That afternoon, Ash and his two companions arrived at the edge of the Crystal Forest.
After entering the polar night, the north continues to be shrouded in darkness, but when the weather is clear and the stars are bright, you can see things clearly on the snowfield without lighting and travel unimpeded.
Today was a clear day. The crystal clear and rugged scenery of the crystal forest revealed the tip of the iceberg in front of the three people.
Meng told Ash about many wonders and strange sights, but he didn't mention the Crystal Forest they were about to arrive at. He wanted Ash to see it with his own eyes.
Ash saw it now, and just as Meng had expected, his eyes widened in amazement, and he exclaimed, "How beautiful."
The Crystal Forest lives up to its name.
It is a vast, lush forest with no end in sight. The towering trees with luxuriant branches and leaves completely block the view into the forest, making it deep and quiet.
But the giant tree is not an ordinary giant tree.
The trunks are azure, dark blue, and deep blue, while the branches and leaves are light blue, colorless, and crystal clear.
Just like the hard material of crystal, the trunk is straight, the branches and leaves are shiny, the corners are clear, and the edges are sharp. It does not look like it grew naturally, but rather was carved by a knife or an axe.
However, the rich vitality flowing in the forest tells those who doubt this that they are indeed alive.
Ash's gaze dropped from the treetops at the upper levels to the middle and lower levels of the forest.
The lush bushes, the winding vines, the knee-high weeds… were all made of crystal, reflecting a chilling light under the starlight. There was no doubt that once you stepped into them, you would be cut into pieces with blood.
It seemed impossible to walk directly into the forest. Ash looked up at the sky above the forest and said, "Fly in?" He said so, but he knew in his heart that it would not work. Otherwise, why would the Crystal Forest be regarded as a place of great danger?
Meng let go of the bighorn deer pulling the cart. These two clever animals would naturally find their way back to the tribe. He did not completely deny Ash's statement: "You have to fly. But you can't be higher than the trees. Otherwise..."
He looked around, picked up a snowball at his feet, and threw it forward with force.
There was a crystal tree in front of us, located at the edge of the forest, and it was still a small tree. The snowball easily reached the top of the small tree.
Just as the snowball flew over the small tree, all the leaves on the small tree detached from the branches in the blink of an eye, turned into sharp blades, and stabbed towards the snowball above with a "whoosh".
The snowball didn't even have a chance to break into snowflakes before it exploded with a "bang" and disappeared into thin air.
After doing all this, the leaves suddenly broke into a pile of shiny powder and fell down. The powder fell on the grass under the tree, and the leaves in the grass shook and became denser again. After another breath of time, the bare branches of the small tree were covered with sharp leaves again in an instant.
"The leaves have a magical effect of breaking demons." Meng sighed, "No matter how much magic protective gear we bring, it won't be enough."
Ash understood that they could only fly between the trees, not touching the ground and not higher than any tree. However, the trees were overgrown with branches and vines, and they could not move freely. If they were not careful, they would be cut by sharp scratches from all directions.
"Leaves have more than just the effect of breaking magic." Sigourney added calmly, "Rachel spent a long time to build his domain. Leaves, bushes, grass... some are harmless, and some are randomly cursed by him. If you accidentally get hurt, you will probably have to stay here forever."
"You know more than me." Meng laughed. Because Rachel's wizard tower was in the Crystal Forest, he regretted that he had never been able to explore this land.
Although Rachel was a wild wizard and had no territory granted by the Wizard Association, in fact, the wilderness of the Crystal Forest was completely considered Rachel's territory. He built a wizard tower in the center of the forest.
A wizard tower guards a city.
Rachel's wizard tower guards... and covers this forest.
He built this area to be as solid as a rock and unbreakable, like a piece of iron plate. Any movement is under his ears and eyes, and every detail will be detected.
Meng had longed for the Crystal Forest for a long time, but he was self-aware enough not to set foot in the forest.
But now...
Now that Rachel was dead, what else could stop him from heading into the forest?
He was in high spirits: "Sigourney, let's go in." He emphasized, "Take good care of Ash!"
Although he thought it would be better for Ash to wait for them outside, after all, it was Rachel's territory, and there must be a lot of sinister and vicious things. It would be too risky for Ash, a wizard apprentice, to go in.
But judging from Ash and Sigourney's attitudes, one wants to go in and the other wants to lead.
Neither of them was emotional or irrational, so maybe they had their own reasons. Meng thought so and did not mention not letting Ash go into the forest.
