Lian agreed
Fighting against monsters that could fly was a hellish torment. Victory against them was extremely difficult.
Unless the awakened one also had the ability to fly or the ability to perform long-range attacks. Otherwise, against such monsters, the best decision was to hide.
"Not a bad choice." Then he gave a short tap on One’s shell.
The ant’s antennae moved with satisfaction for a moment.
A little later, the path split between two large roots. The left path was wider and straighter, and the right path was narrower and full of slopes.
"Both eventually reach the Blue Stone area. The left path is faster, but I don’t know if it’s safe now." Ravian said.
Lian stopped One, closed his eyes, and decided to share one of his senses with the monster.
This time, he only chose the sense of vibration.
The visual world faded for him. Instead, the ground turned into a network of waves.
The vibration of One’s legs was close and clear. The movement of small insects felt like very weak impacts.
On the left path, something large and heavy was moving at a distance.
Not one, but several creatures. The rhythm of the steps was irregular and sometimes stopped. Perhaps a herd of monsters or predators fighting.
The right path only had small and scattered vibrations.
"Right." Lian cut the connection.
"Did you sense something?"
"The left side is busy."
Ravian, without further questions, pointed to the right path, and One entered the narrow route.
The ability to climb roots showed its true value in this section. The ant climbed a surface that for four people was almost a vertical wall.
The claws on its legs sank into the cracks in the bark and pulled its body up.
If those four wanted to take this path themselves, it could take them hours, and Lian doubted that except for him, it would even be possible for the other three.
He himself could climb by sinking his claws into the wall, but the three of them didn’t have that ability, and he would have to carry them up.
When they reached the top of the root, the view of the Forest of Giants opened up widely before them for the first time.
From that height, the forest floor looked like another world.
Giant trees rose in all directions, their trunks lost in layers of mist.
Massive leaves at different heights were like green islands.
Water fell from the edge of some leaves, creating narrow but hundreds-of-meters-high waterfalls.
Luminous plants in the dark parts of the lower forest glowed in blue, purple, and green.
Massive creatures moved on distant branches. One looked like a snake, but its body was so long that it had wrapped several times around a branch as thick as a tower.
Birds larger than buildings flew through the mist, and every time they opened their wings, the surrounding clouds parted.
Nemi forgot her fear for a while and looked at the view with a half-open mouth.
"I’ve never seen the forest from this high up."
Sera also fixed her gaze on the distance, and the tiredness and pain left her face for a moment.
Such a beautiful view made them completely forget all the hardships they had endured and made them realize even more how small and insignificant they were in front of this forest.
Ravian, instead of admiring the beauty, was more focused on the path’s signs.
His eyes fixed on a mass of blue mushrooms in the distance.
Then he saw a trunk with three vertical cracks on it. His expression changed, and joy and excitement could be seen.
"We’re close."
"Are you sure?" Nemi immediately leaned forward, feeling like she had just heard the best news of her life.
Ravian pointed to the southeast.
"Those mushrooms grow near the tribe’s hunting ground. If we follow the right path, not much is left."
Excitement was clear in his voice. They were finally getting close!
After all this hardship, after all those near-death experiences, they were finally approaching their home!
Nothing could describe their happiness at this moment.
One climbed down from the root, and the journey continued.
The further they went, the more natural signs gave way to traces of intelligent creatures.
Regular cuts could be seen on some roots.
Not claw marks from monsters, but directional signs probably made to guide the tribe’s hunters.
Ropes were stretched between the lower roots, and some mushrooms had carved marks on their caps.
Small traps for catching insects were placed along the path.
One of them was made of thick webs and thin bones, and inside it, an insect the size of a rabbit was trapped.
In the distance, a thin column of smoke rose among the roots.
Then a faint sound was heard.
A drumbeat, and a few seconds later, another beat.
Ravian suddenly sat up straight, his eyes shining.
"We’re here."
Lian also looked into the distance. He too could see from the signs that they were finally approaching a civilization.
Sera looked through the trees. The remaining tension on her face slowly faded.
One passed between two giant roots.
And the tribe appeared before them. Houses carved into the massive root walls.
Round and rectangular openings could be seen at different heights, and narrow wooden bridges were stretched between them.
Watchtowers were built on dried mushroom stems, and guards from above watched the entire surroundings.
Green and blue lights shone inside transparent bubbles, lighting up the dark part of the forest.
A wall of giant thorns, carved wood, and monster shells was built around the entrance.
Behind the wall, hundreds of Lacerians were moving on different paths.
Some carried baskets of fruit and roots, some wore armor, children ran on the lower bridges.
But as soon as One emerged from among the roots, everything changed.
One of the guards on the tower saw the ant, his eyes widened, and he struck a large bell.
The alarm sound echoed throughout the tribe. Other guards immediately appeared. Bows were drawn, and spears were lowered from above the wall.
A few mana lights lit up at the tips of the weapons. People inside the tribe started retreating, and mothers pulled children inside the houses.
One stopped in front of the gate, and its massive jaws moved for a moment.
All the weapons were fixed on its head.
Just from that first look, it was clear that the entire tribe considered that ant as a monster attack and were ready for battle.
How quickly they reacted and prepared for battle was also amazing.
Ravian stood on the ant’s back, balancing himself by holding the rope, and shouted with all his might.
"Don’t shoot! It’s us!"
His voice echoed among the roots. For a moment, no one moved. One of the guards came forward from above the tower.
His eyes fixed on Ravian, then on Sera, and then on Nemi. Suddenly, the color drained from his face.
"Ravian...?"
His voice was full of disbelief. A murmur spread among the guards and people behind the wall.
The names of the three siblings passed from mouth to mouth. Apparently, they had been presumed dead for a long time.
Now they had not only returned alive, but were riding on the back of one of the most dangerous insects of the Forest of Giants.
The gate began to open with the heavy sound of chains.
Lian looked down from One’s back at the hundreds of shocked faces.
The gazes were not only on Ravian and his sisters. Most of them were fixed on him.
An unknown creature.
A stranger who had returned with the tribe’s lost members and had a massive Crimson Needle Ant under his control like an obedient animal.
After three days of running, blood, and battle, they had finally reached the tribe; but the gazes fixed on Lian told him that his arrival here was not the end of his problems.