The Bizarre Forest

Roasting meat made sizzling sounds, drops of hot oil slowly sliding down along the plump meat grain, and finally dripping into the firewood. The aroma of the barbecue, the drifting cooking smoke, the scorching black wood amidst the fiery red, and the little boy drooling while sitting in front of the campfire.

This scene in the nighttime forest looked full of a Western fantasy art style.

Vidal leaned against the tree trunk behind him, gazing up at the sky. Through the gaps in the branches and leaves overhead, he could see a full moon hanging against the dark curtain, unusually large for the earth and emitting a hazy yellow light.

"Looking at the starry sky from ten thousand meters above is indeed much clearer than down below."

The blond curly-haired boy's eyes were glowing.

"Mom once said that there is an infinitely large land above the moon! It would be great if we could go up and take a look."

"Is that so? Then when you grow up, we'll find a chance to go up and take a look!"

Seeing that the meat was almost done roasting, Vidal straightened up, removed a thigh cut, and placed it on the wooden plate in front of the boy.

"Here, eat it while it's hot."

"Thank you, Dad!" The boy cried out in joyful surprise, having not eaten roasted meat for a long time.

Tapping Enel's little head, Vidal did not take a piece of meat for himself, only quietly watching the boy.

His original purpose in coming to this sea of clouds above was to find the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, but when passing through Birka Island, he happened to run into Enel, who was only six years old and foraging alone in the wild. Out of arising pity, he took him in as an adopted son and brought him along to Upper Yard. Now that this azure-blue Rumble-Rumble Fruit was right at hand, he felt it was time to leave this war-torn place.

[Swish, swish, swish!]

Yet at this very moment, the hurried sound of vegetation being brushed past rapidly rang out, and bursts of footsteps suddenly disrupted the original peaceful atmosphere here. In a flash, Vidal and Enel by the campfire were surrounded by around twenty gun-wielding soldiers dressed in white.

Behind the backs of these soldiers grew a pair of white feathered wings, their faces largely similar. From the ears on both sides—or rather, the temple areas—grew a pair of rabbit-ear-like organs, and on their bald heads grew two slender white sharp horns.

Generally speaking, they were a group of horned, winged humanoid soldiers whose appearance resembled dachshunds.

"Hassoh!"

"I am McKinley, Captain of the God's Army. You are Blue Sea People, right?"

As McKinley, who stood out uniquely among the crowd in both appearance and attire, walked out, Vidal felt that out of these twenty-odd people, only he grew a normal person's appearance.

He unexpectedly even draped a light blue overcoat over his body, except his head lacked that white beret from the future.

But regardless, trouble had come knocking. Faced with the interrogation, he had no choice but to slowly stand up, yet Vidal's rising made the soldiers tense up immediately.

A chiseled, handsome face, a head of slightly curly pitch-black hair, an appearance boasting starlit eyes and sword-like brows, a dark green shirt, black trousers, leather boots—he looked extremely capable, but none of these drew attention as much as that tall physique!

Visually estimated at over three meters in height and with robust muscles, just standing in place brought them a sense of standing out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.

"Is there a problem?"

Vidal looked down at McKinley indifferently. Little Enel beside him had already stood up, hugging his long leg with a tense expression.

McKinley swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feigning composure, and looked up. "You trespassed into the forbidden grounds without authorization, and you need to pay a fine of ten billion Extols!"

Immediately following—

He glanced at the campfire and the roasted meat above it. "And hunting forbidden-area animals without authorization, damaging the forbidden-area environment—you need to pay a fine of one billion Extols each!"

"If you obediently comply and pay the fines, we can safely send you out of the forbidden grounds. But if you dare defy official duty—"

Speaking up to here, McKinley's gaze instantly turned dangerous. "You will be subjected to Cloud Drift!"

"Forbidden grounds?"

Hearing these words, Vidal couldn't even be bothered to calculate how much these fines converted to in Belis.

"This place seems to be the land of the Shandia. What qualifications do you have to set rules here?"

"You!!"

The faces of McKinley and the other soldiers changed drastically, each turning fierce. Yet Vidal did not care in the least and continued speaking, "Is it because you Skypieans are more numerous than the Shandia? Stronger?"

"Then is it that as long as I am stronger than you, you are currently trespassing into my territory without authorization and need to pay fines to me?"

"Shut up!"

McKinley could no longer suppress his anger. "Since you Blue Sea People are tactless, then prepare yourselves."

"Take him down!"

"Ha!"

With an order, four soldiers to the front, back, left, and right rushed forward wielding long rifles.

They were agile with speed like the wind, but the weeds on the ground suddenly grew wildly, instantly binding all four of them like a cluster of slender reeds.

"What?!"

The soldiers were greatly startled, instinctively retreating several meters one after another, only to find that Vidal and the little boy were gone, and that pile of campfire had also extinguished at some unknown time. This forest ten thousand meters above instantly turned gloomy.

"Since you've made a move, then risk your lives. This is what you call being prepared."

Vidal's voice came echoing over from all directions of the tree thicket.

At the same time, the rustling sounds of tree branches and vegetation shaking echoed densely and incessantly, and the soldiers found that the atmosphere had turned bizarre.

"Where is he?"

"Come out, Blue Sea People!"

With an ugly expression, McKinley shouted toward the surroundings, his inner unease growing increasingly intense. "Damn it, if only a priest were present!"

The Mantra the priests had mastered should make it easy for them to find the two criminals.

In the darkness, one branch after another slithered down from above. The Divine Soldiers, already on guard, now showed their excellent combat skills.

They had been at war with the Shandia for a full four hundred years!

The Divine Soldiers swung their spears, repeatedly cutting down the branches shooting through the air.

But they ignored the danger coming from below. Unnoticed, fresh green mushrooms had sprouted all over the ground.

[Bang!]

When the first Divine Soldier stepped on a mushroom as he walked and crushed it, a piercing scream rang out.

A burst of thick green liquid splattered everywhere, coating the soldier's legs. His thin white pants burned through like paper. The instant the liquid touched his flesh, a terrifying corrosive reaction began.

His entire lower leg looked as though someone had poured a bottle of strong sulfuric acid over it. In just a moment, it was left a bloody mess.

[Bang! Bang! Bang!]

Explosions rang out one after another. They weren't as loud as cannon fire, but sounded somewhat muffled. The screams that followed, however, were no less intense than the cries of those struck by cannonballs.

But this was only the beginning. This forest, so familiar to McKinley and the others, was now filled with malice toward them.

"Ahhh! My foot!!"

"What is this thing?"

"Why has the grass turned as sharp as needles!"

"The trees—the leaves are falling! Aah—!"

Clutching his slashed throat, the Divine Soldier fell with his eyes open onto a lush green mushroom. Grass sharp as needles but dense as a carpet, leaves as keen as blades swirling through the air, branches like a nest of snakes, baring their claws, mushrooms fresh and inviting but filled with venom.

And the multicolored flowers that had bloomed at some unknown moment, each releasing a faint cloud of colored mist. Gradually, the forest grew quiet again, and Vidal reappeared, holding Enel's little hand.

"Since you like 'Cloud Drift' so much, why don't you try 'Tree Bind' from the Blue Sea?"

Vidal chuckled at McKinley, bound high up against a tree trunk.

The next moment, McKinley began to sink little by little into the trunk, despairing.

Without special perception abilities, no one would ever guess there was a living person hidden inside the tree.

"Let's go. We're going home!"

"Mm-hmm!"

(Note: This chapter is a rewritten version.)

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