"Roughly how much longer until we reach the edge of the forest?"
Hyacine asked, unable to help herself as she surveyed the towering giant trees that seemed unchanging. They had been walking for four or five hours, and aside from the occasional wild beast, they had not seen a single soul.
"Soon, soon!" Hong Guoguo stopped in her tracks and habitually looked up to observe the shape and height of the canopy. "Look, the trees here have already dropped from sixty or seventy meters high to thirty or forty meters. This means we are very close to the plains!"
She pointed toward the treetops above, which were noticeably shorter, speaking with a very certain tone.
Hyacine followed the direction of her finger and made a careful comparison, finding that it was indeed the case.
"The closer to the perimeter, the shorter the trees? What is the reason for that?" she asked curiously.
"Mana density!" Hong Guoguo said with some surprise. "Sister Hyacine, can you not feel it?"
As she spoke, she closed her eyes and spun around lightly like a small top a few times before pointing precisely toward the southwest. "The mana is denser this way; that is deep into the forest."
Then she pointed due north and said:
"The mana is thin this way, which is the north we need to exit from!"
"I cannot feel it." Although Hong Guoguo had demonstrated it, Hyacine still shook her head. "The source of my power does not rely on mana; I am not sensitive to it."
"Ah! That's right, Sister Hyacine, you're not from this world!" Hong Guoguo slapped her forehead and stuck her tongue out sheepishly. "Hehe, I forgot. But it is fine, just follow me! At this speed, we can definitely get out in another two or three hours!"
After speaking, she patted her chest with confidence and continued leading the way, keeping an eye on the surrounding terrain as they walked.
"Hmm...?" Suddenly, Hong Guoguo's cat ears perked up alertly and twitched a few times.
She stopped, turned her head, and said to Hyacine in a lowered voice:
"Sister Hyacine, there is movement ahead! It sounds like... the sound of weapons clashing?"
"Weapons clashing? Is there someone ahead?" Hyacine paused for a moment, then spread her mental power forward.
A moment later, she withdrew her perception, her expression appearing somewhat subtle.
"There is a carriage ahead, and a group of people fighting wild beasts... it looks like they have been attacked by a wolf pack." As she spoke, she rubbed her temples and muttered softly, "This plot... is a bit too cliché, isn't it? It feels like the standard path of those invincible protagonist novels in fantasy worlds."
"Then... are we going to help?"
Hong Guoguo looked at Hyacine's slightly speechless expression, feeling a bit undecided.
"Help, of course we help." Hyacine stepped forward without hesitation. "I am new to this world, and you happen to be unfamiliar with the human kingdom as well. Does this group of people not provide the perfect opportunity to act as our guides?"
"Okay!"
Hearing Hyacine's words, Hong Guoguo's eyes lit up, and she immediately followed.
...
Just as they approached the area where the carriage was located, they heard the somewhat rough shouting of a man.
"Hold the line! Guys! These brutes are about to break!"
Hyacine and Hong Guoguo pushed aside the dense bushes and saw the situation in the clearing.
A slightly luxurious carriage was surrounded in the center. Beside the carriage, a man wearing old knight armor who appeared to be the leader was swinging a longsword, struggling to fend off the pincer attack of two fierce black wolves.
Around him, seven or eight guards wearing leather armor were also caught in bitter struggles, each dealing with a wolf. The battle was deadlocked, and no one could break away to support others.
At that moment, the leader also noticed Hyacine and Hong Guoguo appearing from behind the bushes. A light of hope instantly erupted in his eyes. While parrying a wolf's claw, he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Adventurer friends over there! Please help us drive away these brutes! We will surely reward you generously afterward!"
Seeing this, Hong Guoguo immediately looked at Hyacine, asking with her eyes.
"Hong Guoguo, I will leave it to you." Hyacine nodded slightly.
"You got it!"
Upon receiving the response, a confident curve rose at the corners of Hong Guoguo's mouth.
She flipped her hands, and two daggers flashing with cold light appeared in her grip.
Then, she bent her legs slightly and instantly transformed into a blurred white shadow, shooting into the wolf pack like an arrow leaving a bow!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Wherever the white shadow passed, only streaks of sharp, cold light remained.
The movements of a gray wolf pouncing toward a guard suddenly stiffened as hot blood sprayed from its throat, and it collapsed to the ground wailing.
This white phantom was like the scythe of a death god, weaving through the wolf pack at high speed. Every time she appeared, she could precisely take a wolf's life, leaving behind only geysers of blood and fallen wolf corpses.
This sudden and terrifying slaughter directly intimidated the wolf pack. The few remaining wolves let out terrified whimpers and, with tails between their legs, turned without hesitation to dive into the dense bushes, scattering in flight.
During this time, Hong Guoguo chased down and finished off two more black wolves before stopping. Since the rest had fled too deep, there was no need to continue the pursuit.
"Thank you so much! That was a huge help!" Seeing this, the leader wiped the sweat and bloodstains from his face and walked over with large strides. His face beamed with the grateful smile of a survivor as he solemnly performed a knight's salute to Hong Guoguo. "I am Cole, the captain of this caravan's guards. May I ask how to address you two lady adventurers?"
"I am called Hong Guoguo!" The white-haired cat girl reported her name readily.
At this time, Hyacine also walked over slowly, her gaze calmly scanning the battlefield and the carriage.
Upon hearing Cole's inquiry, she answered slowly:
"Hyacinthia."
"Hyacinthia... what a beautiful and noble name!" Cole praised sincerely, then asked tentatively, "Miss Hong Guoguo and Miss Hyacinthia, may I ask... is it just the two of you currently?"
"Yes." Hyacine admitted frankly. "We intend to head north and leave this forest."
"Heading north out of the Emerald Forest?" Cole's eyes lit up, and he immediately guessed, "Are you going to the Stellan Kingdom?"
"Correct." Hyacine nodded, then looked at Cole and his team with a hint of inquiry. "On the other hand, you all should still be quite a distance from the border of the Stellan Kingdom, right? Why would you come so deep into here?"
"Sigh, it was all for this!" Seeing this, Cole sighed and untied a small leather bag from his waist, opening it in front of Hyacine.
The bag was filled with fine blue lightdust that looked purer than the ferns on the ground.
"We came to collect high-quality lightdust from starfern. This stuff is only produced by starfern in specific areas of the Twilight Hills. It is a key material for making high-grade magic lamps and certain alchemical potions, and the price is not cheap."
"Our caravan took the order, so we had no choice but to take the risk. But I did not expect to encounter these damn Shadowclaw Wolves on the return trip..."
After speaking, he looked at the wolf corpses on the ground with lingering fear.