The hunters and Elu followed the traces left by someone being dragged in the sea of trees for a while, and then their pace slowed down.
It wasn't because of physical exhaustion, but because Gordon realized that they seemed to have misunderstood.
Apart from dragging marks, he found no traces of monsters, but instead found some strange footprints.
These footprints were obviously not Ancil's. They were slightly weird in shape and very shallow, so shallow that they were almost invisible. If he hadn't been very good at tracking traces, he would have almost ignored them.
There are generally two reasons why the footprints are so faint, geological factors, or personal factors of the person who left the traces.
Needless to say, geological factors, such as a rocky ground that is hard enough, will not leave footprints.
Personal factors are more complicated, such as lighter weight, special sole structure and material, special walking skills, etc., all are possible.
Just like Hilda-senpai, she didn’t leave a single footprint along the way, just like a ghost.
In short, no matter what, these are definitely human footprints, and judging from details such as the stride length, there is a high probability that they were left by a short woman, probably an aborigine of the Sea of Trees.
In this case, all the previous random speculations can be overturned.
From being dragged back by insect monsters to use as food reserves, he was accidentally rescued while unconscious by an aboriginal woman who was hiding underground and didn't know what she was doing. After Fuyuelong left, he was taken back for treatment.
Well, that makes sense, and is even a little romantic.
As for the insect smell, it is not difficult to explain. For example, her body is stained with the body fluids of insect monsters, her equipment is made of insect materials, etc. It is possible.
By the way, that Ancier guy is really good with women. How could a female aborigine emerge from the underground and save him between life and death?
Tell Herta later.
The nerves that had been tense all night relaxed, and Gordon's thinking suddenly began to wander.
"Whoosh——"
"Um?"
The almost inaudible sound of breaking wind hit, and Gordon's steps subconsciously stopped.
A wooden arrow passed over half a meter in front of him and nailed hard to the trunk of a tree in front of him.
Gordon narrowed his eyes, but he didn't feel nervous.
This arrow was probably not intended to kill him, let alone whether such a wooden arrow as thick as a finger could possibly penetrate his [He Yao].
Judging from his previous walking speed, even if he had not stopped just now, the arrow would not have hit him, but would have passed by his face.
He has very precise timing and is a skilled shooter.
So what are you going to do.
provocative? warn? A show of force?
The four people and two cats all looked towards the direction of the arrow.
The archer hiding in the shadows of the trees had no intention of appearing immediately, and among the hunters, only Hilda locked onto his specific location immediately.
She could draw her bow at any time, shoot the opponent through, and nail him to the tree, but the hunter's weapon was an iron rule, so there was no need for her to do that.
Gordon's expression was still relaxed, but Hayata's face was darkened. She hated this kind of guy who pretended to be mysterious.
The night sword [Moon Shadow] popped out of its scabbard, and the sword light flashed past. The big tree with the wooden arrow nailed on it was cut diagonally, and the lush tree crown fell over to cover the area where the archer was hiding.
A figure looked slightly embarrassed and sprang out.
It was a man wearing strange light armor. The armor was made of a variety of materials, including but not limited to various leaves, rattan, scales and textiles.
His weapon is even more special, it is a short bow less than one meter long.
Well, at least it is a short bow compared to the giant hunting bows that hunters often use that are as tall as one person.
There is nothing special about the fact that the short bow is made of wood. The key is that the bow grows with the archer's left hand.
The tough branches that make up the bow body are wrapped around the archer's left arm. It doesn't look like they can be easily detached. Some of the branches are even pierced into his flesh and blood, seeming to absorb nutrients and maintain the activity of the branches. .
Gordon patted Hayata on the shoulder to comfort her.
Hayata snorted and put away the sword. The guy in front of him looked like he was probably an aborigine. Ansir was still in their hands, so they couldn't make the relationship too tense.
The archer also felt a little bitter.
Seeing heavily armed outsiders heading towards his homeland, as a ranger, he naturally became wary.
The purpose of shooting that arrow was to scare the opponent and force him to stop, but he really had no intention of staying in the shadow of the tree and pretending to be a ghost.
Who would have thought that the female archer in black immediately locked onto him, and he didn't dare to move for a moment, and then the strange woman with the scary-looking knife chopped down the tree and smashed himself out. .
The archer took a deep breath.
Although the way he appeared was a bit embarrassing, he still tried to keep his face straight to make himself look more "majestic".
"What do outsiders want when they come to our place?"
Gordon thought for a while and explained what he could to the archer. He was probably attacked and his companions were separated. He found that his companions had been taken away and followed him to have a look.
"In the place where the ruins are, there's a hole in the ground. What are you talking about?" the archer muttered. "They should be our companions, wait a minute? They flattened the forest. What kind of attack do you think they were?!"
These people have lived in the mountains and forests near the ancient pagoda ruins for generations, so it is not surprising that they know something about Fuyue Dragon.
Gordon didn't dare to say that they were the ones who woke up the Fuyue Dragon. Anyway, that guy had gone back to the ancient pagoda, so he said lightly, "The Fuyue Dragon is, after all, a monster like a mountain floating in the air."
"Mountain God! Dragon Wood!!!" The archer screamed, leaving Gordon and others behind and running towards the direction they came from.
"What's wrong with that guy?" Gale cast a crazy look at the archer who was running away, and then said nervously: "By the way, seeing that guy in such a hurry, aren't we in big trouble? "
"It shouldn't be that reason." Hilda walked to the big tree that was chopped down by Hayata and pulled out the wooden arrow nailed to the trunk.
"The trees growing on the back of the Fuyue Dragon are called 'Dragon Woods'. They are as hard as steel and have some very magical properties.
The archer just now was probably interested in Longmu. Huhu, you all noticed the quiver behind him, right? "
Gordon and the three of them shook their heads.
Hilda: "."
A sense of helplessness arose in her heart.
However, Pig Chop raised his little paw, "The quiver on the man's back must also be a living cat? Or maybe it is a special plant cat. If every branch is broken off on the spot, it is a natural arrow cat."
"So smart." Hilda rubbed Pork Chop's head.
"I have said before that the indigenous people of the Sea of Trees have biotechnology and alchemy technology that are completely different from mainstream society. A large part of their equipment is made from plants cultivated through special intervention.
The wooden bow, quiver, and even armor of the archer just now are all good examples.
If you go to their villages, you might see more of them. "
Gordon chuckled, "It just so happened that Ancil was taken there, so we could use the light to visit and maybe exchange some interesting things."
Xianglan looked at the hunters with expectant faces, then at the pig chop with eyes full of curiosity, and licked her paws.
"I always feel like the matter of retrieving Ansiel has become incidental, nya."
(End of chapter)
