According to the original plan, Vanna continued to move towards the hazy silhouette in the distance, trudging through the seemingly endless wind and sand.
"...Now I still don't know why I was the only one 'sent' to this strange desert, but it is obvious that this place does not correspond to the 'forest' described by Nina or Miss Lucrecia. Now I am trying to walk towards the 'Stonehenge' in the distance that looks like a city ruin. So far, no signs of civilization have been found here..."
Duncan's voice echoed deep in Vanna's mind: "...pay attention to any unexpected changes in the environment or phenomena that don't conform to common sense. The 'erosion' that Shirley mentioned may also appear around you. Be careful."
"Understood, Captain." Vanna nodded slightly, looked up at the end of the horizon in the wind, and walked deeper into the wind and sand. "I will keep moving forward."
※※※
"The rabbi doesn't like this place... The rabbi likes crowded and lively places... This is not the kind of 'dreamland' that the rabbi is familiar with. There is not even a single person to be seen..."
The rabbi's chattering voice came from the side. The huge rabbit doll was walking awkwardly among a pile of bushes and dead branches and leaves, and it had been complaining endlessly since a while ago.
But Lucrecia ignored the rabbit's intention at all. She just walked ahead on her own and stopped at the edge of an open space, carefully observing the surrounding environment.
After entering this "dream" for the second time, she did not see the elf girl who called herself "Shilin", nor did she find any traces she had left in the forest before.
There were towering trees everywhere that looked similar, and there were no landmarks or trails to refer to in the forest. Although she was reluctant to admit it... Lucrecia knew that she had lost her way in this vast jungle.
"…Rabbi," Lucrecia suddenly turned her head and looked at the rabbit doll that was trying to get through a bush not far away, "Can you sense other mental entities?"
The rabbi immediately stopped his incessant complaints, trotted over to the hostess, and listened attentively to the surrounding sounds - two long ears made of cloth strips drooped from both sides of his head, and the edges of the cloth strips quietly revealed a hazy texture.
After a moment, the rabbit shook his head: "No, the rabbi didn't hear any other thinking voices."
"Yeah." Lucrecia nodded, then looked around again, trying to determine the direction to move forward.
At this moment, a sudden flash of reflection in the field of vision attracted the attention of the "witch".
Lucrecia immediately looked in the direction where the reflection appeared - it was a towering tree more than ten meters away. At the foot of the tree, among the dead branches and leaves, there seemed to be something.
Her figure suddenly turned into a pile of spinning and flying colorful pieces of paper, and in the blink of an eye she flew under the tree and re-condensed into shape.
Looking at the familiar object in front of her, Lucrecia widened her eyes slightly: "This is..."
A strangely styled long-handled weapon that looked like a combination of a spear and an axe was lying quietly among the fallen leaves, like a silent and solidified symbol.
What was different from what he remembered was that the long handle of the weapon had been broken, as if it had been completely destroyed after a severe impact. The axe blade was covered with jagged scars, as if it had experienced a long and brutal fight. At this moment, there were still many dark marks remaining on the chipped axe blade.
It seemed to have been broken long, long ago - after a forgotten, long-overdue battle.
Lucrecia stared at the broken axe quietly, with a look of deep thought in her eyes. The footsteps of the rabbit rabbi came from behind. After looking at the mistress, the rabbit toy finally couldn't help but ask curiously: "Mistress, what is this?"
Lucrecia did not respond to the rabbi, but bent down cautiously, and after a slight hesitation, she reached out her hand and reached for the broken long-handled axe.
Her fingers touched the cold metal, and a feeling that seemed to transcend illusion and reality suddenly came along her fingertips. Before she could carefully confirm this momentary feeling, a sharp whistling noise suddenly interrupted her movement!
The next second, a piercing whistle came from all directions, as if the entire forest was burning and collapsing in the explosion. The earth was shaking, heat waves were rising, and the sky was shrouded in chaotic phantom light. Countless shouts, cries, roars, and the wailing and howling that seemed to come from the forest itself all poured into Lucrecia's perception.
The "Sea Witch" suddenly raised her head and saw that the entire forest around her had begun to burn. The towering trees seemed to melt and fall in the flames. The earth in the distance began to bulge upward as if swept up by an invisible huge force, accompanied by terrifying fractures and surging magma. The entire earth was gradually rolling towards the sky, and huge shadows and chaotic light that were incomprehensible to humans kept crushing down from the sky, as if the entire sky was burning in the light and falling towards the whole world!
