The moment Angel stepped into the Lost Forest, a powerful pressure surged in like a tide.
Angel stood still for a moment, sensing: In terms of energy level, the pressure here has already reached the level of an Official Wizard. However, it’s different from a Wizard’s pressure, as its destructiveness is relatively low.
The so-called low destructiveness doesn’t mean it doesn’t destroy. Its essence is fundamentally different from a Wizard’s pressure, which is a shocking force, an oppression from the inside to the outside, from the soul to the flesh. If you don’t have a means to ward it, you’ll suffer severe internal injuries in no time under the pressure.
But the pressure of the Lost Forest, its main purpose is not "shock" but "expel."
It’s more like... a repelling force, more intent on driving you out of the Lost Forest than killing you.
This feeling is very noticeable because as long as you keep advancing, the pressure continuously increases; but once you retreat slightly, the pressure diminishes. It seems to encourage you to retreat rather than advance.
And when you reach the limit of what the pressure can endure, injuries must still be suffered, so it’s not without destructive power. It’s just that compared to a Wizard’s pressure, it appears slightly lacking in destructiveness.
"Mr. Pat, perhaps we should ponder over this thoroughly," Dangross suggested.
Dangross noticed that Angel had stopped moving for a long time after entering the Lost Forest. Worried that Angel was struggling amidst the aura and too embarrassed to retreat, Dangross proposed a way out for Angel.
Angel, unaware of Dangross’s speculation, felt comforted by its concern and reassured it, "It’s fine, I’ll retreat if I can’t endure it."
Saying this, Angel finally began to move forward. His pace was neither too fast nor too slow, appearing not to struggle, with a leisurely strolling demeanor.
A few seconds later, Angel’s figure vanished into the mist.
Watching from the branch, Leaf Groot saw Dangross still looking worried and couldn’t help saying, "Don’t worry, the pressure on the periphery is not very strong. If he can’t bear it, retreating will relieve it. No need to worry too much."
Dangross was taken aback, seeming to realize something, pouting, "I’m not worried at all."
After speaking, Dangross secretly glanced at the position of the Lost Forest, ensuring Angel hadn’t heard, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
Leaf Groot, failing to understand Dangross’s tsundere demeanor, puzzled, "I thought you had a good relationship with Mr. Pat? Did I misunderstand?"
Dangross hesitated for a moment before saying, "My relationship with Mr. Pat is actually, um, alright. But, I prefer Lord Toby over Mr. Pat."
"Lord Toby? You mean that bird?"
"Lord Toby is not an ordinary bird; it’s a transformed shape. Its true identity is the lineage of the ancestors!" Dangross proudly said, with a sense of honor.
"Oh?" Leaf Groot was already curious about the bird that could accompany Angel into the Lost Forest, and now even more intrigued by Dangross’s revelation, "Care to share more?"
When talking about Toby, Dangross’s previous tsundere expression vanished, replaced by frank enthusiasm, "Since His Highness wants to know, then..."
...
Amid the lively discussion outside the Lost Forest, Angel continued to wander through the mist-laden woods.
The pressure on the outskirts of the Lost Forest, for him, had little effect. Even more troublesome than the pressure was the pervasive poisonous mist.
At least, when faced with the poisonous mist, Angel had to preemptively cast a Level 1 Trick ’Expel Toxins’, whereas the pressure he could easily resist merely with the strength of his physical essence.
However, Angel did not become complacent. He clearly sensed that as he delved deeper into the Lost Forest, the surrounding pressure grew increasingly intense, and it was expected to reach True Knowledge Level before long.
Sure enough, when Angel had ventured about ten minutes into the forest, the pressure reached True Knowledge Level.
Facing this level of pressure, Angel became a bit more serious. Though it hadn’t caused him trouble yet, he was sure that he was still on the outskirts of the Lost Forest, and the pressure level hadn’t reached the peak of the Lost Forest. Increasing further, it wouldn’t be so easily managed.
Moreover, along the way, Angel kept silently calculating the amplification curve through energy formulas.
With each updated answer, Angel’s estimate of the pressure peak at the center of the Lost Forest gradually rose. Correspondingly, Nami Midori’s strength level also skyrocketed in Angel’s mind.
Previously, from Frost Iser, he had heard that Nami Midori was the "Crownless King." He was somewhat indifferent then, but if the pressure peak calculations were correct, the title of Crownless King was well-deserved.
Moreover, the scope might not be just the Green Forest Domain, but the entire Tidal World... the Crownless King.
When Angel entered the mid-layer region of the Lost Forest, this notion grew stronger.
Because by then, the surrounding pressure level had exceeded Wallace and was approaching Sanders’ level.
Second-level True Knowledge Wizard pressure!
At this point, he still hadn’t reached the deepest part of the Lost Forest, meaning the pressure hadn’t reached its peak yet.
Angel had initially estimated that the strongest elemental creature in the Tidal World was probably only at the level of a second-level True Knowledge Wizard. But now it seemed he might need to revise this thought.
Perhaps, the strongest entity in the Tidal World could reach the peak of second-level True Knowledge... or even higher.
And this strongest being, without a doubt, is Nami Midori.
The true Crownless King of the Tidal World.
Angel’s walking speed began to slow down. In the outskirts, he even had the mind to observe the scenery, but now, besides moving forward, he maintained a defensive stance throughout, concentrating on resisting external pressure, having no mind to observe the surroundings.
Until Toby suddenly cried out, forcing Angel to divert some attention to survey the exterior.
Angel lifted his head, looking around.
It was still dense fog, with visibility even lower than the periphery.
Yet, oddly, the surrounding trees had become sparse... No, in Angel’s visible range, there were almost no trees at all.
Previously, though Angel hadn’t paid much attention to the surroundings, he could still catch glimpses of dense tree trunks out of the corner of his eye.
But upon reaching here, the trees vanished. What’s happening?
Could it be an illusion technique? But Angel didn’t sense any illusion technique fluctuations.
He looked back and, surprisingly, found that, compared to the misty front, the rear view remained quite clear. It seemed that the one exerting pressure was also using this method to tempt or urge penetration into the dense forest to retreat.
Because the back view was quite clear, Angel could clearly see that there were indeed many trees behind.