded by a quiet green, quietly standing in the open space here.
But just as Brando's head popped out from the shrubs, he felt Sifrid tugging at his hand.
He immediately retracted his hand and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?"
"There's a bad guy." The little girl looked at him and mouthed.
"Over there?"
Sifrid pointed outside. Brando's gaze followed her finger and saw that she was pointing at the tallest building in the ruins. Brando looked carefully and immediately noticed something strange.
There was a plant on the roof of the building that seemed a little strange.
Brando suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air. He discovered that it was not a plant, but Andesha. She was extremely good at concealing herself, and with her half-Druid innate ability, it was difficult for ordinary people to detect her presence.
But it was a pity that her opponent was the Daughter of the Forest, Sifrid, who was favored by the Goddess of Niya.
Even so, Brando was still frightened to the point where he broke out in cold sweat. He realized that it was a wise choice not to send Sifrid back. There were too many benefits to fighting in the forest with the help of the Goddess of the Forest's daughter.
"Shh!" Brando immediately gestured to Faena who was following behind him.
He then looked outside. [This should be a market.] Brando recognized it from the circular layout. The tallest building was undoubtedly the temple of the God of Trade. In the past, when the Gods still existed, this temple must have been quite prosperous.
And right now, Andesha was standing on the roof of the temple.
As a qualified cultist, she did not have a good impression of any Gods, nor did she have the most basic respect for them. Even though the Gods of Wohnde had always protected the humans before the War of the Holy Saints, she was still a God of Trade.
Faena also saw Andesha and was shocked: "Why is she here?" She quickly looked at Brando and mouthed the question.
"If you have any intelligence, you would know that she's looking for us." Brendel gestured as he replied.
She took a deep breath and complained: "It's all your fault! That's why I said we should turn back!"
[I didn't stop you from leaving.] Brendel glared at her, thinking to himself, [I didn't stop you from leaving. However, he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this young lady whose temper had flared up again. He simply mouthed his reply:
"I'm sorry, I can't understand such complicated signs."
Faena was dumbfounded.
If Andesha continued to stay in front of him, he would not be able to find a chance to reach the core of Valhalla first. Since she had stopped, he would not be able to find a way to reach the core of Valhalla.
Since she stopped, this was his chance to seize the initiative.
Brando raised his head and looked around. He did not see the woman's companions, but he guessed that they should be in the market as well. He looked into the distance and noticed the exit on the other side of the market. He suddenly realized why Andesha chose to stop here.
It was because there was a tall wall there. The wall was made of the same material as the buildings here, and it was covered with vines and roots. Most of it was buried in the canopy of the trees, and it was impossible to notice it from a distance.
But Brando could not help but take a deep breath when he looked at the wall.
If he did not guess wrongly, the wall should be around the World Tree. The two ends of the wall were connected to the World Tree's two mountain-like roots, forming a natural arc of protection.
There were several inner walls behind the wall, and there should be a fan-shaped city inside. The idea of using the World Tree's roots to build a fortress was extremely ingenious.
If Brando was in his position, he would be extremely satisfied, but he could only feel a bitter taste in his mouth.
The only exit was at the other end of the market.
If he was not mistaken, Andesha should be monitoring that direction. Although she did not know what this place was for, she was definitely not a simpleton as one of the twelve patriarchs of the Tree Shepherds.
At least her judgement was the most accurate. If not for Sifrid, he would have been discovered by her.
But there were no ifs in history. Brando had discovered Andesha first, and he had a slight hope of defeating her.
[But how do I get through the market?]
Brando felt a headache coming on.
… … (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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