1060: Chapter 175: Journey to the adow in the Woods 1060: Chapter 175: Journey to the adow in the Woods “Shh, try not to make any noise,” Pannis whispered from behind a tree, cautiously peering out at the open adow in the forest before him, stretching over more than four hundred square kiloters and ho to nurous wild beasts and magical beasts.
Even though the Forest of Death was dangerous, not all creatures there were magical beasts.
In fact, most were just ordinary wild beasts, most of them highly reproductive herbivores, which ford the base of the food chain in the forest.
The sa was true for the adow in the forest; herds road leisurely on the grassland, a water-rich environnt that supported luxuriant plant growth, offering abundant food for herbivores and enabling them to reproduce without constraint.
Since Arrow Mice were the only predators in the area, substantially smaller and requiring less food compared to other predators, this territory was practically a paradise for herbivores.
Even though a dozen or so might fall prey to Arrow Mice daily, in comparison to the base population of the herbivores, it was a trifling number.
“When walking later, watch your step.
The entrances to Arrow Mouse burrows are much larger than those of ordinary mice,” Pannis cautioned.
“Don’t step into one by accident.
Twisting your ankle is the least of your worries.
Stepping in would certainly startle the Arrow Mice inside, and then things would get lively.”
“When walking here, one must tread lightly and not too quickly, just maintain a brisk pace, and definitely do not run,” Flare added to the instructions.
“Considering the large herbivores on the grassland, vibrations do not easily alarm the Arrow Mice.
But it isn’t guaranteed.
If the vibrations are too strong and the Arrow Mice do co out, it could spell trouble for us.
So, it’s best to avoid trouble by keeping our footsteps light and avoiding jumping.”
“Also, Catherine, keep an eye on that thing scratching at your hair,” Pannis pointed at the small fox.
“I don’t know if it has a habit of burrowing, but I certainly don’t want it burrowing and interrupting our halfway finished plan due to it playing around.”
“Little guy, back in you go.
Don’t co out unless called,” Catherine patted the head of the Illusion Fox.
It seed to understand, yelping a few tis before turning and burrowing into a pouch specially sewn on the outside of Catherine’s backpack; it even provocatively waved its tail at Pannis as it entered.
“Soday, I’ll turn you into a scarf,” Pannis waved his fist at the little fox in a threatening gesture, only to find the girls glaring at him in unison.
He forced a dry laugh, scratched his head as if he hadn’t done anything, and cleared his throat, saying, “Don’t be too nervous.
Arrow Mice aren’t that clever; they can’t really distinguish between ordinary herbivores and intruders.
Just don’t attack those herbivores.
Their blood and cries might make the Arrow Mice think another predator is invading their territory.
Oh, Conaida, that tree…”
“I got it already, damn Kyle,” the Dwarf Shieldbearer muttered loudly, annoyed, “I won’t smash stuff around to vent frustration anymore.
It’s such a short path and you’ve nagged about it three tis already.
I didn’t even notice.
A hundred years haven’t seen you, and you’ve beco more naggy, really, I never noticed you had this tendency before.”
“Let’s go,” Pannis gestured with his hand, giving one last instruction: “Everyone keep quiet.
If you have questions, try not to ask them and be always aware of your surroundings.
Flare…”
“I know.” Queen Her Majesty had already taken down her hunting bow and held it in hand, with an arrow also set on the string, clearly prepared to prevent any unfortunate Arrow Mouse that might detect their trail from alerting its companions—provided, of course, it wasn’t hidden inside a burrow.
With a wave from Pannis, the team, after five minutes of observing, resud movent, tiptoeing past the last tree and stepping onto the adow among the forest.
Upon entering the adow, the girls imdiately noticed a distinct change in the environnt.
Inside the dense forest, the environnt was dark and damp, and because the canopy trapped the hot vapors, heat lingered within the space beneath the treetops, resulting in not just a humid and hot atmosphere but also one filled with the turbid air, constantly filled with the scent of rotting plants.
Staying there for too long ant their clothes were perpetually damp, emitting a musty sll, and the constant noise of birds and odd sounds in the forest also contributed to their irritability.
However, the grassland in the forest was quite different.
With almost no trees growing across the grassland, sunlight was unobstructed, shining down on the grass, and moisture freely evaporated into the sky.
Hence, even though it was still hot, it felt markedly dry here.
