Chapter 85: Apprehension
The scenery shifted, and Bai felt her consciousness being pulled into another space.
She frowned, a sense of unease washing over her, but she didn’t resist.
When she opened her eyes again, she was in a desolate, empty plain.
“This must be the sacrificial ground…”
Unlike Lin Yan and Eleanor, Bai’s control over her consciousness was far more refined. She knew she was no longer in the real world.
“Present… your offering…” the voice of the Wild God echoed, devoid of emotion.
And with it, a crushing pressure, growing stronger and stronger, bearing down on her consciousness, impossible to resist.
“This is the Wild God? It feels a bit… strange…”
With a thought, she shrugged off the pressure.
It wasn’t weak, but it was… robotic, like a machine following a program.
If a true powerful being, like Zi or Shaya, had been exerting this pressure, she wouldn’t have been able to resist it so easily.
The Wild God, despite its name, was no match for them.
It was a bit… disappointing.
“Present… your offering…” the voice boomed again, oblivious to the fact that she had already broken free.
Bai took out the offerings she had prepared, having already given Isabelle her share.
“Offering…”
An invisible hand reached out from the void, grabbing for the offerings.
Bai, sensing the power of the hand, looked up, her gaze piercing through the space, to the owner of the hand.
“I see you,” she said softly.
The hand froze, inches from the offerings.
“Off… off…” the Wild God’s voice stammered.
“…It’s… you… little… fox…”
A mixture of anger and terror.
The hand shattered, and the consciousness space collapsed, fading into nothing.
Bai thought she saw a figure fleeing in terror, but it was just an illusion.
“But… it didn’t take my offering?”
She looked at the beast hearts in her hand, confused.
As the space collapsed, Isabelle reappeared, also holding a beast heart, a look of bewilderment on her face.
“What happened?” she asked, her intuition telling her Bai was responsible.
“I don’t know…” Bai said, blinking innocently.
She had just been curious about the Wild God. When she saw the invisible hand, she had simply followed its aura back to its source.
And then… it had run away?
Wait, another one?
She remembered Queen Arachne, in the Tide of Madness, had also run away… but her avatar had been strong enough to at least fight her for a while.
And it was just an avatar. She didn’t understand why the Queen had been so afraid.
“Bai, are you famous among the beastkin?” Isabelle asked. Although she had been sulking, she had sensed the Queen’s presence, and her fear.
“…Not really. I mostly fought in the Abyssal Demon Realm… oh, we’re out. You should go back into my shadow,” Bai said, almost revealing her past.
Isabelle, knowing it was best to remain hidden, nodded, her curiosity suppressed.
The light faded, and the sky returned to its usual gloomy state, a chilling aura in the air.
Before them was a silent town, and in the distance, the crimson nest loomed.
“The Wild God Altar…” Bai murmured, then heard a surprised cry from behind her.
“Bai!”
“Hmm?” Bai’s steps faltered, her expression freezing.
How had she been recognized so quickly?
Wait, that voice… it was familiar…
She turned to see another figure, dressed similarly to herself, holding a stone tablet, scribbling something.
“No, wait, I’m not finished yet…” the figure said, then looked up, pinching her own cheek.
Bai remembered. A corner of her mouth twitched.
“Eleanor?”
“Mm-hmm,” Eleanor nodded, pulling down her hood and mask, revealing her face.
“Wait, how did you recognize me?” Bai asked, surprised. She had concealed all her features.
“Hmm… intuition?” Eleanor said, stroking her chin. “Actually, your height is very unique. Easy to recognize. Usually only children under ten are this short… no, wait, even children under ten aren’t this short.”
Bai: “…”
Her height was a sore spot. No matter which form she took, she couldn’t change it. Even Ara, as a child, had been taller than her.
“Never mind. I won’t argue with you,” Bai huffed, then remembered what she had been looking for.
“By the way, Eleanor, do you have the sacred artifact fragments with you?”
She had been planning to go back to the Bewildering Forest to find her, but now, she had come to her.
“Of course!” Eleanor said, her hands on her hips, and carefully pulled out a small package.
“I was going to use them to construct a finding circle to look for you, but then you appeared…”
“…What a coincidence,” Bai said, taking the package. “So you used this to find me near the Wild God Altar?”
“No, it seems a lot of people know you’re here,” Eleanor replied.
“Hmm?” Bai’s eyes widened. “I haven’t caused any trouble, have I?”
She still didn’t know that she was the reason for the massive mobilization of beastkin troops.
She had no idea what she represented to Queen Arachne.
“I don’t know. I just… asked around. Your appearance is pretty easy to recognize. And besides…”
Eleanor pulled out a notice. It was an intelligence report she had received as the leader of the Bewildering Forest’s cooperation squad.
“A message from the human Empire. They said you were here, so I came looking for you.”
“The North Empire… did they use a device?”
During her time in the Knights, they had had devices to detect demonic power, but their range had been limited.
But now, with the legacy of Vikarn, the North Empire’s technology had improved significantly.
