Chapter 52: Chapter 52. Cinderielle Arrives at the Grove.
Cinderielle and her group stood a distance away from the beast group and followed with silent steps. They wanted to check if more beasts would join in the way.
Based on her extensive research, Cinderielle was well aware that a beast tide was a phenomenon triggered by the primal instincts of the creatures. Sensing the impending doom of a natural disaster, they would all, without exception, move in a single, unified direction.
While fleeing, beasts usually become much more aggressive toward anything blocking their way, and because of the group's group mentality that was born, the ones in the front were pushed to go forward, making them look like unintelligent beasts that just threw themselves at city walls and other kinds of defensive structures built by creatures.
However, unlike that feeling of unity that beast tides gave, Cinderielle realized that these creatures were marching together, but their steps were not rushed at all.
It was orderly, and their groups were mixed but separated. Ariel whispered. "What do you think, Cinder?"
Cinderielle was about to speak when the group of <River Beavers> stopped and separated, turning right and going in a completely different direction.
This solidified Cinderielle's conjecture that this was not the signals of a tide but a group formed from different beasts for an unknown objective.
A young-looking man with a slim body called Doles, one of the three men accompanying them, asked. "Do we follow them?"
His brother, a very similar-looking man called Maley, asked with a weird expression. "Why would we follow them? Are you stupid?"
Doles snorted. "Hey, aren't we investigating? Knowing why that group separated might bring us unexpected results!"
Ariel looked at the brothers and commented. "Can you two be more silent? What would we do if those hundreds of beasts heard us?"
Cinderielle commented. "Let's follow."
Ariel was surprised. "Are we really going to?"
Cinderielle looked at her and nodded. "Why not? Moreover, from what I've seen, there is only one Level 10 in that group. They are strong, but nothing we can't deal with."
Robert, the third man walking with them, asked with a serious tone. "Are you sure you want to do this, missy?"
Looking at the man who looked well into his fifties but had a strong body, Cinderielle decided to ask. "What do you recommend, sir?"
Ariel complained. "Hey, why are you so respectful to him and not me?"
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she answered with a sigh. "He is probably double your and triple my age. He is an experienced person who is alive at this job even after so many years. So, listening to his advice is something we must do."
The man smirked and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, missy. I was just going to say that if we do go that way, we need to do so by their traces and not by keeping them in our visual range."
Cinderielle asked. "Why is that?"
The man explained while rubbing his bearded chin. "Well, if we can see them, that means that they can see us as well. While we will be hidden, all it takes is one misstep to create an unavoidable situation where we need to fight."
The other four found his reasoning logical, so they all chose to follow his words.
Without much trouble, they are able to follow the River Beaver's group's footprints.
It took around two or three hours before they suddenly heard battle sounds in the distance. Maley frowned. "Battle? The sounds don't feel human-like."
Cinderielle looked around with a strange expression. 'Why am I getting restless? I feel like I want to charge forward and rush to the center of this grove.' She focused on her surroundings, and a strangely enticing aura made her body restless.
Robert and Ariel found out about Cinderielle's strangeness, and Ariel quickly asked. "What's wrong, Cinder? Remember that we came here with you because of your Sylvan senses. Are you feeling danger?"
"No." She shook her head, saying with a thoughtful expression. "On the contrary, I feel… eager. It's bizarre. As if there is something calling me right ahead."
The four humans looked at the Sylvan with a strange expression, not knowing how to react to such words. Doles asked. "Is your head well-ough!"
Maley's slap on the back of his head choked his voice, forcing a strange sound out. "What are you saying so directly? You need to ask politely, even if she is going crazy-ough!"
With a very similar motion, Ariel slapped the other brother on the back of his head. She spoke with her lips twitching, "Do you two share the same neuron or something? Is that why you are incapable of simple thought?"
Robert sighed. "Don't mind these two, missy. What's in your mind?"
The sounds of battle continued, and when Cinderielle was about to answer, the sound of a solid item slamming on a fleshy body with brutal strength spread from the covered middle of the grove.
Ariel's face grimaced. "That sound…"
Cinderielle commented. "Let's wait until the battle ends and then walk in."
Doles answered with a very unwilling tone. "Nonono. Are you not hearing all the harsh sounds of the things battling inside? I think those <River Beaver> have met disaster while walking in that direction. You want to follow their same fate?"
Cinderielle answered flatly, not even bothering to play with him. "I'm going. If you want to follow, good. If not, you can turn around and leave."
