Six hundred years ago, Louis the Great was born from the then Duchy of Trys, with his outstanding military talent and the strength of powerful magicians, he unified dozens of small principalities west of the Thorn Empire and east of the Silver Finch, creating the vast Faymont Empire. Historians claim that it was no accident that Louis the Great was able to unify the kingdoms, and that his native province of Terris was a famous grain producing area in the south, rich in supplies, and in a corner of the country, so there was no need to divide troops against the enemy.

Yes, the province is bordered by the Forgotten Sea to the south and the Thorn Empire to the east by the Whispering Forest, and there are no enemies on the sea, especially the Whispering Forest.

The area of the Whispering Forest is almost the same as that of the entire province of Tres, and deep in the forest there are small yellow flowers called the lost flower, which has a strong hallucinogenic effect, and once you smell the fragrance of the lost flower, you will be confused and may never be able to walk out of the forest again.

At the edge of the forest, lost flowers are extremely rare due to human activities, but if you go a little deeper into the forest, you will still have auditory hallucinations, as if there are unfamiliar voices chattering in your ears. When this happens, experienced hunters know it's time to go back.

That's how the name of the Forest of Whispers came from.

This is what the seven-member Trial Team saw in the trial mission description they received before they set off, and the local residents who lived on the edge of the forest could not agree with this statement.

"There are banshees living in the forest, and banshees can sing and trick children into the depths of the forest, but Nina must not go too far from grandpa. "Joey, the old hunter, feeds the roasted lamb to his granddaughter's mouth.

Joey was the guide invited by Donner and his party, he had been hunting in the area all his life, and he had a lot of experience, and the antelope roasting on the fire was the one he caught in the afternoon. Nina's father died of illness three years ago, and her mother remarried, and since then, the two have been dependent on each other.

"Do banshees eat people?" Nina is only five years old, and this often heard story is still very intimidating to her.

"Banshees don't eat people, they want to find someone to play with them, but they will let you play with them for many years, and when Nina comes back, grandpa is dead??"

Nina burst into tears.

"The banshee is beautiful, isn't she?" Lucia couldn't see Joey scaring Nina so much, though she knew it might be a good way to keep the child from getting lost.

"Of course it's beautiful. ”

"You've seen that?" Wesley leaned back, his elbows behind his waist.

"I haven't seen it, and even those who have seen it won't remember, but banshees have a magic that makes people forget. ”

"Then how do you know she's beautiful, I think she must be an ugly bastard that no one wants, so she needs to lie to someone to accompany her. ”

Lucia glared at Wesley, who shrugged his shoulders and made an innocent expression.

Donner was reading a book on meditation over the campfire, which he had asked Mr. Victor to borrow before he came out. Richard called out to Kelly, who was sitting next to Donner, and practiced his sword in the open space on the side for a while, Kelly was not his opponent, which made him very unpleasant, but he was embarrassed to go up and invite Roger. Roger and Fiona are discussing something, and Fiona seems to be complaining about the environment. Richard didn't understand, there was meat to eat, there was a tent to sleep in, what else was there to complain about.

Today is the third day that the Trial Squad has entered the Whispering Forest, and the rumored thieves have not encountered any of them, but under the command of Hunter Joey, they have worked together to capture the culprit that attracted the thieves: the tree rat.

Half a year ago, a wood-based mage passing by the Whispering Forest stumbled upon the Tree Rat Skin, which had been peeled off by hunters and discarded, was an excellent material for making a high-level wood-based magic array. From that day on, the tree rats, who had lived in peace and contentment in this forest for 10,000 years, did not have a day of peace, and were chased by hunters who heard the news and fled for their lives. By now, most of the survivors who have escaped the hunt have fled deep into the forest, and the price of tree rat skin has risen to a staggering price as production has decreased.

This wave of rat hunting naturally attracted a group of thieves with a keen sense of smell, and from then on, hunters hunted down tree rats, thieves hunted hunters, and eventually most of the wealth fell into the hands of the thieves.

Now this tree rat skin is hanging in the most conspicuous place in the center of the camp. After three full days of trekking through the forest, everyone now agreed with Wesley's idea of luring the thief to the bait.

Donner agreed with Wesley's suggestion, but thought that the flag-like tree rat skin was too obvious as a decoy, and how stupid it must be to use it to attract thieves.

But it turned out that the thieves were not only stupid, but also impatient, and that night, they came.

Since entering the forest, the first night was held by Roger and Fiona, and the second night was supposed to be Wesley and Lucia, but Lucia thought that the remaining Donner Richard Kelly was too weak, so she arranged a vigil for Wesley and Richard Kelly. So tonight, naturally, it was Lucia and Donner who kept vigil.

In the middle of the night, where the bonfire could not shine, the darkness almost condensed into substance, and in that substantial darkness, from time to time came the low roar of the beast, as if far away, but as if it was close at hand.

The people in the tent had fallen asleep, and the genius magical girl, who was a magic apprentice, was also a little scared at this time. The young man next to him stared at the flames, his eyes were calm, as if he was thinking about a serious question, what was he thinking?

"What are you thinking?"

"Huh?" Donner turned his head suddenly, in addition to studying meditation methods in the past few days, he had been practicing the construction of that six-element fireball magic all the time, and he had become more and more proficient.

"I heard that your hometown is in the island of Lante?"

"Yes, the island in the south of the province, and further south is the Sea of Oblivion. ”

"Can you tell me about the island of Lanthe?"

"An inconspicuous island, with a pleasant climate, beautiful landscapes, and an overly simple inhabitant, where time seems to stand still......"

"Is it really that good?"

"Hehe, it may not be that good, but who can objectively describe their hometown. Donner said as he added a few more sticks of wood to the fire.

"I'm curious about the island of Lante. ”

"Most of the time you will be disappointed. ”

“...... Downer, I think you're more of a poet than Wesley......"

"It seems that I was deeply influenced by Wesley. Donner laughed, then imitated Wesley's expression and said, "The night gave me black eyes, and I used them to find light." ”

"Is this your poem?"

"Oh no, it's a poet from another island. ”

"Actually...... I'm more curious about you......" Lucia plucked up the courage to say this, not daring to look at the other party's expression.

"Then you will be even more disappointed. ”

Lucia was silent for a while, then said slowly, "You're not brave enough. ”

After a longer silence, Donner replied, "Courage and recklessness are often indistinguishable." ”

Then, several brave thieves recklessly appeared in front of the two.