28~Demon Race Behind the Forest
“Such bad luck.” Princess Filisia extended her snow-white hand to test the air, feeling a hint of dampness. The air had grown slightly cooler in an instant, shifting from unbearable heat to humid discomfort in under fifteen minutes.
Suddenly, the sky was covered with dark clouds blotting out the previously clear blue.
“It’s going to rain. We won’t be able to travel today. There are no forests nearby, so let’s set up camp here.” Princess Filisia shielded her eyes with one hand, gazing up and suggesting.
“Rain is necessary nourishment for the earth.” Tillysha pinched a raindrop between her fingers, her melodious voice echoing with an ethereal tone.
“Save your poetic reflections for after we’ve set up the tent.” Princess Filisia put down her gigantic, full-sized bag, unpacked it, and distributed the parts of the tent to Aistride and Tillysha.
Wenfu was wringing her hands, wanting to help but realizing she probably couldn’t. Yimi, on the other hand, knew she couldn’t contribute and decided against trying, walking over to the big bag, tiptoeing to grab her leisure book, sitting on the bag with her legs swinging as she read, waiting for Tillysha and the others to finish setting up the tent.
Princess Filisia wasn’t counting on any help from Yimi and Wenfu. Everyone knew that the only strong and battle-ready members in this team were three individuals. The other two were a muscle-weakened god child and a mascot.
“Meow!?” As the rain began to fall lightly and then grew heavier, Wenfu quickly folded her ears back, hugging her tail to avoid getting wet.
These three weren’t novices at camping. They quickly set up the tent with practiced efficiency.
Since the group was all girls, and except for a spare tent, Brilliant Sun and Moon only brought one large tent for this outing, which was more than enough to accommodate all five.
“Rumble…rumble…” The dull skies flashed with intermittent streaks of lightning, and the thunderous sound drowned out the gentle pitter-patter of rain.
Wenfu stuck her hands over her ears and timidly retreated behind Yimi, who had jumped off the bag once the tent was almost ready.
“You’re scared of thunder?” Yimi observed the evident fear written all over Wenfu’s face.
“Um, Yimi, aren’t you scared of thunder?”
“Why should I be?” Yimi was puzzled; thunder and rain were only natural phenomena after all. Rain was the tears of the goddess, a blessing from the heavens. To the nature-loving elf, fearing rain or thunder simply didn’t make sense.
“Uh meow…” Wenfu hung her head, poking her fingers together, looking much like a child who had done something wrong.
Even though Yimi was along, and it might sound a bit gloomy, Wenfu still felt relieved. This way, she wasn’t the only useless one in the group—there would be someone else to share the mascot duties with her.
But Yimi, despite her occasional quirks, proved dependable in critical moments and showed none of Wenfu’s weakness.
In this group, only she was afraid of thunder—it was almost embarrassing, especially for someone who should be beyond childish fears.
“Looks like the rain’s getting harder. I wonder if our tent can hold up at this rate?” Tillysha looked skyward. “We better not wake up in the middle of the night to find our roof is gone.”
“Don’t worry, this tent comes straight from the royal palace. It’s not just resistant to heavy rain, but hail too—it’s a piece of cake.” Princess Filisia said confidently, trusting the durability of her kingdom-made specialty tent.
Once the tent was set up, Wenfu hesitated a moment before a thunderclap startled her so much her fur bristled. She hurriedly took off her shoes and scrambled into the tent, kneeling with her legs tucked underneath and shaking off the water once inside.
Yimi followed calmly, holding her book and removed her shoes before casually slipping into the tent.
When Princess Filisia had brought the luggage inside, she too climbed into the tent.
“Tillysha?” Noticing Tillysha’s hesitation to enter the tent as she stared off into the distance, Aistride called out hesitantly.
“What’s wrong?” Aistride looked in the same direction, which was pitch black. The night rain added a misty veil to the scene.
In the darkness, something seemed to dart about.
“Nothing.” Tillysha shook her head and glanced at the sky. “The rain’s getting heavier. Let’s go into the tent.”
