Children of the Forest

The Old Witch's face changed dramatically. "This isn't an ordinary prophecy. It's a curse. Her prophecy will interfere with the future."

"Ah, she left her projection in Ambrose's Forbidden Book not only to stop humans from reading it, but also to use it as an anchor to curse the humans of a thousand years later."

"I think humans back then must have grown powerful enough to drive the Children of the Forest to despair. That's why they chose to cross through time and curse the humans of the present, a thousand years later."

"Because they knew that no matter how powerful a force was, it would eventually become a pack of nobodies as time passed. For example, there isn't a single Fourth Rank professional in Viscount Ambrose's State now!"

"But wait. This is the Dark Queen's magical domain—a high-level application of Law. She'll have to pay a price to the Dark Queen!"

After making the prophecy, the woman's eyes exploded.

At the same time, she seemed to have "seen" something terrifying. She cowered against the wall and screamed in fear like any ordinary girl. "Someone, save me..."

"Don't come any closer..."

"I regret it. I shouldn't have done this. I regret it! I know I was wrong."

"Your Grace, help me... Please, could you negotiate with the Dark Queen for me? I don't want to go there. It's even more terrifying than hell. I'm begging you, Your Grace..."

A voice rang out in the cavern.

"I declare Law Established."

A pitch-black hand suddenly appeared, clamped around the woman's neck as easily as if she were a chicken, and carried her into a phantom space.

Yveta, Leili, the Old Witch, and Branton were all stunned.

Everything had changed far too quickly.

The Old Witch said blankly, "The strongest witch, the Dark Queen, dragged her into the Black Magic Domain, where neither time nor life and death exist."

"That's where black magic is most concentrated."

"That was the price she paid for cursing Ambrose Plain: the entire life and time of a Sixth Rank powerhouse."

"I was wrong before. I thought it was just an illusion left behind by a high-ranking witch, with no power to attack. Who could have known she was the Forest Duke, a Sixth Rank priestess? That was far too dangerous just now. I shouldn't have so carelessly opened an ancient book. If she'd really wanted to deal with us, she could've killed us all a thousand years ago with just a glance."

"Even here, if she'd really wanted to kill us just now, we would have had no chance of surviving. Of course, Your Grace is the exception."

"She was frightened by your reputation."

The Old Witch gazed at Yveta in adoration.

She admired Yveta's power more and more.

Yveta, meanwhile, was speechless. You really have too much faith in me.

But if the Old Witch hadn't managed to bluff the woman just now, they'd all be dead.

Yveta said, "It seems we've gotten caught up in something huge."

The Old Witch immediately replied, "Your Grace, we haven't gotten caught up in anything."

"All this happened because the people of Ambrose failed to cover their tracks a thousand years ago. If we leave Ambrose right away, it'll have nothing to do with us. I don't believe these so-called Children of the Forest would dare to venture beyond Ambrose."

"They only dare to bully the weakest, most peripheral human force: Viscount Ambrose's Independent State."

"That Forest Duke just now was certainly powerful compared to us, but if she acted so arrogantly in the Arthas Kingdom, the kingdom's army would soon crush her."

"A Sixth Rank priestess may be the equal of a duke, but the Arthas Kingdom is a Kingdom-level power."

Branton asked timidly, "Shouldn't we notify the Grand Viscount?"

The Old Witch glared at him. "If you want to go, go by yourself. I don't want to get involved."

"Your Grace, don't you agree?"

Yveta was thinking with his head bowed. He suddenly realized that everything he'd encountered on this mission had actually come from the Old Druid's divination.

The divination had said he would gain territory and talent from this mission.

It was because of the Old Druid's divination that he had accepted the mission.

In other words, according to the divination, this war between Viscount Ambrose's State and the Children of the Forest was his chance to gain a great deal of territory?

That made sense.

Under normal circumstances, he would never be able to acquire much territory.

In times of peace, how many opportunities would there be to gain territory?

Only in an era of chaos, an age of sword and fire, could someone make a name for himself.

The fighting strength of Viscount Ambrose's State wasn't very high.

At most, Third Sequence combatants could appear here. The Children of the Forest were probably about the same, or perhaps even weaker.

Otherwise, they would have attacked Ambrose long ago instead of resorting to curses, schemes, and petty tricks.

That Forest Duke just now must have been the ruler of the Children of the Forest during their heyday, more than two thousand years ago.

She was nothing like the Children of the Forest today.

The Children of the Forest today were just a pack of outcasts, hounded by humans.

Yveta said, "All right, Hearthstone Witch. Let's help Branton find his sister first."

"If we don't complete the mission, how will we have enough money to leave Ambrose?"

The Hearthstone Witch narrowed her eyes. She had no idea what Yveta was planning.

In her imagination, a demon god's plan would be like a snake hidden in the grass—impossible for her to guard against.

She'd originally wanted to use the demon god's power to deal with the Boar Knight Order, but she hadn't expected that staying by his side would draw her into one terrifying situation after another.

The Hearthstone Witch opened Ambrose's Forbidden Book. "I suspect Branton's sister's disappearance is connected to the Children of the Forest."

"So the contents of this Forbidden Book should be able to help us."

"Your Highness."

Branton looked at Yveta gratefully. "Your Highness, thank you for coming."

"I can't imagine how I would have faced these ogres alone, let alone a Forest Duke."

"These matters are far beyond what our baron's territory can handle. Only a natural member of the royal family like you could resolve them."

Branton looked at Yveta as if he were one of the demigod heroes of ancient times. "If I weren't a vassal of Viscount Ambrose, I would pledge my allegiance to you."

Just look at what they'd done: led a small squad to kill twenty ogres and faced off against the priest-duke said to rule the Children of the Forest.

It was the sort of thing that could only happen in a knightly romance.

Yveta nodded to him, then said to the Old Witch, "See if there's anything useful in the Forbidden Book that can explain what happened to Branton's sister."

"Hmm..." The Old Witch quickly flipped through the pages. "The Children of the Forest are a human subrace, but the difference between them and us is like the difference between chimpanzees and humans."

"Although we're all human, the Children of the Forest and humans have become two separate species."

"On the path of evolution, we believe the Children of the Forest and we share a common ancestor. But we left the forest and built villages and cities, while the Children of the Forest built a civilization in the woods. In the most dangerous times, our children couldn't even go near the forest."

"Then the Black Magic Forest appeared and changed everything..."

The Old Witch turned the pages. "These sections are all about the Children of the Forest. But 'Children of the Forest' is a collective term for various human subraces. There are actually many different kinds."

"The Children of the Forest are an alliance of all the human subraces in the forests who stand apart from humanity. Hmph, they're all inferior races that failed to evolve compared to humans. No wonder they're no match for us."

Yveta urged her, "Hearthstone Witch, don't get arrogant. Find the kind of Forest Child most likely to have taken Branton's sister."

"I'll look for the Forest Child subrace most likely to have taken his sister." The Old Witch flipped through the pages. A few minutes later, she cried out, "I found it. It's the Treant People."

"Legend says the Treant People formed a deep connection with certain ancient trees. They stopped evolving toward becoming human and instead developed a strange resonance with trees. They spend half their lives inside a Tree Hole, and don't leave until they come of age and find the target of their coming-of-age ceremony. Oh no, so that's what happened!"

The Old Witch's face changed dramatically. "Your Grace, we must leave this baron's territory at once."