Only as he got closer to his current position, the trees became sparser.
So, this wide-open area is not an illusion; it’s inherently so.
When something is out of the ordinary, there is bound to be something wrong.
"Chirp chirp—" At this moment, Toby suddenly jumped out of Angel’s pocket and flew to his shoulder, whispering in his ear.
"You say you want to scout ahead?"
Angel refused without hesitation; the pressure outside was extremely terrifying, and Toby was relatively safe within his protective field. As soon as he left the field, he would immediately be suppressed by the pressure.
Moreover, there wasn’t much necessity for scouting, they weren’t exploring unknown ruins.
Yet Toby flapped his wings and pulled out a platter covered with a special colored glaze from the Snow Feather. He pointed at the platter and chirped a few times to Angel.
Although Angel couldn’t translate the scientific name of the food platter, he still understood the meaning Toby expressed. Toby was telling Angel that the food on this platter was prepared by Greya for him, which could temporarily reduce the effects of negative pressure.
Combined with Toby’s ability to transform into a highly resistant Gryphon or a Snake Bird, along with the food on the platter, it could virtually ignore the pressure outside for a period.
"Then give me some too." Angel eyed the exquisite food platter.
Toby flapped his wings again, explaining that this was specially prepared by Greya according to his physical condition, and eating it would have no effect on Angel.
It was the first time Angel had heard of food being... tailor-prepared. It sounded unreliable, but considering Greya was a Gourmet Sorcerer and was well aware of Toby’s condition, perhaps it really was possible.
"Then be careful. If you encounter an anomaly, don’t rush, come back and tell me. We’ll devise a strategy together."
Angel ultimately agreed to Toby’s proposal.
Although he felt there wasn’t much necessity for scouting at this moment, he thought it wouldn’t hurt to let Toby try since Toby wanted to.
He trusted Toby’s judgment and believed in Toby’s strength.
Also, even if the front was Nami Midori, based on the information he had obtained from Frost Iser, Nami Midori had a deep relationship with Kalomchis, and encountering Toby wouldn’t likely pose much difficulty.
Toby nodded, uncovered the colored glaze from the food platter, and gobbled the small, fragrant dumplings inside. Then, he transformed into an arrow and shot out of Angel’s protective field.
At the moment of leaving the field, Toby transformed into an enormous Gryphon with flames surging all over his body.
He glanced back at Angel and took a leap, plunging into the mist ahead.
Although Toby went ahead to scout, Angel did not stop his steps and continued walking forward.
As he moved forward, Angel had Earl Mi activate the protection of the field while he himself perceived the surrounding conditions.
With his perception, some details that hadn’t been noticed before gradually surfaced.
The "repulsion" enveloping the Lost Forest still existed, occupying the bulk of the feedback from his perception. But apart from the repulsion, Angel also discovered a faint energy fluctuation around.
Though this energy fluctuation wasn’t as strong as the pressure, it was filled with aggression.
This aggression was not unfamiliar to Angel; it was actually a kind of "domain power" declaration. Like a beast carving out its territory using pheromones in body fluids.
The aggression perceived by Angel was a warning to anyone entering this region.
So, by slightly reverse-engineering it, Angel roughly guessed that perhaps this region was the territory of a certain elemental creature?
Precisely because of this, it did not allow other plants to enter here, causing the area to be desolate?
Could it be Nami Midori? From the energy fluctuation, it seemed unlikely.
Then could it be other elemental creatures living in the Lost Forest?
At this moment, Angel regretted just thinking of Nami Midori and not inquiring with Leaf Groot about the existence of other elemental creatures in the Lost Forest.
However, Angel wasn’t deliberately neglecting it. Just that Leaf Groot kept emphasizing that no elemental creature could enter the Lost Forest, causing Angel to develop a misconception that Nami Midori was the only "King" in the Lost Forest.
But now it seemed, that assumption might be wrong.
As Angel thought this, a ball of fire pierced through the mist, flying straight toward him.
Angel did not dodge, allowing the firelight to reach him. Because he had already seen the familiar figure within the fire.
It was Toby, who had gone to scout earlier.
The Gryphon, flying at low altitude and adorned with blazing flames, stopped in front of Angel.
Toby did not revert to his seabird form, maintaining its large form, and softly described to Angel what he saw.
According to Toby’s description, the vicinity for several miles was very desolate, without any plants. The only plant was a tree six or seven hundred meters ahead.
In the vast expanse, this single tree stood alone. Even without Toby’s analysis, it was clear that this tree was definitely unusual.
Toby, remembering Angel’s advice to "not rush," only glanced at the tree half-hidden in the mist from afar before returning.
The specific situation of the tree wasn’t visible to Toby.
After hearing this, Angel could mostly confirm that the tree should be the source of the "aggression" and possibly the first elemental creature he encountered in the Lost Forest.
Toby’s suggestion was to bypass the tree.
They were currently in a narrow depression, and due to the terrain, they must move forward to delve deeper into the Lost Forest. However, according to Toby’s description, the tree didn’t seem large, perhaps only one to two meters taller than Toby’s Gryphon form.
Since the tree was not very large, it was entirely possible to avoid it by detouring through the fog on the side.
This was also why Toby returned hastily, as the tree was not far ahead, and it would be best to deviate from the route now if they wanted to bypass it.
Toby’s suggestion was based on what he saw, but Angel ultimately shook his head, denying this proposal.
"Realizing the energy fluctuation from the other party means we have entered its territory range."
"This also signifies that it has already detected our presence."
Angel paused at this point, his voice gradually lowering: "Moreover, its true form may not be as small as you saw."