The damp sticky clothes were quickly dried by the sun, returning to their usual dry state, and gazing at the bright sunshine seed to chase away the clouds of irritability, lightening their moods drastically.
The grass on the ground thrived, and unlike the Beastn Prairie, the wild weeds here were not tall, reaching only halfway up one’s calf at most; one could easily survey the condition of the ground by bowing their head.
Due to its location in the hot, rainy Forest of Death, the grass here remained vibrant all year round, never wilting from changes in the weather.
Basked in sunlight, the scent of the grass spread across the adow, and the fresh and fragrant air made the girls unable to resist breathing deeply, reveling in this rare comfort.
There were many animals on the prairie, varying greatly in size, from antelopes standing over two ters tall to dwarf pigs rely sixty centiters high, from six-legged beasts barely a ter tall yet nearly three ters long to the nurturing deer that stood on hind legs like humans and primarily moved by jumping.
Various naable and unnamable herbivorous animals spread across the prairie.
While walking, they occasionally encountered piles of white bones covered in gnawing marks; so had only bones left, while others still had remnants of flesh, evidently having been preyed upon only a few days ago.
Despite this, the white bones did not affect the life of herbivores, which could often be seen grazing contentedly right next to the bones, seemingly completely unaware of their existence, not even bothering to lift their eyelids.
However, the sudden appearance of the expedition group caught countless curious stares; these herbivores, which had never encountered intelligent beings before, were not afraid of humans at all, and even several young animals ca over to sniff around the girls.
Although there were leftover bodies, it was surprisingly devoid of insects such as flies, which should have sward over the corpses, but there were none at all.
This situation could likely be attributed to the insect storm the night before last; all the insects within the vicinity had left their nests following Guo Jing’s horde, and it would not be easy to encounter other insects anyti soon.
Therefore, with Pannis’s agreent, the girls simply tossed the thick black robes and masks into their backpacks and proceeded lightly dressed.
Near the skeletons, there were not only no insects, but even the common scavenger vultures weren’t present.
These birds could almost be considered one with the carcasses, as any place with dead bodies would inevitably have them, the only difference being whether they circled in the sky or fed on the ground.
But there were no vultures here at all.
On reflection, the scavenger birds mainly lived in expansive, unobstructed environnts; though the plain within the forest t this condition, the surrounded forest housed countless flying magical beasts, making it impossible for scavenger birds to reach, let alone vie for carcasses.
Moving forward past these bodies, before long, they could hear the babbling sound of running water, and after covering a bit more distance, a stream appeared before the team.
The stream was crystal clear, its water gurgling softly, and even from a distance, one could sll its scent.
Upon nearing it, one couldn’t help but feel the urge to jump into the water to wash off the sweat and salt from their skin.
Yet, no one in the group rushed forward; for the experienced adventurers, the scene before them was fraught with danger.
Firstly, there were no fish in the stream, of any size, and despite the flowing water, an eerie stillness pervaded, with not even algae growing in it.
Furthermore, another obvious issue was with the other herbivorous animals; such a stable and safe water source on a prairie should have been a central hub of activity for all animals.
However, the animals around it stayed far away from the stream, with only a few hesitantly lingering nearby, looking as if they wanted to drink but didn’t dare to do so.
From the girls’ experiences, sothing was definitely off about this stream; the only question was what exactly it was.
Although the girls were curious, thinking of Pannis’s earlier request, none voiced their doubts.
Seemingly sensing the girls’ confusion, Pannis did not provide an answer but, upon reaching the stream, bent down to scoop up a cup of water, and also filtered the stream through it.
After filtering, one could clearly see a clump of gelatinous liquid at the bottom of the cup.
The semi-transparent gel was impossible to notice when mixed with water, only becoming visible once all the water was drained, revealing its true form.
However, adhering to a rule of minimizing conversation, no one dwelled on the gelatinous substance.
Even Pannis simply tossed the cup and gelatinous substance back into the stream, allowing the gel to rge back into the water, invisible once more.
Pannis shrugged, then pulled out the prepared inflatable floating bridge from his backpack, inflated it fully, and placed it over the water.
The stream was shallow enough to wade through, but Pannis’s choice of the cumberso floating bridge indicated the severity of the problem with the water.
“Yah.” A suppressed low exclamation arose from the middle of the group, not as if they had encountered any sudden situation, but more from sheer surprise.
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