Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 274 Endless Forest 5

Two days later, Caesars finally reached the other side of the Grand Canyon. The setting sun cast a golden-red glow over the steep cliffs. He looked up and saw a nearly vertical cliff rising from the ground. The gray-black rock face was dotted with a few stubborn shrubs, looming over three hundred meters above. A biting mountain wind howled up from the depths of the canyon, ripping his long, jet-black hair.

"Looks like we'll have to resort to some drastic measures." Caesars knelt down, gently stroking the puppy's furry head. The creature was sniffing the ground excitedly, its round belly almost touching the fallen leaves. He whispered an ancient spell, a faint blue light emanating from his fingertips. First, the spell "Feather Fall" enveloped the puppy, then the golden magic pattern of "Levitation" sank into its fluffy fur. The puppy was surprised to find its paws suddenly felt light and uncontrollably floated into the air, causing it to kick in panic.

Elemental wings unfurled behind Caesars, their jet-black feathers shimmering with dark elemental light. He carefully embraced the frightened puppy, feeling the levitation technique make the fat dog feel like a ball of cotton. As the wings fluttered, they began to soar up the rock face. The puppy quickly adapted to flight, even boldly poking its head out of Caesars' arms and barking at the shrinking canyon below, then closing its eyes again in fear of heights.

When the soles of his boots finally touched the edge of the western cliff, Kaisas folded his elemental wings and took a deep breath of the air filled with the fragrance of trees, flowers and plants.

This was the border of the elven territory. The soft fallen leaves beneath his feet were a stark contrast to the dry soil to the east. He took out the animal hide map Old Ethan had given him. A pale green dot of light indicated the location of Watchtower—three hundred miles north along the Grand Canyon, a war site shrouded in ancient magic.

"Don't run too far, you damn dog!" Caesars hurriedly called back the over-excited puppy, which was flopping around in the fallen leaves, its chubby body bouncing on the thick humus like a ball of fur.

The trees here were breathtakingly massive. Spruce trees, so large that twenty people could hug them, stood like natural pillars, their canopies interwoven into a dense, opaque dome high in the sky. Occasionally, sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting swaying spots of light on the golden fallen leaves that covered the ground.

The puppy's ears suddenly perked up, its nose twitching violently. The next second, it dove into the sea of ​​fallen leaves, having probably spotted some small prey. A rising wave of leaves advanced rapidly, accompanied by a rustling sound. Caesars smiled wryly, using his staff to push aside the vines blocking his path, and pursued with shallow, deep steps. Each lift of his moccasins lifted a clump of rotting leaves, emitting a musty, earthy scent.

"I hope the fat dog isn't chasing a hedgehog..."

Kaesus gazed at the nearby horizon, muttering to himself. The forest grew darker, and the tip of his staff glowed with the soft light of illumination. In the interplay of light and shadow, he saw a puppy chasing a glowing blue-tailed lizard. The creature nimbly darted among the tree roots, its blue tail like a swaying lantern. Farther away, deep in the dense forest, the remains of a ruined stone wall, covered in glowing vines, could be seen—these must be the remains of the ancient elven king's city.

The puppy came back dejected, having obviously failed to catch the tiny blue-tailed lizard, which had nimbly slipped into the cracks between the rocks and disappeared without a trace.

"You damn dog, we can only spend the night in these ruins. The fallen leaves in the forest are too thick, and it's too troublesome to clean them up. Go find a flat place in the ruins first!"

The fallen leaves piled high in the forest, making it difficult to light a bonfire in such an environment. A single mistake could easily spark a terrible fire. If he burned down the Endless Forest, the elves would likely come after him.

After receiving the order, the puppy rushed to the ruins full of huge rocks like an arrow. After a while, it was heard howling in the ruins.

"Looks like it's found the right place," Kaesus muttered to himself. Leaning on his dragon-bloodwood staff, he slowly followed the puppy's voice and walked into the ruins of the Elven King's City, long forgotten by time.

From a distance, the ruins resemble rolling hills, most of which are covered in dense vegetation, with vines crisscrossing. Without an ancient map to guide you, it would be hard to believe that this was once a prosperous city.

The puppy stood on a high place, about ten meters above the ground. It held its head high and chest puffed out, howling majestically at Caesars.

