Volume 2, Chapter 22 – Suspicion

A few minutes ago.

Whether it was due to a girl’s unique sixth sense, Mengxi, who was walking within the Deepwinter Forest, braved the piercing cold wind and inexplicably trudged toward the direction where Yumo was located.

Watching the delicate silver-haired girl in the forest, the Abyssal Demons wandering nearby did not follow their instincts to devour this weak prey, instead opting to stay far away! When the silver-haired girl stepped into the forest, all the Abyssal Demons, regardless of their strength, scattered in all directions to maintain their distance from her!

Clearly, every Abyssal Demon in the Deepwinter Forest had received the will of Miss Yumo. They knew very well that this seemingly fragile girl was an existence on the level of an ancestor! If they harmed her, their big sister boss would likely beat them into a pulp!

Therefore, to prevent any accidents, the Abyssal Demons instinctively kept a respectful distance from the silver-haired girl.

No demon dared to provoke the big sister boss!!

It must be said that to make the Abyssal Demons of the entire Deepwinter Forest tremble so much, Mengxi was truly the first person in history to do so.

However, the Deepwinter Forest was the most dangerous place on the entire Ancheka Continent! There was no other! Besides the Abyssal Demons, there were various hazards, toxins, and an equally large number of magical beasts. While these magical beasts were left there by Yumo to maintain ecological balance or to serve as food for the Abyssal Demons, those able to survive in the Deepwinter Forest were naturally not weak!

Now, with the cold wave hitting and food being scarce, countless magical beasts were in a state of starvation, doing their best to forage everywhere.

At this moment, this defenseless and fragile silver-haired girl who had left the perimeter of the small cabin undoubtedly became a prized prize in the eyes of these magical beasts. After all, they had not received Yumo’s instructions…

That, what is that?

A human?!

A human girl?!

Watching the silver-haired girl slowly approaching, feeling the increasingly rich floral fragrance coming from her… no! That was the scent of food…

The Steel Earth Dragon, buried in the snow waiting for prey, suddenly revealed an excited look as its massive body began to move gradually.

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A human girl, and such a weak one?!

She is suitable food!

The Steel Earth Dragon couldn’t help but drool. Having endured hunger for a long time, it desperately needed nourishment!

Although a mid-level sixth tier beast like itself could be considered a boss on the continent, capable of ruling a local mountain, this was the Deepwinter Forest, the territory of the Abyssal Demons! As a magical beast, it could only shiver here, scavenging whatever the Abyssal Demons left behind…

Although it wasn’t clear why there was a human deep in the eastern part of the Deepwinter Forest, or why she had absolutely no aura of power, it was an undeniable fact that no Abyssal Demon aura could be felt in the vicinity!

Those Abyssal Demons had mysteriously withdrawn, and in their absence, it was the strongest magical beast in this area!

That meant no other beast could compete with it! This girl was its food! Food that could be obtained without any effort!

The Steel Earth Dragon naturally wouldn’t let such a windfall pass it by!

Consequently, when the silver-haired girl drew near, “Boom!!”

Accompanied by a loud crash, the ground split apart! The giant lizard encased in a gray shell suddenly burst from the earth, unleashing a violent roar at Mengxi!

In an instant, the roar of the magical beast echoed through the valley. The powerful tremors and the explosion of magic power suddenly sent Mengxi, who had no holy magic to protect her, flying dozens of meters away! She slammed hard against a giant tree!

The overcoat wrapped around her was lost to the blizzard in the violent shockwave. A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Mengxi’s mouth.

“Roar!”

Seeing that the prey was even weaker than imagined, the Steel Earth Dragon let out a mocking roar!

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Then, the starving Steel Earth Dragon bared its sharp claws and teeth! It opened its bloody maw and charged toward Mengxi with a roar!

Facing such a monster, the delicate silver-haired girl seemed completely powerless to resist. Becoming a meal for the Steel Earth Dragon seemed to be an unavoidable fate.

Staring at the magical beast rapidly approaching and feeling the terrifying killing intent, the girl’s pale purple eyes were filled with ‘terror’. Her body seemed frozen in place by fear, and she could only watch as the abyss-like maw drew closer.