Sigourney nodded casually. In order to facilitate movement, he was pulling up his long hair and fixing it behind his head with a hair tie. In this way, the outline of his entire face was revealed, from the smooth forehead to the graceful jaw, the lines were delicate and smooth, and the beauty was breathtaking.
Ash walked up to him, tilted his head to look at the small bun in his hair, and couldn't help but reach out and poke it, he found it very interesting.
Sigourney tucked a few strands of hair that were too short to be tied up behind her ears and slightly turned sideways to avoid Ash's fingers: "Stop it." He was too lazy to tie it up again after it was messed up.
Ash: "Oh." He put his hand down obediently.
Sigourney stared at him with her eyes downcast, meaning something inexplicable. After a while, she turned around and said in a faint voice, "Come up."
Meng stood aside and tried to hold back his laughter. It was the first time he saw someone carrying someone on his back. He stood so straight. Didn’t he even know to squat and bend down?
Ash's eyes lit up, and he said "hmm", put his arm around Sigourney's shoulder and jumped lightly, then he lay on Sigourney's back perfectly, with his arms crossed in front of Sigourney's chest, and his two thin legs spontaneously wrapped around Sigourney's narrow waist.
The posture is standard and the movements are perfect.
Even Sigourney reached out and held the boy's thigh with an expressionless face, cooperating tacitly.
Ash curved his eyes, raised his head slightly, pretended to accidentally touch it, and rubbed Sigourney's tied-up small bag with the tip of his nose: "Sorry to bother you Sigourney."
Sigourney, who couldn't understand why Ash had a special liking for his small bag: "..." Is this a troublesome attitude?
"Say it again." He lowered his voice, "Don't touch me again."
Ash rested his chin on his shoulder limply and said "oh" with regret.
Meng laughed at the side, thinking that these two people were really interesting. It looked like Ash was chasing after Sigourney, and it seemed that he was going to suffer a lot, but in fact, Sigourney was the one who was being eaten up, right?
He was actually able to control Sigourney. This kid he made friends with recently is really an amazing person.
"Let's go." Sigourney looked at him with disdain and flew up first.
Meng suppressed his laughter and followed, saying, "Hey, Sigourney, give Ash a levitation spell, so he can relax."
Signe ignored him.
Meng stopped laughing and became serious: "I'm serious. I don't want to relax, but I have to think about Ash's safety. If he encounters danger, Ash won't fall and get hurt if you let go."
Let go? Sigourney frowned. No matter what happened, he would not let go of Ash. If he really encountered a crisis that forced him to let go of Ash, then even if Ash had the "floating skill", Ash would not necessarily be safe - of course, this possibility would never happen.
He was able to protect the young man.
But he still cast a levitation spell on Ash.
Ash poked Sigourney with his chin and whispered, "It's okay if Sigourney lets go. I just need to stay put." He put a little more force on the hand around Sigourney's chest, as if to emphasize his presence, "I'm still holding you."
Sigourney raised the corners of her lips imperceptibly.
Meng who was following behind: “…” I felt so mixed up in my heart, I told him to stop talking!
Once inside the forest, Ash noticed the biggest difference between the Crystal Forest and a normal forest.
In ordinary forests, sunlight is blocked by dense tree canopies. Walking into the interior of the forest, it is dark and humid.
In this forest, the giant trees are crystal clear from trunk to branches. The starlight falls on the leaves at the top of the highest treetops, and the starlight is constantly refracted and reflected, passing from the treetops to the roots, making the entire giant tree glow. Even the roots buried under the snow are illuminated from the inside, making the snow emit a hazy halo.
Thanks to the giant tree, the surrounding bushes and grass receive light from above and below, making them bright and transparent.
This is a transparent and bright forest, which is especially beautiful at night. There is no damp and rotten smell, only air as cold as snow.
But it is in such a beautiful place that murderous intentions are brewing secretly.
Sigourney and Mon slowed down, allowing Ash to see more clearly.
Not far from the forest, he had seen no less than ten skeletons, all in tattered clothes and with twisted postures, as if they had suffered torture and pain in their lifetime.
Sigourney told him calmly that those were people who had strayed in.
If Rachel was out, those who strayed into the forest would die.
If Rachel was in the wizard tower, then he would protect these people and capture them in his own laboratory.
"It's probably lucky for them to die in the forest."
Ash listened to Sigourney saying this and suddenly remembered that he only knew that Rachel was Sigourney's enemy, but what exactly was the grudge?
He had a vague guess in his mind.
Sigourney, could she have been Rachel's...experimental material?
But just thinking about this guess made him feel heavy in the chest.
He hoped his guess was wrong.
Even secretly resisting to face the truth.
However, the truth is right in front of them, gradually approaching them.
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