Haven of Winter is the northernmost port of the Hussar Kingdom and the edge of human civilization. Further north, a dense forest blocks the progress of people.

Many people have tried to venture into the forest, whether they are shrewd adventurers, gold-level warriors with superior individual strength, or nobles with large armies. However, when these people enter the forest, they will lose their way and eventually either return the way they came, or disappear into the forest.

Legend has it that the forest is home to quirky elves who will start whispering in your ear the moment humans step into the forest, until you fall into the elven environment and then can't help yourself.

Lance dismounted at the edge of the forest, paid the coachman a handsome sum, and went into the dense jungle with his short bow.

The coachman, seeing that Lance was young, also persuaded him not to go into the jungle to explore. It is not uncommon for young people like Lance to have a strong curiosity about adventure and mysteries, and the coachman kindly warns him of possible dangers in the forest.

Lance naturally smiled slightly, declined the coachman's kindness, and stepped quickly into the jungle.

The trees in the Whispering Forest are very tall and gloomy. It was early autumn, and as soon as Lance walked into the forest, he felt a chill.

It's a unique smell that can only be found in the forest where the sun never shines.

He looked up and saw that most of the trees were thirty feet tall, about the height of the outer walls of the viscount's castle. These strange trees were luxuriant with foliage, rough bark, tangled roots, and firmly tied to the muddy earth, and the hills and ravines were everywhere.

It is said that the people of Winterhaven have tried to cut down these strange trees, but the trees that have been cut down will soon grow back, and it is said that the interval will not exceed three minutes. The rate of felling is nowhere near the rate at which trees are regrowing.

There were also attempts to cut down strange trees in the area to be used as wood, but the trees that were cut down always disappeared into the warehouses of the material dealers, and at first people thought that thieves were doing it, and they strengthened their precautions. But later, they gradually discovered that this is the magic that is unique to this forest.

Gradually, people subconsciously began to move away from the mysterious forest, which only occasional adventurers entered.

And this forest has always stood lonely in the northern part of the kingdom.

......

Lance walked in the forest for a long time, and gradually walked into the depths of the forest.

As he went deeper, he could feel the chill getting heavier and heavier. The temperature detected by the fox has also dropped from 17 degrees Celsius at the beginning to about 5 degrees Celsius, which is not a small drop.

The thin clothing Lance was no longer able to withstand the approaching cold wave, and he took out a few thicker clothes from the Arcane Ring and put them on, barely holding himself on.

The roads in the forest are very difficult to walk, and it can even be said that there are no roads at all. Lance walked among the strange trees, and the loneliness grew stronger.

In his senses, it was as if the trees were whispering, and something in the forest was watching him in the dark, but he just couldn't find any traces of the other party.

Of course, this could also be his delusion.

He kept going, sometimes stopping to open his eagle eye and trying to see what was going on in all directions. It's just that the trees in the forest are so dense that even if he turns on the eagle eye, he can't see how far he goes, and the information that the fox can collect is very rare.

"The teacher told me to find a man named Hicks in the Whispering Forest, but the forest is so big, where can I find him?"

It was getting dark, and Lance was tired, so he hesitated and decided to rest.

He gathered some firewood here and there and set up a fire to keep warm. After a little bit of dry food, the feeling of exhaustion came to me.

Speaking of which, he had been adrift at sea for so many days, and as soon as he got off the boat, he went straight to the Whispering Forest, and he hadn't had a good rest during that time.

Lance felt so sleepy that he put on a blanket and fell into a deep sleep.

......

The next morning, Lance woke up from a deep sleep. The sun hit his face, giving off a warm temperature.

He rubbed his eyes in a daze, and the next second, he stood up sharply.

No, this doesn't seem to be the place where I fell asleep yesterday!

He looked around, and his face suddenly turned ugly.

It's the edge of the forest!

Lance shook his head, stunned to find himself emerging from the Whispering Forest at some point. He looked around, making sure that this was the entrance he had entered the Whispering Forest yesterday.

"Did someone, or any force, send me out?"

An inexplicable chill welled up in Lance's heart.

Fortunately, this force seems to have no intention of harming him, otherwise he would have slept so dead, and he would definitely hang up without even having the strength to fight back.

"What the hell is going on?" Lance gradually calmed down, and slowly, he suddenly remembered that after he had fallen asleep, he seemed to have vaguely heard some strange conversations.

Could it be that someone sent him out of the forest while he was sleeping?

If so, then who are these people or these people?

Lance sorted out his thoughts a little and decided to go into the forest one more time.

This time, he still walked for a full day without seeing a single figure.

When night fell, he ate something casually and pretended to sleep.

At the same time, he did not forget to take precautions, and secretly asked the fox to set an alarm clock, and if he fell asleep, he would automatically wake himself up after an hour.

"I don't believe it, I can't get you!" Lance secretly felt ruthless in his heart.

Not long after he pretended to sleep, the familiar feeling of exhaustion struck again......

"Damn, it must be some kind of spell!" Lance cursed in his heart, but he still couldn't resist and fell asleep directly.

In a daze, he still heard the two men talking.

An hour later, the fox's alarm clock rang on time, and Lance woke up from his slumber, only to find himself at the edge of the forest.

He jerked his head up and looked into the forest, only to see two dark shadows in the moonlight quickly flying towards the depths of the whispering forest.

"Don't go!" Lance shouted angrily, and with all his strength he got up from the ground and ran towards the two dark shadows.

However, the two dark shadows suddenly accelerated, as if they had heard Lance's call.

Lance rushed into the woods and pursued without stopping. Unfortunately, his speed was obviously not fast enough, and he was very unfamiliar with the terrain, and it didn't take long to find no trace of those two black shadows.

"Damn...... What kind of person is it?"

Lance clenched his hands into fists and stopped.

At this time, he was already in the middle of the forest, and it was pitch black on all sides. He picked up a few branches, lit them with the flint and steel he carried with him, made them into simple torches, and continued on his way.

The Whispering Forest at night was getting colder and colder, and Lance couldn't help but shiver even though he was holding a torch.

What made him feel even more inappropriate was that the big tree, which looked ordinary during the day, looked a little terrifying at this time!

The bark of the big trees seemed to start slowly creaking and crunching.

Lance only felt his scalp tingle, and he couldn't help but speed up his pace.

However, no matter how he walked, he couldn't seem to get out of the forest. In the dark, it seems that there is a mysterious power that is gradually awakening.

To Lance, it seemed that every big tree had its quirks. Their bark is still rough and old, but there is a faint burst of vitality, as if it has suddenly come to life.

"Fox, can you detect anything?" Lance shuddered.

The main chip quickly scanned and operated: "Master, this forest exudes a strong aura of spell factors everywhere. And there is a special kind of fluctuation - this fluctuation is almost as aggressive as light radiation, and it is somewhat harmful to the intruder or creature. ”

"As for the trees, I can only detect that their bark tissue is metabolizing rapidly......"

"Very fast, about ...... of the rate of normal tree metabolism"

"A hundredfold!"

Lance was shocked, these big trees were really strange.

At this moment, a cold wind suddenly came from behind him.

"Poof!"

The torch in Lance's hand was almost not extinguished by the cold wind, but fortunately he reacted quickly and held the torch behind him.

"Hey, hey, hey......"

Low laughter rippled through the forest, and Lance felt only a tingling in his scalp.

He turned slowly, only to see a terrified face!

That face actually grew on the tree behind him!

"Something!" Lance was taken aback and took two steps back.

However, at this moment, the branch that had been quietly buried in the ground suddenly came to life.