Kaisas was struggling to move forward in the ruins, with dense vines on both sides of him. These vines were extremely thick, each as thick as an arm, and they were tightly entwined, making it almost impossible to pass through.

Although the staff in Caesar's hand was powerful, it seemed powerless in the face of such dense vines. His staff could not pick apart the vines, and cutting them was too troublesome.

In desperation, Caesars had to cast a few small spells, using the power of the spells to slide and jump several times between the vines, and finally arrived at the location of the puppy.

This place looked like a stone platform, perhaps a section of the city wall that hadn't completely collapsed. Its surface was perfectly smooth, clearly carved by magic. It was constructed from black steel rock blocks, with alchemical glue filling the spaces between them, making the platform incredibly solid.

Caesars carefully observed the stone platform and found that no plants grew there. He speculated that this place must have been part of the city wall. The black steel rock came from deep underground. Its hardness was comparable to that of magic steel, and it was a common material used by elves to build city walls.

As the sun set, its afterglow cast a shadow over the forest, gradually dimming the light. Caesar knew that night was approaching, and he needed to prepare dinner quickly.

For dinner today, Caesars decided to make an omelet. He took out some earth dragon eggs from his bag, which the pup had stolen from the earth dragon's lair.

The ground dragon's egg was over a meter long and weighed an astonishing 200 kilograms! However, he and the puppy only ate such a huge egg once. This was not because they had small appetites, but because the ground dragon egg tasted so fishy that it was difficult to swallow.

But today, he accidentally found a few herbs in the forest that could remove the fishy smell. With these herbs, he was finally willing to try cooking with the egg liquid of the ground dragon again.

Kaisas skillfully poured the egg liquid with herbs into the pan and slowly fried it over low heat. As time passed, the egg liquid gradually solidified in the pan and began to emit waves of tempting aroma.

Before long, a golden, crispy omelet was ready. Next, Caesars began preparing the other ingredients. He diced the marinated beef, carefully chopped up a few flame flowers, and selected some fruit from the Endless Forest, also dicing them.

After everything was ready, Kaisas placed the ingredients one by one on the omelet, then gently rolled up the thin omelet. Finally, he continued to fry it over low heat for three to five minutes to make the surface of the omelet more golden and crispy.

"Dead dog, come here and smell it, the fishy smell of the egg liquid is almost gone!" Caesars shouted excitedly to the puppy beside him.

The puppy's sense of smell was exceptionally sharp. Standing nearby, it had already detected that the fishy odor in the air had faded to a minimum. Now, it was intently sniffing the herbs that could eliminate the odor, as if to deeply imprint this unique scent into its memory. Because in the distant southern continent, many ground dragon eggs were waiting for it to discover.

At dinner time, the fragrant omelet was placed on the plate, and four-fifths of this delicacy belonged to the puppy. Although this guy is small, his appetite is amazing. One meal is enough to keep Kaisas full for the whole day.

After a hearty meal, Kaisas sat contentedly on a soft animal hide mat and began to take stock of the two days' harvest. The Endless Forest's Grand Canyon truly lived up to its reputation; not only was the scenery breathtaking, but it was also filled with a wide variety of medicinal herbs. After two days of hard work, Kaisas had gathered enough herbs to compensate for the losses in the crater. He had also successfully stored more than a dozen precious golden ginseng plants, and as for high-grade herbs, he had countless more.

The endless forest at dawn was shrouded in a silvery-blue mist, as if the entire world were immersed in liquid crystal. Caesars stood outside his armored leather tent, feeling the air's moisture, almost palpable. Dewdrops condensed on the tent's surface shimmered strangely in the morning light. Each drop, perfectly rounded as if enchanted, slid slowly down the lines of the waterproof leather, making a barely perceptible sound as it slid to the ground.

He took a deep breath, the unique scent of the forest filling his lungs—the damp earth, the decaying fallen leaves, the faint fragrance of unknown wildflowers in the distance, and the ancient magical energy that forever lingered in the endless forest, intoxicating like a fine vintage. Caesars stretched his shoulders, the muscles beneath his magic robes tensing slightly.

"Looks like we have to wait for the wind again today!"

