A few days later, Petra squatted on a cliffside while hugging her knees. The giant centipede lay quietly to the side, while the frog was asleep in her hood.
The sun was up and the sky was clear.
While looking down at the forest, Petra watched a large number of people scuttle back and forth between the trees.
She had heard about it on the road earlier today.
Someone spotted a golden crested wolf king around this part of the forest. The golden crested wolf king was special because its pelt would shine like the sun during the day. Although a bit useless, it could still be sold for a lot of money.
Being very poor, Petra decided to take a look.
After spending the majority of the morning watching from the cliff, Petra slowly became bored. She didn't want to run around like a chicken with its head cut off, so she planned to rob whoever found it.
Time passed.
As the night slowly came, Petra started a campfire on the cliffside. She sat on her backpack, roasting a chicken leg on a stick.
The golden crested wolf king didn't look much different from a regular wolf at night, so many of the adventurers had set up camp to wait out the dark night.
Petra stuffed a large piece of roasted chicken into her mouth before turning her attention to the two girls who were slowly approaching from the distance.
One woman looked to be in her thirties, she wore a long blue robe with a blue bell embroidered over her heart. The other looked to be about eighteen. She also wore the same blue robe, but unlike the older woman, the hem of her robe was cut short at her knees.
The two girls approached Petra, not showing any hostility.
Petra's little eyes looked at the blue bell embroidered on the chest. Wasn't this the Azurefell Family Crest? Were these women Lilly and Luna's family?
Petra continued eating.
To the women, this little glutton was very cute.
"Little girl, do you mind if we join you?"
Petra blinked. She nodded, signaling them to sit.
"Are you all alone out here? Where are your parents?"
Petra shook her head. "I'm traveling alone."
The younger woman frowned. "Aren't you a little too young to be traveling alone?"
Petra shook her head. "I'm very mature."
The older woman chuckled. "Then it's OK. Are you here for the golden wolf?"
Petra nodded. "I'm very poor. I need to make what little money I can."
The older woman smiled. She took out two portraits. "Then, have you seen these two? If you can tell us, I'll give you a crystal coin."
Petra looked at the two familiar faces.
'What a coincidence.'
She reached into the bag under her butt and pulled out two bloody and torn robes. When the two women saw the two tattered robes, their eyes shot open.
"If I tell you where I found these, how much will you give me?"
The two women looked at each other.
After a short negotiation, the two women left.
Petra was ten crystal coins richer, and the two women were one misleading clue further.
The next morning, Petra continued looking for the Golden Crested Wolf King.
She walked through the forest, followed by the big centipede.
She listened to the conversations of the surrounding adventurers. Whenever she heard a clue, she would casually walk towards that direction, lurking, but not looking.
A lot of people had spotted the little girl and the big centipede, but because they didn't seem to be looking for the golden crested wolf king, nobody paid them much mind.
When Petra stopped to crouch down and pick a certain mushroom, she heard the sudden sound of fighting from the distance.
She turned her attention to a spot not far away.
Petra followed the noise and found a group of adventurers fighting with a pitch-black wolf.
Petra narrowed her eyes.
She signaled the centipede to stay low, then watched silently from the bushes.
The adventurers had a team of four people, one held a shield, one had a sword, one cast magic, and the final woman directed the battle from the sidelines.
What caught Petra's attention wasn't the team of adventurers, instead, she looked closely at the black wolf. First of all, a lone wolf was unusual around these parts of the forest. Next, the color of that wolf looked more like someone had splashed it with paint instead of a natural black.
Petra squinted.
It seemed she had found her prey.
The battle was one sided. The small team crushed the wolf and caused it to run.
The black wolf ran in the lead, and the adventurers followed. Petra chased silently from the shadows.
The wolf ran through the woods, dodging left and right through the trees. Although the chase had attracted the attention of a few people, none of them realised that this black wolf was the gold crested wolf king.
After a long chase, the wolf was eventually cornered in a deep ravine. The man with the shield drew closer and thrust his shield at the wolf.
The cornered wolf directly challenged the man's thrust, only to be forced backwards. When the wolf was stunned, the man with the sword dashed over and stabbed at the wolf between its eyebrows.
The sword hit its mark and sank into the wolf's skull.
The wolf fell, dying on the spot.
Petra watched as the dead body fell into a nearby puddle. The black substance covering the wolf's body began to taint the clear water black.
Through the patches of wet fur, Petra was finally able to confirm that this was indeed the golden crested wolf king.
She watched the swordsmen confirm the death of the wolf before the others spread out and confirmed that they were alone. The woman who had been quietly commanding the battle from the rear stepped in and began skinning the wolf.
The process took about an hour, but the woman was extremely skilled and managed to pull a clean pelt much quicker than the average hunter.
Without the luxury of time, the group didn't have a chance to clean up the pelt. They made sure to dispose of the body and packed the golden pelt in a leather bag.
Just as they were about to leave, a sudden wave of sleepiness washed over them.
The first to realize something was wrong was the mage.
He wanted to roar, but it was too late. With the weakest constitution, the man fell unconscious first. Next was the silent commander, then the swordsmen, and finally the shield bearer.
When the four were out cold, Petra skipped over and snatched the bag containing the golden pelt.
