Chapter 212 - Beast plans

“What do you think, White?” Adion asked, turning away from his painting to look at the big wolf lying peacefully just behind him. 

White’s large eyes flickered open, and when he saw the painting, he asked, “Is that me?”

“Sure is,” Adion said. With White by his side, Adion didn’t have to keep his guard up, and he could relax and paint again. And since White could run so fast, Adion didn’t feel bad about wasting a little time on this.

Traveling with White makes everything so much easier and more enjoyable. 

White got to his feet, his tail slowly starting to wag. He walked up to the painting and sniffed it. Adion watched him curiously.

White started circling around the painting, staring at it strangely. Adion couldn’t hold it anymore and asked with a laugh, “What are you doing, White?”

“I like it,” White said, “I look majestic.”

Majestic? Adion thought to himself with a strange expression. 

Adion hadn’t let his memories take over this time; he had tried to deliberately paint White as he had appeared before him when he had just fought off those Diamond beasts. 

He was curious about his abilities while fully conscious, and the results didn’t disappoint. He could feel that imbuing his painting with emotions now came naturally to him as long he focused and he painted something or someone he knew well. 

So the feeling White in the painting gave off was very much the way Adion viewed him. He didn’t see White as particularly majestic. Sure, he was strong, but more than that, Adion found him cute.

“Well, as long as you like it,” Adion said with a shrug, “It’s yours if you want to keep it.”

“Really? Thanks, Adion,” White said happily.

“But…you don’t really have a way to keep it, do you?” Adion asked, realizing White was a beast and didn’t really own anything, “I’ll keep the painting for you, but it will still be yours. You can tell me when you want it. In the future, I’ll figure out how to make a storage ring for you so you can carry around your own stuff conveniently.”

“Okay,” White said simply.

“You don’t even know what a storage ring is,” Adion quietly muttered as he put the painting away and packed his belongings. 

“Anyway, let’s continue our journey,” Adion said, jumping up on White’s back. “I’ll tell you about the storage ring. It was something Shindo had with him. Apparently, it’s an artifact left behind from the Age of Wonder.”

Adion continued talking leisurely about his experiences as White ran, continuing their journey down south. He didn’t guard against White. He felt he could tell him anything. 

The weather was still warm enough to enjoy even if fall had arrived. If anything, Adion enjoyed the cool air and much weaker sunlight. It was a relief after the cruel summer he had experienced.

A few hours after they had set off, White suddenly came to a halt.

“What’s wrong?” Adion asked, instantly on guard. 

“A lot of beasts,” White answered, “They are still far ahead us, though. And I don’t sense anything stronger than Gold. But the stronger beasts could be hiding.”

Damn. Again?

“Is it similar to the situation we encountered when you found me? How many beasts are there?” Adion asked. He couldn’t sense anything at all from this distance. 

“It feels similar,” White answered, “There are hundreds and hundreds of them.”

“This is really worrisome,” Adion said with furrowed brows.

This can’t be a coincidence. Something is about to happen.

“Well, can you go around?” Adion asked.

“No problem,” White answered, and he started taking off to the east.

Even if I have White by my side, there is no reason to get into any conflict. 

The two of them headed east for half an hour before gradually adjusting to the south once again. Adion felt safer now that he had White’s aura sense as a guide. White was also a lot faster than him, so Adion didn’t worry about being intercepted.

However, half an hour later, White slowed down slightly and said to Adion, “I can feel the presence of three Gold beasts heading in the direction of those other beasts.”

“Are they close?” Adion asked.

“Not very. I can easily avoid them if you want,” White said.

“Are there no other beasts around?” Adion asked.

“I can’t sense any,” White said.

“Let’s head toward them,” Adion instructed, “We’ll be able to deal with them quickly, and we might get some answers to what is going on with these beast armies. White, when you get close, leave behind and approach them by yourself. You’re a Diamond beast, so they should show you some respect. Ask them about their purpose in gathering these many beasts.”

“Okay,” White said, “But why don’t you come with me? You’re better at asking questions.”

“I’m afraid they won’t answer if they see a human is with you,” Adion said, “Even if we threaten them, beasts can be surprisingly fierce in the face of death. 

“That’s true. Smart, Adion,” WHite said. 

It didn’t take long before White stopped. Adion got off his back and watched as he continued running away.

Hopefully…White is smart enough to get the answers we want. 

Unfortunately, I think these beasts must be preparing an attack on the human kingdoms. And it seems that a large portion, perhaps the entire Endless Forest, is a part of it.

But why would they suddenly launch such a large-scale attack? The beasts still have a majority of Shiora under their control. Even if the sapi is gaining land, it’s a very slow process. The beasts shouldn’t be panicking just yet. There is no need to risk a large-scale war.

And what could have convinced all these beasts to participate? This should be an issue for the tribes bordering the Outskirts to handle. 

Did something happen while I was away? Has some irresistible resource appeared? That seems unlikely.

