Chapter 488: The Tegor Forest

Two days passed in a flash.

During these two days, Yulin flew at her fastest speed.

Shien’s group spent almost all their time on Yulin’s back, but they weren’t bored at all.

After all, there were six of them, and Yulin used her magic power to block the strong winds at high altitude, making it comfortable for Shien and the others to stay on her back. The interactions among them never ceased.

Shien and Lucy, needless to say, had no awkwardness between them. Since the purpose of this trip was sightseeing, Lucy’s hidden personality was also somewhat unleashed. She seemed to be in high spirits, often tugging at Shien’s sleeve, pointing at the scenery below and chattering, letting the other girls see a more lively side of the princess.

After dozing off for a while, Lilith finally became more energetic. While Shien and Lucy were chatting, she would blink her eyes, suddenly squeeze between them, snuggle into Shien’s arms, and comfortably stay there, as if asserting her presence. She was incredibly cute, even making Lucy, despite Lilith being an evil god, hug her for a while.

Airi, holding her pillow, was always drowsy, as if she could never get enough sleep. In the end, she also snuggled into Shien’s arms, using him as a mattress, and dozed off with her eyes closed.

Shien deliberately teased her a few times, only eliciting a slight frown from her, but no other reaction, making Lucy, who was watching, wonder what she was feeling.

Shien heard Lucy mutter,

“Probably only you can be so close to a Demon Lord.”

Lucy was clearly surprised by the way Shien and Airi interacted.

After all, this was Airi, the Dragon Demon, one of the Six Demon Lords, a notorious figure in history, who had killed two Heroes and, along with the Poison Demon, was considered the most ferocious being second only to the Demon King. Now, she was so close and intimate with a human man, it was unbelievable.

Although Lilith was even closer to Shien, she was a goddess who had entrusted her [True Mark] to him. Under such circumstances, even for the strongest evil god, it was normal for her to be incredibly close to Shien.

Airi was different.

Therefore, Lucy didn’t know what to say.

On the one hand, she was surprised and unexpected, but also relieved that Shien had such connections.

On the other hand, she felt like she had discovered a hidden, powerful rival, and her position as the official wife seemed a bit precarious.

This made Lucy feel both conflicted and complicated. In the end, she simply pretended she hadn’t seen anything.

Shien’s connections were a bit too much for people in this world to comprehend.

One of the most ferocious Demon Lords was dozing off in his arms, and the strongest evil god was clinging to him all the time, yet he didn’t seem to mind at all, teasing and playing with them like they were just two clingy little girls. In the eyes of people in this world, these actions were undoubtedly reckless and lacking common sense.

Others treated these ferocious beings with utmost caution, but Shien seemed to treat them like two clingy children. Fortunately, Airi’s subordinates weren’t here, and Lilith was special, without any subordinate gods under her direct command. Otherwise, those people would definitely be shocked.

And that wasn’t the most shocking part.

The most shocking part was that this guy even dared to knock on the head of Lildas, the strongest being in the three realms, and even dared to talk back to her. If he wasn’t truly capable, he would be considered a fool with no self-awareness.

Compared to these “great achievements,” Lucy suddenly felt that Shien’s initial disdain towards her after seeing her true self wasn’t strange at all.

She could only say…

“It’s a good thing you’re the Hero, otherwise you would have been killed.”

Lucy sincerely believed this.

At least, as far as Lucy knew, Jacinta, that Demon Lord executive, seemed to want to teach Shien a lesson. If it weren’t for Airi always being by Shien’s side, that Tyrant would have definitely come looking for him. How could he just stand by and watch Airi “dote” on Shien like that?

Of course, Shien wasn’t afraid at all.

“Just in time, I also feel like I need a worthy opponent to test my current strength.”

Shien’s fearless smile reminded Lucy that he had already defeated her teacher.

Lucy was speechless.

Just like that, along the way, Shien chatted with Lucy while sightseeing, occasionally teasing Airi and Lilith, and Lasha served them silently. The journey was harmonious and enjoyable, not boring at all.

Besides that, Lucy also paid attention to Melika, who was acting like a wallflower, unable to join their conversations due to her shyness and nervousness. Lucy would always try to talk to Melika, making her even more nervous and shy, her replies hesitant and mumbled.

However, Melika would often sneak glances at Shien, and whenever Shien noticed, she would quickly lower her head, her face flushed red. This scene became a pleasant sight along the way.

Shien was used to this.

He had already seen through this elf girl’s thoughts, so he wasn’t worried at all.

Not only wasn’t he worried, but Shien was even secretly looking forward to whether this elf girl would one day, like Diere, throw herself at him.

He was quite attracted to Melika’s beauty.

But he wasn’t in a hurry.

No, it should be said that there was no point in being in a hurry.

This girl was much purer than he had imagined. Even just talking to her could scare her away, so he could only wait patiently.

He couldn’t just force himself on her, could he?

Wouldn’t that be taking advantage of her?

He wasn’t that kind of person.

Thinking this, Shien acted calmly.

Well, if it weren’t for the fact that his [Inner Manifestation of Heaven’s Decree], like his previous resistance skills, for some reason, had no effect on a certain princess, causing his waist to be pinched hundreds of times when Melika blushed, almost losing feeling, he would definitely be even calmer.