“Stay still.” Inside the tent, Princess Filisia sat cross-legged behind Wenfu, took out a towel, and began drying her slightly damp fur.
The sound of the rain tapping against the tent filled the air.
Aistride turned on the tent’s built-in crystal light, and as the warm glow filled the space, a soft sense of warmth and coziness enveloped them.
Listening to the rain outside and feeling the spacious yet snug atmosphere inside the tent, Wenfu felt a strange sense of ease, as if the thunder outside didn’t sound quite so loud.
“We haven’t washed up yet, it seems,” breaking the quiet moment, Yimi pointed out this slightly awkward fact to the group, who seemed ready to rest.
“Is this Yimi’s first journey away from home? It’s kind of extravagant to wash every day out here in the wilderness. The conditions don’t allow for it,” said Princess Filisia practically.
“That’s true,” Yimi stared at Princess Filisia thoughtfully.
After all, the princess, responsible for carrying the whole team’s luggage, had been sweating all day, surely quite a lot. Elves didn’t sweat easily, but humans were different. And Princess Filisia, in her knight’s attire, which left her midriff bare with a thick pair of knee-high boots, might have developed a certain scent. Perhaps a slight rinse could do wonders, couldn’t it?
Yimi thought it over but decided not to say anything aloud. She figured bringing it up would just cause some awkwardness.
After rummaging through the bag and pulling out the pillows and bedding they brought, they prepared to sleep.
Five people in one tent, sleeping together?
Aistride seemed to imagine something as her cheeks tinged with a faint blush, though her calm, ice-cold exterior remained, her ear tips betrayed a hint of pink.
Immersed in her reading, Yimi looked up, noticing that the other four were about to sleep. She then took off the ultra-durable yellow duck patterned jacket Tillysha had bought her.
After all, elves might not get dirty easily, but their clothes certainly could.
Tillysha was busy removing her knee-high socks but didn’t take off her school uniform skirt. It seemed she planned to sleep fully dressed.
“Aistride, is there something you need?” Seeing Aistride’s intense gaze directed at her, Tillysha asked.
“No.” Finding Tillysha wasn’t planning to take off her clothes, Aistride shook her head and then made a move to a position beside Tillysha as if it were purely coincidental, pretending to be indifferent yet acting rather primly.
“Whenever I said you could come sleep with me whenever you wanted, that still stands, right?” Princess Filisia teased Tillysha with a flirtatious glance.
“I’d say it still stands indeed,” Tillysha smiled.
Tillysha was at the edge of the tent, and there was only one spot next to her. After looking at the nearby bed, Aistride hesitated a moment before finding the courage to move a bed and pillow to the other side of Tillysha.
“Time to sleep,” Aistride tried her best to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary, but inside, she was still unsettled.
Was her behavior too obvious?
Aistride turned away from Tillysha, her eyes flickering with a hint of nervousness.
Tillysha noticed, and a compassionate smile crossed her lips.
Was this girl trying to get close to her but not wanting to make her intentions too clear?
“Aistride.”
“Huh? What is it?” Aistride struggled to keep her voice even and steady.
“Nothing,” Tillysha tenderly tousled Aistride’s hair from behind, much like how one might pet a kitten. To her, whether it was Aistride or Wenfu, they were both juniors in need of guidance.
She merely saw the rest of her teammates in this group as juniors.
Princess Filisia removed the hair tie that held her ponytail in place, savoring the natural, slightly minty fragrance of Tillysha’s hair. It made her feel as if she had returned to a place of peace. The calming scent helped settle her restless mind. This golden-haired girl seemed like a tranquil remedy for everyone’s souls.
With the gentle glow of the crystal light, the five girls fell asleep in each other’s embrace. The light gradually dimmed and went off, while the rain continued to patter softly outside. Despite the strong winds, the tent was filled with warmth.
When Tillysha woke up in the middle of the night, there was no confusion or drowsiness. She felt a few arms wrapped around her.
Looking down, she saw that the slumbering Princess Filisia, at some point during the night, had reached out from behind and wrapped her arms around Tillysha’s waist. Aistride, meanwhile, had a hand gently pinching a strand of Tillysha’s hair, her other hand grasping Tillysha’s, her calm features visible even in sleep.
