The night in the Black Fog Forest seemed especially dark, such that even those close by could only barely see a silhouette.
Ivan had thought the strange noises around him were just uncomfortable, but when all that noise vanished, only then did he understand what true discomfort was—a creeping fear was growing uncontrollably within his veins.
“Light the fire.”
Leider barked a command, and torches were lit.
The torch fell into the center of the wooden fence, and a bonfire quickly ignited.
“Watch the vines, a tree monster is attacking,” Glowe warned.
Noises arose around them again, the rustling sounds of movement. Indeed, something like vines was approaching from all directions. Under the illumination of the fire, it was visible that the fire’s deterrence didn’t make the creature back away.
Ivan didn’t know if he was jinxing it, but no sooner had he thought of the tree monster than they encountered one. His luck was definitely absurd, perhaps it was incompatible with the Black Pine Forest.
Although he complained in his mind, he didn’t slacken his actions at all.
The group stood back-to-back against the bonfire, completely indifferent to the roasting flames.
“Swoosh, swoosh.”
Vines, like long snakes, snaked through the gaps in the wooden fence, some even climbed over the top, all striking towards the group at once.
In that instance, attacks came from all four directions.
Except for Ivan, the others had abundant experience in combat. Although busy, they were not in disarray, severally chopping down the vines that stretched over.
However, the situation did not improve; the vines didn’t reduce in number but appeared in greater numbers along with roots and grass stalks.
“Over here.”
A mercenary spotted a tall moving figure not far away, swinging its arms to command the attacks around it, believing it to be the actual body of the tree monster, preparing to join the others and attack it to capture the leader.
But Leider stopped him.
Glowe also cautioned, “That’s a bunch of entangled vines and roots, don’t be fooled.” His sharp eyes always managed to discern things a step ahead.
Clearly, it was a trap, charging out could easily result in being strangled by the tree monster.
A drawn-out defense always leads to slip-ups. In a careless moment, the campfire “boom” burst as a piece of wood slammed into it, scattering sparks and forcing people to dodge, revealing the cunning of the tree monster.
“The tree monster’s biggest weakness is its speed,” Leider observed at that moment and finally ordered a change of position: “Glowe, I assign you to take the lead, I’ll cover the rear with the others, we need to pull out at once.”
As he spoke, he pointed out a direction and patted Ivan nearby, giving Beaman a look to have them follow with the torches.
“No problem, Captain.”
Glowe promptly agreed, without hesitation, took two people to the left and jumped out of the wooden fence.
Beaman and Ivan followed closely with the torches.
Then came Marshall and his four men, while Leider led Paul and the other mercenaries at the rear.
Just as he had expected, the direction of their breakout was the most bluffing; that side’s vines were easier to deal with. The three in front carved a path like cutting through melons and vegetables, whereas those at the rear faced fiercer attacks.
“Ha!”
As the captain, Leider stood at the very back, his body erupting with a stronger aura, his Combat Energy like a black shawl, tightly protecting the surface of his body. With a casual flick of his Longsword, the many entangling vines and roots immediately fell apart.
With a sword in his left hand and a shield in the right, he coordinated flawlessly, halting the tree monster’s fierce onslaught between his hands.
This burst from him won time for the others to withdraw.
“Captain, we’ve broken through.”
Soon after, Glowe led the way to a successful breakout, with no vines blocking the path ahead.
Those in front cleared the way, those at the back retreated while fighting.
After much effort, they finally left the troublesome tree monster far behind.
There were two pieces of news.
The good news was that they had escaped their pursuers.
The bad news was that they had delved deeper into the Black Fog Forest.
Previously, with no other choice, they had evacuated in the opposite direction, heading deeper into the forest, unaware of how much further they had gone.
Ivan noticed that Paul was injured, his father Leider seemed somewhat exhausted, and the other three mercenaries were also wounded, but none were seriously harmed, which relieved him somewhat.
“There are wolf deer.”
Before they could catch their breath, other predators lurked around, their eyes revealing traces of ferocity in the light of the fire.
Wolf deer, also known as Blade Deer, are small in size with dagger-like sharp antlers on their heads, and have the habits of wolves. They are gregarious hunters and belong to a troublesome group of wild beasts in the forest.
This really was misfortune compounded like rain leaking through the roof at night.
The appearance of one wolf deer meant that a group of them was nearby.
Ivan handed the torch and a healing potion to the injured Paul and removed a bow from his back to stay alert to the rustling of the surroundings. His shield had been lost in the earlier breakout.
The group had no choice but to keep moving forward.
“Woosh.”
“Woosh.”
In an instant, two sets of green lights flashed and vanished from the rear, followed by two arrow shots, each hitting their respective targets, sounding the death moans of the wolf deer on both sides.
The group noticed that one arrow came unsurprisingly from Glowe, while the other was from the young master of the leader’s family, which was somewhat surprising to the mercenaries.
“Go!”
Leider called everyone to quickly leave, not even bothering with the prey.
Like wolves, the wolf deer were cunning, and once entangled, one would pay a severe price.
Soon after, more rustling surrounded them, and this time it was significant. Something was prowling, and Glowe tried shooting an arrow, startling the stealthy hunters and revealing pairs of slitted green glows once again.
The group silently cursed, realizing the cunning group of wolf deer must be trying to surround them before launching an attack.
A fierce battle was inevitable.
If it were daytime, the mercenaries would have been able to deal with it confidently, but this was under the night sky in the Black Fog Forest.
Ivan tightened his grip on his longbow, not daring to blink, his nose filled with the rotting stench of the forest.
Suddenly, he sensed something off, instinctively wrinkling his nose, the foul smell seemingly stronger and somewhat familiar.
“Wait, I have an idea.”
Ivan, disregarding other considerations, immediately called the advancing group to a halt.
Facing the puzzled expressions of the group, he continued, “Everyone, smell the air. There must be a large cluster of skunk konjacs to the left. We can take shelter there.” Like the Black Spider Flower, skunk konjac emits a unique scent and can also be used as medicine.
Paul warned, “Ivan, the smell of the skunk konjac is toxic.”
Ivan confidently said, “I know, the scent seems strong and disgusting, but its toxicity is actually mild. Those who have a detoxification potion should take it now. If you don’t have one, we’ll find a way to detox tomorrow. Beaman was right, I am indeed a Pharmacist.
Wolf deer, unlike us, have exceptionally sensitive noses. They definitely won’t dare to approach the skunk konjac. In fact, most wild beasts won’t. We can use this to hold out until morning.”
After hearing his plan, the group was speechless for a moment.
Leider chose to trust his son, immediately ordering the group to head left. True to his word, there was a thicket of skunk konjac, each plant over two meters tall, its stems and leaves broad like dwarf trees.
Ivan took a mask from his pocket and led the way under the broad leaves of the skunk konjac.
Seeing this, the others, despite the strong stench, followed suit and disappeared among the foliage.