In this heart-shaking "fall of the sky", a dark red light appeared. Like a scar soaked in blood, the ominous red light permeated the clouds and replaced all the skylight in an instant. The terrifying cracks began to touch the earth little by little, touching the towering giant trees, and touching the upturned and curled horizon in the distance. The world gradually fell apart in this fatal "touch", and countless dark and terrifying things swarmed out -
They poured out from the forest, from the red light of the sky, and from the cracks in the world. They seemed to be just animals fleeing in fear from the forest fire in the previous second, and turned into indescribable shadows with bared fangs and claws in the next second. The rocks were coming alive, the forest was wriggling, and everything was changing into something that was incomprehensible to human intelligence. The horrible, running, and deformed creatures poured in from all directions. Someone was roaring nearby, as if struggling to fight against the monsters that were swarming in. However, when looking in the direction of the sound, all they could see was monsters biting monsters and shadows devouring shadows.
Lucrecia stood up suddenly. Although she was a little overwhelmed by the incomprehensible and drastic changes before her eyes, she subconsciously made a fighting stance - but in the next second, all these horrible changes suddenly disappeared from her sight.
She had let go of the broken longaxe - and as she lost contact, all the horrible upheavals disappeared like phantoms.
The forest returned to its original state, and everything that had just happened seemed like a short, bizarre dream.
Lucrecia was unable to come back to her senses for a long time. After several seconds, she suddenly woke up and subconsciously looked towards the foot of the giant tree.
The broken long-handled axe disappeared, leaving only a pile of dead branches and leaves without any trace left in its place.
Lucrecia frowned slowly, but her mind was still subconsciously recalling the scene she had just seen. At this moment, the sound of footsteps suddenly appeared nearby, instantly interrupting her thoughts.
She immediately raised her head and looked in the direction where the footsteps came from.
The elf girl named "Shilin" stood there at some point in time, still wearing the light armor of an unknown city-state style, holding the strangely shaped long-handled battle axe in her hand.
Lucrecia turned her head abruptly to look at the rabbit Rabbi, only to see that Rabbi was also turning his head to look at her. Although it only had button eyes and an abstractly painted mouth, its movements still revealed obvious apology and surprise.
The rabbi was unaware of Shireen's approach - suggesting that the mental entity appeared nearby suddenly.
"Shirin?" Lucrecia calmed herself down, signaled the rabbi not to act rashly, turned to look at the elf girl, and tentatively greeted her.
The elf girl named Shilin smiled, and the expression on her face as if the two had never been apart, as she looked at Lucrecia.
She nodded. "We have rested for a long time. It is time to continue on our way. We are still far from the Wall of Silence."
As she spoke, she looked at the Rabbit Rabbi who was standing obediently where he was.
Shilin showed no sign of strangeness on her face, and said to Lucrecia naturally, "Is this your friend? Take her with you, and we will go together."
※※※
Vanna didn't know how long she had been trekking in this endless desert - the monotonous and boundless scenery in her sight and the never-ending sandstorms around her seemed to interfere with her judgment of time. She even felt that she had been walking in this desert for a century, or even since the day the world was born.
Of course, she knew very well that these were all illusions created by her irritability, and that this harsh environment was testing her character.
Fortunately, her prayers to the goddess were still effective, which allowed her to strengthen her faith, and her connection with the captain eased her anxiety and gave her a chance to stabilize her mentality.
The ice sword in his hand exudes a hint of coolness, which not only brings a sense of security, but also dissipates the scorching heat brought by the desert.
Another gust of sandstorm came, and Fanna sensed the change in wind direction - she raised her sword to block in front of her eyes, and turned her head to avoid the harassment of sandstorms.
But at this moment, a strange breath suddenly appeared in her perception, causing Vanna to stop her movements abruptly.
The next second, this battle-hardened judge tensed all her muscles. She suddenly placed her sword beside her, showing a wary look, and looked in a certain direction in the wind and sand.
The chaotic wind stopped at some point, and in the gradually settling dust, an exceptionally tall figure slowly emerged from the dust and mist, becoming increasingly clear.
That was a... giant.