Caesars muttered to himself, his voice muffled by the thick humid air. His gaze swept over the surrounding ferns, bent by the dew, each leaf tip dangling with drops of water, ready to drip. If we ventured forward in this humidity, within ten minutes we'd be like freshly fished out of the river.

There was a rustling sound in the tent, and then a dark red thing jumped out - it was a fat puppy.

The puppy rushed into the bushes, its dark red fur faintly visible red lines, when moving quickly to produce visual afterimages, like a trail of small shooting stars. At this moment, these lines were flashing excitedly, showing the puppy's high spirits.

Kaisas shook his head helplessly. The pup was always curious about the forest, and every day he would go on this morning adventure. As expected, within two minutes, the guy returned with drooping ears, his fur wet and covered with broken leaves and mud.

"You damn dog, you have to get wet every day?"

The puppy whimpered in frustration and shook itself, sending water droplets flying everywhere. Caesars quickly formed a hand seal and whispered a cleansing spell. A faint blue light flashed, and the moisture and stains on the puppy instantly vanished. The puppy instantly perked up, rubbing its head affectionately against Caesars's calf.

Caesars looked up at the sky. The treetops in the east were already tinged with gold, but the sunlight had not yet directly reached the forest floor. He knew that the wind in the Endless Forest was always punctual—it arrived a few minutes after the sun had truly penetrated the trees and would linger for about half an hour, carrying away the moisture from the surface. This was the forest breathing, as recorded in the ancient books of the Magic Tower.

As if to confirm his thoughts, the first ray of sunlight finally penetrated the layers of treetops, piercing the mist-shrouded forest like a golden sword. Countless tiny droplets shimmered within the beam of light, like disturbed spirits. Caesars narrowed his eyes, noticing that the light points weren't drifting randomly, but rather following a strange trajectory.

"Here it comes." He whispered.

Almost immediately, the treetops began to tremble gently. The tremor quickly spread, sweeping across the entire forest like an invisible wave. A subtle rustling sound quickly developed into a distinct whistling sound. The leaves began to shake violently, and the old branches groaned under the weight.

The puppy suddenly pricked up its ears and turned north. Caesars also sensed something—something in the wind. Not a physical object, but a subtle shift in aura, like the lingering echo of some ancient magic.

"You feel it too?" Caesars whispered. The puppy didn't respond, but its tail stood stiffly upright, its eyes fixed on the layers of tree shadows in the north.

The wind grew stronger, carrying with it the unique song of the forest—the rustling of leaves, the creaking of branches, the rippling of a distant puddle, and those whispers whose source was never clearly identifiable. Caesars watched as countless golden, aged leaves were swept up by the wind, dancing their final dance in the air. They twirled and fluttered, some becoming almost transparent in the sunlight, like a flock of weary butterflies rushing towards their destined destination.

As the gusts of wind continued, the forest began to dry out. The water droplets on the tent disappeared, the fallen leaves no longer shimmered with water, and even the thick dampness in the air lessened considerably.

"It's time to go!" he said to Nightshadow, but the puppy was still staring north, making a low whimpering sound in his throat.

The wind died down, and the forest completed its morning ritual. Sunlight now streamed down unimpeded, gilding everything with a warm, golden edge. Caesars took one last look around the camp, making sure he hadn't left any traces. As he turned north, a breeze, much lighter than before, brushed his cheeks, bringing with it a faint fragrance—like the crispness of melting ice and snow, or the scent of some flower he had never smelled before.

"It seems something awaits us in the north," Caesar muttered. With a gesture, the pup scurried back to his feet, its gaze still flickering into the distance. Caesar adjusted the shoulder straps of his backpack and set off into the gradually brightening forest. His boots crackled against the dry, fallen leaves.

As they advanced, the forest landscape began to subtly change. The distance between trees gradually increased, and the lines on the bark became deeper, some even taking on patterns resembling magic patterns.

"It seems that our journey may be more interesting than expected." Caesar said softly.

The puppy nudged his boots with its nose, urging him on. Caesars took one last look at the mysterious pattern, took a deep breath, and set out again on his journey north. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows beneath his feet. The shadows swayed gently in the breeze, like countless eyes opening and closing.

The forest stretched out ahead, deep and mysterious, seemingly endless.