Chapter 15: Farewell to Andorra
The next day was still a beautiful sunny day. The fog fluttered on the ground, and the temperature was a little cooler, but soon, the fiery red sun rose in the east and the mist disappeared. They rode like this for two days, seeing only sparse trees, meadows, flowers, and birds, and occasionally herds of deer walking slowly in the wilderness or drinking by the river. Sometimes, Wu Guang could see beautiful antlers sticking out of the bushes, and at first he thought they were dry branches! On the evening of the third day, they hurried on their way, for Heyon said that they would reach the entrance to the forest early in the morning of the fourth day, and on this day they hurried on until the moon peeked out. When the moonlight waned, Wu Guang felt that there seemed to be oversized bears in the surrounding woods. But when you think that everyone in the team is one of the best magicians, adventurers, and warriors, plus Andorra, even if a hundred five-meter-tall bears surround them, it won't be a problem.
Although they arrived late, they set off the next day at dawn. When the sun peeked out over the horizon, they could see the forest silently baking its oven to them, like a high, dark wall. The birds began to fall silent, the deer disappeared, and even the rabbits slipped away without a trace. By the afternoon, they had reached the edge of the Dark Forest, and their rest was almost entirely under the trees at its edge. The branches of these trees were very thick, covered with nodules, twisted branches were entangled, countless whiskers hung from the trunks, the leaves were dark green, black from a distance, and nameless ivy grew on the trunks, hanging low to the ground.
"Alright, this is the Dark Forest!" Andorra said, "The darkest forest in the demon world, I hope you will remember what you see, now we have to dismount, we can't get through here on horseback, it will only make them scared and flee from us, and finally get lost in the dark forest." ”
Wu Guang seemed ready to complain, but the rest of the adventure team did not complain.
"This is also a matter of integrity, and Heon is a man with clear grievances, and it is not wise to break his trust and act with him. He watched around us every night, watching us out as much as he could. The horses were his friends, and instead of helping us through the forest, they would slow us down. ”
With that, the crowd dismounted, while Andorra was still on horseback.
"Mr. Andorra, your ......?" Jiu Yun seemed to see Ni Duan.
Andor smiled indifferently, "Friends, it's time to separate. As I said a few days ago, I'm going to leave you for a while to deal with more important things. This horse will take me farther afield—"
At this time, everyone understood that Andorra was going to part with them here, and the group was in a low mood. However, as before, no matter how much he talks to Erni, he can't change Andorra's mind.
"Thank you for retention," he said, "and it's great to have your trust." This is a fact that has been discussed before going to Maclo, and there is no point in arguing any more. I have more urgent things to do, and we may or may not meet again before it's over. The key is your luck and courage, as well as your judgment. Moreover, I believe that with Mr. Wu Guang's passage, there will be many miracles in the adventure. I told you a long time ago that you should not be a disfigurer, and you will understand in a short time. Mr. Wu Guang, please be happy, this is your trip, you have to smile on the road! Genesis, Autumn Wind, Honglu Mountain, you must assist Mr. Hengsan. He was the most experienced adventurer, and after I left, he was the captain of the adventure team. You know, this is your adventure, think about what you are risking your lives for, and don't forget, don't forget our goal, at least get a good rest and a good night's sleep until tomorrow morning. ”
Until tomorrow morning, Andorra will say the same. Therefore, they had no choice but to fill the stream in front of the entrance to the forest, throw away the unnecessary luggage on the horse's back, and then distribute the luggage according to the different circumstances of each person. This matter was done by the three sisters of the Dragon Kingdom, who were the most fair, and it was obvious that Qiu Feng's luggage was almost seven times that of Wu Guang. When calculating fairness, the people of the Dragon Kingdom will always come up with a set of formulas that are closest to the truth, and the result will always be fair. But despite this, Wu Guang still didn't like the sight of trekking through the forest with his luggage on his back in the future.
"Don't worry!" Yokozo said, "It's getting lighter quickly." ”
Finally, they said goodbye to the horses and told them to turn around and go home, and they walked happily, as if they were happy to leave the dark forest.
Then Andorra's farewell, Wu Guang sat on the ground feeling sullen, and secretly wished that he was sitting on the horse of the white-robed mage. He had dreamed of the Dark Forest in his dreams, and although the appearance of the dream was no different from that of the ordinary forest, there was an indescribable sense of secrecy - it seemed that something was secretly watching and waiting!
