Ch. 37 Beasts in the Forest

Update~ “Ugh…” Mia felt uncomfortable all over.

She was riding on Amia, Kalé was leading Amia, and Wilden was leading the way ahead.

The three of them were walking through the forest.

She had been too excited last night.

Sparring with real swords against Wilden until midnight, her fighting spirit only grew the more they fought.

In the end, she had to stop because the injuries on her body had left her dizzy.

She had almost been too late to use emergency recovery.

If she had died and respawned in that desolate village, half a day’s journey would have been in vain.

Moreover, she didn’t know if she would be able to find Wilden and Kalé again.

However, perhaps because she had shed blood and sweat, she had slept very soundly.

But that wasn’t the reason Mia felt uncomfortable all over early in the morning.

It was because the stream near the campsite had such a weak flow.

So much so that Mia still felt as if dried blood was sticking to certain parts of her body that hadn’t been washed clean last night.

She felt awkward all over.

Perhaps it was psychological.

Because before setting off, Mia had avoided the two men’s gazes and rolled in the water once more.

Theoretically, she should have been washed clean.

“Sigh.” Mia sighed.

It would be better not to get so excited in the future.

However, sparring with Wilden until midnight last night hadn’t been without other rewards.

Mia felt that her swordsmanship had become stronger!

Wilden had also nodded and acknowledged this.

Just a few hours of sparring had already yielded such great progress.

If Wilden wasn’t just comforting her…

Then it proved that Mia had discovered another change since her transmigration.

If she could have learned things this quickly in her past life, she would have gotten into Tsinghua or Peking University long ago!

Having become so much stronger was naturally something to be happy about.

It was almost enough to offset the inexplicable discomfort on her body.

But if there was a chance, she still wanted to take a proper bath.

The three people and one donkey were walking on a dirt road covered with fallen leaves.

The rustling sound of stepping on dry, fallen leaves reached her ears.

‘The fallen leaves tell a story: in our home, The Lands Between, the elden ring has shattered.’ For no reason, this sentence appeared in the young girl’s mind.

Mia had long noticed that The Lands Between seemed to be in autumn; the trees and vegetation on the land were not uniformly emerald green like a sea, but dotted with orange and yellow.

On the paths within the forest, fallen leaves had formed a carpet, and the light of the Erdtree cast mottled shadows between these somewhat sparse, withered tree crowns.

But because of her perspective, Mia couldn’t see the holes in the distant tree crowns, only the dense canopy above merging into a sea of strange colors.

Although the forest didn’t become bright because of the light piercing through, every time a ray of light from above hit her face, it would bring a touch of pleasant surprise.

The young girl took a deep breath, smelling the fresh air of the forest, filled with leaves and soil.

An invisible breeze, unfelt by those on the ground, blew through the treetops; the branches rubbed against each other, scattering another handful of fallen leaves.

She heard birds singing and crickets chirping again.

Mia saw a deer, hiding in the woods, observing the people walking on the road with its dark eyes.

It was as if all the misery in the world did not belong to this unchanging nature.

Whether it was the shattering of the elden ring or the wars of the Erdtree’s people, none of it had anything to do with this forest; it called nothing king, nor did it care for anyone’s rule.

At first, everyone enjoyed the forest scenery, feeling the joy of emptying their minds.

But at some point, this joy vanished.

Replacing it was a somewhat strange silence.

Wilden suddenly slowed his pace.

“What’s wrong?” Mia asked subconsciously.

“There’s something,” Wilden replied.

Mia sniffed; she smelled a burnt odor of unknown origin in the air.

Something was burnt.

Was it this forest?

Was the forest burning?

A forest fire?

Or something else?

Whatever it was, it was worth being vigilant about.

“Be careful,” Mia warned.

Amia also stopped, snorting anxiously.

Clearly the donkey had smelled more; it tugged at the reins impatiently.

“What’s the matter…” Only the masked Santa Claus, Kalé, was the slowest to react.

Subsequently, he smelled it too.

“Something is burning,” Mia replied.

Kalé pulled down his mask, sniffed, and then looked up to scan the surrounding tree crowns.

After a moment, he reached a conclusion: “It’s not the trees,” he replied.

“Are you sure?” “If the leaves were burning this season, the smell wouldn’t be this strong.” Moreover, there were no signs of fire on the tree crowns, and there was no thick white smoke in front of them.

It must be something else burning.

This was a burnt smell they had suddenly noticed while walking calmly just a moment ago.

So it couldn’t have come from behind.

Kalé walked in a circle around Mia a few times and added: “It’s ahead.” “I’ll go take a look.” “Let’s go together.” Mia jumped off the donkey, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

If there was a battle that had to be fought, she didn’t want to miss it.

“Kalé, you wait here for us.” “Okay.” The merchant had self-awareness regarding his own strength; after Mia asked him to wait in place, he didn’t try to act tough by saying he wanted to go along.

Mia and Wilden, the two of them, walked forward along the road vigilantly.

After returning from the warhammer fantasy world, the Soldier picked up his greatshield and spear again.

After walking ten or twenty meters, the smell of burning grew stronger.

Kalé’s figure was still clearly visible behind.

When passing by a large tree, Mia discovered the culprit behind the burning smell on the other side of the trunk.

A clearing had been cleared under the tree, and in the center of the clearing was a campfire, with the remains of what looked like some kind of canine animal lying in the fire, having completely turned into charcoal.

The fire had also long since gone out.

On the clearing around the fire, many wolf corpses lay scattered about.

“Wilden, there.” Mia pointed her finger at a clump of bushes.

There was a pair of feet in the middle, a pair of feet wearing iron boots exactly the same as Wilden’s, sticking out from the bushes.

Wilden walked forward very seriously, bent down to grab those legs, and then dragged out a Royal Army Soldier who had lost consciousness from the bushes.

He knelt down beside the Soldier wearing the same uniform as himself and turned over the body.

The body was severely damaged.

Unlike the Living Corpse Noble killed at the Cave of Learning, this Godrick Soldier was covered in blood.

But the blood was not bright red, but blackish-red.

His face had been gnawed beyond recognition by animals, a bloody mess, and at the damaged part of the chest armor, the white ribs underneath also had traces of being gnawed.

It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?

“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”