EBE Chapter 23 Neon Forest
Chapter 23 Neon Forest
The darkest hour is just before dawn—this was a saying that Lezhi had heard in his previous life. However, this clearly does not hold true in Jormungandr.
In the days following his awakening in the forest, thanks to the protection of the furball, he was always able to find shelter before it got completely dark. On the first night, Lezhi saw glowing moss in the mine and thought it was a plant that had evolved because it couldn't see sunlight. But seeing the scene in the forest now, he admitted that he had been shortsighted.
Lezhi, who had just woken up after a nap on Maoqiu's back, looked up blankly. The bright moon in the sky was much larger than the moon he had seen in his previous life, and the stars were also more numerous. The night sky was decorated with extraordinary liveliness.
In contrast, beneath them lies the Yunmeng Forest.
The bright moonlight seemed to provide energy to the plants. Lezhi looked down and scanned the jungle below. Almost every plant he could see was emitting its own light, making the jungle, which Lezhi had imagined should be quiet and desolate at night, incredibly beautiful. At this moment, Yunmeng Forest was a city that never sleeps with unique neon lights. It was the time when nocturnal animals were active. In comparison, the jungle at night was even more lively than during the day.
As he watched this scene unfold before his eyes, Lezhi unconsciously began to stroke and knead the fur on Maoqiu's back. He didn't even dare to breathe loudly, for fear of disturbing the order of the forest.
Le Man and the others, who had been watching Le Zhi closely, witnessed Le Zhi's initial enthusiasm for the flight, followed by exhaustion and a deep sleep on Mao Qiu's back, and now his gradual awakening, staring blankly at the night forest. The escort team members exchanged glances, adjusted their positions, and continued to focus on flying.
Only Leman flapped its wings and stepped forward, looking at Lezhi and saying loudly, "Lezhi, you're awake! Are you tired? Hang in there a little longer, we'll be there soon."
"Okay." Lezhi nodded subconsciously in response, then, thinking that Leman might not have seen clearly, she responded loudly again.
Because he had just woken up and hadn't quite controlled his strength, Lezhi's voice was loud and carried through the air to the ears of all the tribespeople around him. Hearing Lezhi's voice, everyone realized he was indeed in good spirits, and the morale of the group was boosted, allowing them to fly with even greater ease.
Even the fluffy ball let out a soft "yes," as if greeting Lezhi, and received a big hug in response.
Throughout the flight, Maoqiu's performance earned the approval of all the Spirit Feather Clan members present. Putting everything else aside, everyone had guessed from seeing the prey it had brought back last time that Maoqiu's flying speed was definitely far beyond its current level.
However, when Maoqiu has Lezhi on its back, its primary concern is never speed, but rather Lezhi's safety and comfort. This can be seen from the fact that Lezhi can even fall asleep on Maoqiu's back during flight. This lively little guy is surprisingly stable when carrying Lezhi.
As a winged race, the Spirit Feather Clan members also need to adjust their flight posture from time to time according to the direction of the airflow when flying. Flying in the air is like swimming in the sea. Depending on the type of wings, each winged race has its own comfortable way of exerting force.
As the fluffy ball flew for so long, no matter how the surrounding Spirit Feather Clan members changed, or what the airflow conditions were, it maintained the same posture. If it weren't for occasionally flapping its wings, the Spirit Feather Clan members would have thought that the fluffy ball had fallen asleep while flying in the air.
With Lezhi's awakening, the flight team seemed to be injected with new vitality, especially Maoqiu, who was noticeably more lively than before. Perhaps Lezhi was bored on Maoqiu's back, so he lay down on Maoqiu's neck and chatted with him from time to time. Maoqiu was very cooperative, responding to every word as always, regardless of whether it understood or not.
Hearing the laughter of the cubs and the intermittent cries of the adult bird behind her, Le Chu, who was flying at the head of the group, smiled slightly.
By this time, the sky had gradually changed color. After these few days, Lezhi knew that Jormungandr also had a normal cycle of the sun and moon. Because they were now in the air, Lezhi quickly noticed the difference in the sky's color.
"It's dawn..." Lezhi murmured in Maoqiu's ear, staring intently at the faint light of day.
"嗻～"
With a long cry, Maoqiu responded to Lezhi, its black eyes reflecting the distant scenery. Its field of vision was clearly wider than that of the Spirit Feather Clan members; the distant landscape was already within its sight, including the Spirit Feather Clan's territory, which was still asleep.
While the other members of the Spirit Feather Clan didn't have Maoqiu's keen eyesight, they had lived here for generations and were very familiar with their surroundings, even knowing the distribution of plants like the back of their hand.
So, apart from Lezhi who was slow to realize it, everyone else perked up, knowing that they were almost home.
Unaware of the tribesmen's sudden increase in flying speed, Lezhi was still perched on Maoqiu's head, admiring the sunrise ahead. Just as he seemed to have caught the direction of the sun's appearance, Lechu took the lead and changed direction.
With his line of sight cut off, Lezhi finally snapped out of his daze and focused on the team's current situation.
At this moment, even Lezhi could see a place in the distance that looked different from the forest. It turned out that they had left Yunmeng Forest sometime earlier and now seemed to have arrived in a large valley. It was surrounded by mountains of all sizes, with gently undulating plains and flowing waterways. Various huge plants, different from those in the forest, were scattered throughout the valley.
It is now the time of transition between day and night, and the plants have withdrawn their light from the previous night, appearing rather unremarkable, completely lacking the splendor of the night. Because of this, the light at this time is actually not as bright as at night.
As Lezhi tried to make out his surroundings in the dim light, Lechu led them in a different direction, past a huge vine, and a strange world appeared before Lezhi's eyes.
Various vines intertwine and grow, some winding and climbing, others soaring straight to the sky, creating a unique order amidst the chaos. Paths are carved out from the gaps between the vines, with special plants planted on both sides to distinguish them. The tall vines also extend branches and connect with each other, intertwining in the air to form aerial forest trails. This place resembles a strange 3D city, layered upon layered, leaving Lezhi, who was seeing it for the first time, dazzled.
Without giving Lezhi much time to observe, Lechu led the group directly over the vines to a more open area. This seemed to be the central square of the clan's territory, but because it was the wrong time, no one was around, making it unusually quiet.
Before Lezhi could react, Lechu took the lead and landed on the square. The Lingyu tribesmen also landed in order. Maoqiu hesitated in the air for a moment, and then, with Lezhi's reassurance, it finally landed slowly.
Unlike the Spirit Feather Clan members who landed silently, the movement of Maoqiu's wings created quite a commotion, which startled the sleeping members of the clan.
Therefore, after the fur ball finally landed smoothly, before Lezhi could even get off its back, he heard all sorts of sounds coming from all directions.
"Who is it? Oh, the chieftain is back..."