Chapter 12: Dark Phantom
“Prince Lei Wen, you cannot go out!”
Old Butler Elif heard that Lei Wen wanted to go out with the Knight Order to search for the missing Anna and immediately spoke up to dissuade him.
“You are the last hope of this territory. If anything happens to you, the remaining people will not be able to survive this winter!”
The forest at night is very dangerous. Some dangerous monsters that are difficult to see during the day often come out to hunt at this time.
“I know, Elif.” Lei Wen put on his cashmere hood and said, “Don’t worry, I’m aware of the situation, and Ryan and the others have thoroughly investigated this area. There’s no danger nearby. Moreover, if there were, Ryan and the others would protect me.”
“That’s right!”
With a clang, Ryan drew his weapon.
The most important thing now is to confirm Anna’s condition.
If she’s just lost and can’t find her way back, that would be fine.
But if she encountered some dangerous Pokémon and couldn’t return, that would be terrible. They set up camp here, and sooner or later, they would run into the other party.
Currently, no one in the entire camp understands Pokémon better than he does.
If the identity of that Pokémon isn’t confirmed, Lei Wen will always feel uneasy.
As for danger…
Running away if you can’t win isn’t shameful.
Besides, the physique of humans in the Pokémon World is very special. As long as wounds are treated with medicine, they can recover quickly.
Seeing that Lei Wen had made up his mind, Elif sighed with a worried expression.
He opened his mouth and said, “Your Highness… please be careful on your journey!”
Ryan and the others took their torches and followed Anna’s footprints into the forest.
Just as Lei Wen had predicted, they did not encounter any danger along the way, not even a single Pokémon.
The footprints led deep into the forest. Looking at the still clear footprints, Lei Wen was immensely grateful that it hadn’t snowed today, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to see these footprints.
As they walked, the group suddenly arrived at a place with clear signs of a struggle.
The ground here was covered with messy footprints, some human and some belonging to unknown Pokémon.
Upon seeing this, Ryan’s expression became serious: “Prince Lei Wen, here!”
Hearing this, Lei Wen stepped forward and observed the footprints, saying, “It seems a fight occurred here not long ago.”
Anna, a girl who had just turned ten, could she stand a chance against a Pokémon?
Even though humans in the Pokémon World have special physiques, they are not immortal.
Looking at the direction the footprints continued, Lei Wen said, “It seems Anna went somewhere else.”
The footprints were very chaotic, as if their owner had run away in a hurry.
Halfway through, the footprints suddenly disappeared, replaced by the trace of something rolling.
Lei Wen looked up ahead.
There was a dangerous cliff.
*
“Am I dead?”
Anna dazedly woke up from her unconsciousness. She tried to sit up but suddenly felt a sharp pain in her arm.
“Hiss… It hurts so much!”
“Why am I here?”
At first, Anna was still a little confused.
But soon, she recalled everything.
She had encountered a terrifying monster and accidentally fell off the cliff while fleeing!
Wait! Where is that little guy?
Anna quickly turned her head to look around.
The cold moon cast its light upon the earth, and the snow reflected the moonlight, bathing the surroundings in a chilling clarity.
It was at this moment that Anna saw a small figure walking over from a distance, carrying something in its mouth.
That’s… a little monster!
Anna’s eyes lit up. That’s great! It’s okay too!
Under Anna’s gaze, Zorua quickly arrived before her.
Only then did Anna see clearly that it was carrying a Vitality Root, which is used to heal injuries, in its mouth!
Anna was a little stunned.
The next second, she saw this “monster” come to her injured arm and then gently exert pressure with its teeth. The Vitality Root was squeezed, and drops of juice continuously dripped down onto Anna’s wound.
A miraculous scene unfolded.
The wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Huh?!”
Anna’s eyes widened.
Was this monster saving her?
This was the first time Anna had encountered such a situation since she was little. She was so surprised that she didn’t know how to react for a moment.
Since childhood, both the people around her and her mother had told her that monsters were dangerous creatures. If you encounter a monster, you should immediately turn and flee, otherwise, you would be attacked and lose your life.
But now…
It seems not all monsters harm humans… This thought suddenly popped into Anna’s mind.
Many things had happened today, and perhaps due to tiredness, Zorua let out a fatigued yawn.
It gently walked to the side, curled up on the ice-cold ground, closed its eyes, and began to rest.
“Hey! Aren’t you cold?” Anna couldn’t help but ask.
Zorua opened its eyes and looked over.
“Right, I haven’t asked your name yet…” A smile appeared on Anna’s face: “Hello! I’m Anna!”
“Woo…” Zorua let out a low growl from its throat, as if responding to the girl’s words.
Looking at the little monster sleeping on the snow, Anna thought it must be cold. So, ignoring Zorua’s struggle, she scooped it up into her arms.
“Hehe, you won’t be cold like this!” Anna said, hugging Zorua: “You sleep!”
Zorua was taken aback. It found that it was indeed warmer here than on the ground, so it slowly closed its eyes, preparing to rest.
But the next second, it heard Anna’s voice again.
“Hey! Aren’t you going home? Won’t your parents worry about you?”
Zorua shook its head: “Woo…”
Anna’s eyes immediately widened: “You mean, you don’t have a mom and dad?”
Zorua looked at her.
Although it didn’t speak, Anna miraculously understood its meaning.
No way… This monster doesn’t have parents? No wonder it was pitifully waiting to die alone today.
Thinking of this, Anna’s heart was filled with pain and pity.
She said, with a hint of sadness, “You don’t have a mother, and I don’t have a father. We’ve both lost important family.”
“Woo…”
Zorua quietly looked at the girl in front of it.
It extended its paw and placed it on Anna’s hand, trying to comfort the girl in this way.
However, the next second, Zorua heard the other party suddenly ask with excitement in her voice:
“Right, little monster, do you want to live with me? I live with my mother now. If you’re willing to live with us, then you’ll have a family too!”
Hearing this, Zorua was slightly taken aback.
Anna, who had been happily inviting Zorua a moment ago, suddenly started talking to herself the next second.
She looked up at the sky with a worried expression, murmuring:
“It’s just that… it seems we’re trapped here now…”
