CH49

Helag was now quite a distance from the entrance of Moonlight Forest, about a half-hour walk back.

"With Deep Blue's detection, I'll go a bit further but not too deep. If anything seems off, I'll retreat immediately," Helag decided after some thought.

Finding Sleeping Mushrooms on the outskirts had become difficult, so he needed to take a slight risk and venture deeper.

The main dangers in the depths of Moonlight Forest were twofold: powerful magical beasts and strange plants, and the possibility of encountering wizards from Green Cottage.

The forest floor was covered with thick layers of fallen leaves, and Helag felt the leaves were several centimeters deep as he walked.

Thanks to Deep Blue's detection, he didn't worry about hidden pitfalls beneath the leaves.

Helag didn't venture too far, staying within a nearby area. In an hour, he found eight Sleeping Mushrooms.

"This area definitely has more mushrooms, but… it's too quiet."

Helag noticed that during his time here, there was no sound at all, an eerie silence that felt unnatural.

Sensing something was wrong, he immediately stopped.

Observing his surroundings carefully, he noticed details that made him frown.

Normally, there would be some breeze in the forest, causing leaves and plants to sway slightly. But now, everything was still, like a frozen image.

Helag began to retreat but found that he couldn't leave the area.

The nearest tree was ten meters away, and though he kept walking towards it, he couldn't get any closer.

Helag stopped, trying to stay calm.

He crouched down and touched a waist-high plant.

The plant quickly withered and turned to ash at his touch.

"Deep Blue, were there any unusual magical fluctuations just now?" Helag was puzzled, having sensed nothing abnormal before encountering this strange situation.

[No unusual magical fluctuations detected,] Deep Blue replied.

"Deep Blue, check if my mental state is normal. Am I experiencing hallucinations?"

Deep Blue responded immediately, [Everything is normal.]

Helag thought for a moment. Randomly walking around wouldn't help; it might even lead him into unknown spaces like the Lost Sea Fog.

"Wait… Lost Sea Fog…"

Helag remembered his Starry Sky Meditation Technique, which he had used to navigate out of the Lost Sea Fog by sensing the stars' positions.

He entered a meditative state, trying to sense the stars' positions.

After a moment, Helag's expression turned serious.

Not only could he not sense his four stars, but the positions and number of stars in the sky had changed, completely different from before.

"This star pattern… it's like being on a different planet."

Helag realized the gravity of the situation. Normally, stars move in predictable patterns, and the entire sky wouldn't change overnight.

Unless he was no longer on the same planet.

Taking a deep breath, Helag began to think of a solution.

He couldn't wander aimlessly, risking triggering unknown dangers and ending up like the plant that turned to ash.

Cough… cough…

Helag heard faint breathing, far away but clear in the deathly silence.

Soon, three men appeared within Deep Blue's detection range, running frantically and looking disheveled.

The leader wore a luxurious gold-trimmed wizard robe, while the other two wore ordinary apprentice robes.

Helag noticed that all three had a cabin emblem on their robes, indicating they were from Green Cottage.

"Deep Blue, assess their strength."

Upon Helag's command, detailed data appeared above the three men for him to review.

[Strength 6.2, Agility 6.8, Constitution 7.0, Spirit 18.9]

[Strength 3.7, Agility 2.9, Constitution 4.1, Spirit 9.5]

[Strength 3.5, Agility 2.5, Constitution 3.5, Spirit 8.3]

All three had higher attributes than Helag, especially the leader, whose spirit and physical stats matched those of a third-class apprentice.

With no way to retreat, Helag hid in a dense bush, though he knew it wouldn't help much against these three.

The plants in the bush, like the one he touched earlier, would wither and turn to ash at the slightest touch.

"Lord Luen! We're already in Moonlight Woodland's territory. We might encounter their people!" the apprentice with the lowest spirit warned as he ran.

Luen, the third-class apprentice, glanced back in terror and snapped at the man beside him, "What choice do we have? I'd rather die at the hands of Moonlight Woodland than that monster behind us."

Another man said, "Lord Luen is Lord Malcolm's younger brother. Moonlight Woodland wouldn't dare kill him easily. If we lead Shivara here, we might even trap them."

"Idiot! We might not even escape! I used a precious enchanted item just to buy us some time!" Luen increased his speed, quickly distancing himself from the other two.

The two lagging behind exchanged a glance, realizing the severity of the situation.

Luen's speed was much faster, and the monster behind them would likely catch them first.

Realizing this, they began running desperately, faces turning red with exertion.

"Malcolm's younger brother…" Helag recalled Malcolm, who had slaughtered Baron Buck's family at the castle, introducing himself as being from Green Cottage.

"What a coincidence. His younger brother is also a third-class apprentice," Helag thought, feeling the pressure.

Luen and his companions soon reached Helag's area. Luen immediately sensed Helag's presence but didn't even glance at him, continuing to run forward.

They quickly noticed the strange phenomenon, and Luen's face turned pale. "What's going on? Why can't we get through?"

"Could Moonlight Woodland have set up some barrier here?" one of the men speculated.

Luen glanced at Helag's hiding spot, extending his hand to cast a Fireball, which flew towards Helag.

"Ice Shield!"

"Mana Shield!"

"Dark Energy Shield!"

Helag had been keeping an eye on them and was ready to run when Luen turned. He quickly cast three shields and activated the Wind Spirit's Ring, dodging the Fireball.

The Fireball exploded, turning numerous plants to ash and kicking up a cloud of dust.