Chapter 368:

C368 - Trail (8)

"Help me with the hair dye."

Valeria extended the hair dye she had received from Jin earlier.

"I don't want to show this hair when I meet the people from Vermont or Zipple."

Jin shrugged.

Then he turned around and applied some of the dye to Valeria's red hair.

A shine emanated from the hair that was turning black.

Jin's fingers gently ran through it, spreading the dye.

Somehow, the members of the Cat Tribe opened their mouths wide and stared with sparkling eyes.

Their atmosphere is strange, isn't it?

"They get along really well, don't they?"

Contrary to what the Cat Tribe members thought, the two of them didn't feel anything special about each other's physical contact.

Valeria was momentarily dizzy, busy sorting her thoughts, and Jin was only concerned about whether her body had truly recovered to a decent level.

"It's done."

Jin wiped the dye off his hands with a cloth.

After briefly examining her newly dyed hair in a hand mirror, Valeria nodded in satisfaction.

The red color was perfectly concealed.

[Let's go!]

They followed Lulu and Miru into the passageway.

The interior of the passageway was misty like fog, and their vision wavered as if they were underwater, but strangely, they didn't feel any fatigue as they walked.

It felt more like they were wandering in a pleasant dream.

They emerged from the passageway before taking a hundred steps.

Originally, the distance would have required a considerable amount of time, even for a trained martial artist, but the passages of the Cat Tribe were nothing less than teleportation gates.

"They've just arrived, Lulu. Your skills are as impressive as ever."

"Still, since we had time to create the passage, I'm not sure if we can evade their pursuit."

Outside the passageway, the area was filled with strangely bent trees.

Despite their curved appearance, they were tall and thick enough to be compared to the central pillar of a castle.

The densely blooming leaves prevented even a hint of moonlight from entering.

As a result, the vast lake that stretched below looked like black oil.

"Is Temar's tomb hidden in there?"

Jin remembered Olmango, who had sealed the second tomb in the depths of the sea.

Sheila had also hidden a medium that linked to a tomb beneath the lake.

Laaa, laa~

Sheila began to sing.

Her voice was incredibly pleasant.

It seemed as if sugar crystals were causing delightful vibrations in the ears.

Even Valeria couldn't help but smile involuntarily at Sheila's singing.

Tiny particles, like crystal dust, emanated from Sheila's small mouth.

The particles floated toward the lake, and the ripples changed with them.

Soft swirls.

That was the only way to describe the phenomenon.

Small and gentle whirlpools danced on the lake's surface in response to the song.

Several minutes passed this way.

Finally, something exceptionally bright emerged from the lake's surface, like a rising star.

It was a slender bottle.

Royal Melodic Wine.

The reason why the powerful beings hadn't harmed this forest, the significance of Wantaramo's existence.

The slender bottle floated slowly to Sheila's side.

The moment she embraced the bottle with her small body, the light particles that illuminated the lake disappeared, and the forest darkened again.

"Take it, Jin Runcandel."

Swoosh...

Jin calmly drew Bradamante and spoke.

Valeria also tightly gripped her staff, scanning behind the lake.

"...Have the pursuers arrived yet?"

It would still be some time before Zipple's expected arrival.

As Sheila had foreseen, the traitor was not just Myla. Vermont had arrived even before them.

Naturally, the Wantaramo Forest was Vermont territory, so it was to be expected.

'In any case, things are in order on this side. It's better to eliminate them all and enter the tomb before any additional support arrives.'

If they didn't take out all of the pursuers and entered, they would be too distracted inside the tomb to concentrate.

"Step back."

[Sheila, it's best to heed Jin's words. Since things have come to this point, we should act in a way that causes minimal burden.]

Sheila let out a sigh.

[Understood.]

Jin handed the Royal Melodic Wine back to Sheila, making sure not to damage it during the battle.

'Open armor.'

Uttering the activation words, Shadow Energy emanated from Bradamante, enveloping Jin's body.

He removed his cloak and handed it to Sheila and the Cat Tribe members.

A function Picón had added for moments like this.

[Be careful.]

"Don't worry."

As Sheila and the Cat Tribe members stepped back, the light that had been illuminating them disappeared.

The spot where the group had stood returned to darkness.

Everything was silent.

Not a single sound could be heard, only the whisper of the cool breeze among the bushes. However, amidst all of this, Jin and the enemies sensed faint traces of each other's energy.

With their senses sharpened to the extreme, Jin came to a conclusion.

'There are no commanders.'

At that moment, the greatest concern vanished.

A smile formed on Jin's lips, and the fierce Shadow Energy surrounding his body and sword began to flicker aggressively.

However, due to the darkness of the forest, the visual effect wasn't apparent.

'Aria.'

Jin whispered, calling Valeria.

What?

'Don't step forward; refine your mana even further.'

It seemed better for her to conserve her strength for the battle against Zipple.

Valeria nodded.

The distance between Jin and the enemies was gradually decreasing.

The Vermonts believed they had not yet entered each other's attack range.

Since they had already learned of the presence of 'Jin Runcandel' in the forest through the traitor descendant of the Fairy Tribe, the Vermouths believed that the Jin Runcandel they knew wouldn't be able to launch effective attacks from this distance.

But that was a significant mistake.

'Six of them.'

"Argh!"

Blood suddenly spurted among the Vermont Imperial Guards.

The sound of a black sword imbued with shadow force cutting through throats and the air, and even the sound of Jin's footsteps, were absent.

All that could be heard was the chilling sound of a head hitting the cold ground.

'Now five.'

As the Imperial Guards instinctively dispersed, their aura-infused swords gleamed, and Jin stood behind his second target, driving Bradamante into the throat.

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