Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 44: The Guardian's Gratitude

This... was not good. We had promised to eliminate the source of the plague in order to save the forest. But thanks to Kazu's magic and my reckless plan, I figured we might've done the exact opposite of that. And right now, we might have to give a long explanation about this, which I doubt it would be for long due to the fire spreading around the trees and the fact Bai Hu is approaching us with a straight, but scary expression on his face. Thinking quickly, I jumped in front of my younger brother in an attempt to protect him in case something bad happened. If he wanted to punish Kazu, then he would have to go through me first!

"Mr. Bai Hu, before you do anything to us, you have to give me a chance to defend us." I didn't know if monsters like him would listen to reason after what we had done to his home, but it was the only option we had. "We didn't mean to start a fire in here. We were supposed to mitigate the flames just towards the plague's source, but..."

[Your spell caused the flames to spread outside the source, correct?]

"Yes and..."

I quickly stop talking as I realized what Bai Hu said.

"Wait, how did you know about that? We were trapped in here for the whole battle."

[That is true. But you forget that I am still the guardian of this forest. This means I have the privilege of observing the ins and outs of my home and that includes your battle against that artificial monstrosity.]

Bai Hu turned around and nodded his head to his left. I was confused at what he was doing. That is until I felt something fly over my head. When I looked up, I became surprised to see a black bird suddenly materialize as it cawed at the tiger. I'm guessing that was the "eyes" Bai Hu sent after us when we entered the domain. He must've used the bird to observe our battle. I was curious as to what it was, so I activated my [Investigate] ability to know more about it.

[Camo Crow]

[One of the servants of <Bai Hu>, it uses its invisibility abilities to hide and observe the events of the <Tested Wilds> through its crystal eyes, and sends the sightings to its master via telepathy.]

I see. If Bai Hu had still been hostile to us, then the [Camo Crow] would be a bit of a nuisance to both of us thanks to its observation and camouflage skills. But after what was happening with the fire, I worried that he might get mad at what we'd done.

[As for your actions instigating the flames, I would be enraged by what you've done to my forest.]

I quickly gritted my teeth in panic over the thought that he might try to kill us for this. But before I could brace myself, I noticed another shadow cover not only me and Kazu, but also Bai Hu. When I looked up, I gasped to see a large blue hippopotamus the size of our house walk past us very slowly. It was not like any other hippo I'd ever seen before and the only ones I'd seen were in textbooks and at the Central Park Zoo. This one had a large appendage resembling a large cannon which was similar to a certain turtle monster from a monster collecting video game franchise I'd heard about from my classmates.

[Cannonpotamus]

[One of the servants of <Bai Hu> and one of the lesser guardians of the <Tested Wilds>. Its tough exterior and its strong cannon attached to its back allow it to endure most of the attacks and spell that throws at them. Be wary when the cannon's mana turns red.]

So it was another one of Bai Hu's minions, huh. Not to mention it was one of the lesser guardians in this forest. I was a bit confused about its appearance. But when I turned around, I see two wooden buckets suddenly appeared in front of us.