Walking on the dirt path that was patrolled during the day required even more caution at night.
Along the way, the four members of Dago's group didn't speak or interact.
Their attention was focused on the dim forest, wary of any unusual movements.
The grueling night patrol quickly passed, and everyone only relaxed their tensed nerves after returning to the Treehouse Stronghold.
In the clearing of the stronghold, a large iron pot was set up, boiling water for everyone to bathe.
Forest patrolling was not an easy task; without a bath, one's body would become very itchy and uncomfortable.
Dago had built two bathhouses, one for men and one for women. To prevent awkwardness, the two bathhouses were located on opposite corners of the quadrilateral stronghold.
After midnight, everyone took turns on night watch, one hour per person, decided by drawing lots.
The night watch involved standing guard in the watchtower to prevent a night raid by the Black Robe Wizards of the Dark Blood Council.
After drawing their respective night watch lots, everyone dispersed: some chatted, some slept, and some cultivated.
Dago, naturally, chose to cultivate, not wanting to waste a single minute.
To avoid disturbing everyone's rest, Dago did not choose to practice powerful sorcery that would create loud noises by striking trees.
Instead, he focused on cultivating auxiliary sorcery like the Meditation Technique, Detection Art, and Resonance Art.
Then, at seven in the morning, everyone woke up, washed up, and waited for the delicious breakfast made by The Evans.
Ever since tasting The Evans' cooking last time, everyone unanimously decided that the stronghold's meals would be entrusted to them from then on.
Usually, by nine o'clock, Viser would arrive at the stronghold, and everyone would begin a new forest patrol, divided into the original three groups.
Although he was much more tired than before, Dago quite enjoyed it; there was a sense of family happiness in it.
Days passed like this, with the gentle clinking of pots and pans, unhurriedly...
Yet, inadvertently, subtle changes were etched into the ordinary.
..........
Ten days later, the forest patrol team had not yet suffered any casualties, but occasionally during patrols, they would discover Wizards who originally lived in the forest fleeing with large bags and small packages.
This phenomenon gave everyone a feeling that a storm was brewing.
In the afternoon, at Moonlight Lake, Dago's lips parted slightly, deep blue halos rotated in his eyes, and cold air emanated.
His hands constantly rubbed in front of him, and an Ice Crystal Cannonball, as large as a football and deep blue to nearly black, gradually condensed into shape.
The moment it formed, it whistled and shot out, its powerful wake gliding across the mirror-like lake surface.
A long white wave was dragged across the lake, breaking the serene blue surface.
The Ice Crystal Cannonball directly hit a group of Bronze Crocodiles in the lake, exploding with a "boom" and sending water splashing over ten meters high.
The Bronze Crocodile group was instantly blown away, their bellies turned up as they floated to the surface, then were frozen in the lake.
For ten days, Dago had not stopped his cultivation, his progress in sorcery never faltered. He summoned his system panel.
【"Wizard Universal Meditation Method" (Transformation 121/10000); "Ice Crystal Cannon" (Transformation 197/10000); "Resonance Art" (Beginner 887/1000); "Detection Art" (Beginner 535/1000); "Potion Crafting" (Beginner 18/1000)】
Once a skill reached Transformation, he discovered another way to accelerate progress: actual combat.
However, for the requirement of 10,000 progress points, it was still a drop in the bucket, but even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
"I can only continue to slowly progress. At least the power of the Ice Crystal Cannon is much greater than before."
Dago thought to himself, comforting himself, and turned to walk towards the stronghold, preparing to call his companions from the stronghold to move the monster meat.
There were seven or eight Bronze Crocodiles; he couldn't handle them by himself.
He walked back up the dirt slope to the stronghold, gazing into the distance...
Under the orange sunset, vast stretches of trees undulated, gradually turning withered yellow. The Emerald Forest had now fully entered autumn.
It was a pity that beneath this beautiful scene lay the turmoil and chaos brought by war.
Half an hour later, treading on withered yellow fallen leaves, Dago stood before the stronghold's wooden gate and called out to his companions.
