The person pointed toward the southeast. "Based on the direction, I think he is going for the king of the forest. There's a lake there. I remember a giant snake is living inside of it."
"I see; you should go on your way then. It's too dangerous for you to stay here."
The man felt relieved hearing Lily's words. He had already put considerable distance when he followed the king, but the man gave him creeps. The forest being empty also doesn't help with the situation.
He then put his hand over his chest, doing the usual greeting, then quickly left the area.
Seeing the man disappear, Lily's face turned serious. "What did father want with the king of the forest?" she mumbled.
She sent a message to the other guardians, telling them to gather at the lake. Lily then moved quickly in the forest, jumping from tree to tree while her senses were on high alert.
Lily stopped in her tracks, hearing a shooting sound from somewhere near her. She lowered her speed and then moved carefully in the shadows.
From behind a tree, she saw the king fighting against the Dragon Serpent with help from a dozen elite squads. Lily concludes this based on the squad uniform.
'The news I got was that the king entered alone. Where did the rest of the people come from?'
Lily didn't think Sasha was lying to her since there was no reason for Sasha to do this. But for her underling, to miss a dozen people was just stupid. There was no way it could happen.
While she was thinking, the fight with the dragon serpent was reaching its climax. A dark aura came from the king, focusing on a few needles held in his hand.
The needles were small; if not for the dark aura making them prominent, Lily would not have noticed them. The needles have similar lengths to an index finger.
The king threw the needles toward the gaping wound of the dragon serpent. The moment it hit, Lily could see its reptilian eyes start to change before it reflected some intelligence, but now it flickered only with rage.
But it only lasted for a moment before the eyes turned heavy, and the dragon serpent then lost consciousness.
The elite squad then moved closer to the dragon serpent.
At first, Lily thought they would finish it off, but to her surprise, one of them moved his palm forward, and golden dust then came out from it, starting to cover the dragon serpent's body.
It didn't take long for the serpent to completely heal. "It's done. This serpent will awake in four hours. We should go to our next target."
The king nodded. He was about to say something when suddenly his gaze turned sharp, and he looked straight at the place where Lily was hiding.
Without even saying anything, he kicked a rock near his feet toward Lily's location.
Lily quickly moved; she rolled away from the tree, which now had a huge gaping hole in its trunk.
"It seems we have a worm. You guys go first; I will take care of her," the king said while looking coldly at Lily.
Lily's heart shook at the king's words. 'Again,' she thought in her mind.
The king's eyes were just like looking at a stranger, not his own daughter. He didn't recognize her at all.
Leaving alone, the king took a blade from the scabbard on his back. "So what is the sentinel's dog doing here?"
Lily took out the bow from her back, and a unique pattern started to glow from it, changing its form. The bow twisted and turned, turning it into a long spear 240 cm in height (8 ft).
With a throb in her heart, she forced herself to calm down. "You are guilty of treason to the sentinel. Surrender yourself, King Belthazar," Lily said while pointing her spear at him.
"Only with you? You think too much of yourself, Guardian."
After the king said this, he appeared in front of Lily, his blade moving vertically toward her. Many thoughts came to Lily at this moment.
She could jump back, avoiding the attack, or jump to the side. If she jumped back with the length of her spear, she could try to counterattack, but there was also a possibility for the king to avoid her attack and then dash forward, cutting the distance between them.
If she moved to the side, it would allow her more room to maneuver, but with her spear's length, the only attack she could do would be a swipe using her spear's body. But it's still better than having no chance to dodge.
The reason for this is because of the limitation of the humanoid body. Dodging after moving backward is far harder than after moving forward or sideways.
She jumped to the right while her body ducked, and her hair fluttered in the wind.
The king's heavy blade hit the ground where she just stood, cracking it in the process.
The result was better than she expected; the king's back was wide open in front of her eyes. So she decided to take a jump back, putting some distance between them, then thrust her spear forward.
It moved like a bullet, piercing the air. But just when it was inches away from where the king stood, his body turned translucent and disappeared.
Lily's sense of danger quickly screamed. Her spear glowed, creating a wind on its tip. It condensed for a moment before it shot with a boom toward the ground. This pushed Lily backward.
In the area where she just stood, BANG! The ground cracked with a loud sound as if being pressed by a heavyweight. Not long after, the king landed. But in contrast to the heavy armor he wore, the fall didn't produce any sound.
The king's lips smirked, "Not bad. Let's see how you dodge this next."
A dark aura appeared on his foot. He then stomped on the ground. The rocks and pebbles started to float, defying gravity.
The king then swung his blade, creating a shockwave that launched all those rocks toward Lily.