Kingdom Era

Chapter 11 Misty Forest

When little Betty smelled the wonderful aroma of the breakfast cheese, her sleepy eyes popped open wide at once. “Wow!” She exclaimed happily before reaching out and grabbing herself a slice of cheese. Even her eyes were smiling as she tucked into her breakfast with enjoyment.

Belinda was both angry and tickled at the same time as she cast a glance at the voracious little girl. With no other choice, she sat down and picked up a piece of bread and ate it distractedly.

“Ser Gossen, join us, please!” Alan warmly invited Gossen, who was ready to go with his giant sword on his back, to breakfast.

“I’ve already had breakfast, Your Highness.” Gossen politely turned down his invitation and stood guard quietly.

Alan could tell that Belinda was desperate to go home. After eating just two pieces of bread, he put down the cutlery in his hands.

Alan glanced at Belinda and turned to Gossen, “Ser Gossen, let’s set off now!”

To ensure Alan's safety, Gossen brought along ten guards with them. Before leaving the castle, he reminded Alan solemnly once more, “Your Highness, the Misty Forest is extremely dangerous, especially the core area. Even I can’t say for sure that I’ll be able to escape unscathed. To put it bluntly, you are a burden to me in the Misty Forest. I can’t ensure your safety and it remains a perilous place for you. I think it’s better that you stay in the castle.”

“Let me send both ladies back myself. They can protect themselves in the Misty Forest and thus I can protect myself well since I won’t be distracted by the need to protect them. I promise that I’ll do my best to send them back,” he said straightforwardly.

Alan knew that he was right, but he shook his head and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Ser Gossen. I know the situation, but I insist on sending them back in person. It’s a promise I made to my friends. Besides, I’m curious about the Misty Forest. Trust me, I won’t cause trouble for you.”

Sensing the determination in his tone, Gossen could only sigh helplessly in his heart. He took some time to organize the troop before leading Alan, Belinda, Betty, and their guards out on horses.

The Misty Forest was situated right behind Blackstone City and it was incredibly vast. Even Belinda herself had no idea how large it was, let alone Alan. What they knew was that it was in no way smaller than the territory of Athenian Empire.

The peripheral area of the Misty Forest was like any ordinary forest where countless ordinary creatures lived. Even after venturing deeper for about 100 miles, they barely entered the peripheral area.

From here on, traces of monsters’ presence began to appear. Of course, most of them living in the peripheral area were low-level monsters of third grade or below, such as the lightning hares who could send forth small bolts of lightning and kobold rats which were timid but could dig very fast.

They could hardly march forward on horses after reaching the peripheral area as their horses were but ordinary war horses. The aura given off by the monsters in their surroundings made them feel uneasy.

“Let me handle this!” Belinda, sitting in the back, dismounted with a light jump. She came to a tall, mighty tree with a trunk thick enough for dozens of people to encircle it, and pressed her fair, slender hand against the trunk lightly.

She closed her eyes slowly as the corners of her mouth curled slightly upward, which made her look pure and beautiful. Alan found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her.

A moment later, Belinda opened her emerald eyes, murmured something, plucked a leaf and blew it gently. Instantly, an invisible wave of energy rippled through the surroundings.

Bleat, bleat~

Before Alan could comprehend what Belinda was doing, they heard the melodious bleating of deer from afar.

“Watch out!” Bruce the guard shouted at once and stood in front of Alan to protect him.

When three giant deer that were three to four meters tall approached them, Alan’s jaw dropped as he was seized with great shock.

Three beautiful white streaks could be seen on their bodies and on their heads were a pair of sharp, beautiful antlers that stood proudly like corals. Alan reckoned that these sharp horns could easily pierce the armor his guards were wearing.

“The fourth-grade divine streaked deer!” Gossen exclaimed as he recognized the rare giant deer.

Information regarding the divine streaked deer popped into Alan’s mind. Normally, they only lived in deserted areas deep in the forest. They had a strong sense of hearing and could move extremely fast. Even the most experienced hunters could hardly spot them.

Belinda enjoyed the startled look on Alan’s face. She lifted her chin and approached the three streaked deer. To everyone’s surprise, the deer lowered their heads meekly and touched Belinda’s hand gently with their noses.

“Wow, deer!” Betty jumped off her horse too. She trotted toward the divine streaked deer and reached out to pet their heads. One of the deer even stuck its tongue out and licked Betty’s hand, which made her giggle happily.

“Let’s ride on them and move forward. Otherwise, I’m afraid we won’t be able to make it in time today,” Belinda said to Alan before she added, “That’s all I can summon. I’m afraid they can’t...”

As she spoke, she turned to look at the guards by Alan’s side.

Alan waved his hand. “Ser Gossen said that the deeper we go inside, the more dangerous it would be. They aren’t that strong and I’m afraid they would die in there if they went any deeper. Let’s just go without the guards.”

Gossen didn’t say anything, his silence a tacit agreement with Alan’s plan.

Belinda nodded. “Okay. Let’s go, then!” Right after her words, she mounted one of the divine streaked deer and helped little Betty mount as well.

Alan instructed Bruce and the rest of the guards to head back by the same path. He and Gossen then dismounted from their horses and mounted one deer each. The fur of the deer was soft and felt comfortable when they were atop. However, both Alan and Gossen felt a little unaccustomed without the reins.

Glancing at Alan who was clearly uncomfortable, Belinda snickered at him and reminded, “Hold their horns in case you fall off!”

“Go!” With that, she patted the giant deer under her. The deer jumped lightly and then disappeared into the forest in a few quick strides.

“Wait for us!” Alan shouted. He closed his eyes and gripped tightly on the horns. Before long, he could feel the terribly fast speed at which the divine streaked deer was running and hear the wind roaring in his ears.

When Alan opened his eyes, he saw trees next to him zooming past him quickly. Belinda and Betty were right in front of him, riding the deer elegantly while bursting forth in peals of laughter.

Gossen was following behind him closely. He seemed to have adapted well to riding on the giant deer and looked as calm and composed as an experienced giant deer rider.

Gradually, Alan became more relaxed and less nervous. The divine streaked deer ran fast but steadily, and he need not worry about falling off from it anytime.

One must admit that the divine streaked deer ran so fast that the warhorses they rode just now were as slow as snails in comparison.

As they marched deeper into the forest, the four of them began seeing more monsters. There were all kinds of fascinating monsters and animals, including huge boas thick as buckets, giant tigers that were four or five meters long, black spiders the size of washbasins, and herds of tall and majestic iron cattle.