Chapter 707: Act 67 – The Hunter Siblings III
“… The legend of the Green People in the forest has a long history. The mountain folk of Manowell and Lantonrand refer to them as the Tree People. Some say they are descendants of the Minren; after the Saint’s War, indeed, a part of the Minren traveled the route we took today, seeking refuge in the Frost-dyed Forest. They crossed the Needlefall Mountains and set sail from what is now the Silver Pine Coast, heading north, never to be seen again.”
“Nobody knows where they ultimately went, but there are also tales that the Minren in the forest split into two factions. The leader who took his group did not want to give up worldly power and cunningly deceived a number of people to stay behind. The outcome for these descendants is clear; those who remained transformed into the Green People. However, they have been assimilated by the forest—faces resembling the texture of wood, expressionless eyes sunk deep within, their bodies covered in roots, they wander the forest day after day, regretting the decisions they made.”
“The dark magic turns this regret into hatred. They are like heartless ghosts lost in this woodland, killing all living beings they encounter. Most of the Minren who have stayed are nobles among them, skilled at using language to confuse the hearts of others, especially when that language contains the magic of the forest. Many who have seen them never return.”
Flames were burning branches in the campfire, small twigs turning golden-red in the fire, occasionally cracking and sparking. Brendel’s voice rose and fell as he vividly recounted the widely known legend of the Tree People in the Manowell region, but the locals mostly only knew of the legend without the detailed history he provided, so much so that everyone in the firelight was captivated.
Only the Prince Younger curled up in a corner, trembling. He intended to walk away and not listen but couldn’t suppress his curiosity.
“What about the Minren who left?” Medisa asked, a bit curious. She placed a withered branch into the campfire, and the bright flames made her face appear much rosier.
Brendel picked up a roasted fish from the campfire and tossed it over to Haruz. The Prince Younger froze, instinctively reaching out to catch it, only to be burned and instinctively dropped the fish with a yelp. Then he quickly reacted, scrambling to pick it up, awkwardly staring at the dirt and snow stuck on the roasted fish.
Brendel sighed and shook his head. He handed another roasted fish to Nemeses, who understood and took the fish from the Prince Younger’s hands, then exchanged it back with him.
“Thank you…” Haruz mumbled, his face as red as an apple.
“Your Highness, to take on responsibility, you must first learn to overcome your fears,” Nemeses reminded him, “There are many kinds of legends in this world, but you have long outgrown the age of believing in bedtime stories.”
“… I-I’m not scared,” Haruz stared at the roasted fish in his hands, feeling a bit aggrieved, “Because my sister said Lady Martha will protect every one of her subjects…”
This self-comforting reason made Laurena beside him unable to help but chuckle, “Your Highness, you are truly adorable.” She replied with a hint of amusement.
Brendel shook his head; he could not expect much more from this Prince. At least he had become more independent than before these days. Before this, he wouldn’t have dared to voice his thoughts in front of so many people, which counted as progress. So he continued to answer Medisa’s question, “Those Minren crossed the Needlefall Mountains; some saw them set sail from the Silver Pine Coast, but that was ages ago. As for the souls of the deceased Minren ancestors, they still linger in the Ancient Gorge north of the Needlefall Mountains. Often, pieces of sunken ships are salvaged from that region’s seabed.”
“What about the heartless knight? I’ve heard a similar legend,” Laurena asked. Over these days, Brendel had shared a number of legends about the forest with them—it seemed that nothing was unknown to this Duke Toniger.
“The heartless knight? That’s a different story—” Just as Brendel was about to speak, a near-pained wail broke through the forest in the distance, the sound rising and falling beneath the silver moon, resembling a wolf’s howl. But Brendel could tell—it was a human voice, a woman’s voice.
The Prince Younger shivered in fear, and everyone turned their heads in unison towards the direction of the sound, which came from the south of the camp, once the original site of the hunters.
With a crashing sound, someone suddenly burst forth from the bushes; it was Xi, holding a long spear on her back. She looked a bit flustered as she gazed at Brendel, who quickly realized, “What happened?”
“She ran out…” the mountain folk girl answered softly.
“Ran out?” Brendel paused slightly, “You didn’t stop her?”
“But she said she wanted to find her younger brother.”
“Her brother? He’s among those hunters?”
Xi shook her head slightly, indicating she was uncertain.
…
The second time Brendel saw the female hunter was during the daytime at the hunters’ camp, where she was kneeling in the snow, softly sobbing. The girl had thick, deep brown hair cascading over her shoulders, slightly curled, and quite beautiful. She wore a thick hunter’s leather outfit, but the long bow and quiver she had originally carried were nowhere to be seen when they found her. The skin on her hands and neck was somewhat dark, resembling Sue. She looked to be only sixteen or seventeen but appeared far more mature than Nemeses or even Freya.
The hunter girl was leaning against the edge of a pit recently dug in the snow, gripping the frozen ground tightly, making sounds akin to a wild animal’s whimper, which gradually turned into deep, sorrowful wails. Freya beside Brendel couldn’t bear to see this sight and moved to help her up, but Brendel stepped in first—he looked at the hunter’s body that had been unearthed in the pit and asked, “Is her brother in there?”
Nemeses shook her head gently beside him, “She has already identified the corpses buried earlier, and there isn’t her brother’s body in there. The surrounding woods have been searched as well with no trace found.”
“So, her brother is still alive?”
“Not necessarily; the body could have been taken away by a beast in the forest. Or, like the corpse we encountered earlier, he might have escaped farther away to die.” The Lady Knight was not optimistic.
