The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 313: See? Travelling the world broaden our horizon

Chapter 313: See? Travelling the world broaden our horizon

We flew across the meadow and golden fields to the lush green spread on the northern side of Sarteriel, past a canyon and stony mountain where we needed to maneuver carefully because of the wind and the terrain.

That was what Ilya and his griffin, Occia, were here for.

Vrida coated herself in a layer of mana that protected us, her rider, from excessive air pressure and belting wind, following the griffin carefully from behind so we wouldn’t get lost between walls of jagged rock. Of course, in the event that we truly got lost, we could just fly higher until we could see the edge of the rainforest that was our destination. But doing so would strain Vrida’s magic to protect us and herself because she obviously wasn’t an iron bird stuffed with four propeller machines.

So yeah, we had to follow the slower-flying griffin in front of us. I had to say though, compared to riding a wyvern, riding a griffin probably felt closer to riding a motorcycle. It wasn’t as fast as a wyvern, but still fast nonetheless, and more agile due to its smaller size. Fortunately, Ilya was sensible enough to make sure the path that Occia took was big enough for a wyvern to pass.

[Master! It’s different!]

The most energetic one was still my little bird, the seeker of thrill. And yes, the path was different and fascinating. The realm of demons was filled with urban landscapes and farmlands, very few remained as raw, unprocessed nature. The same could be said with the human territory. Even the mountains and valleys had their inhabitants and industry tied up to process resources.

Here, much of the place felt like it had been left untouched since their conception. There were only two city palaces of elvendom, and eighty percent of the elven population lived there. The other twenty were either going out exploring the world, or living together with nature and other races; among the druids and the drows. There was no settlement to be seen on our way, except for the houses of the people who tended to the farm outside the city.

It was probably why the air was so rich with mana and nature’s life force which, in turn, caused everything here to be more massive than the ones in the other realms. Lake as large as a city, rivers wide enough to hold dozens of airships, and a blanket of forest that almost looked like a differently colored sea.

And mountains that made skyscrapers look tiny.

Demon and Human Realms looked flat all of a sudden.

I had never found myself surrounded by stony walls before. It felt like we were caving, but airborne--and sometimes, we did need to go through short tunnels. Most of the stone walls were bare, giving the bleak and eerie feeling of entrapment--not to mention the sound of wailing wind that added to the horror vibe. But sometimes, the stone walls would be scaled by flowers jutting out between rocky surfaces like beautiful wallpapers, and gosh...when it happened, it was just beautiful.

And then, suddenly, a giant wall was upon us, and Ilya gave a signal, pointing into a cavern slightly below. It was just wide enough for Vrida to span its wings, and for a while, we had to compress ourselves on her back as she squeezed through the space. But not long after, the space opened up to a large cavity inside the mountain. The stone wall surrounding us was filled with glowing flowers, cascading far below, into the sound of running water.

"The river below is the passage used by the drows to go to the other side of the mountain," Ilya told us amid the whipping sound of wings as we flew across the underground canyon to another opening on the other side.

So I guessed this one was the air passage.

Looking down, I felt tempted to go and see what the underground city of the drows looked like. I had heard they fashioned lamps from glowing jewels, and grew these glowing flowers to illuminate their settlements. It must have been beautiful in its own way.

Maybe later, if we had the time after finishing our business with the druid. I wondered if I could bring back some other trinkets for Doun to use, since he liked exploring his drow heritage.

But for now, Occia and Vrida had arrived on the other side of the cavern, and we could see the sunlight again. I had to close my eyes for a second because of it, and by the time I opened them, Vrida had landed on a cliff outside the cavern.

And there it was, below the cliff, stretched as far as my eyes could see like a sea of trees; the Great Forest of Alnin.

I took a deep breath, and it felt like all the cells in my body were waking up. The tip of my fingers trembled slightly for an incomprehensible feeling of nostalgia. How? I had never stepped foot here in my life. But I guessed it was genetics; the druid in me that was calling for the homeland.

[Master...]

Even my little bird was gasping and sighing, flying into my embrace and looking at me with big, round, awestruck eyes.

"Yeah, baby, it’s wonderful," stroking Jade’s colorful plumes, I realized now that I had experienced this feeling before—in my dream; the forest and the garden where Mother resided.

"The post is down there," Ilya said as he hopped off the griffin. "This is the last stop for flying mounts. We’ll continue on foot from now on."

Below the cliff, there was an opening of the tunnel for the underground river passage. Several building was built around that place; some attached to the cliff itself. That must be the post that Ilya talked about. I could see some stores there, selling provisions and materials for the travelers coming here to rest.

Not far from this post, the river split in two directions, like a T-junction. If we crossed that junction, we’d arrive at the pathway leading to the entrance of the Great Forest, where we would meet a barrier. Without a guide--like the druid we would meet in this post--we would end up getting lost in the illusion magic as if the forest turned into an endless labyrinth.

Natha helped me to the ground, and I spent a few minutes saying goodbye to Vrida again. Unlike before, there were flying mount’s keepers here, so I could ask them to give Vrida some grooming later. But she had to wait for us again, hopefully not for long. She was a bit sad, but the mountainous area bordering a forest was similar to her natural habitat, so she was more comfortable here than around the elven palace.

Following Ilya, we walked down a stone staircase to the first building attached to the cliff--some kind of watchtower-cum-office, apparently. A pair of drows were on duty to register our mounts, how many entities were in our group, and ask about our objective.

Basically, a customs gate.

Ilya took out a badge and a parchment, taking care of it on our behalf. "I’m a Sarteriel envoy accompanying His Highness Valen Valmeier Sil Seahl and The Lord of Greed, Matsa Ra Natha for the Chief Council’s meeting."

Oh, how embarrassing! Did he really need to spell my name like that? With the title?

I buried my flustered face in my palm after I watched the drows pause, part their lips, and scramble on their feet. I had no idea what happened after that because I tuned out my mind from embarrassment. I heard they talked in elvish and felt Natha lead me to a room with a suppressed laugh.

The room wasn’t a room as much as a tavern. There was a drink booth, an information board, as well as many tables and chairs. We were on the second floor, which was empty at the moment, and had more comfortable chairs than the wooden ones downstairs.

Refreshing drinks were served, and I welcomed them gratefully since our ride this time did not leave us a chance to take any drink or snack on the way--too unstable, too many aero maneuvers. Right after I finished my drink, two people came up hurriedly; a drow and a druid. The druid must be our guide, and the drow seemed to be the leader of this post.

"Forgive me for the delayed welcome, Your Highness." Both the drow and the druid bent their waist politely in greeting.

Mother! Would a day come when I got used to being called that? It was good that I had finished my drink, or I might spit and choke on it from the cringe.

"No need to be so polite," I swallowed my sigh and focused on the druid so we could get on with the business. "I was told we should move before the sun shifted too much, so I don’t think we should stay for long."

"Are you sure? You’re not going to rest more?" Natha asked, sliding his drink in front of me.

I took the drink--which almost tasted carbonated, probably from a spring--but also shook my head. "I’m a druid; I have stamina as long as I have mana."

And here, the elemental mana which was my main staple was in abundance.

Also...

I shifted closer to Natha and whispered to him. "Dark forest at night scares me."

And dark forest who seemed to have their own mind and enchanted with a barrier that made people lost? Nightmare, I told you. Nightmare--and not the handsome, wealthy type.

Natha raised his brow, before bursting into a soft laugh. "Alright," he nodded. "Let’s reach the tribe before nightfall."