I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 489
Chapter 489: The Semi-Fallen Elves
“Ewen! To the left!”
“Watch out, it’s attacking!”
“Dodge!”
“Ewen, now! Fireball!”
“……”
As we ventured deeper into the Black Forest, visibility continued to decrease, with sunlight becoming scarce and the temperature growing colder and more damp. Along with these changes, the number of fierce beasts in the vicinity increased.
The *crimson energy* in the Black Forest is a type of energy that some monsters here have evolved to fully absorb and utilize. Much like some of the surrounding plants, these creatures no longer need sunlight for photosynthesis or nutrients from the soil to grow. They have gradually evolved into a state where they only drive away nearby life forms.
Some plants have taken root in areas with particularly dense *crimson energy*, vowing to protect these regions at all costs.
Others have transformed into structures similar to tumbleweeds, with no roots, rolling around in areas with high *crimson energy* concentrations.
Tumbleweeds are equipped with sharp thorns, while the large-mouthed flowers have jaws capable of swallowing small animals. When these two types of plants encounter each other, either the large-mouthed flower will swallow the small tumbleweed in one bite, or the tumbleweed will use its thorns to cut through the flower’s stem.
In addition to these two types of plants, deep within the Black Forest, there are also “Flying Blade Grass,” which can shoot out blade-sharp branches, “Sulfuric Acid Daisies,” which spray strong acid from their trunks, and even “Explosion Willows” that launch expanding fruits and ignite them to explode with a bang.
The last plant is truly a “look-and-explode” type, with a particularly volatile temperament. Even if you don’t get close and merely glance at it, the moment it senses human presence, it will instantly hurl two expanding fruits your way, which then expand—
“Boom!”
So, in the Black Forest, I’ve often seen these two types of plants fighting over territory and frequently felt the sensation of suddenly catching fire as I walked by.
Here, the flora and fauna have evolved to be as combative as possible, their entire evolutionary path seems to focus on “offense.”
I also know that most of the creatures and plants here cannot survive outside the Black Forest because only such areas rich in *crimson energy* can provide them with sufficient energy. Outside, plants without roots will die, and although animals might have high attack power and can ensure they won’t starve by eating other animals, they will gradually lose their “mutation” without the replenishment of *crimson energy*.
Therefore, such a particularly terrifying place like the Black Forest is the most unique in the Nien Forest.
“There’s a saber-toothed tiger ahead.”
I don’t know how many magical beasts we’ve fought off with Ewen or how long we’ve been walking in the Black Forest. We reached an area so deep in the forest that we could barely see our own hands in front of us. As usual, I reported the information about the magical beasts ahead that were glaring at us.
“Saber-toothed tiger?”
Ewen seemed confused, as if she wasn’t familiar with the creature, “A tiger with teeth like swords?”
“Ah… It’s probably just a very large tiger with extremely long teeth.”
I kept my eyes on the magical beast in front of us, “Get ready to fight.”
During this time, Ewen and I coordinated like this. In our three-person team, Luni had almost no combat power. However, she was kind-hearted and skilled, excelling in detailed tasks like distributing food and carrying things, so she was in charge of those responsibilities.
Ewen, being a fire magic user, worked excellently with my water magic to attack enemies. Typically, I would apply a water magic spell to cool the monster down, and Ewen would cast a fireball to heat it up, leveraging thermal expansion and contraction for a synergistic effect.
Though Weiying didn’t know any elemental magic, she was very agile and had some martial skills. During battles, she would help us by drawing the magical beasts’ attention.
Despite some hiccups along the way, our coordination had kept major issues at bay, and we finally arrived at the deepest part of the Black Forest.
“I suspect we’re not far from the City in the Forest.”
Staring at the large tiger ahead, I lowered my voice, “It’s standing on a large stone slab.”
The slab was approximately seven or eight meters long and five or six meters wide, with intricate carvings on it, clearly not a natural formation.
“If the City in the Forest is really a city, then this slab is clearly the best landmark.”
“How big is the tiger?”
Due to the poor visibility, Ewen and Weiying couldn’t see the tiger. Ewen raised a hand and tentatively asked, “Can I summon a flame for illumination?”
“Better not.”
I watched the tiger in front of us, “It doesn’t seem to be planning to attack. If we make a fire here, we might disturb it…”
“It feels like things are getting scarier around us.”
Weiying, still shaken, said as she walked over, “I can’t see anything beyond one meter. It’s all darkness, and those monsters are so strong. We can’t handle them at all.”
“So we’re quite lucky to have Lulu with us.”
Luni remarked, “Without Lulu, we might not even find the way in the Black Forest, and even if we did find it, we’d probably be killed by the magical beasts after a few steps.”
“This is the result of everyone’s effort.”
I shook my head, “If it were only me, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”
Actually, I hadn’t told the girls that we were taking a “shortcut.”
For some reason, I react to the nearby “crimson energy.” The more I enter areas with dense crimson energy, the more restless my lower abdomen feels, accompanied by a certain impulse.
Moreover, I can sense the concentration of the crimson energy within several kilometers around us. It’s like a radar—I can precisely feel where the crimson energy is dense and where there are noticeable “vacuum zones” of it, helping me determine the direction to proceed.
The monsters here almost all live off the crimson energy, so I deduce that areas with particularly concentrated and dense crimson energy are likely to harbor exceptionally powerful magical beasts.
So, I’ve been guiding Ewen and the others to avoid “elite monsters” and head roughly in the direction of the City in the Forest.
“If the magical beast isn’t attacking us, should we…”
In the darkness, Ewen lowered her voice, “Should we take a slight detour?”
“No.”
With the increasing density of the crimson energy, my breathing rate had risen.
“Behind that beast is an entrance to a passage. I can already sense the strong crimson energy coming from the passage. My intuition tells me that the passage leads to… the City in the Forest.”
“Uh… not good, I’m having a hard time holding up.”
Saying that, I took a few deep breaths of the crimson energy pouring from near the saber-toothed tiger. Struggling to maintain my cat-girl form, I had no choice but to switch to my “elf” form.
I lowered my head slightly, and in the darkness, the strange pattern on my lower abdomen continued to glow.
Alright, it seems the elf form can hold on for a while.
“I’ll see if I can talk to that saber-toothed tiger.”
Switching to the elf form, and with the curious gazes of the girls, I walked forward.
“Stay here and don’t move. I’ll be back soon.”
“……”
……