During Eugene’s third visit to the Rainforest, nothing special happened on their journey to the elven territory.1

The truth was, considering all of the dangers and other encounters that might occur in this vast forest, there wasn’t possibly anything that could genuinely threaten the current Eugene. There might still be many monsters lurking in this forest, but unlike demonic beasts, these monsters knew the meaning of fear. As such, they would try to avoid facing any predators they were sure they would lose to, and even if such predators were to invade their territory, they would immediately give in and just run away.0

There was also no need to be wary of the natives this time as they had been during their past visits. All of the tribes in the forest had been conquered by the Zorans. And all of the more barbaric tribes that had been engaged in criminal activities, such as human trafficking and even cannibalism in the most severe cases, had had all of their vile customs and ferocity castrated by the Zoran Tribe.4

As a result of that, their journey through the forest had been peaceful and leisurely. The only surprise that occurred during the trip was the unexpected arrival of the Zoran Tribe’s Great Chieftain, Ivatar.0

Ivatar had asked Eugene why they had come to the forest without sending him word in advance, and he had immediately invited them to visit the Zoran Tribe, where they would be treated as official state guests.0

“Next time,” Eugene had promised as he refused the invitation.0

He did hold a slight interest in seeing how far the Zoran Tribe had developed since he had last visited them a few years ago, but that wasn’t enough to warrant adding the visit to their itinerary. After Eugene had given such a firm refusal, Ivatar could only choose to drop the suggestion. But this was only natural, as Ivatar had come mainly to accommodate Eugene’s priorities and desires over his reputation as the Great Chieftain.0

“May the blessing of the forest be with you,” Ivatar had said as they left.0

These weren’t just polite words. In this forest, Ivatar's words held enough power that they could almost serve as a heavenly mandate. With just those few words, he bestowed a blessing on Eugene and the rest of their party, making the rest of their journey that much more peaceful.2

“I wanted to take a look at the Zoran Tribe,” Carmen muttered with some regret.1

Carmen was well aware of how Ivatar and the rest of the Zoran Tribe’s warriors were outstanding fighters. 0

Out of the many warriors that she had met, the Zoran Tribe’s carefully selected elites were among the few capable of providing effective combat training for the Lionheart clan’s Black Lion Knights, and despite their Great Chieftain Ivatar being around the same young age...0