Savage Forest - Chapter 117.1

As day broke, the group resumed their journey. The presence of the child in Enya’s womb brought about more changes than she had anticipated.

Silanda and Reyhald became noticeably more cautious around her.

“Hey, Enya. Watch your step. You’re not alone anymore.”

Reyhald trailed closely behind Enya, nagging her along the way.

Feeling somewhat awkward but trying to remain attentive, Enya moved carefully. Occasionally, she found herself unconsciously resting her hand on her stomach.

Reyhald, eager to be helpful, rambled on about the skull spiders.

Most of it was trivial information.

“During the Nervana festivals, Kiyan gathers everyone for a ritual. Then Lehijin tells a really boring legend. Even Kiyan falls asleep. The only one who stays awake is that annoyingly diligent Zechariah.”

Silanda grumbled as she pushed through the underbrush.

“I’m not interested in your Nervana clan, so just give me more useful information about the skull spiders.”

Despite their bickering, Reyhald and Silanda were surprisingly good at giving helpful advice to each other.

“The skull spiders are very sensitive to blood. Even if they’re at the edge of the forest, they’ll detect the scent of blood from the entrance and come after it.”

Enya diligently walked along, trying to remember his words. The group was making their way upstream along the river.

“I definitely fell around here. So Tarhan’s group should be…”

Reyhald pointed toward a distant valley and murmured.

“They should be over there.”

As Enya followed Reyhald’s gaze up toward the top of the cliff, Silanda asked.

“What’s the chance they’ve come back here to find you?”

“Absolutely none.”

He answered confidently.

“Unless they knew I met Enya, there’s no way they’d come back.”

Hearing this, Silanda approached Enya and muttered irritably,

“Why does he talk about it like it’s something to be proud of? Is he bragging about being the outcast in his own group?”

“Did you just badmouth me to Enya?”

Enya, trying to avoid getting involved in their reignited argument, kept her mouth shut as the wolf barked at Silanda and Reyhald. To her, it seemed like the wolf was signaling them to be quieter. She then turned her gaze back in the direction Reyhald had pointed.

Tarhan, at the edge of the high valley… it still felt unreal.

“Let’s get going. We have a long way ahead.”

Reyhald urged the group again.

The only sound was the rustling of leaves. As they walked, Reyhald looked at Enya and opened his mouth again.,

“Your leg seems completely healed, Enya. It’s hard to believe you used to limp.”

She couldn’t find a suitable response and gave a sheepish smile. Indeed, Enya was walking normally like everyone else. She couldn’t even recall the time when she had limped.

Silanda, who had been walking in silence, suddenly muttered,

“I think I hear rustling.”

Enya immediately looked up at Silanda’s words.

“Does that mean something is approaching?”

Silanda replied,

“I don’t know. Hey, forest-born, why can I sense it, but you can’t?”

“I detected it through my senses beforehand. I just didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure.”

Spot growled at the bickering Silanda and Reyhald as if telling them to be quiet. The rustling sound was growing more pronounced in Enya’s ears.

“There are quite a few of them.”

Reyhald tensed up, gripping his short spear tightly. Even to Enya, who had little experience, the noise didn’t seem like the typical sounds made by forest animals.

“Could it be a Fiarca?”

Enya whispered anxiously, hoping otherwise.

“It might be that man named Tarhan.”

Silanda whispered calmly.

“I don’t think so. They wouldn’t be making this much noise if it were him.”

Reyhald gripped his spear even tighter and said,

“This doesn’t bode well.”

The group grew increasingly tense as the rustling grew louder. After a while, Reyhald, who had been leading them forward, suddenly shouted,

“Everyone, run!”

At Reyhald’s thunderous command, Silanda and Enya sprang and raced away. There was no time for second thoughts since they were already surrounded.

Thwack—!

Arrows began to fly and hit the backs of those running.

“There were indeed intruders in the forest beside us!”

Reyhald shouted.

As Spot continued to bark as it ran alongside them, Enya instinctively hunched over, clutching her belly, and ran without looking back.

‘Who could it be? Is it really Servia chasing us…?!’

Terrified, Enya thought.

At that moment, Reyhald swiftly climbed one of the trees nearby. Gripping the trunk, he changed direction in the blink of an eye and hurled his spear at the enemies pursuing them.

“Uwack—!”

Someone screamed and fell. But taking down one person was not enough; there were still too many of them.

“Keep running!”

Reyhald’s voice came from behind, shouting at them.

“What’s with him? He’s quite good, isn’t he?”

Silanda was surprised by his unexpected display of skill.

“Silanda, hurry up!”

Enya shouted at Silanda as they dashed through the rain of arrows. Meanwhile, Spot leaped into the air, catching an arrow in its mouth and snapping it mid-flight. Suddenly, something appeared right in front of them.

The enemies had set an ambush.