Chapter 395: Deep Down Inside the Winter Forest
Leaf was searching for Lightning and Maggie—not by walking, but by moving her vision through the canopy, drifting from branch to branch like blown smoke.
Her body had merged with the forest. She stood somewhere and nowhere simultaneously, a consciousness distributed across root-systems and bark and winter-stripped limbs, looking out through the eyes of ten thousand trees at once.
It was an extraordinary feeling. Like being a bird, but without the vertigo of height—she wouldn’t fall, couldn’t fall, because she wasn’t exactly there. As long as she sustained the form, she could cross the entire Fusion Forest in an instant. Against the full breadth of the Misty Forest, of course, the territory she controlled was still barely a fraction.
But she was expanding it. A little each day, careful and methodical, starting from the western city wall and pushing outward—always waiting until she fully understood a new stretch of forest before extending into the next. To lose herself in an environment she didn’t yet know would be dangerous. The Misty Forest was not a garden.
She wanted to control all of it eventually. The complexity here was staggering—nothing like the olive trees and grapevines in the castle’s back garden. Beneath every inch of earth, life moved in endless layers: dormant animals in their dens, insects threading through soil, decaying matter feeding the roots, tiny streams babbling under the frost. She could feel them all. At the pace she was setting, full coverage might take two or three years.
It would be worth it. If she could extend her reach through the entire forest, she could help His Highness in ways no one else could—early warning against demonic beasts, resource gathering, a living barrier at every border.
She found Lightning and Maggie in a clearing not far from the stream.
The branches she shook announced her. Lightning startled, hand flying to her chest. “You scared me!”
“Coo, coo!” Maggie bobbed her head emphatically.
“Sorry.” Leaf pressed herself partway out through a tree trunk—arms and shoulders emerging from the bark like a twig that had decided to be a person. “Is this better?”
“At least now I’m not talking to a ghost.” Lightning landed on the snow. “Can you appear anywhere in the forest?”
“Anywhere within my controlled territory.”
Maggie waddled over, stepped onto Leaf’s back, and walked back and forth inspecting the junction of flesh and wood. Then she pecked at it. “You’ve grown into the tree, coo!”
The tickling sensation ran all the way up Leaf’s spine. She laughed before she could help it. “That’s just how my ability works.”
“It feels strange, coo.”
“Says the girl who turns herself into a giant demon bird.” Lightning rolled her eyes. “Where’s our prey?”
“Follow me.”
She couldn’t hold a walking human form while moving—instead, vines grew up from the snow ahead of them, a living path curling through the underbrush. Lightning and Maggie followed.
“What are we hunting?” Lightning asked.
“A large boar, out from the deep forest. If you’d rather, I can simply tie it up and drop it outside the city wall.”
“No.” Lightning’s voice carried an explorer’s certainty. “The process matters. The result isn’t the only point.”
“Meat is the point, coo!”
Leaf felt something warm in her chest that she didn’t have a name for. These two had been in this forest long before she learned to see through it—they came regularly to hunt and train, and Maggie carried their kills back to the castle in her talons. Half the meat on the witches’ table these days came from this clearing.
“There.” The vines slowed. “By the stream.”
A massive boar crouched at the water’s edge, muzzle dipped to the current. Tusks jutted from either side of its snout like curved blades, and the mane along its spine stood nearly finger-length, bristled and rigid. Hunters gave animals like this a wide berth. To the two witches, it was dinner.
“Ready,” Lightning said, pulling her dagger.
“No gun?” Leaf asked, surprised.
“Too boring.” She wiped her nose with magnificent confidence and launched herself into the air.
Lightning’s attack came from behind and above—a streak of gold against the grey sky. She hit the boar’s head and was already moving as it lurched upright, screaming a high, broken sound.
Did she miss? No. One of the boar’s eyes had become a gash of dark red. Leaf understood: she’d gone for the senses first, intending to exhaust it blind before she finished it. The boar swung its head wildly, lurching at nothing, unable to find its attacker in the air above.
It was fast. Then it wasn’t. It toppled into the snow without a sound, too exhausted to resist.
Lightning whistled from somewhere above. “Well?”
“Well done.” Leaf wrapped vines around the animal’s hind legs and hoisted it. “We need to let it bleed out first. His Highness says meat tastes better without blood in it.”
“Purr.” Maggie’s eyes had gone glassy with anticipation. “Big meal tonight, coo.”
“Wait—”
Something had entered the edge of her awareness. Two shapes moving at the far boundary of her controlled territory, approaching from deeper in the forest. Grey wolves, she thought at first—but wolves didn’t move like that.
She held very still inside the network of roots and bark, and looked.
Her blood went cold.
Demons. Two of them, walking steadily toward the city wall. No magic stones on their arms, no spears across their backs—but each wore a black iron glove on one hand. The same weapon that had killed Red Light, in the Barbarian Land, in a battle Leaf had not forgotten and never would.
Why are they here?
She pulled herself back into voice, urgent and thin: “Get out of here. Now. Demons are coming.”
Lightning’s head snapped up. “What?”
Leaf described them—their position, their direction, the gloves. “They don’t have mounts. They can’t catch you if you leave immediately. Go. I’ll follow.”
Lightning hesitated. Then she shook her head.
“I’m staying.”
Leaf stared at her through the nearest branch. “Why?”
“If I run from them now, I’ll run from them every time.” The little girl’s voice had gone very quiet, the way voices did when someone was keeping themselves steady. She checked the cylinder of her pistol, snapped it shut. “My father told me to get up from where you fall. I’m not running again.”
Chapter 395: Deep down inside the Winter Forest
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Leaf passed through the branches and foliage looking for Lightning and Maggie.
In actuality, she was not exactly passing through them, but moving just her vision—her body was integrated into the thick forest.
