Chapter 19

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Chapter 19: The Female Hunter

Shortly after the beginning of the following week, Tasha discovered why humans had overlooked them.

The army began training, supply convoys shuttled back and forth between nearby cities and garrison towns. They were clearly gearing up for war, with soldiers looking more serious as they faced southeast, unlike their attack on the Wanderer Camp. The chatterbox old soldiers described their future triumph, boasting about returning with the "heads of those devils."

Tasha asked Marion if there was a place where Hybrids gathered, but the Worgen girl did not give a definite answer.

"That’s the Angaso Forest," Marion recalled, "it gets more rain there, and the woods are denser. I heard there are some hunters living there, but two years ago, when I passed through, I didn’t encounter anyone. However, I was avoiding others at that time, and the forest is vast."

The barren land of Angaso was divided into the Western Plains and the Eastern Plains by the long Angaso Mountains. The former Wanderer Camp was located in the deeper inland of the Western Plains. Marion and her group crossed a lower part of the Angaso Mountains and arrived at the dungeon in the Eastern Plains. A human town was situated in the southern part of the Western Plains. To the south of the dungeon and to the east of the human town, there was a dense forest known as Angaso Forest.

These people sure have a straightforward way of naming places, and Tasha likes it.

Marion, as a clear-eyed outsider, needed to be extra careful. Most of her time was spent on the run for survival rather than gathering information. Despite having traveled to many places, she knew little about the areas she hadn’t visited. In the Wanderer Camp, there were some more experienced outcasts, but they tended to be reclusive and cautious. In the past, they hadn’t shared the secrets and rumors they knew, and now they hadn’t followed the blunt Craftsman Dwarf to the dungeon.

The Oak Elder was still in hibernation and couldn’t provide help for a while. Victor mentioned that the location where the dungeon was supposed to be used to be a hilly area. Since the hero who destroyed the dungeon had altered the terrain, Victor wondered how useful his knowledge was. In the end, Tasha had to ask the unreliable Craftsman Dwarves for help. The question was passed around all the little dwarves, and eventually, they came up with an answer.

"There are people living there!" exclaimed a red-nosed middle-aged Craftsman Dwarf. He shared a story of encountering a woman in Angaso Forest who was tall and carried a bow, initially scaring him. However, instead of attacking him, she gave him a bow that needed fixing. Despite not being able to repair it perfectly due to limited tools, she didn’t accompany him back to complete the repair. She mentioned that their people lived in Angaso Forest.

As the Craftsman Dwarf spoke of the woman, he raised his hands high and even jumped up to illustrate her height. He continued speaking without a clear end in sight, expressing regret on his face, wishing he had brought his tools to repair the bow more accurately. He sighed, "That was a good bow. I should have brought my pliers number three to string it in a more precise position. She should have come back with me to pick it up."

Besides being a bit fierce and tall (a point lost on him being a short person), the woman he described didn’t have any outstanding features that would help Victor determine her race or whether she belonged to the foreign tribes in Angaso Forest. It couldn’t be assumed she was an elf just because she carried a bow.

"It’s quite a problem now, too many human hybrids," Victor lamented. "It used to be so much easier. Orcs had beastly heads, easily identifiable by species. Elves were elegant with pointy ears, goblins were ugly with pointy ears, giants were tall, and while there were many types of short beings, dwarves were always described as bearded troublemakers. As for whether they were gnomes or hobbits, just toss a coin in front of them to see if they vanish into the crowd to steal or come closer to try and sell you something."

"Aren’t you a bit racially biased?" Tasha asked.

"What? I’m telling the truth!" said Victor.

"The part about ‘Hobbits being thieves’ and ‘Dwarfs being salesmen’," Tasha said, "It’s all nonsense."

"Hobbits are shameful thieves by nature! Just like Dwarfs are stingy penny-pinchers!" Victor argued.

"Have you been deceived by them?"

"…"

"You’ve been deceived by them," Tasha said sympathetically, "And you’re even a big demon."

"You have no idea how annoying they can be," Victor said, starting to mumble Abyssal slang and references that Tasha couldn’t understand.

While Tasha was gathering information everywhere, ghosts roamed in Angaso Forest.

