Chapter 41. Whisper of the Felled Trees

Saun's point of view

 Having such a good harvest lately, mostly thanks to the crows, I started to go further into the forest, this one was situated in a straight line from the submerged city, towards the east.

 The size of the forest was inordinate, according to Lint, who's mission is to explore the surrounding area, this forest encompasses much of the north and is where we came from, to the south.

 It is a natural line that divides the territory of the mermaid queen, just on the other side is that supposed enemy of hers.

 But the whole central area is dense forest, full of beasts of all kinds.

 Though what I wondered, is why they would attempt a war with the mermaid queen, with such a red zone between them, if either of them tried to break through the forest, they would surely lose most, if not, all of the troops.

 That doubt was gnawing at my head. When I asked Irina, she told me that they should have a way to access through the forest safely, if not, then it's a trap of some sort.

 Of all of them, Irina, is the one with the sharpest mind, especially for scheming, it is one of the main reasons for our lord Hel to keep her by his side at all times.

Stopping getting lost in my thoughts, I focus again on the surroundings, my crows are circling the sky, looking for targets, while I keep walking without making the slightest noise.

 The hours were beginning to pass, but strangely, there was no beast nearby, that's when a rustling woke me up.

 The movement of the leaves along with a slight "crack", that sound was not coming from nearby, it was relatively far away, but that sound... it can only be a large creature.

 If my guess is correct, some beast had hit a tree, knocking it down in the process.

 Quickly, I sent my crows to observe, as I walked slowly but in absolute silence towards that position.

 Little by little, the trees were getting taller and denser, enclosing the ground and keeping it away from the light, little by little, the sounds of trees being knocked down became more rhythmic, the creature must be fighting or perhaps very angry with the flora of the place.

 The crows I sent, returned, but one brought something unexpected.

In the beak of this, you could see a piece of skin, but it is having been tanned, the work on it did not seem very good, there were still traces of blood and poorly made cuts, but still it was something would not have to be in the forest.

 Without accelerating, I continue walking towards the direction of the sounds, rolling up the piece of cloth, I leave it on the inside of my bio armor where she alone, formed a small pocket where to deposit it.

 A test, that's what it was and I had to keep it.

 After a while, the sounds of the trees falling were loud, I was almost there.

 With a leap, I grabbed the nearest tree and climbed to its top, still hidden by the leaves and activating my individuality to the maximum.

 Only then could I see.

 Dozens of brown monkeys, wearing collars and chains.

 They were using some kind of earth magic, to dig up the roots of trees and pull them down. Then they would readjust the earth to be smooth.

 Behind them, a group of entities with weapons would look down on them scornfully, some even hitting them when they fell to the ground.

 The aggressors were birdmen and along with them, other species.

 I could distinguish some interesting ones, there was a group that seemed to be snakes with arms, they were similar to a species I saw in the throne room, another interesting one was a rat, this one was huge, even more for being bipedal, its feet and claws were bipedal, it even had a snake for a tail.

 Then to my surprise something obscured the clearing that was forming.

 A huge blanket, milky white, descended from the heavens.

 This blanket had many markings of a beautiful golden color and I could tell it was a gentle being, I could not notice any speck of aggression, so tame.

 On it, about ten figures.

 You could see that most consisted of more brown monkeys, the others were bird men, one carried a kind of carved white rock, of a large size, about the same size as my head.

 Those bird men were quick to pull the monkeys off the back of the blanket, pushing them hard.

 As soon as they hit the ground, they were forced to work and so the trees began to fall slightly faster.

 This was not good, I had to inform my master as soon as possible.

 Only after seeing this, I jumped to the ground and ran off towards the city, this was not good, not good at all.

 I started my run as if my life depended on it, but obeying the rule of not flying, I started my run, there was time, if this was not reported immediately... I do not know what the result could be, but it would be catastrophic for sure.

 There is still the doubt, that this is something done by the queen, but I think it has nothing to do with her, as far as I can tell she had no slaves in her city, but I don't know, I will let my lord judge.

 Only after a few hours I was able to get out of the forest, although to my surprise I found a familiar face or rather mask beating and smashing trees in a fit of rage.

 Normally I wouldn't bother her, but in this case we all need to be there.

 I lightly cleared my voice and called out to her.

 - Lilith - She looked at me and shouted angrily.

 - What the hell do you want Saun, can't you see I'm blowing off some steam or is it that you want to help me do it - No way, that's what I was thinking but I dare not say it, for obvious reasons.

 From among us, the most powerful would be Lilith, then Velona and Pele, being equal, then there would be me and only after me, our lord Hel. Gal is more focused on learning to protect, so that our lord doesn't have to give his life again for us and Balthazar is a hopeless case when he gets lost in magic, although he could become really powerful later, Lint, Irina and Gea, are the weakest, but really useful.

 - Lilith we have problems, I have discovered something strange in the forest and if my guess is correct, perhaps our lord is in danger, although not directly, but surely this area will not be safe at all - As I hear me a huge rock is shattered into small fragments.

 - What did you see Saun? - When she asked me, she seemed calmer, but I could notice in her voice her fury, although now I didn't know if it was because of the annoyance from before or because of the possibility of danger to our lord, as I wish I could read emotions like Lint.

 It didn't take him long to explain and she became thoughtful for a moment.

 - Saun, you go find Irina, tell her to call the others, I'll look for Lint, his scouting area today, it's just behind the city, in deep water. As soon as you finish telling Irina, run with everyone to Hel, do not leave any detail without telling her, let's hope you are wrong in your speculation, if not, we may have the war closer than expected - After those words, she ran to the cliff, her speed was faster than mine and soon I lost her, while I went to look for Irina.

 I hope I'm wrong too, I will not let another sacrifice happen.