Andorra said to Yokozo, "Goodbye guys! You should go straight through the forest and never leave the road! If you don't do what I say, you'll probably be trapped in it for the rest of your life." Once a white-robed mage had fallen here. I don't want you to lose your lives like those daredevils!"
"Do we really have to go over?" Wu Guang asked.
"Yes, you must!" said the white-robed mage, "if you want to reach the end, you must do so, or you will have to give up this mission and honor." Mr. Wu Guang, you are the greatest novelist, and you should understand how shameful it is for the people who escaped from the battle in the story! Just thinking about this makes me feel ashamed of them. ”
"No, no," Wu Guang immediately changed his words: "I didn't mean that, I think I was trying to say, is there any other way to go around?"
"Yes, but if you're willing to go north and then south, and enter the territory of the Ten Thousand Flowers Tide Flower Demon, that's a way to do it. Although it is a long detour, I dare say that the Ten Thousand Flowers Tide is more dangerous than the Dark Forest! The Flower Demon is the leader of the Demon Alliance, and its strength is also the strongest - remember, no place in the Demon World is safe. Wherever you go, you will be in danger, go around from the north, you will see those enchanting and cruel flower demons, and from the south, you will encounter fierce and cruel bear demons and snake demons. Wu Guang, even you, a novelist who has written countless thrilling stories, it is difficult to imagine the hatred of the demon people towards our human race. I suggest that you choose to walk through the Dark Forest, which is a place that is not supervised by them, and walk steadily on the avenue of the forest, as long as you persevere, you will definitely be able to get out of the Dark Forest. After that, find the door on the map, and the Tomb of the Black and White Twin Stars will be right in front of you. ”
"You're really comforting—" Yokozo smiled bitterly, "Goodbye!
"It's really goodbye this time!" Andorra twisted his horse's head and galloped towards the east. However, he really couldn't help but say the last few words. Before he could leave the crowd's view, he turned his head and roared with his hands arched into cups. The adventurers could vaguely hear his voice coming from him: "Goodbye! Remember, take care of yourself - don't leave the road!"
Then he galloped away and quickly disappeared from sight. "Oh, goodbye, let's go!" muttered the adventurers, unwilling to lose their friend, even though each of them had the strength to defeat a hundred. Now on, it's probably the most dangerous part of the trip. Everyone shouldered their own luggage, carrying the skin of drinking water, and left the light of the outside world and plunged headlong into the dark forest.
They marched in a row, and the entrance to the trail was two large trees leaning against each other, as if leading to some passing arch. There are a lot of creepers and ivy hanging on both trees, causing all the leaves to look black. The road is narrow and winds its way through the trees. Soon, the light of the entrance seemed to be a distant afterglow, and the dead silence around them turned their footsteps into a heavy drum, and all the trees listened leisurely.
As their eyes adjusted to the dim light, they could finally see both sides of the road. Sometimes, a faint ray of sunlight penetrates the dense foliage and intertwined trunks of the trees, and luckily shines in, giving them a brief moment of light before their eyes. But the sight was so rare that it quickly disappeared completely.
There were black pine trees in the forest, and as the sharp eyes of Nachi and Leng Wu adjusted to the light, they could see the little ones sneaking around the path, or peeking at the outsiders from behind the trunks. There were also many strange sounds in the woods, rolling, rubbing, and scratching, which spread all the way to the rotten leaves that were piled high on the ground around them. But they couldn't figure out what kind of thing was made.
It wasn't long before they developed a strong sense of disgust for the forest, just like they hated the nest where monsters lived, and the sight in front of them was even more disheartening. Wu Guang misses the warm sunshine and blue sky very much, and longs for the feeling of the cool breeze blowing on his face. But, at the same time, they have to keep moving forward. There is no movement of air in the forest, and it seems that it will always be in a state of darkness and suffocation. Even the people of the Fog Country, who were accustomed to living in swamps where the sun did not see the light of day, could feel this sense of oppression, not to mention the people of the Tree Country, who were accustomed to embracing nature and sitting in the courtyard and enjoying the warmth of the sun, Wu Guang felt that he was about to suffocate.
The night is the worst time of the day, when the forest becomes pitch black, not as you might think, and at night, it's so dark that you can't even see your nose. Wu Guang tried to wave his hands in front of his nose, but sure enough, he couldn't see anything.