Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress

Chapter 121: Dandelion [11] - Ancient Beast Wilderness

After she said this, Alpha continued reporting the rest of her discoveries.

From time to time, she would interject and give her own opinion, earning a nod of approval from Liora.

Whether she agreed with Alpha’s analysis or not, Liora was pleased to see the change in her behavior.

After all, if they were still in the Crucible, Alpha would have never gone to such lengths to express her views.

Perhaps such a change was caused by Alpha’s advancement, or perhaps it was led by her coming into contact with more situations and people.

”The most noteworthy piece of information that I acquired is that the Necronomicon Sect’s stronghold is located near Baron Bloodshield’s fiefdom. Based on what the person inside said, their base is hidden deep within the Ancient Beast Wilderness.”

Ancient Beast Wilderness—this was a term Liora was quite familiar with.

Not only because she had read about it before, but also because she had even personally visited it.

Not in reality, but in a dream.

That’s right.

The Ancient Beast Wilderness that Alpha had just mentioned was the forest where the ”war” between the Founding Emperor and the Twilight Wolf had taken place.

Originally, the Ancient Beast Wilderness stretched throughout the continent and was the natural habitat of neasts, while also being the place where humans were kept in captivity.

However, with the rise of the Founding Emperor and the human race as a whole, the area populated by the beasts gradually grew smaller.

At first, only a small area of it was cleared up, becoming a paradise for humans, but as the years passed and the humans’ influence grew bigger, the Ancient Beast Wilderness suffered.

By now, the forest was only a shell of its former self, covering less than ten percent of the entire mainland.

On the other hand, the Iron Armor Empire—the party that caused its destruction—spanned across the rest of it.

”Of course, although the beasts suffered a heavy beating and were forced to withdraw, the Ancient Beast Wilderness still hides unimaginable dangers.”, Liora thought.

Just based on the scene she had glimpsed in the Twilight Wolf’s memories, she was able to make some inferences:

”There should be a beast that has the power of a Lesser Devil living within the Ancient Beast Wilderness. Otherwise, there is no reason for the Founding Emperor to refrain from annihilating the entire beast race and destroying the forest.”

Fortunately, what Liora was looking for was not the Necronomicon Sect’s headquarters, but merely one of its many strongholds.

Therefore, it was impossible for it to be located too deep into the Ancient Beast Wilderness.

”Although that person didn’t say the exact location, just a rough estimate should be enough for me to discover it.”, Liora brooded.

--

The Ancient Beast Wilderness was located in the northern part of the continent, and although now smaller, it still stretched for countless miles.

Until a few decades ago, beasts would rush out of the forest from time to time and launch sieges on the nearby cities, turning the locals into their food.

But with the rise of various nobles, though such things still occurred, they had become rather rare.

Although the fiefdom of Baron Bloodshield was close to the Ancient Beast Wilderness, there were still a few fiefdoms separating them.

Thus, Liora had to go on a relatively short journey in order to enter it.

Fortunately, with her Shroud Form concealing her Devil characteristics and traits, Liora didn’t face any issues disguising herself as a human and staying in the nearby human cities.

Even though the journey didn’t last for long, it allowed her to collect some precious pieces of information.

This information could also be found in books, but it was completely different to hear it from genuine people than to read it on a lifeless piece of paper.

”The main reason why the beasts are no longer so keen on launching raids on human cities is because of Duchess Lobelia’s rise.”

”According to the rumors, she has long reached the peak of the Great Warrior rank.”

”Only a few years ago, she entered the Ancient Beast Wilderness alone, slaughtering thousands of beasts and shocking everyone. From then on, the beasts—though irrational—knew better than to attack the Iron Armor Empire.”

Though her stay in each city was short, Liora could see the admiration that regular people held for this Duchess.

But it also made sense.

For the people living so close to the Ancient Beast Wilderness—an area that not long ago was full of chaos—Duchess Lobelia was their savior, the person who had made their lives noticeably better.

Perhaps in their minds, the Duchess’s status even exceeded that of the Founding Emperor, someone they had only heard about in songs and read in books written an unknown number of years before.

Shaking her head, Liora didn’t ponder for long.

She understood that whether people admired Duchess Lobelia or not was none of her business.

She didn’t care, nor was she planning to uncover whether the Duchess had entered the Ancient Beast Wilderness in order to help these people, or simply to establish her authority and strength.

Instead, what Liora paid attention to was the thing in front of her.

Or rather, the shadowy, dark forest before her.

Lowering her head, Liora’s eyes traced the land beneath her feet.

Although only a couple of meters separated her from the forest, it seemed as if the two were located in two entirely different worlds, divided by an invisible line.

The land she was standing on was lively, full of lush grass and buzzing insects, while the Ancient Beast Wilderness seemed to represent the concept of death.

With pitch-black earth and shadows contorting around the plants, the forest looked bizarre, more like a place that one would find in the Demon World than in a world inhabited by humans.

Fortunately, a mere forest was not enough to intimidate Liora. Especially when this forest was connected to her next plan.

She knew full well that her next course of action would directly impact her confrontation with the Necronomicon Sect, the Holy Church, and even the unidentified True Devil.

With that in mind, Liora stopped hesitating.

Clasping her hands behind her back, she strode into the forest.

Before long, her lone figure faded away, leaving only a trail of dark shadows along her path.