Chapter 47

According to the map left by the ranger Karl for Zhao Mai, the Farmer's Forest where the Druid community of the Unceasing Walker is located is still quite a distance from Nibo Town. However, Joseph had no intention of hiring a carriage or horse. Zhao Mai thought to himself that he couldn't stay here for too long, and if it came to it, driving a car would at least save some time.

Unexpectedly, the Druid's solution was much better than driving.

As soon as they left Nibo Town, Joseph flapped his arms, spun around in one place, and transformed into a giant eagle. This was a massive creature with a wingspan exceeding twenty meters. It could directly prey on large animals like bison, lifting them with its talons, flying high, and then dropping them to their deaths before feasting. In some films and TV shows on Earth, there were also scenes of such giant eagles charging into battle.

Watching this enormous creature up close was nothing short of awe-inspiring for Zhao Mai. A single feather from its body was like a banana leaf, large enough to use as a blanket. Its massive beak could pierce through a human body or sever flesh in an instant. This was a magnificent creature, one of the legends of nature.

Zhao Mai first stuffed the provisions into his backpack, ignoring its protests, and hung it around his chest. Then, he happily extended his hand, wanting to climb onto its back. Joseph's bird head turned, and a pair of large brown eyes stared at him. Zhao Mai felt a bit uneasy and pointed to the eagle's talons, saying, "How about I stay there?"

Being carried by the talons and flown into the sky was not a pleasant experience. Within three minutes, Zhao Mai had vomited up his breakfast. Unlike being on an airplane, where you could still enjoy the scenery outside the window, there were no seats or seat belts, and the wind blew from all sides. Below him, apart from the eagle's talons, was the ground hundreds of meters away, offering no sense of security.

When birds fly, their torso remains relatively still. As their wings flap up and down, their head, tail, and talons move accordingly to maintain dynamic balance. In other words, Zhao Mai felt like a boat tossed by the waves, constantly moving up and down. This experience was extremely nerve-wracking, especially as Joseph continued to ascend.

Estimating that they were approaching a thousand meters, Zhao Mai could clearly feel the cold. Fortunately, the Druid did not continue to ascend, preventing Zhao Mai from turning into a popsicle. It spread its wings, using the air currents to begin a long glide. Zhao Mai tried to curl up, keeping his limbs warm, and prayed that he would reach his destination as soon as possible.

From the high altitude, the land below was in full view. The giant eagle's route was mostly along the western shore of Ash Lake, so part of the view was always the shimmering water. Unlike the dense forests on the eastern shore, this side of Ash Lake was mostly plains and low hills, dotted with villages along the shore, like a necklace adorning a beauty. They passed through two larger towns, one called Jadoria and the other called Wolf Ear Town.

Wolf Ear Town was located at the northernmost point of Ash Lake, where a swift river called the Grease River flowed into the lake, one of the two main sources of Ash Lake (the other being a waterfall near Viper Cliff Castle). We won't delve into the origin of the Grease River's peculiar name here; it's enough to know that after flying over Wolf Ear Town, they were above Farmer's Forest.

The giant eagle began to dive, and the slight feeling of weightlessness excited Zhao Mai. After more than five hours of straight flight, he had grown to love this sensation. No wonder many people enjoy paragliding; only by experiencing the wind rushing past your ears and the clouds brushing your eyebrows can you truly understand the joy of flying.

There were no signs of human habitation in the dense forest, and Zhao Mai was still trying to locate the Druid community. He squinted his eyes, trying to hold back the tears caused by the wind, but all he could see were deer fleeing from the eagle's shadow and a brown bear angrily roaring at the sky. Even without sweat on his forehead, he made a gesture to wipe it. After seeing the bear, he realized that this forest was full of wild beasts, and without the Druid's skills, he couldn't leave.

The giant eagle continued to descend, quickly passing through the treetops. It folded its wings, maneuvering through the canopy, making Zhao Mai dizzy. Just as the poor Earthling feared he would crash into a tree trunk, Joseph transformed back into human form, and with a wave of his staff, both of them landed softly.

From the high altitude, one would never imagine what lay beneath the trees. A small village was hidden under the dense foliage, with small houses made of dead branches and grass mats, similar in size to an Inuit igloo, capable of fitting three or four people. Most of the houses in the Druid community were like this, many covered with a layer of soil and decorated with beautiful wildflowers. This was a natural camouflage, no wonder it was invisible from the sky.

Counting the houses, there were fifteen in the visible area, meaning there were about thirty to forty people here. There were elders, middle-aged people, young adults, and children. Especially the children, who were chasing and playing, with five pairs running past Zhao Mai in a short time.

"Here, the main function is to train and educate the young, so there are more children, and they are protected in the center," Joseph explained. "There are several such places in the forest, each with functions for planting, raising, and research. Together, they form our Druid community."

"Will I be learning here?"

"Yes, I'll take you to meet your teacher. She taught me in the past."

Zhao Mai looked at Joseph's face with suspicion; he looked to be in his sixties or seventies. In Nibo Town, Joseph had appeared as a middle-aged man, but after returning to the community, he reverted to his true form, the same one Zhao Mai had seen in his dreams. If Joseph had a teacher, how old must she be? Probably close to a hundred, and could she still teach?

He forgot that in this world, humans were considered a short-lived race, only living longer than orcs, dogheads, and goblins. Following Joseph, Zhao Mai met the first elf he had seen, who would also be his teacher: Aurora Seline.

Her dark green hair cascaded over her shoulders, adorned with small flowers, emitting a pleasant fragrance. Her pointed ears peeked out from her hair, each adorned with a pearl earring. Her long hair, paired with her delicate and petite face, created a gentle and charming image.

Zhao Mai compared their heights; he was a bit over 1.7 meters, and the elf woman was shorter, but her slender figure and well-proportioned body made her seem taller, evoking a protective instinct. Even though Zhao Mai knew that if he tried to touch her, she could easily knock him away, the feeling remained unchanged.

"High Elder Joseph, what brings you here?" The elf's common language had a ethereal quality, or perhaps it was the preconceived notion that gave her a certain bonus? Lady Aurora Seline smiled and introduced herself, "The three apprentices in the Eagle Wing community are all promising, and they have made rapid progress recently. They should be ready to start learning natural perception."

"So soon? I thought they were still consolidating their knowledge of Druidic language," Joseph rubbed his eyebrows and said to the elf, "I found a promising student outside and want to send him here to learn. Let him attend the classes and teach him the basics of the Druidic language."

The elf did not object but asked curiously, "Why not start with cultivating plants and animals first?"

"Mike's situation is a bit special. His previous Druid training was interrupted due to planar travel," Joseph explained. "He actually has the same foundation as the Eagle Wing community's apprentices in caring for plants and animals, so I brought him here."

"Alright, I'll take him in. His name is Mike, right?" Lady Seline turned to Zhao Mai and asked, "Do you have any thoughts?"

"Um, I don't know if it's too presumptuous, but I really want to tug on your ears. Is that okay?"