Entering the Forest

After seeing the black mist retreat into the forest, the crowd dispersed after the village chief finished announcing the recruitment.

After all, it's nighttime now. In this era of insufficient nighttime lighting, people see dusk and night as times ruled by the devil, greatly increasing the chances of encountering danger at night.

Bangier and Korandi waited in the abandoned house until dawn, before the sun had even risen. Bangier woke up from his sleep, still feeling dazed, and secretly looked outside. He discovered that the Black Mist in the forest had disappeared.

He quickly woke his sister, grabbed their belongings, and hurried into the forest. Although staying there was relatively safe for the time being, the days ahead were essentially a death sentence.

Firstly, they had no food at all. Secondly, although no one usually came here, staying here still carried a high risk of being exposed. If they were caught, it was hard to say what would happen to them.

"Let's hurry up and leave. The village chief will be leading people into the forest soon. Let's go somewhere far away and avoid them." Bangier looked around, afraid of running into that early riser, while also instructing Korandi.

Fortunately, they encountered no trouble along the way and entered the forest smoothly. It was still dark inside the forest, and after entering, they followed the animal trail towards the river.

Bangier had only been to the forest once before, when the village hunters worked together to hunt a wild boar. He had come in with his father and they had carried the boar away together. So, he wasn't very familiar with the forest.

Kor had come a few times. Their original plan was for Kor to be the guide, and then they would work together to use traps to hunt some prey. They never thought about how they would survive after that, or perhaps they could cross the forest to reach the other side.

Of course, their plan was simply to escape, since they had no other choice. If they didn't escape, they would die; if they escaped, at least they would have a glimmer of hope. Bangier felt the same way; it was impossible for him to watch his sister be sold off.

That was his younger sister! Being sold into slavery and as a plaything was a death sentence and an unbearable ordeal. That's why he was willing to bring his sister on an adventure in the forest. But once inside, Bangier realized that he and his group had been too naive.

Before Bangier was a skeleton, roughly human-shaped, but much larger than a human, like a giant. Unlike humans, however, the giant had a pair of antlers growing from its skull.

Upon seeing this skeleton, Bangier recalled a rumor from the village: that man-eating demons lived in the forest. According to legend, these demons were originally human, but they were possessed by demons after feeding on humans, and their bodies gradually Mutation into the appearance of demons.

In legends, these man-eating demons are symbolized by their stature, which is much taller than humans, and their heads, which resemble those of a deer.

The discovery of this skeleton made Bangier realize that things were not simple. The thought of ogres in the forest was terrifying, and now this ogre was dead here, with only a skeleton remaining.

Furthermore, the bones were clean, without a single scrap of meat remaining, and were still somewhat moist, indicating they were quite fresh. Strangely, there were no animal teeth marks on them, suggesting that the cannibalistic monster had been completely devoured by something as small as insects.

The thought that "the black mist killed the cannibalistic demon" flashed through his mind, instantly awakening his fear of the black mist, and Bangier felt waves of lingering dread.

If it weren't for the accident yesterday afternoon, he and his sister would probably be nothing but bones here now. The forest was their only way out, so they instinctively ignored the problem of the black fog, thinking that it wouldn't descend so quickly.

But in retrospect, it was fortunate that Udick betrayed them, which delayed them. Otherwise, if they had entered the forest, they would have certainly perished. After all, even the man-eating demons died in the black mist, let alone the underage children like them.

Despite the discomfort, Bangier dismembered the thigh bone of the ogre before him, using it as a weapon. It looked like a large club in his hand. Then, he put the skeleton aside and walked towards the river.

The closer they got to the river, the more cautious Bangier became, since the riverbank was where animals drank, and it was the easiest place to encounter all sorts of wild beasts.

The reason they came to the river was twofold: firstly, their water supply was running low; they had drunk all the soup they brought while hiding in the abandoned wooden hut yesterday, and they dared not go out at night. They were afraid of running into people if they went to the river again in the morning, so they went into the forest to fetch water later.

Another reason was for navigation. In the forest, only the river was the most obvious geographical landmark. Otherwise, if you lost your way in the forest, it would be difficult to find a water source. This was something Kor casually mentioned when confirming the escape with him.

Korandi remained silent the entire way, obediently following Bangier. Only when she made a discovery would she tug at Bangier's sleeve. Korandi tugged at Bangier's sleeve again and pointed to some small fruits growing on a tree on the other side.

Their father had brought these fruits back before and confirmed that they were edible. At least they had found some food, which eased their worries about the unknown forest a little. After all, food always brings peace of mind.

As Bangier led his sister through the forest toward the river, the villagers gathered together.

The old village chief with the white beard, who usually accompanied him with his three large dogs, was nowhere to be seen. Behind him were only a few hunters from the village, including Bangier's father. Two cows had died, and his son and daughter, who were meant to be his backup assets, had run away. The hunters who wanted to survive had no choice but to join the village chief's scouting team and receive his financial support.

Every year after the village chief's sacrifice, he would lead people into the forest to search for something. Rumors circulated in the village that the old village chief was searching for the legendary Candy House. After all, the old village chief was not short of money; he was the best-off person in the village and could easily move away to a safer town.

The old village chief had no sons or grandchildren, only three large dogs to keep him company. Although he looked quite old, he was very healthy. It was said that he had served in the army when he was young and had lived a life of luxury after acquiring a large fortune.

Every year, the old village chief would lead people to search the forest. Sometimes, everyone would return with a lot of resources, but other times, everyone would die, leaving only the old village chief to return.

But every year, there are always some people who can't survive and choose to be hired by the old village chief. And they start by walking along the river towards the forest.

Xu Ming really out of sorts today, managing only two chapters. I'm truly sorry.