There were almost no sounds of beasts howling, and even bird calls were rarely heard.
The entire forest seemed to be shrouded in a mysterious power.
Of course, in Gauss’ "hearing," it was a completely different matter.
Too noisy!!
After entering the Black Forest, he found that the murmurings of insects became much clearer.
For example, previously common "eat" could become more specific here, like "eat the leaf!" "eat the insect!" and so on with more detailed intentions.
Did the insects here become smarter?
Of course, aside from these useless pieces of information, Gauss also intermittently heard some special sounds appearing just now.
"Humans have really come in!"
"...What to do...."
"Drive them away!"
"Drive them out!!"
The voices echoed in the dark forest, making it impossible for Gauss to find the target.
The entire Black Forest seemed to be resisting their entry.
"Gah gah!!"
The chocobo seemed to sense something, its steps becoming slow and heavy, raising its head to make a few uneasy calls.
Animals, because their thinking is simpler and without much emotional interference, sometimes have sharper intuition than humans.
"What’s wrong?" Aaliyah patted her chocobo, soothed it with a carrot, and finally calmed its emotions.
"Gauss, be more careful, the chocobo is afraid."
Just as Gauss was about to say something, a rustling sound suddenly came from the shadowy area of the distant shrubbery.
In other places, it might just be a common animal passing by, nothing worth noting.
But in the unnaturally quiet Black Forest, the sound was somewhat eerie.
Gauss quickly turned his head to look, vaguely seeing a slender, tall figure quickly disappearing out of sight, and when he looked again, it vanished without a trace.
He ordered the four Clay Spiders, indulging in their "buffet," to chase after and check the situation.
The Clay Spiders, receiving his command, naturally dared not neglect it, immediately putting down the delicious insects and moving quickly toward the target direction.
Their eight arthropods crawled quickly over the decomposing leaf layer and moss-covered ground, producing almost no sound.
Gauss focused a bit, immersing his consciousness into the connection with the Clay Spiders through the ability of [Hive Mind Prototype], soon sharing their Perception.
The images transmitted back through the spider’s compound eyes were not as rich as what human eyes could gather, but they were enough for him to "see" the scene ahead: twisted black trunks, exposed surface roots, glowing fungi’s mottled spots... and several very fresh, scratch marks on the ground that were not naturally formed.
There were also a few broken black thorns.
"It’s those monsters!"
Gauss immediately linked the traces on the ground to the reports he collected at the tavern and to President Rich’s tales of the mind-bewitching savages.
More and more demons were starting to notice the group entering the forest.
"Shhh—shhh—shhh—"
Accompanied by a sharp, tooth-clenching friction sound.
Several black vines originally lying on the ground suddenly snapped upward, entwining the spiders like hidden serpents.
The movements of these vines were swift and precise.
Gauss was sharing the vision of a decoy spider when suddenly everything went black.
The decoy spider didn’t react in time and was pierced through.
Compared to other spiders, its combat ability was the weakest, but its ability to attract hatred was the strongest, successfully drawing out the enemy this time.
The other Clay Spiders instantly pounced forward, brandishing their sharp limbs to parry and slice.
The tenacious vines were severed, secreting a dark green, acrid-smelling liquid that dispersed in the air.
Gauss could feel a brief ripple in the spirituality of the Clay Spiders, which soon returned to normal under his command.
After all, they were not flesh-and-blood real creatures, the influence of that bewitching aura on them was negligible.
After clearing all the vines, the environment returned to calmness.
The pierced decoy spider slowly re-formed again under the power of Magic Power.
"Something is controlling the plants to attack my spiders," Gauss quickly said to Aaliyah and Serdur.
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, that slender, tall figure flashed by again in the darkness ahead.
This time, thanks to the light from the glowing moss, not only Gauss but Aaliyah and Serdur could also see it quite clearly.
It seemed to be a humanoid creature, extremely tall and thin, with agility and mobility that were disproportionate to its physique, seeming adept at using the terrain to hide and stealth within the shadowy, elusive Black Forest, with the surrounding black trees providing it cover.
In a fleeting glimpse, its body seemed cobbled together from dry branches, its skin a deep brown like the surrounding bark, its upper body seemingly still covered with moss and lichen.
Most striking of all, its limbs and torso were entangled with densely packed black thorns, unlike ordinary thorns, these still writhed slowly like living creatures.
This humanoid monster’s eyes also shone with a kind of fervent green glow.
"Kill them all! Protect my lord!"
Gauss heard it very clearly this time.
As soon as the words fell, it did not charge but swiftly melded into one of the giant black trees.
The "malice" of the surrounding forest became even more intense.
"Careful!"
Even if he didn’t understand their hissing earlier, Gauss wouldn’t lower his guard.