Brendel nodded slightly, acknowledging this speculation. But he added, “We can’t rule out the possibility of him being taken away. Anlek will still need a guide.”
Nemeses remained noncommittal.
“Brendel?” Freya looked worriedly at the girl kneeling in the snow, concerned about her injuries, especially since the female hunter had a high fever. Although the team had Pashimila as a priestess from the lofty mountains, only Fanzan’s clergy was skilled at curing ailments, and wounds getting inflamed in such conditions were extremely dangerous.
But Brendel glanced at the girl softly and replied, “Let her vent for a while. Her brother may not be dead, but a normal person would struggle with such a profound shock. At least let her calm down first.”
Freya pursed her lips; her sympathy largely stemmed from her own experiences. That night in Buche, witnessing her loved ones engulfed by flames while her former home was reduced to ashes, the humiliation and sense of powerlessness were difficult for those who hadn’t gone through such experiences to understand.
But she recalled her experience at the Royal Knight Academy—some situations must be faced alone to find a way out, a lesson Brendel had taught her. So she stopped and silently watched the girl.
Fortunately, the hunter girl was much stronger than everyone imagined. She suppressed her cries for a while in the snow. Then, after a moment of silence, she finally raised her head and wiped her tears. The hunter girl, having gained control over her overwhelming emotions, left everyone momentarily speechless; she didn’t possess that breathtaking beauty, but her dark eyes sparkled with the wildness of a fierce beast.
“Thank you for saving me, noble knights,” her voice was somewhat hoarse, whether from crying or her natural tone, it was unclear. But as Brendel noted, the hunter girl seemed to have calmed down a little after speaking this, gently asking, “May I ask, noble knights, are you planning to enter the Frost-dyed Forest?”
Everyone turned their gaze to Brendel.
Brendel inquired back, “What train of thought led you to ask that question?”
“If I say I can be your guide, will you take me along, noble knight?” The hunter girl immediately fixed her gaze on him, her eyes full of hope. Although she tried hard to maintain her composure, a slight tension crept into her expression, as if afraid Brendel would refuse.
Brendel paused slightly; he had expected this. However, he had previously heard from Nemeses and the others what the hunter girl had said—that the hunters originally didn’t want to enter the Frost-dyed Forest, which had triggered Anlek’s murderous intent. He didn’t expect her to actively propose this requirement now.
“While you say that, you wish to chase into the forest to find your brother, correct?” he asked.
The hunter girl hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded, “Yes, I do not wish to hide this from you, noble sir. Whether dead or alive, I at least want to see my brother’s body.” Brendel was pleased with her honesty but still inquired, “But our time is pressing, and you are injured. Can you keep up with us?”
“I can! This small injury is nothing for us hunters!” the hunter girl answered loudly but coughed due to aggravating her wound.
“Have you been inside the Frost-dyed Forest before?”
“I have not, noble knight, but my father had entered the Frost-dyed Forest three times in his life. He was the only hunter from the vicinity of Shallow Water Town who could return alive from the forest, but the companions who entered with him remained there.” The hunter girl paused, as if recalling an unpleasant past. “For this reason, he was secretly called the cursed one by those people. After my father died, my brother Aruta and I faced exclusion from the townspeople.”
She sighed softly, “Before this time entering the forest, those nobles offered a hefty price, and many hunters were tempted. But the client needed someone who was sufficiently familiar with the north side of the Anlase Forest, and in Shallow Water Town, such a person was only me and my brother.”
“I thought that if I could get this money, I would be able to leave here with my brother and go to Karasu. But unexpectedly…” The hunter girl’s eyes reddened, and she hurriedly wiped them.
“Your brother may not be dead; don’t be too upset. Anlek is unlikely to have killed everyone. By the way, you should be familiar with the hunters in the town. Have you counted the bodies? Are any of them missing?”
“Anlek?” The girl paused slightly, then realized what Brendel meant: “I counted, and three people are missing in total.”
“Two people, plus your brother.” Brendel hesitated; this number was somewhat high. If Anlek needed a guide, two people would be more than enough. However, he didn’t voice this thought. He looked at the hunter girl, “What is your name?”
“My name is Peiya, sir. My father was Taiko, a somewhat famous hunter in Shallow Water Town. My brother’s name is Aruta; he is only fifteen.” The hunter girl promptly introduced herself humbly.
However, Brendel didn’t pay much attention to her self-introduction; he asked seriously, “Have you thought this through, Peiya? If you join us, even though you may encounter your brother, I may not allow you to act freely at that time.” To the others, at this moment, Brendel seemed to be a different person, but they didn’t know this was his habit as the team leader—entering the Frost-dyed Forest in the game was not a beginner-level dungeon. Moreover, players in the game could restart, but they had no opportunity to do so here—hence he would not allow an unstable factor in the team. “Remember, you are joining us as a guide, not as someone we take to rescue your brother.”
Peiya showed a look of struggle, but Brendel’s words strangely reassured her; at least, there was no need to make such promises just to fool her into being a guide. Finally, she nodded and raised her hand to swear, “I understand, noble knight. I swear by the honor of my deceased father that I will keep my promise at this moment.”
Brendel then nodded.
Freya beside them seemed to show a relieved expression and hurriedly walked over to help the hunter girl up from the snow. Brendel turned away; he actually didn’t need a guide but didn’t want to hurt Freya’s feelings.
Moreover, leaving the hunter girl behind would make his conscience uneasy as well. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
