Not to mention the vast difference in their physiques, making him seemingly no match for his opponent, and moreover, with Old John and Ella behind him, he was even more uncertain whether he could protect these two ordinary people under these circumstances…
Just as Thanos's nerves were stretched to the limit, the birds and beasts before him seemed completely oblivious to his hostility.
It lazily preened the feathers on its wings, which were not at all disheveled, with its sharp beak, and then called out in the direction of Thanos.
In broad daylight, a sudden clap of thunder echoed through the sky. Thanos, facing the thunder head-on, was so shocked by this unexpected attack that he staggered back several steps before finally coming to a stop.
His eardrums throbbed with pain, and after a long while, Thanos shook his head until his mind cleared. Just then, the dark bird-beast approached him, lowered its body, and gently groomed his fur with its sharp beak.
"So it was you." Thanos laughed, his tone different from his previous coldness and wariness; now it was full of joy at their long-awaited reunion. "Thunderbird, what brings you back?"
Thanos also affectionately nuzzled the Thunderbird's sharp beak with a wolf's kiss.
Seeing this, the Thunderbird tried to call out again, but before it could even utter a "gentle" sound, Thanos, who had been affectionate with it, jumped three feet away.
"No!" he immediately shouted to stop them, not wanting his ears to be tortured any further!
The commotion below the tree was loud enough that Emerald and Bilodis jumped down from the tree as well.
"What are you doing, little cub?" Bilodis asked, rubbing her bruised ears.
To be honest, the Thunderbird's attack really made her eardrums hurt.
However, she then frowned and approached Thanos.
Bilodis forgot that she hadn't formally introduced herself to Thanos and the others yet.
Sure enough, when he saw the unfamiliar elf approaching him, even though she was standing with Emerald and her tone was familiar and seemed to have no ill intentions towards him, Thanos still cautiously took a step back and quickly increased the distance between them.
He kept his upper body lowered, indicating that he was ready to attack at any moment, and his voice suddenly became deep and dangerous, "Who are you?"
The cold question instantly made Bilodis realize, oh right, oh right, she hadn't introduced herself yet! No wonder this innocent little cub was so obviously hostile towards her!
Bilodis stopped in her tracks, raised an eyebrow slightly at Thanos, and said, "It's me! The Tree of Life!"
To prove her words were true, the Tree of Life behind her began to move the instant she spoke.
Before everyone's very eyes, slender branches gently wrapped around Thanos's body. They touched him only lightly, then quickly released Thanos and obediently stayed by Bilodis's side.
Bilodis stretched out her right hand, and the branch gently wrapped around it. She lightly touched the green leaves on the branch with her fingertips before turning to Thanos and smiling softly, "Now, do you believe me?"
Thanos did believe it, but not simply because of Bilodis's ability to command the Tree of Life.
As the Tree of Life entwined around him, it released its own aura. This aura coincided with the elven aura emanating from nearby…
So what else could he possibly doubt?
Now, Thanos took the initiative to move closer to Bilodis.
Bilodis crossed her arms, watching the Moonlight Silver Wolf cub circling around her feet, and raised an eyebrow, asking, "What are you doing?"
They circled around her, and if you didn't know better, you'd think she was a meaty bone!
"How did you become an elf?" Thanos, now back to normal, blinked his innocent eyes and asked curiously, "Trees can turn into elves?"
Bilodis smiled smugly, "Of course not!" But, what could she do? She wasn't one of those ordinary Trees of Life from before!
"Then..." Thanos wanted to press on, but the others didn't give him the chance.
"Alright, alright!" Emerald stepped forward, glaring at Thanos with displeasure. "Why do you ask so many questions?!" Before Thanos could answer, she immediately turned to Bilodis. "Shall we discuss what happened earlier?"
Even now, she hasn't given up on the possibility of leaving, even though she had been ruthlessly rejected by Bilodis before.
Bilodis rolled her eyes at her and said only one sentence: "You can't go back on your word!"
The implication is clear: Don't even think about leaving! There's no way you can leave!
Anyway... if anyone should be leaving, it should be her!
Bilodis muttered to herself, her expression inadvertently revealing her dissatisfaction at having her plans ruined by someone.
Old John and Ella, standing in a safe place, witnessed everything that had just happened and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
As the two weakest among them, they were very fortunate that what had just happened was just a farce between acquaintances.
They were genuinely afraid—afraid that an unknown person would suddenly appear, afraid that it was someone with ill intentions… Fortunately!
Seeing that everything was alright, old John shook Ella's hand. "Let's go back. We haven't finished working in the fields yet!"
Ella nodded and obediently followed behind old John.
I hope everything will be peaceful and safe like this from now on.
However, it was on the edge of the barren land, the place where Old John and his companion had walked in on foot.
A sudden gust of yellow sand swept across the desolate land. Seeing this, the red-haired youth pulled up his hood and then pulled his scarf up to cover his mouth and nose.
He carried a huge bundle, gazing into the depths of the barren land. A resolute determination appeared in his eyes. The next second, he took a step forward, unwaveringly heading into the heart of the barren land…
On the other side, at the border between the Barrens and the Misty Forest, a boy with long green hair was also preparing to step into the depths of the Barrens.
However, unlike the red-haired youth who was silent and calm, the boy was much more talkative.
"It's so hot!" The boy's far-blue eyes were full of reluctance, but even so, he still stepped into the barren land with one foot.
However, in an instant, he panicked and withdrew his hand.
"How could they do that!" The boy looked incredulous as he recalled that when he stepped on the ground, only a faint water element responded.
"Then how am I supposed to get there?" he muttered to himself, his face full of difficulty. He seemed to want to give up, but for some reason, he stood there for a long time without making a decisive move back.
After a while, as if he had finished his internal struggle, he took a deep breath and, with a do-or-die determination, solemnly stepped onto the barren land again.
Step by step, slowly but resolutely, the boy walked towards the depths of the barren land.
However, his face was visibly growing paler and paler...
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