Chapter 3: Destination—Northwest of the Otherworld

After studying the map, Li Mingxing gained a certain understanding of this inner world, although he wouldn’t fully trust it. After all, even the tree spirits wouldn’t reveal their most confidential secrets to him. Li Mingxing also realized that these tree spirits were definitely hiding something. For instance, it was impossible that no other apprentice heroes had appeared in this inner world, yet the tree spirits had never mentioned such occurrences.

Moreover, when explaining the forces shown on the map, the tree spirits always focused on describing their enemies, as if they feared Li Mingxing might sell this information to their adversaries. After hearing all the details, the tree spirits left two behind to watch over Li Mingxing, while the others went to their settlement to rest with Aisha and her companions.

Li Mingxing and his group couldn’t use the passage through the tree hollow, and the harpies nearly got shot down when they tried to fly up. So Li Mingxing didn’t attempt to explore the tree spirits’ living quarters; instead, he stayed and pondered his next move.

His goal in coming here was to transform the entire Mysterious Forest into a Dark Forest. If he didn’t want to face all the forces within the forest alone, he would need to find a partner. Among all the factions on the map, only one seemed suitable: a harpy tribe located in the northwest.

Judging from the tribe’s position and the locations and sizes of nearby settlements, Li Mingxing suspected this harpy tribe was in a precarious situation. Thus, he planned to use the presence of three harpies in his party to see if he could earn the tribe’s goodwill. If he succeeded, perhaps he could leverage his alliance with the harpies to forge better relations with other tribes.

He also considered using the pretext of helping the harpy tribe to destroy one or two smaller settlements, gradually changing the balance of power in the Mysterious Forest.

Another reason Li Mingxing targeted the harpy tribe was the proximity of a unicorn tribe. He wondered if these unicorns, like those in legends, could sense the presence of pure maidens. If so, perhaps his “Forest Fairy Legion” could establish a bond of friendship with them.

However, Li Mingxing soon realized he couldn’t leave just yet. His “Forest Fairy Legion” had performed so well among the tree spirits that they were asked to stay, and ended up remaining there for seven days.

During those seven days, all the young druid maidens learned to communicate with nature and animals, and discovered how to find healing herbs in the forest—a place where such plants were abundant.

When they departed, the tree spirits urged the druid maidens of the “Forest Fairy Legion” not to concern themselves with Li Mingxing, but to head first to the night elves, where there was a proper system for learning druidic skills.

If not for Aisha’s absolute loyalty to Li Mingxing, and the obedience of all the maidens to his orders, they might have actually listened to the tree spirits and gone to the night elves’ city.

After leaving the tree spirits’ settlement, Li Mingxing asked Aisha about the tree spirits’ situation as they traveled. According to her recollection, their strength might surpass what Li Mingxing had seen.

Their treehouses had three stories, with at least four hundred tree spirits living there. Since all tree spirits were female, there was no distinction between combatants and non-combatants.

Their professions weren’t limited to spear-wielding ranged attackers and melee fighters; the upper two floors housed mages and priests. Though few in number, their combined abilities made them unbeatable for Li Mingxing’s group.

After hearing this, Li Mingxing asked, “Did you see their deity? Isn’t it said they’re descendants of some demigod?”

“I haven’t heard of that. I did hear they arrived here with the night elves tens of thousands of years ago. After discovering this place, they separated from the night elves. Although there’s still some contact, no tree spirit has appeared in the night elves’ city in all those years.”

“Oh? Any idea why?”

“Supposedly, the night elves believe the tree spirits’ poison conflicts with their moonlight powers or something like that.” Aisha hadn’t inquired much into such private matters.

After her answer, Li Mingxing made a rough estimate: this inner world was vast, with many factions and numerous troops—most likely a strategic-level domain.

This was a disadvantage for Li Mingxing. With his current strength, he couldn’t conquer an entire inner world. No matter how ambitious he was, he had to choose the second path Raymond had originally suggested. This would make his future progress much more passive.

Thinking of this, Li Mingxing sighed. Seeing his expression, Aisha asked, “Master, did we do something wrong?”

“No, it’s just that I feel lost with no clear direction, so I’m a bit frustrated,” Li Mingxing replied casually.

“Master, I don’t know what your mission is, but I believe that whatever it may be, as long as you do your best, that is the best thing,” Aisha comforted him.

Hearing Aisha’s words, Li Mingxing couldn’t help but smile. Was that comfort or just empty words? Still, that smile improved his mood, and even the long journey ahead seemed easier.

Afterwards, Li Mingxing pressed on each day. Except for hunting in the evening to prepare dinner and supplies for the next day, and a short noon break, they kept moving constantly. Sometimes they paused at Li Mingxing’s suggestion, but that was only for him to gather herbs.

Even moving at this pace, it took them eleven days to reach the harpy tribe’s territory.

Upon arrival, Li Mingxing recalled the three harpies he had sent ahead to scout. He didn’t know the relations between the tribes near the harpy settlement and the harpies themselves, but caution was necessary.

If Li Mingxing’s harpies were spotted by a hostile faction, his small force could be wiped out without even knowing how it happened.

After finding a temporary safe spot, Li Mingxing sent his druid maidens out in groups of three to check whether the nearby settlements were still at the locations indicated on the tree spirits’ map.

This reconnaissance took about a day. As Li Mingxing gathered enough intelligence and prepared to seek out the harpy tribe, they encountered an unexpected situation.

Just as he was about to set out, they came across a major migration of a nearby unicorn herd.

The herd wasn’t particularly large—four adult unicorns and ten juveniles—but even these fourteen unicorns left Li Mingxing uncertain whether to advance or retreat.

The complications weren’t solely due to the unicorn migration; much of the trouble stemmed from other tribes vying for territory vacated by the unicorns.

Especially troublesome was a passing centaur unit that, for reasons unknown, mistook Li Mingxing’s group as their primary rivals for the land. Without clarifying the situation, they threw all their forces into attacking Li Mingxing’s unit, thus sparking his first battle since entering the inner world.

Centaurs and tree spirits were distant relatives, both said to be offspring of certain demigods, friends to elves, mortal enemies of minotaurs, with ranks ranging from first to fifth tier. They favored spears and javelins, and moved with remarkable speed.

This group of centaurs attacking Li Mingxing’s unit seemed to have adapted to the forest, their skin turning green instead of the usual red, black, or white, and their behavior shifting toward arboreal habits, leaping from branch to branch like their tree spirit kin.

Thus, their sudden appearance and attack caught Li Mingxing’s troops off guard. If not for the swift response of the Blackstone Warrior and his immunity to physical attacks, Li Mingxing’s force might have lost half their number in the first assault.

After the attack, Li Mingxing quickly ordered the maidens of the “Forest Fairy Legion” to drag the wounded away for treatment and led his dwarves to strike at the centaurs leaping among the branches.

The centaurs knew their strengths and weaknesses well. They didn’t intend to confront Li Mingxing head-on, and instead scattered, preparing to wage guerrilla warfare.

This infuriated Li Mingxing; he thought if only his battle leopards were still with him, he wouldn’t have to endure such humiliation. But those leopards were fighting in his first projection city and unavailable here.

Thus, faced with the centaurs’ guerrilla tactics, Li Mingxing was forced to devise another plan.