1197: Chapter 665: Wherever I Go, Business Follows_3 1197: Chapter 665: Wherever I Go, Business Follows_3 “How long did it take for you to return on your way back?”
“We didn’t keep precise track of the ti.
We set out in the morning and headed back at noon.
By the ti we got back to town, the sky was already darkening.”
“Along the way, did you notice anything abnormal?
Like sothing missing or sothing extra, anything that felt off?”
“We didn’t notice anything wrong before, but now that we think about it, everything seems off.
It’s as if we’ve been going in circles in the jungle all along.”
“Exactly, that’s the feeling.
Many places seed as though they were stamped out from the sa mold.”
“This is a common occurrence in forest paths.
Only the Fae Race can distinguish and na each tree.
When the disappearance happened in Luji Town, we subconsciously amplified the uneasiness this situation caused.”
“Alright, thank you for your cooperation.
You may leave now.
Let the aerial scouting team co in.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
“Tell what you’ve observed.”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, we followed the Lumberjack Trail, which is a path from Dedeluke Town to Luji Town, only five kiloters in distance, but it crosses through the densest part of the King’s Forest.
Aerial landmarks aren’t very clear and can only serve as a reference aid for direction.
Besides that, we also use so taller trees as flight markers.
Every ti we flew past a flight marker three kiloters from Dedeluke Town, the Lumberjack Trail would disappear.
Even if we descended to search, it was the sa, let alone reaching Luji Town.
By the ti we found the Lumberjack Trail again, we had already returned to Dedeluke Town.”
“So you an, after the Lumberjack Trail disappeared, you got lost?”
“Yes, all we could see were trees, all looking the sa; we truly lost our direction.”
“What about the sun?
Why didn’t you navigate by the sun?”
“We did try to navigate by the sun, but upon returning to Dedeluke Town, we realized that we had deviated far from the Lumberjack Trail.
We clearly headed in the southwest direction initially, but when we returned, we were in the northeast direction of the town.
We don’t know when we ended up making this big loop.”
“How many flights did you undertake in total?”
“Eight tis.
We tried eight tis back and forth until it got dark and we couldn’t fly anymore.”
“Was it like that every ti?”
“Yes, it was the sa every ti.
The only difference perhaps was the direction of our return wasn’t consistent.”
“Alright, I understand.
Thank you for the intelligence provided.”
“It’s what we are supposed to do, and we regret that we could not be of any help.”
“Lord Seiobo, the missing ones didn’t also take the Lumberjack Trail, did they?”
“Yes, after continuous failures with aerial scouting, I organized the town’s Purple Dragon Knights and War Mages, with the help of a Ranger and a Druid, to head there along the Lumberjack Trail.
With their speed, they could make a round trip in an hour, but unexpectedly, they didn’t return.
Fearing danger, I did not rashly send a second group and sought imdiate assistance from the palace.
Your Majesty already knows the rest.”
“Alright, I’ve learned nearly everything I need.
Let’s compile all the intelligence we have at hand, and everyone share your thoughts.
There is no right or wrong, we just need to provide a direction for our approach.”
To get firsthand information, the Crown Princess t with all the relevant personnel and inquired about their search process in detail.
The answers she got were all vague, and the interviewees themselves held a multitude of doubts, let alone offering any solutions.
Forest paths are inherently different from regular paths.
Within them, visibility is extrely limited, and the scenery is monotonous, making it easy to lose one’s sense of direction and distance.
The only option is to follow the path ahead, for without it, one might easily get completely lost in the wild forest and beco a al for various forest creatures.
If the forest is vast enough, even aerial flight could result in a loss of direction.
Even if you think you’re flying straight ahead, if you truly mark it down, the flight path might not be straight at all.
Many tis, human perceptions are not accurate.
Lord Seiobo was the first to speak: “I lean towards it being an Illusion Technique, a large-scale magical Barrier that enveloped Luji Town, its surrounding paths, and the forest.
It’s not that they truly disappeared, but rather our senses were misled.
Even if you walk right past it, you wouldn’t know.
The people within Luji Town are also trapped by this illusion, unable to leave from the inside.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Tainalasta shook her head, “There are resident Transcendent Archmages in Luji Town.
If it were just a simple Illusion Technique, even if they couldn’t dispel it, they could rely on True Sight to see through the false and exit to seek help.
Most importantly, Illusion Techniques usually do not possess the ability to prohibit teleportation.”
“There’s another possibility.” Gaven put forward his own speculation, “It could be a dinsional overlap.
Luji Town might have been swallowed by the Ether Plane or the Shadow Plane, realms that are Perable.
When it’s no longer in this Plane, it naturally can’t be found, and the location swallowed is avoided and blurred, creating an effect similar to an Illusion Technique, until it is completely digested and rged as a part of its own, with the two worlds eventually separating again.”
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