Petra then went from one person to another, looting their valuables.
With a mischievous little smile, the green haired little lolita left them with only the clothes on their back.
She pulled the stolen belongings onto the centipede's back and quickly left while humming a little tune.
A few hours later, the four woke up.
Shame, anger, and exasperation covered their faces.
"I thought you said nobody was watching!"
"Sorry boss, we checked, but whoever it was, they were too good at hiding."
Sadness followed.
"Hmmm, I seem to know who it was..."
"What? Who!"
The man with the shield pointed at a very distinct set of tracks on the ground. When the party looked over, they were all stunned.
"These are beast tracks?"
"That centipede..."
There was an awkward silence.
"Were we robbed by that little girl?"
Nobody wanted to confirm his guess.
"Should we go after her...?"
There was another very long silence.
* * *
While the group of adventurers were still contemplating what to do, the centipede riding little girl was already long gone.
Petra spent the next few days on the road. When she occasionally met someone she didn't like, she would rob them of everything they had. This small habit slowly caused the name of the legendary green haired bandit to spread among adventurers.
During her travels, she encountered many things.
One day, she stumbled upon an assassination and saved the damsel in distress.
Another day, she was attacked by a massive bear beast and fed it to the centipede.
As for the number of thieves that she encountered, that number was in the dozens.
At the end of the day, Petra found her little 'purse' filled with dazzling crystal coins.
-
Petra sat cross-legged on the head of the centipede, rocking back and forth, humming a little tune.
Night was not far away, so Petra was prepared to stop and set up camp.
Before she could jump down, the centipede suddenly made an unusual movement.
It stopped in the middle of the road, turned its head towards the depths of the forest, and wiggled its body.
"Hmmm?"
Petra tilted her head.
"What's wrong?"
The centipede stomped its legs, seemingly trying to express its excitement. Its body twisted and turned, almost throwing Petra off its head.
Petra tightened her grip and puffed out her cheeks.
"OK OK! I get it, don't throw me off!"
Hearing her, the centipede stopped.
The frog made a confused croak from behind.
Petra picked it up and put it on her lap. She petted the green and black frog that was almost the size of her head.
"He's trying to say that there's some good stuff over there."
She looked down at the frog. "You probably can't feel it because you're not an insect."
"Ribbit!"
"Mmm mmm mmm, that's right."
Petra jumped up and struck a heroic pose.
"To the treasure! Nyahahaha!"
Boom!
The centipede rushed forward.
-
Petra rushed through the forest and towards the 'treasure'
The forest slowly changed from a vibrant green to an ethereal blue. Many of the trees started to glow. The forest floor was filled with glowing white moss, and a number of shining purple butterflies appeared around the treetops in scattered clusters.
Night had descended, and Petra was pulled into this fairyland.
She traveled deeper and deeper.
Soon, the surrounding lights had outshone even the moon.
A ghostly fog began to cloak the ground.
Petra passed many luminous insects as she advanced.
She stopped at a clearing.
In the forest ahead were two groups of people. One group looked to be a group of cultivators from the Greenhand Sect, and the other wore noble and elegant attire. If Petra had to guess, they should come from the southern empire.
The two groups saw Petra the moment she arrived.
The group of cultivators ignored her, but a man from the group of nobles approached. His gaze was intrusive, giving Petra the feeling of being assessed.
He kept his hand on the hilt of his blade, ready to attack when needed.
"Little girl, I advise you to go back the way you came. This place isn't safe right now."
Petra nodded and looked past the man.
The two groups were standing on opposite sides of a small sapling. The strange plant seemed to be the source of the centipede's excitement. Petra also felt that it was the cause of the mutation in the surrounding environment. This strange plant looked like it was about to bloom.
The small plant was half her size and had a glowing white stem. It budded with nine golden flower buds. Its branches mimicked something similar to a tornado spiraling upwards.
Petra narrowed her eyes.
This small plant was indeed a treasure.
Although it didn't seem to be a poisonous plant, Petra still felt like it was worth collecting. If it were before, she might think it was troublesome, but after so many robberies, Petra had managed to collect quite the number of specialized containers that were used to store medicinal herbs. Also, her kleptomania was starting to act up.
The man continued.
"This plant belongs to the Hellion Royal Family." He narrowed his eyes. "Don't even think about it."
Petra wanted to ignore him, but when he narrowed his eyes, she suddenly felt threatened. She turned her attention to him, looking at him with her big black eyes.
A moment later, the man's eyes shot open and he exploded backwards.
Petra watched him retreat.
'It seems like his sense of danger is really high.'
The group from the Hellion Royal Family were all surprised. The young girl who seemed to be their leader frowned. Theo was the strongest fighter among them. Although she didn't know what happened, since he chose to retreat instead of attack, this meant that this little girl was very dangerous. He didn't even choose to retaliate, focusing on increasing the distance.
She looked at him. "What's wrong?"
Theo frowned.
"I'm not sure. I suddenly felt like she released an extremely dangerous aura…. Stay back princess."
The girl nodded.
"Can you drive her away?"
Theo shook his head. "I have no idea. If I fought seriously, then I probably could, but the Nine Turns Golden Rose would definitely be damaged."
The little princess frowned. "Then we can only compete."