The others blinked at her decisiveness. Ariel muttered with a sigh. "Where has the 'taking advice from others more experienced' gone to?"
As they approached, their group finally entered Liu Shu's <Charm Of The Seedling> skill range. As if Cinderielle had crossed some sort of membrane, her feelings went entirely out of control.
The feeling from <Charm Of The Seedling> was like an all-encompassing hug that warmed up her body. It was as if she had been freezing until now, and finally, after being exposed to heat, she realized it.
Her heartbeat increased, thumping against her chest as blood flowed through her veins, spreading this strange heat throughout her entire body. That was not all; as her body heated up because of the heartbeat, a rush of excitement ran through her veins and blood.
The four humans felt the strange aura change, but it wasn't much of a difference from them.
When they heard Cinderielle's confident steps abruptly stopping, they looked sideways at her in confusion. Ariel got scared and asked with urgency, "C-Cinder! Why are you breathing so roughly? I can feel your heartbeat from here and…" Her nose twitched a few times, making her feel strangely embarrassed. "You are spreading some kind of floral scent. Control yourself!"
Cinderielle, however, was not hearing her. Her mind was in absolute shock. 'Impossible. Here? How could it be here?' Cinderielle spoke to herself with completely jumbled thoughts, not knowing how to react. 'Am I wrong? Am I being deceived by some tricky creature? No, but it feels as if this aura is impossible to misinterpret.'
Cinderielle's mind continued running in circles. 'But, it's just too big of a coincidence! What am I supposed to do now!? This aura is certainly similar to that one I felt when I was young!'
Cinderielle had always thought that even if she managed to find this aura, it wouldn't be the correct one. After so many years, how could she, a child back then, remember something like an aura so clearly?
To be honest, Cinderielle was prepared to give up many decades of her life just to find something that felt right, and if she found nothing, she would give up and try to search for happiness somewhere else.
Of course, this thought was just that, a thought. She had never been sure if she would be able to let go of such a profound and deep-rooted feeling. It had been just a glance, and it carried over years without any difficulty, making romance of any kind a lost cause even before it had the chance to start.
Cinderielle felt a hand landing on her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts, and she looked sideways with her orange eyes glowing with a strange light and a gentle blush on her face due to the accelerated heartbeat. "What's wrong, Ariel?"
Ariel took a step back involuntarily. The sensation Cinderielle's current eyes gave was utterly different from usual. It was deep and covered by a mysterious veil. What was strange was that they had a visible glow, making it feel like the colors inside her iris were swirling.
The three men also got alert, looking at Cinderielle with serious expressions. Ariel gulped and asked. "You, are you okay? You look… different."
Cinderielle smiled, her red cheeks looking extremely attractive, as if her body used everything to become alluring and appealing. "Don't worry. Let's go quickly."
And with that, they all saw Cinderielle rushing out of the grove.
Meanwhile, by Liu Shu's side, Clavel was flying and looking at the several corpses created by Liu Shu's attack. "Hm… some of them are in quite a bad state to skin them for their coat."
Zinia looked at her and asked, confused. "Why do you want their skin?"
Cinderielle shrugged. "Queen Floor told us that we can sell it to Sylvans and other creatures, and selling them will usually avoid an attack."
Zinia tilted her head. "Why?"
Clavel pondered and commented. "Perhaps because the <River Beaver> has a natural ability to repel water, so it is a nice cloth?"
Zinia was about to answer when the shrubs by the side moved, and a tall woman appeared.
Her stature, coupled with her neat red colored hair and orange eyes, accentuated her fiery aura and glamorous body.
The fairies that saw a Sylvan appear weren't that nervous. While Sylvans and Rose Fairies weren't considered even in the same category, they were good for cooperating.
This time, though, they weren't leisure. Clavel knew that Liu Shu had just gone through a tough battle, and her ability to defend had taken a hit.
Clavel pondered. 'Is this that ambush they were expecting? Or another group altogether.'
Clavel moved forward and summed a pair of wind blades. "Stop!"
Focusing on her face, not only Clavel but the rest of the Rose Fairies couldn't help but frown. The red-haired and orange-eyed Sylvan was looking at Liu Shu as if nothing else mattered in this world.
Her face, full of adoration and fascination, couldn't probably be faked even by the best of actors. The raw emotion in her eyes was enough to make a few Rose Fairies feel strangely intimidated.
Clavel didn't really know how to react to a Sylvan that rushed at them without any protection whatsoever. Zinia realized that Cinderielle was really not that high level, making it much more strange.
'How did a Level 6 enter here alone?'
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