When she tried to move her legs, she realized they were also entangled.
At some point during the night, Aistride and Filisia had instinctively curled towards her warmth, front and back, their curvaceous legs, clad in black stockings, tightly wrapped around her.
If she moved too much, would she wake them?
But if she didn’t get up…
Tillysha, ever alert, had sensed danger.
It was this heightened sense that allowed her to rest, trusting her surroundings enough not to assign someone to stand guard.
The rain outside hadn’t stopped, and the sound wasn’t the only thing coming from outside.
Were they orcs again?
Tillysha carefully moved her body to not wake the two next to her.
When she had finally freed herself from their octopus-like grip, she noticed someone had already risen before her.
Looking around the tent in the faint light of the night, she saw a coldly expressionless golden-haired loli in a cute nightgown—it was Yimi. Clearly, Yimi had also sensed the unusual and likely just intended to wake her when she noticed that Tillysha was already awake.
Yimi peeked through a gap in the tent curtain, and Tillysha understood.
After briefly fixing her hair, Tillysha put on her hair accessory and activated her Divine Analysis Technique, extending her senses in a circular area around the tent.
To the tent’s east, she sensed several creatures rushing towards them at an alarming speed.
What were these things? Orcs couldn’t move this quickly. Exactly what were they?
In the rain-soaked night, puddles rippled with the sound of splashing water, and several dark figures ran swiftly on four legs. They were agile predators, twice as large as ordinary beasts.
Clearly, they had locked their targets, and they were moving with lightning speed. By the time prey could react, their throats might already have been torn out. Some would be killed in their sleep.
In the blink of an eye, these shadows arrived at the tent door, their golden, bloodthirsty eyes revealing sharp fangs and claws ready for the k*ll.
“Whoosh!” The leading beast entered through the tent curtain, only to find a star-like object inside that rapidly grew larger in its view.
“Bang!” With a thunderous crash, the star-like arrow pierced the beast’s chest, carrying it through the air to crash against a deserted broken wall. The beast struggled, trying to remove the glowing arrow embedded in its chest only to find it flickering and slipping from its grasp.
Seeing their leader eliminated so quickly, the other beasts’ eyes flashed with shock.
“Luckily, one arrow didn’t k*ll this one. Its vitality is pretty impressive,” said a voice as the tent curtain was opened again, revealing the blonde elf girl standing under the soft rain.
Meeting the cautious eyes of the beasts, Tillysha had a clear view of them now.
Wolf heads and wolf bodies, but these beasts stood on two legs.
Were they werewolves?
Tillysha recognized them from the Demon Race Compendium. They shouldn’t naturally be found near the edges of Ruglien.
So, the enemies behind the forest were werewolf packs?
A flicker of surprise crossed their eyes, which Tillysha didn’t miss.
It seems their attack target wasn’t them but the orcs they were presumably fighting. Instead, they had mistakenly encountered Light Race.
Too swift to act otherwise in that moment, Tillysha flicked her elegant bowstrings. Three arrows appeared, glowing brightly under the bow made from a magical willow tree.
But there were only three arrows against more than a dozen werewolves. Even if she hit each one, the others would still be able to advance.
Relying on their numerical superiority, the werewolves thought they had the advantage.
At the critical moment, a crown-shaped giant sword descended from the sky, slicing down a leaping werewolf that aimed to ambush Tillysha. The sword pierced the werewolf’s spine and pinned it to the ground.
“Ara? Not orcs? Well, it doesn’t matter much.” The ponytailed girl wielding the sword lifted it high, bl**d spraying from the blade onto the faces of all the werewolves. She wore no fear, only excitement and bloodlust on her face.
Three arrows pierced the chestbones of three werewolves but failed to k*ll them outright. Instead, they stepped back, revealing their full feral nature.
Just in time, a crescent-shaped silver flame flashed and engulfed the werewolves’ fur in flames.
Under the serene night sky, Aistride stood atop the tent, hands clasped together, her pretty face filled with cold determination.