As they moved further south, the vegetation became denser. At that moment, Tasha encountered a sudden rainstorm in the forest. The Craftsman Dwarf’s map lacked precision but some major landmarks were unmistakable. The Angaso region was located in a remote corner of the Aryan continent, with the sea further southeast. Winds from that direction carried moist sea vapor inland, hitting the Angaso Mountains and creating rain clouds as they ascended. Unlike the dry and barren plains on the other side of the mountain, this side of the Angaso Mountain received the rainwater that should have irrigated the inland, making every tree flourish with each watering.

If Oak Elder is here, there may be no need to do his makeup: through the lush branches, it’s hard to see what the trees look like just a few steps away.

It’s hard to move through the middle of the forest, with moss-covered rocks on the ground, twisted tree roots sticking out, and hidden dry branches and leaves. In thigh-high bushes, there are spiderwebs as big as a face, and a snake as thick as an arm lazily hanging from a tree branch. In the distance, there are strange animal sounds. Unless you’re a ghost floating through all of the above, no one can cross this forest in a short time.

It’s easy to understand why humans can’t easily escape, especially if the target of attack is within the rainforest. Tasha couldn’t imagine how a human army would attack, even though she thought back on history and couldn’t recall any examples of battles between the people of the woods and warriors from the past.

A moving shadow flashed in Tasha’s sight.

The figure moved swiftly through the jungle, almost making Tasha think she saw an animal. If the figure and the ghost hadn’t coincidentally moved in the same direction, she might have missed it. The person was wearing brown leather armor, with clothing either green or brown, and their exposed skin was painted in colors that blended into the forest.

The ghost changed direction and quickly followed.

This agile and seemingly human female figure was taller than Tasha’s ghost, walking effortlessly through the woods as if weightless. She carried prey on her back, with several small to medium-sized animals strung together. The holes in the eyes of these animals and the bow and arrows in the woman’s hands indicated her hunting method, but Tasha couldn’t see a quiver on her back. Taking advantage of the woman’s distraction, Tasha circled around before finally spotting the quiver hanging from the woman’s right hip.

The quiver only held four or five feathered arrows, and on closer inspection, the female hunter held three arrows in her right hand. With a bow in her left hand and arrows in her right, carrying a string of prey on her back, she wasn’t slowed down by anything. Suddenly, her ears twitched, and she turned her head in a certain direction.

Tasha hadn’t noticed anything happening, but following the hunter’s gaze, she saw the leaves rustling, as if being brushed by a light breeze. Before Tasha could see clearly what was there, an arrow had already been shot.

She had seen gun shooting in movies before, and had also witnessed crossbow shooting here. Tasha thought she wouldn’t be impressed by archery, a basic weapon – but it seemed like she was wrong.

The arrow was faster than Tasha’s eyes, the sound of the bowstring vibrating, the sound of the arrow hitting something, and a piercing scream all mixed together, making it almost impossible to distinguish what came first. A large creature with gray-black spots fell from the treetops, an arrow lodged in its head, much larger than Tasha had expected. How did this creature conceal itself just now? It had sharp claws, the size of a lynx, clearly a carnivorous animal. This feline predator landed in the path of the female hunter, and if the latter had not noticed it, it could have successfully ambushed her.

It did not touch the ground, as before that, a hand grabbed it. Throughout the whole process, the female hunter’s footsteps never stopped, whether she was spotting the enemy, pulling the bowstring, or releasing the arrow. She was skilled and confident, as if she had no doubt she would miss her target.

Tasha applauded beside her, even though the female hunter wouldn’t see.

"I know what she is now," Victor suddenly said, "An Amazon."

Amazon? Tasha thought of a river on Earth with that name, but Victor’s reference was definitely not about that. She watched the female hunter mut,ter mysterious syllables as she hung up the new catch, waiting for Victor to explain further.

"Amazon warrior women, a tribe of only females, their top archers and forest elves are unrivaled. Earlier, she was praising the Amazon hunters as a tribute to the hunting goddess." Victor chuckled, "But if human soldiers call them Amazons, and she is a true Amazon, then things get interesting."

"Why?" Tasha asked, "Because she’s a man?"

"Ah?"

"I was just joking, please continue," Tasha said calmly.

"…"

Victor’s subtle malice faded as he was interrupted. After a moment of silence, he dryly stated, "Because Amazon warrior women are completely human."