Just as the Steel Earth Dragon’s teeth were inches away, a figure surrounded by Blood Butterflies flew toward them at high speed…

In the next instant, “Boom!!”

With an earth-shattering explosion, crimson Shadow Essence struck the Steel Earth Dragon’s back from behind! The hard outer steel armor on its back shattered instantly, and the dragon’s body was torn apart along with it!

Blood splattered everywhere! The scarlet fluids merged with the blizzard, turning into a rain of blood!

Drenched by the bloody rain, Mengxi’s beautiful silver hair and stunning face were suddenly veiled in red…

“Yu… Sister Yumo?”

Mengxi couldn’t help but let out a small cry, looking at the familiar black figure before her with utter shock.

Well, calling her black might not be entirely appropriate.

At this moment, after being bathed in blood, the black-haired girl looked like a blood-colored angel returned from the abyss. Combined with those scarlet eyes filled with killing intent and her terrifyingly cold aura, she was simply spine-chilling.

However, as the killing intent receded, what surfaced in the girl’s scarlet eyes was a deep sense of worry and dread…

Facing the pitiful Mengxi, Yumo bit her lip and uncharacteristically scolded her.

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“You brat! What on earth are you doing?! Didn’t I tell you not to leave the cabin? It’s dangerous out here!!”

“Sis… Sister?”

Hearing that word, the anger and anxiety within Yumo seemed to explode all at once. She rushed in front of Mengxi and gripped her shoulders without ceremony.

“Sister? Sister my foot! Do you even treat me as your sister?! You don’t listen to a word I say! You’re going to worry me to death!!!! What would I do if something happened to you!”

Clearly, after seeing this extremely important Chosen Maiden almost meet with disaster, Yumo lost her composure slightly. She truly hadn’t expected that such a previously obedient child would sneak out during the short time she was away!

As expected, she should have locked the door!

“Sis… Sister…”

Looking at the raging black-haired girl, Mengxi curled up like a frightened rabbit and lowered her head pitifully.

“I… I was wrong. I just saw Sister Yumo wasn’t there and wanted to find you…”

There was a hint of a sob in the girl’s voice.

However, a complex emotion flashed imperceptibly in her pale purple eyes…

“…”

On the other side, looking at the weeping girl and hearing Mengxi’s pitiful words, Yumo forced herself to swallow the scolding words she was about to say.

“Sigh…”

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Yumo couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, repeatedly chanting the word ‘calm’ in her mind.

‘Calm down, calm down…’

After a few moments of silent chanting, Yumo’s heart returned to tranquility. Looking at this girl who had run away from home, Yumo gave up on the idea of continuing to scold her.

After all, the female lead wasn’t her own child. Whether she was obedient or not didn’t matter much anymore, as she would be sending her back to the Ashurmos Church soon anyway…

As long as she was okay, everything was fine.

For now, glancing at the bloodstains on Mengxi and the large bruise on her right arm, Yumo couldn’t help but frown.

Besides being injured, Mengxi’s delicate body was shivering uncontrollably. This wasn’t just because of Yumo’s outburst; the external weather was also a significant factor. Mengxi, who was thinly dressed and had temporarily lost her holy power, had no way to resist the bitter climate and piercing winds of the Deepwinter Forest.

If this continued, wouldn’t Mengxi freeze to death in this icy wasteland? If the female lead she had worked so hard to find and was preparing to nurture just froze to death like this, Yumo’s mental state would likely collapse…

Thinking of this, Yumo silently walked to Mengxi’s side and took out a set of quilts from her spatial ring.

Ignoring Mengxi’s subsequent apologies, Yumo said nothing as she wrapped Mengxi up like a cocoon and took her into her arms…

In the next instant, after ensuring the cold-proofing was done, Yumo leaped up and flew toward the small cabin, surrounded by Blood Butterflies.

However, just after taking flight, Yumo seemed to think of something, and her brow furrowed slightly. She looked back thoughtfully at the spot where the Steel Earth Dragon’s corpse lay.

Yumo’s scarlet eyes narrowed slowly as a sliver of doubt surfaced in her mind.

‘Come to think of it, there shouldn’t be many magical beasts left near my home. Why did this girl walk right onto the Steel Earth Dragon’s head without missing a step? No, could she have done it on purpose…’