"From here on, we'll be entering a dangerous zone, so please be extremely careful," Tia, who was standing on a treetop, said to everyone.
Tia of the Twin Ninjas was responsible for forward reconnaissance, while Tia was responsible for rear guard and rearguard. Gaguran was the vanguard, and Lakyus provided support and damage.
The division of labor was quite clear, but this already balanced team seemed a bit out of place after Iri and Arshe joined.
Leaving Arshe aside for a moment, Arshe was at least a magic caster capable of using third-tier magic, which meant she could provide firepower for Blue Rose. So, what about my own role? Iri thought it felt quite subtle.
In fact, from the moment they entered this forest, Iri had already sensed that something was wrong with it; it was too quiet, with no sounds of birds or beasts whatsoever.
After all, this was the place where the demon tree that even the Thirteen Heroes couldn't deal with was sealed, but that thing had already been taken care of by the Guardians.
Logically, the ecosystem should have recovered by now, but there were still no signs of birds or beasts, which clearly indicated a problem.
After Tia warned them about the high energy ahead, everyone put on the specially made hooded cloaks they had prepared earlier. Iri didn't really need it, but for safety's sake, she put it on anyway!
After all, the Guardian Ring was like her lifeline; every use saved was a use saved, even if the smell of that 'potion' wasn't pleasant.
As the team delved deeper, the atmosphere grew increasingly unsettling. Iri felt something was amiss.
It wasn't the eerie feeling caused by the various miasmas beginning to permeate the surroundings, but rather the oppressive sensation of someone staring intently at her.
It was like walking home from school and having a fanatical stalker following her. Because of this, Iri repeatedly turned to check behind her, but behind her, there was only Arshe and Tia.
These two wouldn't stare intently at her, or could it be that Ainz Papa was worried and was secretly peeking remotely again? That didn't seem right either; with Ainz Papa's peeking abilities, she would absolutely not be able to detect him.
Even with her perception activated, the effect was quite poor due to the specially treated mask and cloak, plus the influence of the miasma. She could only sense the movements of monsters within a certain range around her. There were many of them, likely the small tree demons Tia had mentioned earlier.
However, these small tree demons were almost all stationary, barely moving, and Iri also felt that these small tree demons did not possess the ability to monitor.
According to Lakyus's previous description, these things would attack people upon seeing them. However, now that the Blue Rose team members were so close, there was no movement at all, which spoke volumes.
Although this issue was concerning, it was better to deal with the tree demons first! Iri once again shifted her attention to the small tree demons around them. There were really many of them, but they were so close, yet still showed no movement at all?
Not only did Iri notice, but Tia, who had been moving among the treetops as a scout, also noticed. When she had scouted earlier, she had already been attacked in the area ahead. Yet, they had traveled so far, and there was still no movement.
"Stop for a moment, Leader," Tia gestured first, then whispered.
Lakyus nodded and also gestured for everyone to stop. She, too, had noticed something was amiss. After the team stopped and took defensive positions, Tia went deeper alone to scout.
"Someone must have come here before us," Tia, who was at the rear, said as she pulled at the surface soil nearby.
"Adventurers?" Lakyus asked.
"Not sure… The footprints are fresh, but they're very 'messy'. There must have been quite a few people, and some were carrying heavy equipment," Tia said.
When heavy equipment was mentioned, the first thing that came to Iri's mind was Fei Fei, Ainz Papa's disguise. His full armor and two greatswords would certainly count as heavy equipment!
Could it be that Ainz Papa secretly came over and defeated all the small tree demons here? If that's really the case! She would cry to him as soon as she got home! She had already told him she would handle this herself. Iri thought to herself.
Just then, Iri sensed something, and her heart felt as if it was being clutched by something… This wasn't the feeling of love, and besides, there were no elements of romance in the wilderness!
Then, a sense of crisis spontaneously spread throughout her body. This was the first time Iri had felt this sensation since transmigrating to this world. She hadn't even felt it when confronting Ainz Papa directly.
Less than half a second later, Tia's scream was heard from ahead. The scream was very faint; only Iri and Tia heard it. Something had indeed happened!
Iri and Tia almost simultaneously started running, with Lakyus, Gaguran, and Arshe following closely behind.
As Iri and Tia passed through a thicket and arrived at a relatively wide, miasma-filled swamp, they saw Tia lying by the edge of the swamp. There was also someone beside her, seemingly casting a healing spell on her.
"Tia!" Tia rushed over anxiously, while Iri stood there stunned, because… not only was the unfamiliar girl helping Tia heal present, but there were also three very familiar individuals to Iri.
"Oh… I am truly sorry for accidentally injuring your companion," the long-haired man in full armor, who was leading the group, apologized to Iri and the belated Lakyus and her companions.
Black Scripture… Iri silently recited the name of the person in front of her. How did they get here?
Hadn't Shalltear dealt with them enough last time? Were they making a comeback this time?!
Iri vigilantly observed the two individuals behind Black Scripture. One was a refined, yellow-haired Handsome guy. Seeing this guy, Iri inexplicably thought of the Blood Emperor; both were yellow-haired, but the Blood Emperor was much more Handsome guy than him.
And the remaining one, although her back was to Iri, and most of her body was hidden in the shadow of that yellow-haired Handsome guy, her black and white long hair had already directly revealed her identity to Iri: Death Knight!
Iri understood. The source of the sense of crisis she had felt earlier came from here. The strongest native… How could Death Knight appear in such a place?
Isn't she Theocracy's trump card? How could Theocracy easily send her out! Even during Shalltear's incident, Death Knight wasn't deployed!
Does Theocracy really want to subdue the demon tree that badly? Wait a minute! Subdue the demon tree?? Did they also bring Falling Beauty of a Nation? This is bad! Very, very bad!!
This time, Iri finally experienced her first feeling of fear since transmigrating to this world.
Leaving aside whether they brought Falling Beauty of a Nation, Death Knight plus Black Scripture plus that yellow-haired guy, plus Holy Hymn, the 'healer' who was treating Tia—this combination… did she have the confidence to defeat them? The answer was no.
While she was still alive, the original novel stated that Death Knight was the strongest native.
Moreover, Black Scripture, who had fought against a 'naked' Shalltear, also said that Death Knight could defeat a 'naked' Shalltear, and she also possessed equipment left behind by the Six Great Gods.
Among the natives, she could be said to be the final boss, and now this final boss had actually appeared before her!!
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