"Time to work!" Dago shouted loudly.
The wooden gate slowly lifted, and everyone walked out, looking at him with a hint of confusion on their faces.
Dago told them that he had hunted a group of monster meat at Moonlight Lake.
He couldn't move it by himself and needed everyone's help.
Old Marico stayed behind to guard the stronghold, Viser had already returned early, and the remaining five excitedly followed to transport the monster meat.
They arrived at Moonlight Lake, where the small icebergs on the lake surface had melted considerably, revealing seven or eight nearly five-meter-long Bronze Crocodiles frozen within.
Everyone looked at Dago with admiration, then each released sorcery to bring the small icebergs from the lake to the shore.
During this time, Dago found Serena, who was now a Level 2 Apprentice Wizard and had learned her first sorcery.
It was the Vine Technique, a sorcery passed down in her family, which allowed her to grow vines from the ground to entangle enemies, then control or strangle them.
"Do you know, there used to be a large patch of moonlight flowers here, which I refined into the Mental Potion, the one you drank."
Dago said to Serena, pointing to the area where he had previously picked the moonlight flowers.
After ten days of living together, Serena had become much more cheerful, especially towards Dago.
"Lord Dago's Mental Potion was truly magical. I really wish I could drink another bottle."
Serena said, recalling with a lingering expression.
Then she ran to that patch of moonlight flowers, squatted down, and began digging and collecting soil, putting it into a bag.
Dago was very pleased with her enthusiasm; later, when she cultivated moonlight flowers, his Potion Crafting skill would be able to improve.
Soon, everyone walked back to the stronghold, each carrying dozens of catties of meat on their shoulders.
As night fell, everyone lit a bonfire and began a barbecue buffet.
No one drank alcohol; they were simply immersed in the revelry of eating monster meat, as they still had to patrol the forest at night and dared not be careless.
Around eight o'clock, everyone donned their equipment and set out on their night patrol.
When they reached an unpatrolled location, Dago, who was leading, suddenly stopped.
In the field of vision of his Detection Art, there were subtle energy particle fluctuations behind the bushes ahead.
The three youngsters behind him didn't understand why, but they also stopped, their expressions tensing, not daring to even breathe.
Under the bright moonlight, Dago slowly approached the bushes, using his machete to push them aside.
He saw pale, twisted mummies lying on the ground; the intact environment indicated that there hadn't been much of a battle.
Dago estimated from the slightly swollen bellies of the mummies that the intestinal flora had fermented and caused bloating, meaning the people had likely been dead for two days.
He walked over, and the three youngsters followed, not daring to fall behind.
The female mummy was naked, completely bare, with no signs of fatal injuries, presumably having died from having her blood drained directly.
Her face was twisted in pain and despair, her gray-white eyes wide like brass bells, cursing what lay before her.
Serena, Ian, and Gavin saw this scene, their faces instantly turning pale. They covered their mouths, ran to the side, and vomited up all the grilled meat they had eaten that night.
Dago remained silent, looking at the subtle negative energy particles swirling around the corpse.
She must have been afflicted by evil sorcery before death, her blood directly drained.
When Old Marico and The Evans arrived together and saw the mummies, The Evans' faces changed, and they turned their heads away.
Old Marico stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the mummy, spiritual power surging from his eyes...
He chanted a Requiem Spell, his voice soft yet powerful, like a spring breeze, seemingly able to penetrate the soul.
As he chanted, Old Marico's tattered robe emitted a soft silver light. He pushed his hands forward, and the silver light surged like a tide towards the mummy.
At this moment, a phantom soul slowly rose from the mummy, its face twisted, full of pain and unwillingness.
Old Marico accelerated his chanting, his eyes filled with compassion as he looked at the soul.
The power of the spell enveloped the soul like a warm embrace. The soul's expression gradually softened, finally transforming into pure light and disappearing into the night sky.
A gentle breeze whispered, as if speaking of the soul's liberation and rest.
With sorrowful faces, everyone dug a pit and buried the bodies, then returned to the stronghold in silence...
And dispersed to their respective temporary dwellings.