for Advance Chapter
Chapter 4
More than ten days later, having completely mastered the Force, Neil utilized its power to move and leap among the tree branches.
His movements were highly intense, yet with the assistance of the Force, they became entirely silent, making him resemble a pure white owl threading through the forest.
This was Neil exploring the boundaries of the forest; the vastness of this woodland surpassed his imagination, for even after traversing dozens of kilometers, the scenery remained entirely unchanged.
After conducting several scouts under the guise of hunting, Neil made up his mind to investigate even deeper.
Of course, such urgency to find a way out might perhaps have been to avoid Lanya and Uncle Rischel, who were growing increasingly intimate back in the settlement.
Using cultivation as an excuse to leave the settlement, he had already been advancing continuously in a single direction for two days.
Neil estimated that his speed of advancement was not inferior to that of a road bicycle riding on flat ground.
After two days of rushing, he roughly estimated that he had advanced at least four to five hundred kilometers, a distance almost equivalent to crossing half a province.
Now, on the morning of the third day, the woods finally began to thin out, indicating that he was about to step out of the forest.
After leaping among the tree branches for another two hours or so, he finally reached a place where the distance between the branches was too far to leap across.
Neil switched to traveling on foot instead.
Even though his walking speed was slightly slower, after another hour had passed, the view suddenly opened up.
An endless sea unfolded before Neil’s eyes as a slightly briny, damp air rushed over his face, and deep blue seawater continuously crashed against the jagged, rocky beach, breaking into foam.
Neil was somewhat surprised; it was highly possible that the forest where the elven city-state was located was an island or perhaps a peninsula.
Standing atop a cliff face, Neil gazed as far as his eyes could see, but except for the deep blue surface of the sea, there was absolutely nothing.
He spent another two days advancing continuously along the coastline.
Passing along the curved coastline, Neil finally understood his own speculation: this was at least a peninsula, and as for whether it was an island, it would still require a few more days of exploration to fully comprehend.
On the bright and beautiful coast, a fair, naked figure was exceptionally eye-catching.
That was Neil, carrying his bow and arrows on his back.
Due to the presence of magic, he would not get sunburnt at all.
As he passed by a certain beach, a massive sea vessel suddenly leaped into Neil’s field of vision.
Having not seen any signs of human habitation for several days, Neil caught his breath and hurriedly hid behind a rock to observe.
Once he saw clearly, Neil discovered that the sea vessel was anchored in the seawater slightly over half a kilometer away from the beach.
Meanwhile, a camp of considerable scale had already been set up on the shore.
Neil’s thoughts raced rapidly: Who are these people?
Pirates?
Everything was plunged into a dense fog, completely unclear.
Not knowing the background of these people, Neil did not dare to show himself rashly and could only continue to observe.
Very quickly, Neil spotted mysterious figures wearing black hoods and black robes, as well as the presence of human guards clad in helmets and armor.
They did not look like pirates, and to call them explorers felt entirely too gloomy, which also seemed unlikely.
It wasn’t until night fell and campfires were lit in the camp that Neil could finally see the faces of most of the people.
Munching on a cold, damp strip of meat, Neil observed the crowd around the campfire without blinking.
It was very obvious that these people were divided into two parts.
One part consisted of the people in black hooded robes, and this group was relatively small.
The majority were people who looked like guards wearing armor, and the object of their protection was a young noble dressed in luxurious clothing, who even had two maidservants with him.
This kind of combination left Neil somewhat bewildered, but it was very clear that these two groups of people were not of the same faction.
There was an obvious state of alertness and defensiveness between them.
Soon after the two groups finished eating, everyone except for a small number of guards returned to the tents.
Neil also moved slightly away from the coastline to rest in the canopy of a large tree.
He would have to continue his observations tomorrow; being entirely alone, he could not afford not to be vigilant.