Mystery: The Stranger

Chapter 16 Children of the Forest

Snow stared at the bulging bag, his lips twitching, momentarily at a loss for words. He had imagined countless forms of clues, but he had never expected this…down-to-earth evidence.

But it must be said that this is indeed the most direct and hardest clue to fake—the excrement of the Children of the Forest. This kind of thing... at least it can't fool a real corrupted baron. If there is an experienced diviner, perhaps he can take it to the bathroom to divine whether it is true or not.

"Very good." Snow suppressed the subtle emotions in his heart and slowly spoke, "Judging from the freshness of the feces, the Children of the Forest should still be active near the border forest. Make preparations, we will set off in three days."

Frye and his companion immediately bowed and accepted the order, their faces showing excitement. Being able to follow the Baron on a mission was both an honor and a great opportunity for them. The Children of the Forest were a treasure trove; even if the Baron took the main materials, they would still be able to collect some of the less important parts.

Xalatas's laughter echoed in Snow's mind, laced with undisguised mockery: "My dear, your men are quite... adept at finding 'special' clues. The droppings of the Children of the Forest—that's a tracking signal more reliable than any magical mark."

"Shut up."

Snow thought to himself, but his gaze was already fixed on the border forest outside the window, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

This extraordinary material, if given as a gift, would probably be enough to open the door to the Tamara family.

...

The following day, Snow Serin set off with his guards.

This time they were going into the forest, so before entering the forest, most of the knights stayed on the outskirts to take care of the horses and provide backup. He only brought two Sequence 8 barbarians, Frey and Vernon, a Sequence 8 Listener named Leah, three attendants carrying things and leading hunting dogs, and five knights carrying longbows and with short swords and axes hanging at their waists.

In the forest, following the marks they had left behind, Frye and Vernon quickly led Snow and his group closer to the spot where they had previously discovered the droppings of the Children of the Forest. There were no new droppings there, but that didn't matter; the hounds had a keen sense of smell, and at a distance of not too far, they quickly chose a direction.

Snow casually tossed out a few pieces of jerky as a reward, which was also a "bribe." This was one of the Baron's glove's abilities. If he didn't distort the perceptions of the hounds beforehand, they would tremble with fear when they smelled the Forest Children's feces, let alone track them.

Two barbarians were still leading the way, looking after the three ordinary followers. Leah nervously tugged at Snow's sleeve, her voice tinged with a mix of nervousness and grievance as she spoke:

"Snow, what's that sound over there? I'm a little scared."

This baroness wasn't pretending to be sweet; she was genuinely afraid. Back when Baron Hawke was still alive, as the baroness, she hardly had to participate in anything related to combat. Although she was a Sequence 8 Listener, she usually spent more time holding sacrificial ceremonies in the castle.

She had hardly ever been to a forest like this before, let alone faced a terrifying monster.

She was equally surprised that, given Snow's previous display of strength and ruthlessness, he would bring her along on his hunting trip, treating her as a fighting force.

"I understand. If I vaguely heard a gorilla yelling loudly in my ear, I would also feel very uneasy and frightened. I understand your feelings."

Snow glanced down at Leah, who was tugging at his clothes, and offered a gentlemanly, low-pitched word of comfort.

Although it was just a casual remark, it calmed Leah down a bit, giving her a small sense of happiness that she felt cared for and that her feelings were valued.

"I understand, I will issue the warnings carefully."

Not wanting to appear too weak in front of the five knights behind her, Leah loosened Snow's robes and looked at the path the two barbarians were clearing ahead. She deliberately used her listening ability, and soon her face paled slightly, as if she heard the earth rumbling, accompanied by powerful drumbeats, and the sound was getting closer and closer...

"Be on guard, everyone back off."

Almost the instant Snow shouted, the two barbarians, Frye and Vernon, scattered to the left and right. Even the three ordinary followers grabbed their hounds or backpacks and rolled into the bushes to avoid them.

A colossal creature leaped out from behind a tree, swinging its thick arm in mid-air towards Snow and Leah in the center of the group.

"That's interesting."

Snow looked up at the falling Forest Child, took a talisman from the terrified Lia, and threw it into the air.

"Degradation!"

The clear ancient Fusak language acted as a key, unlocking the power of the spell. The chilling murmurs exploded in the Forest Child's mind, but they were too late to stop the Forest Child's actions. Instead, they intensified the Forest Child's ferocity.

Roar!

This large, dark green baboon with crown-like horns on its head crashed down like a cannonball, but apart from kicking up a cloud of dust, it didn't make a very loud noise.

The dust that was kicked up quickly dissipated, and the Child of the Forest looked at the creature in front of it, whose muscles were bulging and who had actually caught its furious attack, and a trace of human-like astonishment appeared in its eyes.

What greeted it was a pair of eyes that seemed to flow with magma, and a strong smell of sulfur spread out. First, a pair of giant wings like bat wings unfolded, and then Snow's body swelled to three meters. By burning the soul fragments of other demons, it activated the most standard normal demonization.

In fact, by burning the souls and malice of other demons, one can temporarily take on the forms of other demons.

It sounds unbelievable, but other demons risked their lives for it.

"Goodbye."

Snow gripped the Forest Child's hands tightly, and his tail, like a steel whip, lashed out, striking the Forest Child's head with a resounding thud, as if striking a fortress built by the dwarves. The Forest Child's skull was harder than Snow had imagined.

Unseen ripples began to spread, and both activated a distortion-like ability simultaneously. Both felt a weakening sensation, as if a small mountain was pressing down on them, but neither was able to break the stalemate.

"what?"

"ah!!!"

At this point, Leah finally came to her senses and screamed as she looked at the two monsters facing off in front of her.

"Shut up, cooperate with the other knights, and cast the ritual magic you have mastered."

Snow gave a shout, then looked at the two barbarians who had surrounded them and ordered, "Frye, Vernon, attack!"

"My lord, we've arrived!"

The two barbarians were trustworthy in their courage. As professional fighters, they leaped over with two axes when Snow called, slamming them into the back of the Forest Child. Sparks flew, but two gashes were left on the Forest Child's back.

Behind Snow, the five knights who had previously lost the ability to move under the pressure of the Children of the Forest had now recovered. Although their arms were still trembling, their professionalism remained, and they quickly raised their crossbows, which were about to be cocked, relying on their muscle instincts.