The next evening, inside the duty cabin.
One by one, new shuttle-shaped "arrows," or perhaps darts, were tossed by Colin into the soft, beast-leather pouch arranged on the table, clinking against each other.
After it was half-filled, Colin secured it at his waist for close storage.
This wasn't the only place on his body where he stored shuttle-shaped darts. To avoid the embarrassment of running out, he placed varying amounts of the darts in multiple locations on his person.
In addition, he also carried some dry food Renee had made, just in case.
With everything ready, he waited quietly inside the cabin.
By all logic, tonight the Black-Maned Giant Pigs should also attack.
And what he needed to do was wait for the City Guards on patrol to detect movement, pull the signal flare, and then he would rush over quickly.
Before that, Holt and Marlow, a First-Class Apprentice of the Chiwen Gang, would arrive before him to mark the wild pigs.
Then they would wait for him to meet up with them at the spot, and together they would follow the marks in pursuit.
Outside the window, the moonlight was bright, with silver moonbeams pouring into the room and quietly merging with the gentle White Light of the Bright Crystals.
With the weather being clear tonight, the sky full of stars, and even without the need for torches, one could clearly see everything in the fields.
Sitting inside the room for a long time, the signal flare took a while to come. Colin remained focused on it, and somehow found it hard to settle down to meditate.
'I still haven't experienced a real battle...' he thought to himself with a light chuckle, not really feeling any particular way about it.
Tests, interviews, fighting bosses in games, or even before starting a trip, it's hard for anyone to avoid a bit of an accelerated heartbeat.
This feeling, a mix of excitement, tension, anticipation, and fear, is complex and only natural.
Colin stepped out of the door, bent his knees slightly, and then leaped onto the roof.
The landscape outside West City was flat, which was not only good for farming but also meant the view was rarely obstructed. He stood on the rooftop with a clear panoramic view.
Groups of City Guards wielding torches patrolled the fields in a systematic rhythm, creating orange trails in the darkness.
A cool breeze passed, and his heart gradually calmed. As usual, he cast a Golden Cleaning Technique on the rooftop below him, then sat down with his legs crossed, starting to meditate.
Time continued to slip away.
Clip-clop, clip-clop—
The footsteps of the City Guards approached from afar, then grew distant, patrolling back and forth.
After an undefined period.
Ziii!
Boom!
An orange signal flare burst suddenly into the night sky, distinctly visible. In an instant, Colin's fair complexion was coated with a thin orange glow.
His mind hadn't caught up, but his body had already leapt down from the cabin.
Before his toes even touched the ground, he heard a whizzing sound from the wooden house to his right!
Looking up, he saw a figure soaring into the sky, hurrying towards the direction from which the flare had come—it was Holt.
Glancing to the left, there was also a Wizard flying rapidly through the night sky, probably Marlow from the Chiwen Gang.
Colin exhaled slightly, feeling his blood inexplicably restless. He hesitated no longer and hurried along the ridges of the fields.
The wind whistled past his ears, and his strong and agile legs accurately stepped on the narrow earthen paths.
Before long, he saw flickering lights in the distance.
After a short while, the distinct shrieks of the Black-Maned Giant Pigs also reached his ears with the breeze.
As he drew closer, however, the shrieks of the Black-Maned Giant Pigs grew more distant.
By the time he reached the spot of the lights, all he saw were a small troop of City Guards holding torches and the Wizards, Holt and Marlow, standing and waiting.
Perhaps because the Black-Maned Giant Pigs had attacked in the area he was responsible for, he turned out to be the earliest to arrive next to Holt and Marlow.
After greeting them respectfully, Colin stood aside and waited.
In the field ahead, many stalks of wheat lay flattened, creating a clear, visible path leading towards the Dark Forest.
"It seems Holt and his team have already marked the Black-Maned Giant Pig and driven it back to the Dark Forest," he speculated to himself.
Tap tap tap—
With the sound of footsteps drawing nearer, more and more wizards gathered around him, and it didn't take long for everyone to arrive.
After looking around and counting heads, Holt issued his command in a clear and concise manner.
"Let's move out!"
He took the lead, walking ahead, while Marlow took up the rear of the group.
Before long, they followed the tracks to the edge of the Dark Forest.
"Once inside the forest, tighten formation, watch out for each other, and don't fall behind!"
Before entering the forest, Holt stopped in his tracks, turned back, and solemnly reminded them.
Colin walked right behind him, with Catherine and other squad members at his side.
After Holt finished his reminder, he cast the Light Brightness Skill to summon a light orb that floated before him, then he stepped into the forest first.
Colin followed closely behind.
As soon as he stepped into the Dark Forest, he distinctly felt a stark contrast from the outside world... The Dark Forest was exceptionally silent, with an inexplicable sense of eeriness.
Colin surveyed his surroundings by the soft white light of the orb.
All around grew trees of various shapes, some with intertwined roots and crooked forms, others tall and straight with lush foliage... But they all shared one common feature—
That was the deep, almost black color of their bark and leaves.
This color made them look like pure black shadows, staring for too long would even give one the illusion that they were twisting and swaying.
Holt led the group forward steadily, occasionally making slight adjustments to their direction.
Along the way, Colin spotted many signs of the Black-Maned Giant Pig's activity. The group also encountered several snake and insect attacks, but Holt or Marlow resolved them beforehand.
After a while, Holt suddenly quickened his pace, no longer adjusting direction, and headed straight towards a fixed point.
'That Black-Maned Giant Pig must have returned to its lair and settled down,' Colin conjectured in his mind.
After a brief swift march, the group arrived at a hollow in the hillside, facing a huge, pitch-black cave.
"Stop."
Holt motioned backward with his hand, caution apparent on his face.
Rashly entering the cave was clearly not a wise decision.
He pondered for a moment and called Marlow over.
"I have a way to ascertain the situation inside the cave, but I may need your assistance," he said.
Marlow nodded, indicating for him to continue.
Holt took out a rice grain-sized seed from his chest and said:
"This is a May Grass seed, which after growing, can roughly sense the vitality of living creatures nearby. I need you to help me scatter it evenly into the cave."
"No problem," Marlow agreed.
He took the brown seeds, tossed them into the air, and a gentle breeze lifted the brown seeds, quietly flying into the cave.
Soon after, Marlow nodded and said,
"It's done."
Holt nodded slightly and began casting his spell.
Inside the cave.
The May Grass seeds, scattered at intervals on the ground, quietly sprouted, their fragile husks gradually torn, the shoots peeking out and quickly growing into about ten-centimeter-tall May Grass, with fine fuzz swaying in the wind.
Outside the cave, Holt closed his eyes and carefully sensed his surroundings. Moments later, he opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his face as he said lightly,
"Let's move out. There are only a few dozen ordinary Fierce Beasts inside, most likely all Black-Maned Giant Pigs."
"This must be their lair."