Chapter 1229 - The Shadowy Forest (2/2)

The Shadowy Forest was right in front.

It was once a vibrant and dense forest. Before the tide of Chaos, this vast forest between the plains and the kingdoms was a vital source of timber and alchemy material of Taros, and also the home to several wild elves and goblins. The forest stretched along the western and southern borders of the Kingdom of Taros, forming a half-moon-shaped vast area with several elven settlements. During peacetime, the elves relied on collecting herbs and magic ore in the forest to trade with humans and exchanged for necessities, while the goblins lived with the elves and were responsible for maintaining the flow of magic in the woods.

However, the tide of Chaos changed the face of the forest. The lush green had turned into dark, distorted, demonized trees. The vines were highly poisonous. The shrubs started to swallow any living things that pass by them, and the soil had lost its function of supporting life. No herbs or food could be grown in the jungle, and when poison also polluted the water in the jungle, the elves and goblins evacuated their homes. According to Veronica, the elves and goblins who vacated the forest were now living in several towns in the west and south of Taros as temporary citizens and assisting humans in protecting the borders of the land of Order.

Hao Ren was a little surprised by this information, but he soon knew that this was a relatively normal phenomenon in the world of Collow.

The Chaos was always invading the kingdoms. The tide of the Sea of Carnos would change the pattern on the continent every 100 years. The powerful kingdoms could maintain a relatively stable territory during this turmoil, some more massive empires could even last for ten centuries, but the small city-states and scattered settlements had found it hard to survive. They were not weak at first, and probably were the descendants of the kingdoms defeated in the last wave of the tide of Chaos. With the start of the new tide cycle, they could not protect their already battered homes and could only seek refuge in the surrounding kingdoms.

Usually, those kingdoms would not refuse this refuge request.

Everyone knew that they would somehow someday meet the same fate.

The elves in the Shadowy Forest had a kingdom two centuries ago. This kingdom ruled the entire forest, not just a few settlements. But their empire fell eventually, and they became vassals of the Kingdom of Taros. Perhaps, some years later, the Kingdom of Taros might end up with the same fate. The once proud mountain people would become the tribes wandering on the edge of the forest. When the Chaos and the Order clashed once again, they would have no choice but seek refuge in some new places.

Veronica felt like the dark forest was falling on her. She bit her lip.

The kingdom might end, but not today.

Hao Ren and Veronica staggered along in the forest; it was a nightmare to walk in the Shadowy Forest, which had not the so-called ‘road.’ The Chaos-contaminated plants were active, and even the soil was not stable. Hao Ren had seen with his eyes two old trees moved in the distance as if they had grown a pair of legs, and soil solidified into stones and then softened into a mud. In such an environment, even if humans had once built a road in the forest, the jungle would have swallowed it up now.

If the wilderness was a dead place shrouded in the fog, then the Shadowy Forest was a crawling nightmare. Everything that happened here was creepy.

But even in such a creepy black forest of magic, there was a sanctuary of the Order.

The Kingdom of Taros had spent an enormous amount of resources to build furnace outposts in the forest. These outposts were critical eyes and ears of the Kingdom of Order to monitor the border of the Chaos. Each outpost consumed an immense amount of resources to maintain stability in the black forest, but the investment was worthwhile. Without the existence of these outposts, it would be impossible for such a small Kingdom of Taros to survive the tide of Chaos until the seventh year of this century.

Soon the group was approaching the first Furnace outpost. Hao Ren saw a glimmer in the darkness ahead, and the surroundings appeared to have normalized: the moving carnivorous shrubs and walking magic trees had restored to become natural vegetation, which was a sign of the Order.

Seeing the silhouette of the buildings ahead hidden behind the trees, Veronica breathed a sigh of relief. She had earlier expected the worst, but now she could not help but feel comforted. Probably the goddess of creation had not given up this troubled kingdom.

But Hao Ren’s brows knit together. No doubt, the glimmer in front possessed the energy of the Order, but there was also a faint stench of blood.