Chapter 7: The Exiled Skade
George continued to maintain a stoic demeanor.
But Jima could sense that he was in a bad mood.
“We’ll continue our journey tomorrow,” George said, “but we need some gifts to communicate with the wood elves.”
After saying that, George stood up, hastily finished a few bites of grilled fish, then turned and took a few strides towards the burning pile of corpses, pulling out the body of a champion demon warrior. He decapitated it, bringing the head along with its helmet, and casually placed it by the bonfire.
The head and the terrifying giant horned helmet were together, with the skull deformed and several scars marred the face.
Had he already been corrupted by the Blood God?
Jima’s eyes lit up, feeling hopeful for the future, and she stroked the Lianxi cat on her thigh more gently.
However, the Lianxi cat felt that her previous position had pleased Jima, so she wriggled her body, presenting the soft part of her belly to Jima’s hand.
“A good gift,” Jima said, “provided that the Griffin Forest is still intact.”
“The magic forest of the wood elves is easy to defend but hard to attack,” George said. “And I’ve heard that there are extremely powerful supernatural beings in the Griffin Forest, along with a bunch of terrifying tree spirits guarding it.”
That night.
The two engaged in acts of mutual pleasure again, not far from the burned-down town.
Jima felt that George had become addicted to such activities, or perhaps he had always been addicted.
Because just like a chain smoker, whenever something went wrong, he would take a few harsh draws, pulling hard.
Jima gradually found it unbearable, commanding, insulting, reasoning, and pleading in his ear, and finally, her mouth emitted incoherent grunts.
The Lianxi cat observed the entire process, glancing occasionally at the burned-down town and the charred corpses within.
The environment was extremely harsh.
She still remembered that during a few rare times when Jima was in the wild on Earth, he had high demands for the environment. He at least required the grass to be covered with soft blankets, the scenery in the distance must be beautiful, and there should be some outdoor furniture nearby.
The next afternoon.
As they traveled, this time George didn’t meddle as much; their speed increased significantly, and Jima held on to him while they crossed several geographical abysses.
Thus, they arrived at the Griffin Forest, where they saw patches of trees standing dead on the blackened earth.
There were no main roads in the Griffin Forest, but in the silence of the charred woods, they found a path, a path made by the feet of countless beings.
These feet had conquered the underbrush and the rugged paths of the Griffin Forest and even tore through riverbeds.
Jima and George proceeded cautiously.
Along the way, they saw many decapitated bodies of wood elves lying among the trees. Their corpses were quite “fresh,” and now and then, twisted hunting dogs would come to gnaw at the bodies. There were simply too many corpses; thus, the twisted dogs first tore off the behinds of the wood elf corpses, while the female bodies had their chests and behinds chewed on.
“Something’s not right,” George examined the corpses, noticing some wounds still bleeding. “Theoretically, they should have been dead for a long time.”
“The Blood God’s magic has corrupted their corpses,” Jima said. “The Blood God loves blood, so their bodies remain fresh and still bleed.”
George remarked, “I had always wondered where so many producers came from to sustain carnivorous creatures in such a barren place.”
“Exactly,” Jima said. “The demon realm seems barren, but I can create a beautiful palace in that desolation, flowing with milk and honey, all thanks to the blessings of the Four Gods.”
George shook his head. “That’s not a blessing; it’s twisting and manipulating nature according to one’s evil will. Earth has the most natural environment.”
They continued forward in the charred woods and soon saw a life tree, the size of an entire city, blackened and still burning, with smoke constantly billowing from its crown as fierce flames blazed.
The two continued to approach, finally stopping under a charred old banyan tree to observe; beneath the old banyan tree was a boundary stone inscribed with elvish script—intruders seeing this word will die.
Generally, the wood elves have a hospitable attitude towards those who intentionally or inadvertently trespass in their woods, either offering a lavish dinner and getting them drunk to sacrifice them or entertaining them with a slender, red-haired elf who dances in light clothing, displaying the tattoos on her skin and the blade in her hand.
Typically, guests would gradually lose their organs during the dance with the blade.
“Clearly, the End of the World Legion that comes to the Griffin Forest is even more hospitable,” Jima commented, eyeing the boundary stone that had been stepped on, making a witty remark that George didn’t understand.
Under the life tree, a troop of the End of the World Legion was stationed, primarily made up of servants of the Blood God. They lived in the towns beneath the wood elves, surrounding a circle of blacksmiths at the base of the tree, with molten iron, glowing sword blades, and gray-black smoke.
Demon forgers used red-hot iron pincers to grab skulls containing the souls of the defeated and cast them into the furnace, blending the soul of the defeated with demon weaponry amidst the screams.
An endless stream of demon weapons and armor was forged here and continuously supplied to the front lines.
George’s face turned a deep shade of blue, and Jima felt the mild swelling below more clearly; she licked her lips, suppressing the uneasy butterflies and said:
“I have good news; they’ve collected magical items from the entire Griffin Forest, and there should still be some clothes in there.”
“Great,” George took a deep breath. “Let’s find the right spot and infiltrate.”
The “straight branch” in Jima’s hand trembled, emanating a sense of overwhelming murderous intent from beneath the life tree.
Suddenly, a towering blood god demon, nearly five meters tall, stepped out. He wore an angry expression, which was not surprising, as the blood god demons were never without anger.
But he was particularly special; his injuries seemed very severe.
One pair of wings was broken and could not fly. He had nearly a third of the flesh missing from his face, revealing white bone beneath, with eyes radiating blue light from one socket and red from the other.
In both hands, he wielded two enormous axes.
“Is he…” George’s expression grew serious. “Bad news? I think I’ve heard of him.”
“Indeed, it’s bad news,” Jima said, rarely serious. “I have a bit of… uh, a bloody history with him; I gave him quite a beating.”
George knew that Jima was lying.
“In any case, we are somewhat acquainted,” Jima continued, “His name is Skade. He was once the most powerful demon under the Blood God and nearly conquered the Realm of Lust. The Four Gods were just a little short of becoming three. But unfortunately, his brain is dull and his ambitions are vast—he actually swung an axe at the back of the Blood God’s head.
“Though we always joked in private that the Blood God had broken legs and could only sit on the divine throne all day, I didn’t really think he was weak.
“Skade proved this point; his sneak attack succeeded, but it only caused the Blood God to lower his head slightly before the Blood God flew into a rage, grabbed his neck, and dragged him all the way to the top of the Bronze Fortress, directly throwing him out in front of all the demons.
“It is said that he flew for seven days before landing, and afterward, he became this way. I heard he was deceived by the Lord of Deceit, and to gain the Blood God’s forgiveness, he has been beheading every day, up to now, for a thousand years, but the Blood God still has not forgiven him.”
George nodded. “So, does that mean he hasn’t died in this thousand years?”
“Correct. The Blood God forsook him, so he can’t be revived,” Jima said. “Plus, he’s brainless; he swings his axe at anyone he sees, so he hasn’t died yet. Therefore, if we want our plan to succeed, it’s best to avoid him.”
“That would be for the best.”
One hour later.
The two were running wildly, holding a mountain of spoils.
“Meow!!” The Lianxi cat’s tail was on fire, clinging tightly to Jima’s antler.
Behind them, Skade roared, charging forward: “Damn little thieves! I’ll chop you up!!! Killing you a thousand times wouldn’t be enough!!!”
While running, he cleaved the blocking demon warriors in half with his axe, turning them into scrap metal and hurling their remains at the two.
Despite having broken wings, he couldn’t fly but somehow ran faster than George on his two legs.
“George! It looks like we’re going to have to fight,” Jima said. “Just in time, he’s separated from the main force.”
