Mythical Creatures Strategy Guide

Chapter 60 The Poor Musician

Silver Leaf walked at the very front.

She carried a large bag that was taller than herself, and her bright green braids hung down her back, swaying with each step.

Normally, those pointed ears are always very alert, but today they didn't perk up much.

The Gray Area is located in the southwest of the Sacred Tree Forest.

To get there from the royal court, one must first pass through an old vine forest and then circle around three old hunting trails. The royal court elves dislike this route, saying it is dirty, narrow, and devoid of sunlight.

Yinye loved hearing these kinds of words when she was little. Every time she heard them, she would mentally curse, "Then don't come!"

"Turn left ahead." Silver Leaf pointed. "Don't step on that meadow on the right. It's hollow underneath. I fell in there when I was a kid."

Ella immediately retracted her foot, which had already stepped out, her tail frozen in mid-air: "What's inside?"

"Mud."

"Only mud?"

"And there's a toad."

Ella breathed a sigh of relief: "That's alright."

Yinye turned to look at her: "That toad is bigger than your head."

Ella's dog ears perked up instantly, and she took a step back to Arthur: "Something's wrong!"

Arthur didn't speak, walking in the middle of the group, his long platinum blonde hair tied into a neat ponytail, and his ahoge (cowlick) straighter than usual.

She's annoyed.

Chu Sheng stayed by the Queen's side.

This is perfectly normal in theory. Amber had just escaped danger, and Chu Sheng was going to be her "power bank," so it wasn't strange that the two of them stayed together to cover their retreat.

but……

The image of Amber's gaze upon Chu Sheng flashed before Arthur's eyes again, and his grip on his sword tightened.

What are you thinking, Arthur Brunhilde Beowulf!

Chu Sheng was her squire, and her concern for his safety was reasonable, legal, and in accordance with the Imperial Knights' charter!

As for Amber, those are all irrelevant details!

Audrey walked on the other side, her black cloak covering most of her face, her white cat tail peeking out from under the cloak, the tip of the tail brushing against the grass by the roadside.

She didn't say anything.

The new ruler of Cat Territory, the patriarch of the Paladin family, would certainly not show the slightest emotion over such a trivial matter as a human boy being left behind by the Elf Queen.

"Snapped!"

Her tail snapped a vine blocking her path in two. The cat-human scout beside her twitched in fright and quickly ducked, pretending not to see anything.

Audrey said expressionlessly, "These vines are blocking the way."

Arthur glanced at her and said, "Hmm."

Yinye glanced at her as well: "But the vines are by the roadside."

Audrey said casually, "It's an eyesore."

Yinye shut up.

Ella wasn't so complicated. She continued eating and running as usual, picking round fruits when she saw them, sticking her head out of any hole she could squeeze into, and almost chasing a gray rabbit for hundreds of meters when it darted through the bushes.

But every time she ran a short distance, she would turn back and look towards the royal court.

Turning back for the third time, Yinye finally couldn't help but ask, "Why do you keep turning back?"

Ella blinked. "I'm afraid Chu Sheng won't be able to find his way."

Yinye rubbed her temples: "He didn't come along."

"But what if he comes?"

"He was kept by the Queen."

Upon hearing this, Ella's expression immediately turned serious: "Then we should be even more worried."

Yinye's lips twitched: "What are you worried about?"

Ella counted on her fingers: "Worried that Chu Sheng is hungry, worried that Chu Sheng will get lost, worried that Chu Sheng will be held and mated by the Queen!"

After those words were spoken, the road ahead suddenly fell silent.

Ella herself didn't feel too burdened; she simply spoke her mind honestly. After speaking, she felt the problem was difficult to solve, so she took out half a piece of dried fish that Audrey had given her from her pocket and started munching on it.

Eat first, then think – that's Ella's wisdom in life.

Arthur looked at her and suddenly felt the tightness in his chest ease a little.

Audrey pulled her cloak up slightly, her tone flat: "Ambermind is the Elf Queen, she's lived for thousands of years. If she really wanted to keep someone, she wouldn't need to cling to her like that..."

Ella looked at her warily: "Then what will she use?"

Audrey thought for a moment: "The throne, wealth, immortality, or a beautiful face."

Ella panicked even more: "That's terrible! Chu Sheng loves pretty girls the most!"

Yinye felt a chill run down her spine as she listened from the front. She didn't want to get involved; she really didn't want to get involved.

A Holy Sword Knight, a Cat Lord, and an Elf Queen—any one of them is someone she can't afford to offend.

She was just a grey elf, a one-man band, a poor musician who had just learned to smash monsters with giant instruments.

Why make her endure all this?

She wants to go home!

But the thought of going home slowed Yinye's steps.

The trees in front have become shorter. The ancient trees near the royal court are so tall that their tops cannot be seen. The trees on this side of the gray area are more crowded, and their trunks are not straight. They are scattered here and there, with their roots exposed on the ground like a bunch of messy blood vessels.

The soil was grayish-white, the stones were grayish-white, and even the tree bark had a layer of grayish-white on it.

When she was a child, Yinye always thought this place was ugly.

Over at the royal court, there are tall sacred trees, beautiful vine bridges, glowing flowers, and elven ladies in white dresses.

So when she left the Gray Area, she left with remarkable grace.

Carrying a large bag and holding a lute, she stood under the treehouse and shouted to her grandmother, "Just you wait! I will definitely become the number one all-girl band on the continent!"

Grandma was cutting dried meat inside the house, the cleaver making a clattering sound, but I ignored her.

Yinye thought this was incredibly lacking in ceremony. When someone leaves home, their family at least cries, right? Her grandmother didn't even open the window.

She walked quite a distance before discovering that she had a new pair of socks and new clothes stuffed at the bottom of her backpack.

Now that she's slinking back to the Gray Zone, her grandmother will definitely scold her; she can even picture her grandmother's tone.

"Gin-ye, you blockhead, have you caused trouble for others again?"

Thinking of this, Yinye suddenly felt like crying. She quickly lowered her head, pretending to look at the road.

"Are we almost there?" Arthur asked.

Silver Leaf sniffed and nodded: "Almost there. After crossing that wind chime bridge, we'll be on the outer edge of the Gray Domain."

"A wind chime bridge?" Ella's eyes lit up. "Are there wind chimes?"

"They used to," Silverleaf said. "The gray elves would string empty fruit shells together and hang them on the bridge, where they would jingle in the wind. We could hear them from far away when outsiders came in."

"Is it fun?"

"I thought it was noisy when I was a kid," Yinye thought for a moment, "but now that I think about it, it sounds pretty good."

The group continued forward. Soon, a narrow bridge appeared at the end of the woods.

The bridge, constructed of gray vines and planks, spanned a shallow ditch. The ditch was dry, filled only with large patches of cracked, dry mud. Strings of empty fruit shells hung from the vine ropes on either side of the bridge.

Ella tilted her head back, waiting to hear the wind chimes ring. But when the wind blew past, there was no sound at all.

Yinye stopped in front of the bridge and suddenly remembered something.

Yes, she left here in a huff back then, and picked out all the little pebbles from the fruit shells that were responsible for making the sound. How could the wind chimes still ring?