Chapter 412: The Green Sea Ruins (Part 5)

Two of the dogkin were ensnared by the vines, but the others swiftly hacked them free and retreated deeper into the forest. Strangely, the vines didn’t pursue them further.

The clearing they had painstakingly carved out was soon overtaken—vines and fresh undergrowth spreading across the ground. In less than half an hour, every trace of their presence vanished as if they had never been there.

“This forest… it’s alive,” Wu Qingsong murmured, shaking his head.

The beastkin were unnerved, but they accepted it quickly. After all, in a world filled with all kinds of magic, an alive forest sounded bizarre, but not incomprehensible.

“What do we do now?”

“We climb,” Wu Qingsong replied. “Be careful. Don’t break any branches.”

Staying on the ground was too dangerous. Beneath the thick underbrush and ferns could lurk poisonous insects, snakes. And the damp earth wasn’t fit for resting. They couldn’t stand through the whole night.

There was no better option. At least this was safer than standing still.

They picked a large tree and carefully climbed up. Thankfully, the forest didn’t seem to mind this intrusion, offering no hostile reaction as they made their way to branches four or five meters above the ground.

At this height, ordinary insects shouldn’t reach them, and snakes wouldn’t easily climb this high.

“What else did your grandfather say?” Charlotte asked softly, sitting gracefully not far from the young wolfman, her posture impeccable despite the uneven branches.

“N-nothing… really, nothing else,” the wolfman shook his head. “He never mentioned anything like this happening.”

“What did they find back then?” Charlotte pressed. “You’re not hiding anything from us, are you?”

“Uh…” The wolfman’s expression turned uneasy. “They… they just did a simple survey around the outskirts of the ruins. Found some strange inscriptions, a few odd artifacts… then the archaeologist got sick.”

“So they decided to leave?”

“Their supplies were running low. There wasn’t anything edible around here. And with the archaeologist sick… at least, that’s what my grandfather told me. What reason did they have to stay?”

He looked nervous. Why?

“What else do you know?” Charlotte continued, her voice gentle, subtly nudging him with her influence. “Maylen, it’s alright. You can tell us anything.”

“I swear, that’s all!” the wolfman said, agitated. “What more do you want me to say?”

“It’s fine,” Wu Qingsong spoke calmly. “No need to push him. At least the forest hasn’t shown direct hostility beyond what we’ve seen. It’s not escalating. Let’s tie ourselves to the branches and get some rest. We’ll decide what to do in the morning.”

There wasn’t a better plan.

They settled in for the night. But how many could truly sleep in such conditions—that was another question.

As dawn approached, the dim forest lightened slightly. Though still gloomy under the canopy, the brighter skies lifted their spirits.

They gathered dew from leaves to moisten their throats. One dogkin volunteered to climb to the treetop, hoping to get their bearings.

“The gorge entrance… it’s that way,” he pointed.

By his estimate, they hadn’t gone far from the valley yesterday. But from the treetop, the gorge’s mouth seemed unexpectedly distant.

“We should head back to camp,” Wu Qingsong suggested. “Better prepare properly before pressing deeper. What do you all think?”

He was the one leading this expedition. Naturally, no one objected.

To prevent getting lost, Wu Qingsong proposed tying everyone together with a rope, using it both to keep the group connected and to maintain a straight line.

With two people and a rope, you could form a line. With three, you could fix a direction and ensure they kept on course.

After a small meal of dry rations, they set off.

But not cutting a path meant paying dearly for every step. Thorny plants scratched their skin. Again and again, they had to stop, looking for safer footing, or banging sticks into the undergrowth to drive out hiding insects and snakes.

After half an hour of exhausting progress, they sent another scout up a tree to check their direction. He stared, stunned.

“This can’t be right!”

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re farther from the gorge entrance than before!” he cried in alarm.

“That’s impossible!” The earlier scout scrambled up another tree. But he too had to accept the truth: despite walking for half an hour, they were farther from their starting point.

“Mark the direction again. Let’s walk ten more minutes,” Wu Qingsong ordered.

When they stopped and checked again, the result nearly broke them.

“We’re even deeper into the valley.”

The dogkin hadn’t lost control, but Wu Qingsong could see it. They were teetering on the edge of panic.

“Everyone, stay calm.” Charlotte stepped forward, using her ability to steady them. But her power could only guide thoughts, it couldn’t change facts. If reality didn’t improve, no influence could conjure hope from nothing.

“We have no other choice now.” Wu Qingsong addressed them. “We must keep going. We have to understand what’s happening. Only then will we have a chance of leaving.”

There was no other path forward. Resigned, they kept moving, no longer bothering to navigate. If every step led deeper, what was the point?

“That boy’s hiding something,” Wu Qingsong murmured to Charlotte.

She nodded. “I’ll have them keep an eye on him.”

“Miss Charlotte!” one of the dogkin at the front suddenly shouted.

A colossal stone, moss-covered and towering, loomed ahead, like a fragment of some ancient structure. And beyond it, the forest thinned at last.

Huge, clearly carved stones lay scattered, manmade, amidst the wilderness, finally opening up a clearing in the dense woods.