LXXIII: The Forest Surrounding Xian City

The Parabeasts in front of Judith looked like a mix between a boar and a spider. They had a boar's face, tusk and all. But they had razor sharp teeth instead. Their body was like that of a spider's, they had four legs on either of their sides, except these legs were not insect-like — that is, bearing an exoskeleton — but instead their bodies were made up of hides and fur.

There were four of these Parabeasts in total, each one the size and height of a cow.

Judith watched as they feasted on a different Parabeast, a smaller one that resembled an antelope cross-bred with a pheasant. The Parabeasts before her were Recorded Parabeasts and were named Borachnids.

Borachnids were comparatively dangerous Parabeasts, but considering they were Parabeasts of lower ranks, they were left alone by the Enclave of Tethereds and Cultivators, or just Enclave as they have come to be known. These were Tethereds which acted like policeman, tasked with defending the city and its denizens.

They regulated the activities of people and Parabeasts. And so since the Borachnids posed no real threat to the city, other than being wild-life, they were left alone by then Enclave.

But this did not mean that there weren't higher ranked and more dangerous Parabeasts in this forest. The forest surrounding Xian city was home to many different and very dangerous Parabeasts. But the least dangerous ones were the closest to the city, mostly due to the fact the the most dangerous ones were hunted whenever they were discovered near the city. This was the prime reason the more dangerous Parabeast's were located further into the forest, while the weaker ones were located closer to the city.

And this fact was the main reason Judith could comfortably make her way into this dangerous forest without fearing her demise. That was, if 'Comfortable' meant very cautiously anxious and 'Without fearing' meant feeling one's heart about to break out of their chest, then yes, Judith was very comfortable and watched without fearing anything.

Though these Parabeasts were very weak, as they were ranked at Zircon, the lowest rank in this world's ranking system. They still posed quite a threat to normal none combatant people.

Which meant that just one of the Borachnids, was enough to put Judith six feet under. But fully aware of this, Judith still decided to face them, as she had a plan in mind.

As she thought, she narrowed her eyes around the Borachnids and began to take in the foliage surrounding their immediate environment. It was clear the plant life in this area began to change from where she initially started. Not by much, but to a noticeable degree.

The reason for this was that because wherever a Parabeast laid claim to as their territory, the plant life around them seemed to change to suit their needs. According to the author of the book, this world adapted to the needs of its host, but not by much. These changes were usually just the emergence of new a strange plant here and there, so these changes were limited to providing certain plant life a species would need to survive. Which meant that drastic things like the changing of a landscape or the complete overall of the vegetation in an area were out of the question.

This was very important to this world, because these plants that emerged in sites of Parabeasts, held greater value than just being a necessity to live. The other value they had, was that they could also take life away.

Judith stayed put and did her best to be as quiet and unnoticeable as she could be. Because her plan hinged on her finding the location of the Borachnid's den, which Judith knew was somewhere close by. This was because Borachnids never ventured too far from their den.

Remaining silent and vigilant, Judith continued to watch for several minutes, before they were finally done feasting and began to leave. Once enough of a gap had been created between the Borachnids and Judith, she took a step forward, careful not to step on a twig, pull a vine or do anything of a sort to make a noise.

As she made her way forward, she stopped for a moment and stared at the Parabeast beside her feet. It was another Recorded Parabeast, this one named Phealope. Judith couldn't help but feel bad about this creature as it looked all but pitiful as it laid sprawled on the ground, torn open and lifeless.

The Phealope was a strange creature, it was supposed to be a Parabeast, which meant it was supposed to be dangerous. But the Phealope along with a few other Parabeasts, were herbivores and completely harmless.

And to add to that, was how majestic and beautiful they were.

The Phealope looked pretty much like an antelope, except it had only two bird legs and it was covered in beautifully colored feathers.

Feeling bad for it, and anger at herself for what she was about to do. She bent low, apologized to the poor creature in advanced, and then began to ransack its corpse for its heart. And not long after, Judith held in her hands a Paraheart.

Feeling the Borachnids getting too far from her, Judith didn't take the time to admire the beautiful sphere made of hundreds of tiny interlinked chains that beamed with an other worldly reddish-brown glow.

A Paraheart was a piece of art on its own, but Judith really didn't have time to appreciate this art. Suddenly getting an idea, she loosened the rim of her robe which was tied around her waist, and placed the Paraheart on her robe. After which she proceeded to tie the rim back around her waist, thereby creating a make-shift bag that hung around her waist.

It wasn't the prettiest sight, most especially when she would add more Paraheart's into this makeshift bag, but Judith didn't really have a choice.

Keeping her mind focused, she made her way forward, trailing behind the Borachnids.

Not long after following the Borachnids, Judith finally found their den. It was a big hole dung into the ground near a small rock as big as a small hill, which was situated in the middle of a clearing. This location allowed the White Phoenix's light to shine onto the clearing, making the scenery look like it was specially lit by the heavens, which was showcasing a treasure that had been found by Judith.

Yes this was not exactly treasure, but it wasn't too far off. Especially after what she was about to do.