511 Prelude to Danger

"Bloed, is Regina going to be alright?" Liu Ying asked worriedly.

Bloed nodded. "Don't worry, Regina is not so easy to defeat. Plus, I told her that if she is in danger, she must surrender and we will give up the Heart."

Liu Ying became slightly relieved after hearing that, but she did not know that despite his words, Bloed was very worried inwardly.

Even though everything he said to Liu Ying was true, he knew that it did not mean that Regina wasn't in danger. She was facing several demigods. Nobody could be sure about what could happen.

He had ordered Regina to avoid killing as much as possible. That way, there will be room for negotiation even if she is cornered. But it only reduced the danger slightly.

'I just hope that nothing bad happens.'

Bloed knew that to Regina, his safety and his needs were above everything. If one day, she needed to sacrifice her life to save him, she would do it without any hesitation.

That was why Regina decided to serve as bait to attract the attention of the demigods, and even then, she made sure to keep a distance of no longer than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Bloed. That way, she only needed a couple of minutes to arrive at Bloed's location if he was in danger.

But likewise, Regina was Bloed's most important person. He had feelings for Liu Ying, Aya, and even Elwha, but the one he loved the most was Regina.

If something happened to her, he would become crazy.

'What am I thinking? Nothing will happen…'

Bloed closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. He then started to analyze the situation.

Regina's plan was very effective. With her attracting the attention of the demigods that came for the Heart of the Forest, the danger that Bloed and the girls faced was much lower.

However, this plan had a small flaw.

'The Church of Slaughter.'

The Church of Slaughter most likely knew that Regina was accompanied by Bloed, Liu Ying, Elwha, and Eres. If they revealed that information, then the other demigods would notice the possibility of Regina acting as bait.

Thus, after they separated from Regina, Bloed communicated with Headmistress Wave and asked her to tell him if more news about the situation were released. At the same time, he and the girls continued advancing towards the Boerner Forest.

But even after one hour, the Church of Slaughter revealed nothing.

That made Bloed sigh in relief.

At the same time, it gave him a lot of information.

'For some reason, the Church of Slaughter decided to reveal the truth about the Heart of the Forest. Most likely, they want to achieve something through it.

'But they still want to get the Heart if they can, so they did not reveal everything. It means that their goal is not directly related to the Heart. Instead, it's something different.

'But, what is it?'

Bloed thought for a while, but he did not manage to reach an answer.

He had too little information to reach a conclusion.

Just at that moment, Eres's face became solemn.

"Bloed. We need to hide. Now!"

Bloed did not hesitate. He ordered Leto to stop advancing and activated the optical camouflage.

Twenty seconds later, they felt a powerful presence approaching their location.

A magic beast at the demigod level.

It was a tiger-like creature walking slowly through the forest as though it was searching for something.

It was obvious that their target was Bloed's group.

Bloed and the girls became nervous, but fortunately, the beast did not manage to find their hiding place. Even its sense of smell failed in front of Bloed's advanced technology.

But this encounter made the group tense.

After the tiger left, Bloed deactivated the camouflage and furrowed his brows.

"We need to be careful to avoid any magic beast or Slaughter can find us."

The girls looked at each other before Eres and Elwha offered to use their abilities.

"I'll try to use my senses to detect the magic beast nearby."

"I can communicate with the nearby plants so they can warn me in advance if any beast is approaching."

Bloed agreed. He also summoned Oculus to watch their surroundings and find any beast that could discover them.

Even so, they needed to be careful.

Fortunately, it seemed like Slaughter could not influence small insects. Otherwise, they would have been discovered long ago.

Bloed guessed that Slaughter could only manipulate creatures with a certain amount of mana. Creatures that did not satisfy that requirement could not be used.

But despite that, the number of creatures at Slaughter's disposal was overwhelming.

If any of them discovered Bloed's group, it was very likely that they would be attacked by creatures from all directions.

The group continued advancing. During the way, they met several more magic beasts, including another two beasts at the demigod level. Every time, they were very careful to not be discovered.

It seemed like lady luck finally was on their side as they managed to remain undiscovered. Even Regina was in a good condition. She had fought another two groups of demigods, but both times she finished the battle uninjured.

Right now, she was being chased by a group made of three demigods, but she had managed to ditch them.

Bloed sighed in relief. He hoped that the situation could continue like this for the rest of the trip.

However, the situation was just about to turn for the worst.

Bloed did not notice, but from a while ago, a small insect had been observing their movements silently.

At the same time, a group of people arrived at the place where Regina faced the first group of demigods.

The person leading the group observed the traces of the battle and narrowed his eyes.

"It looks like the person holding the Heart of the Forest is stronger than we expected."

"Does it matter?" A robed figure behind him snorted. "No matter how strong he is, he must kneel once our lord descents."

"You are right." The leader nodded and proceeded to follow Regina's tracks.

In his white robe, there was the image of a resplendent golden sun.

....

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