The two-day journey passed like this.

Shien and his group rarely left Yulin’s back, except for eating and sleeping.

When it was time to eat, they would find a mountaintop or a scenic spot to land, and Lasha would somehow prepare a hot meal, letting everyone enjoy a picnic. When it was time to sleep, they would find a town and rest at an inn, not having to rough it at all.

This even made Lucy think that it wouldn’t be bad to continue this aimless journey without going to the Elven Homeland.

But in the end, on the second day, Shien and his group arrived at their destination.

“Is that the Tegor Forest?”

Standing on Yulin’s back, Shien held Lilith’s hand, looked down, and a look of wonder flashed in his eyes.

Not only Shien, but Lucy beside him also murmured in amazement,

“Such a vast sea of trees…”

Yes.

A sea of trees.

Below them, a boundless sea of trees stretched across the earth, dyeing it a vibrant emerald green.

Within the sea of trees, gigantic trees towered into the sky, each at least a hundred meters tall, like an ancient forest, vast and desolate.

This was the largest forest in the human world—the Tegor Forest.

Melika also looked at the forest below, a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and pride in her voice.

“Legend has it that this is the first forest that appeared on earth when the world was born.”

Melika explained in a pleasant voice.

“After the Supreme God Omniis created the world, the Three Goddesses also used their powers to perfect this world, making it truly function.”

“Lildas, the Goddess of Fate, guides all things in the world.”

“Anima, the Goddess of Life, created the various races.”

“And Nadue, the Goddess of Nature, created the continents, oceans, and forests for this world. This Tegor Forest is Goddess Nadue’s first creation.”

“However, at that time, Goddess Nadue didn’t expect that deep within this forest, because of its abundance of life force, we elves, born from nature, would unexpectedly appear.”

Melika continued.

“If Anima, the Goddess of Life, is the creator of all races in the human world, then we elves are the only exception.”

“Although our birth is also related to Anima, as it was her power that filled the earth and forests with life force, ultimately leading to our birth, we were born from nature, condensed from the essence of the forest.”

“Therefore, our creator is Nadue, the Goddess of Nature, and she is also our highest deity. Anima’s power was just a catalyst for our appearance.”

“Even though Goddess Nadue didn’t intentionally create our race, we still regard her as our mother.”

Melika’s words were filled with faith and worship.

“Nadue, the Goddess of Nature, huh?” Shien pondered for a moment, then asked curiously, “Then, Melika, have you ever seen the Goddess of Nature?”

“O-of course not!” Melika quickly shook her head and said humbly, “Goddess Nadue loves our Elven Race very much, but even elves are just a small part of all living beings. Unless one receives the Goddess of Nature’s blessing, only elven royalty has the chance to meet her. An ordinary elf like me definitely can’t see her!”

“Really?” Shien asked doubtfully, “Then how did that goddess notify me and have me rescue you last time when those trash nobles were causing you trouble?”

“Th-that…” Melika became uneasy, uncertain, and lacking in confidence. “Could it be… a mistake?”

This girl still thought that being noticed by the Goddess of Nature was unreal.

Lucy said,

“I think it must be some quality of yours that caught the Goddess’s attention.” Lucy said thoughtfully, “It is said that Goddess Nadue can manipulate nature and even become one with it. She’s always watching over this world, watching over the Elven Race. She might have discovered something special about you and started paying attention to you.”

“I-is that so?” Melika still looked unsure.

Shien, because of Lucy’s words, suddenly remembered something.

During his duel with Aldia, with the perception of [Outer Awareness of Heaven’s Decree], he seemed to have sensed the presence of a “person.”

“A goddess who can manipulate nature and become one with it, always watching over this world…”

Could that “person” be…?

Shien raised his eyebrows and concentrated, trying to enhance his perception with [Outer Awareness of Heaven’s Decree], just like during his duel with Aldia.

Unfortunately, this time, no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, Shien couldn’t enter that state.

This was normal.

Last time, Shien was able to enter that state not only because of [Outer Awareness of Heaven’s Decree] but also because of one of the effects of [Outer Manifestation of Heaven’s Decree]—”During combat, can eliminate all distractions and instantly adjust one’s mind, body, and spirit to a perfect state.”

Thanks to this effect, Shien could eliminate all distractions and focus his mind, body, and spirit to their peak, combined with the perception of [Outer Awareness of Heaven’s Decree], even perceiving the flow of the atmosphere and the pulse of the earth.

But in his normal state, it wasn’t so easy for Shien to enter that state.

“Too bad…”

Shien sighed regretfully.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

However, Shien still turned to Airi, who had been “fighting” with the Divine Race since ancient times, and asked,

“What kind of person is the Goddess of Nature?”

“Her?” Airi yawned, frowned upon hearing Shien’s question, and said indifferently, “She’s probably the kind of person all women aspire to be.”

“The kind of person all women aspire to be?” Shien asked, stunned. “Why?”

“Because that goddess possesses all the qualities of a perfect woman.” Airi said with an impassive face, “Sister Sara has said more than once that she’s the epitome of ‘womanhood,’ possessing beauty, dignity, elegance, and courtesy, completely opposite to my unreserved second sister.”

Airi whispered the last sentence very softly.

Shien fell into deep thought.