CHAPTER 686: CHAPTER 681: VILLAGE

"Which school does this child’s ancestors belong to as Casters?"

Upon hearing the reply, this was what immediately came to Ronald’s mind.

He had just asked this question.

Yet the little girl shook her head crisply:

"No, Helle and my mother are not Casters."

"We have lived in this forest for generations, just a very ordinary settlement."

"..."

Ronald’s first reaction was disbelief.

The difficulty of surviving in such a primitive jungle was immense. Even some survival experts could hardly last long, let alone Helle who did not look like a child from a primitive tribe.

The only possible explanation.

These people must reside in the Yizi Forest, maintaining a good relationship with some school of Casters, and under the influence of the mysterious side, it was possible for them to settle in the Yizi Forest.

Having concluded this simply,

Ronald and his three companions temporarily formed a team and began their deep trek into the forest.

The composition of the team was clear and straightforward.

Both Ronald and Costate, on their own, were top-level powers capable of dominating spheres on the mysterious side.

On the other hand, looking at Reynolds and Helle,

the middle-aged Caster was just an ordinary member of the Secret of Aogen.

Lacking in extraordinary talent, he had only completed his education under one-to-one guidance at this age before embarking on a pilgrimage in the forest. The little girl was even more vulnerable—having no basic casting ability, she only began to understand the mysterious side in the past few days by following Reynolds.

Amid this vast disparity in strength,

the control of the team was entirely in the hands of Ronald and Costate.

Having faintly sensed this, Helle quietly asked Reynolds while moving forward,

"Reynolds, are those two really powerful?"

A complex smile appeared on Reynolds’ face:

"This...it’s not just a matter of being powerful anymore."

"Helle, you should know—whether it’s Mr. Ronald or Miss Costate, with their demonstrated abilities, they could easily establish a school or secretly control a country if they wished."

"It’s truly fortunate for us to meet them here and receive their help."

The little girl nodded thoughtfully:

"Helle understands, we are very lucky."

"..."

Indeed, the situation was just as Reynolds described.

Within the team, Ronald and Costate were at the front, plowing through the path like two pieces of heavy machinery.

To say the least,

compared to the previously meager progress made by Reynolds and the little girl, describing it as several times faster was by no means an exaggeration.

However, in contrast to Reynolds and Helle’s situation,

it was a completely opposite state for Ronald’s side.

Given Reynolds’ poor physical condition and the little girl’s lack of casting ability, Ronald and Costate had to constantly divert their attention to take care of them while addressing the frequent problems in the forest.

This undoubtedly slowed down their progress.

And this situation lasted for over ten hours.

When noon arrived on the next day,

as they continued moving through the forest, Helle, following beside Reynolds, suddenly exclaimed,

"Here, I recognize this place!"

"Helle and Mom’s home is just ahead!"

With such good news from the little girl, the four naturally quickened their pace.

Among the team, only Ronald’s mood was somewhat subtle.

He had unleashed the power of "Fury."

At this very moment, within several kilometers of the scouting range, he had not sensed any level of human activity.

If Helle’s home was nearby, then where was her family?

And before, how had such a young child managed to leave her home and run so far?

Questions Ronald had previously not cared much about surged through his mind.

A foreboding feeling vaguely formed in his heart.

However, at the same time, Reynolds in the team had already become completely excited by the news.

The middle-aged Caster lifted the little girl beside him.

He even used the scarce Magic Power in his body to reactivate the spells, solely to get Helle home sooner.

"..."

Watching the figure in front of him, Ronald felt somewhat reluctant.

He then signaled to Costate with his eyes, and the two silently followed behind, moving forward.

It turned out that Helle’s memory of the terrain was accurate.

After traveling merely a few hundred meters, they quickly found her previous residence in Yizi Forest.

Then, an indescribable scene appeared before their eyes.

Helle’s so-called home had now turned into a very tragic graveyard.

In the village constructed of vines and trees, the inhabitants hidden in Yizi Forest could vaguely be seen.

—However.

—They were all corpses.

Corpses of various sizes were found throughout the village, all showing signs of being bitten or devoured. Every person in the village had been killed by the Hunter.

But this was not the most shocking part.

Among these corpses, Ronald could clearly see significant species differences.

The older corpses had skin mostly green to blend in with the tree canopy and retained some non-human structures, such as feathers and unique skull structures;

The middle-aged had a brownish skin not found in humans, and their claws and other aggressive organs were notably apparent;

Down to the younger generation.

They had the same skin color as normal humans, and the obvious animal organs had begun to regress.

Thus, a simple deduction lay before them.

If this evolutionary trend continued, by the time it reached Helle’s newly born generation, they would probably look exactly like humans.

"..."

At this moment, Reynolds was completely stunned, looking at the scene in front of him.

As a Caster, he understood the scene before him and also knew the real identity of the little girl beside him.

Meanwhile, the bewildered Helle, looking at the slaughtered village, knelt on the ground, her expression blank and unable to make any sound.

At her age.

She clearly couldn’t cope with this tragic reality.

As for further back... Ronald’s expression was equally complicated; he immediately covered his face with his hand and asked the maid in a stiff tone:

"Costate, it must have been several months since you last tried to retrieve the original texts, right?"

The maid answered calmly:

"Sir, you are correct."

"..."

What the scene in front of him implied was obvious.

Helle and her species were, in fact, a new species that had suddenly evolved under the influence of the original texts.

The complexity of this matter.

Was far greater than Ronald had initially thought!