The Bodyguard King’s CEO Wife

"Got it." Ye Shikai exclaimed, and to be safe, he immediately put the awakening fruit into the Storage Ring.

"There's someone in the tree."

"Yes, it seems to be a human."

"Hall Guards, fire the arrows."

The elves below had already noticed the commotion above, and although Ye Shikai snatched the awakening fruit while invisible, the three red lights reduced to two, which anyone not blind could see.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

In an instant, thousands of arrows were launched. Ye Shikai swiftly turned around and leaped into the dense foliage, and with the invisibility provided by the Netherworld King's Helmet, he was perfectly camouflaged.

"Chase." Mona coldly spat out the word, and the guards immediately rushed out, although Mona knew that with the abilities of the Hall Guards, capturing Ye Shikai was almost impossible—they hadn't anticipated his abilities to create avatars and turn invisible.

"Your Highness, this is all fate," said the Primordial Soul Great Elder with a sigh before he turned away.

"Your Highness, the opponent is too high up, we can't stop him."

"Forget it, everyone withdraw, let him leave," Mona murmured as she looked up.

"This... As you command." The Hall Guard walked in front of the soldiers and shouted loudly, "Everyone, retreat immediately."

.......................................

"Whew, these elves really are relentless," Ye Shikai slowly landed on the ground at the outskirts of the elf settlement. It was a desperate escape, running and dodging arrows all the way; they should not pursue him further.

"Are you talking about me?" At that moment, a cold voice sounded behind Ye Shikai. He turned and saw Mona in a green long dress standing behind him, appearing like a ghost, seemingly emerging from nowhere.

"Haha, yes, I was referring to you," Ye Shikai said lightly, surprised that he was still discovered.

"So, you plan just to leave like this?" Mona asked, leaning against a tree, not showing anger.

"Sorry, I can offer you more compensation, but I must take this awakening fruit," Ye Shikai stated firmly.

"Awakening fruit, in over a thousand years, the Tree of Life has nurtured countless such fruits. Do you think I would begrudge this mere one?" Mona scoffed coldly.

"Well then, I shall take my leave, and there will surely be repayment when we meet again," Ye Shikai bowed slightly and said lightly, Mona's eyes moistened—a scene reminiscent of their last encounter two thousand years ago...

Back then, he also said they would meet again, but it took two thousand years for "him" to "appear."

"Wait, you just want to keep playing dumb," Ye Shikai was stopped by Mona just as he turned to leave.

"I told you, I can't give her up, so I can only leave," Ye Shikai said decisively without turning back, "Mona, don't be persistent anymore, General Ye won't return."

.......................................

Outside the Mili Forest.

"You finally came out; I thought you were captured," Ji Qian jumped down from a tree, just in time to see Ye Shikai exiting the forest.

"What happened?" Ji Qian observed Ye Shikai walking unsteadily, seemingly dispirited or more precisely, gloomy and burdened.

"Nothing, I've got the awakening fruit, let's go now," Ye Shikai said, his face pale but trying to stay spirited.

"Alright."

"We got the awakening fruit, now we can go back and awaken Qingyu," Ji Qian whispered, and Ye Shikai's brow slightly relaxed. He didn't know why, but he felt a hollow feeling inside, only thinking about treating Su Qingyu slightly improved his mood.

"Let's leave this place now."

"Alright."

The two walked towards the edge of the forest, just needing to cross through the territory of the Elephant Clan, and their mission would be complete. The forest was exceptionally quiet at night, with only a few insect noises; beyond that, there were just the footsteps of the two people.

"Wait."

Ye Shikai suddenly stopped, and Ji Qian also halted.

"What's wrong?"

Ye Shikai slowly lay on the ground, flipped over the grass, and gently pressed his ear to the ground.

"Thump."

"Thump, thump."

A faint vibration came from the ground, and Ji Qian could feel it too. The vibration was getting stronger, clearly heading their way.

"Could it be a herd of elephants?" Ji Qian asked.

"No, their sound isn't like this," Ye Shikai shook his head. Although the Elephant Clan was not small in number, there were only several dozens of them, and because of their weight, their footsteps should be slow-paced and with large amplitudes. This sound, however, was fast-paced and chaotic, more like... a group of people marching.

"Let's go and see." Ye Shikai grabbed Ji Qian's hand and ran towards the source of the sound, feeling vaguely uneasy. This sound was like thousands marching, but how could there be so many in this rainforest?

Ye Shikai and Ji Qian arrived at a bush and secretly peered ahead. They were startled by what they saw—tens of thousands of "soldiers" clad in iron armor stood on a grassland, clutching steel spears, a vast and intimidating sight.

Ye Shikai and Ji Qian climbed a large tree to hide. These "soldiers" had fierce faces and huge mouths, resembling wild beasts, but were robust and aligned in military formations, just like an army.

"Orcs," Ji Qian murmured.

"Do you know what these are?" Ye Shikai exclaimed. By rough estimates, there were no fewer than fifty thousand of these "orcs," a huge number that had apparently been lurking in the forest.

"I've seen these in ancient texts; they should have been extinct," Ji Qian said puzzledly. "These orcs are natural war machines, destroying everything without counting casualties or consequences."

"But why are they here?" Ye Shikai had a bad feeling as, all of a sudden, an orc over two meters tall, appearing to be a leader, stepped forward and roared into the sky. Following this, all the orc formations began to move, the ground shaking as if an ancient army was on the move.

"What are they planning to do?" Ye Shikai followed the direction they were heading and saw in the distance the Tree of Life towering into the clouds, which was exactly the Mili Forest.

"They're probably heading for the Tree of Life," Ji Qian murmured, as the orcs started to run towards the forest ahead.