It was an amazing feeling. She felt like a bird, except a bird would fall to the ground if it wasn’t flapping its wings, whereas she wouldn’t. As long as she maintained this form, she could cross from one end of the Fusion Forest to the other instantly. Of course, compared to the entire Misty Forest, the range that Leaf could cover now was just a drop in the ocean.
Ever since her ability had evolved, she had longed to experience the Misty Forest to the west of the town. If she could control this vast forest it would be of great help to His Highness, whether it was fighting against demonic beasts or collecting goods and materials. There wasn’t much she could do for His Highness in return. Apart from improving crops, this was the only thing she could do, so she wanted to be good at it.
Compared to the castle’s back garden, this was a real forest. Its complexity was far greater than the ecosphere of the castle’s olive trees and grape vines and beyond comparison. There were numerous creatures hiding beneath every inch of earth. Looking down along the roots of plants she could sense dormant animals, squirming insects, and decaying remains, along with tiny babbling streams.
To prevent losing herself, Leaf expanded her territory with great caution— starting from the city wall on the west, extending little by little each day. Once she completely adapted to an environment, she would then try to control a new plot of forest land.
At this rate, she could cover the entire Misty Forest within two or three years.
Shortly after, Leaf found two people hunting in the forest. If she had been walking in the snow instead of flying above the treetops, she would have noticed them sooner.
“I found some prey,” said Leaf, shaking the branches.
“Ah!” Lightning patted her chest after a shudder. “You scared me!”
“Coo, coo!” Maggie nodded repeatedly.
“Sorry.” Leaf revealed herself through a tree trunk, just like a twig growing out of the branches. “Is this better?”
“Well, at least I’m not talking to a ghost.” Lightning landed quietly. “You can appear anywhere in the forest at will?”
She nodded. “As long as it falls in the territory that’s under my control.”
Maggie landed right on Leaf’s back, walked a few steps back and forth, and even pecked where her body and the trunk joined. “You’ve even grown into a tree, coo!”
Feeling her back tickling, Leaf couldn’t help laughing. “Because this is my ability,” said she.
“It feels a little weird, coo.”
“How can you call someone else weird? You’ve turned yourself into a giant demon bird.” Lightning rolled her eyes and looked at Leaf. “Where’s the prey?”
“Follow me,” she said, turning her head.
Leaf couldn’t sustain a human form while moving, instead she made vines grow up from the ground to lead Lightning and Maggie on the way.
“What kind of prey?” Lightning asked.
“A big boar that ran out of the depths of the forest,” she replied. “Do you really want to catch it yourself? I can just tie it up with grape vines and throw it at the foot of the city wall.”
“Of course. Explorers seek more than just results.” The little girl raised her head. “The process is sometimes more memorable than the outcome.”
“I’m good as long as there’s meat to eat, coo!”
Leaf could not help smiling. The two of them had already become frequent visitors to the Misty Forest before she had integrated into it. They hunted in the forest to practice their magic powers, and Maggie would carry all of the prey they caught back to the castle. Half of the meat on the table these days was provided by them.
“Look, there it is,” said Leaf.
There was a huge boar squatting down by the stream, lapping up the cold water. With large, sharp tusks at the side of its snout, and a raised mane that was almost finger-length, it appeared to be a tough enemy. Hunters would normally stay away when coming across such an animal, but it was just a feast in the witches’ eyes.
“I’m ready,” said Lightning, who pulled out her dagger.
“No gun?” Leaf asked in surprise.
“That would be too boring.” She wiped her nose with great confidence and rushed straight toward the target.
“Good luck, coo!”
The little girl’s figure, like a streak of golden light, sprang onto the head of the boar from behind. As she rose, the boar shook its head fiercely, bursting out a high-pitched scream.
“She missed it?” No… Leaf noticed one of the boar’s eyes had become a bloody gash. It seemed that Lightning was planning to take advantage of her flexibility and first eliminate the threat of counterattacks from the enemy, and then exhaust it through a battle of attrition.
The boar was as clumsy as a stone facing Lightning’s attack from the sky. It soon fell to the snow without the strength to resist.
She whistled, “How was that?”
“Good job,” Leaf said. She tied the boar’s rear legs with vines and hung it up. “First let’s bleed it out. His Highness says meat without any traces of blood is tastier.”
“Purr.” Maggie’s mouth was watery. “It’s gonna be a big meal tonight, coo.”
“Wait… ” Leaf suddenly sensed there were other creatures entering the forest. She looked toward the edge of the controlled area and saw two grey wolves approaching.
She frowned, something was wrong. This type of animal usually lived deep within the forest and wouldn’t normally come so close to Border Town, even in the winter.
She was just debating whether she should tell Lightning when a familiar figure suddenly appeared before her eyes. Leaf felt all her hair stand up as she remembered the tragic battle she had experienced in the Barbarian Land.
“Demons!”
She saw two demons slowly walking in the direction of the city wall. There were no Magic Stones on their arms, nor spears on their back, so they weren’t carrying any weapons. However, Leaf noticed that they both wore a black iron glove, the same weapon that had killed Red Light.
“Why would demons come here?”
With great horror and uneasiness, she turned to Lightning and said, “Get out of here, quick! Demons are coming!”
“What?” Both of them were slightly startled.
Leaf briefly told them what she saw and urged them on, “Hurry up. They don’t have a mount and can’t catch up. I’ll come later.”
To her surprise, Lightning hesitated for a moment and then shook her head, saying, “I’m staying here to fight them.”
“F… Fight?” Leaf was stunned and asked, “Why?”
“If I run away from the enemy now, how can I defeat them in the future?” The little girl took a deep breath, pulled the gun from her waist and said, “My father told me to get up from where you fall. I won’t run away any more.”