Adion was pulled from his thoughts as he sensed White approaching.

“How did it go?” Adion asked curiously as White came to a stop in front of him.

“They are planning an attack on the sapi,” White said, seemingly not very bothered.

“As expected,” Adion said with a sigh, “Do you know why?”

“They only said that the beasts would take over now. All the beasts in the Endless Forest are united,” White said, “Barmon will lead us to godhood is what they said.”

“Who is Barmon?” Adion asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard of him,” White answered, “He seems to be an incredibly strong Soul beast. Some type of shadow beast.”

Beasts communicated slightly differently from sapi, so White could get a good idea of the situation from just asking a few questions. As the Gold beasts didn’t hold anything back, White was able to sense their impression of Barmon.

“I guess that makes sense. There had to be someone powerful in charge to coordinate an attack like this,” Adion said.

But powerful enough to order every Soul beast in the Endless Forest…This Barmon can’t be an Immortal beast, right?

That would be bad. The mages of Shiora wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Well, there is nothing we can do about it,” Adion said with a sigh, “I’ll just have to tell the Headmaster about it and let him handle it.”

It seems like things are getting more and more chaotic lately. 

The Age of Discovery has just begun, and yet, war is everywhere.

But maybe that’s normal in a time like this. The different corners of the world all think they have built enough strength to lead this new Age.

“Thanks for asking for me, White,” Adion said, getting back on top of his friend's back, “Let’s continue.”

If things spiral out of control, I’ll just bring my family and friends away to Quemer. I was planning on heading there anyway.

Adion once again realized how weak he was, and couldn’t help himself from mediating while riding on White’s back. 

I can’t be too stingy with my Profound Water. Even if it’s a valuable resource, I need to be alive to use it. In these tumultuous times, I can’t afford to save resources. 

Adion slowly pulled the surrounding space mana into his core, steadily advancing toward high Silver. 

Two hours later, Adion’s Will started wilting, and he took a few sips to recharge. 

Even if he could jump into another session of mediation, Adion decided to take a break and converse with White for a while. He could always meditate more once they set up camp for the night. 

“What kind of beast do you think Barmon is?” Adion asked.

“I felt that…he was most likely some type of feline beast,” White answered hesitantly.

“As long as he can’t fly,” Adion said. He found that flying beasts had an unfair advantage. If there was an Immortal beast on Shiora, that was bad enough. But if that Immortal beast could fly, Adion couldn’t even imagine how hard it would be to deal with.

Hopefully, my Authority can inspire the Headmaster so he can advance. 

A few hours later, White suddenly slowed down again.

“Do you want to call it for the day?” Adion asked.

“It’s not that,” White said, “I feel aura in the distance. It’s very not strong, but it’s plenty.”

You’ve got to be kidding me!

“Are you saying there is another army of beasts ahead of us?” Adion questioned.

“No, no. These are humans,” White answered.

Adion's words got stuck in his throat.

Humans?

Does that mean…

“Haha,” Adion laughed, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. There are hundreds of them in the distance. But they aren’t very agitated, so it’s not likely to be an army,” White said.

Could we have reached a town?

“Seems like we’ll finally leave this forest,” Adion said, “White, try to get closer but be careful not to let anyone discover your aura. I’ll head over there on my own first to take a look at the situation and come back for you later. If a Diamond beast approaches here in the Endless Forest, they might attack.”

“Okay, no problem,” White answered.

After another fifteen minutes of careful treading, White came to a stop.

“There is a Diamond mage there. I can feel it now,” White said, “If he has trained his aura sense, he might sense me if I get closer.”

“Alright. I’ll go over and check it out,” Adion said, “Wait for me here. I’ll probably return in a few hours.”

“Okay,” White said, agreeable as always.

Adion jumped off White’s back and ran off.

Finally! I’m almost home!

Adion hid his aura down to middle Bronze as he cautiously made his way forward. He didn’t have the aura sense that White had. Even if there were hundreds of mages not far away, Adion couldn’t sense them at all. 

The only reason he could sense those beasts from so far away was because their auras were all flaring, on full display. If the beasts had been in their own tribe resting, Adion wouldn’t have been able to sense them either. 

But he didn’t need to sense any auras, because as he made his way between the trees, a structure appeared in front of him. 

It wasn’t anything particularly impressive. It was just wooden walls covering a small area in front of him. But the view stirred something in Adion.

An outpost! I can’t be far from Cyalis now.

I wonder which kingdom this is. Hopefully, it’s not one allied to Heavenly Light. Not only are they surely still searching for me, but it would be really hard to travel with White. Even if tame beasts might be accepted even by Heavenly Light, I don’t want to take any chances. 

And even if they didn’t attack him outright, they might curse him. Then I’d have to defend him and cause a scene. 

Adion walked toward the outpost step by step. He could see that the gate was wide open. And in front of the gate, a beautiful sight. 

Humans.