After resting for ten minutes in front of the forest, Chi Chi became lively again.
The little cat was full of energy.
So Field set off deeper into the forest with her.
Luck was on their side. Just within ten miles of entering the forest, they completed the first material task, finding an herb that Hollan needed. And it was Chi Chi who found it, her sharp eyes spotting the target in the dense vegetation.
After picking it and storing it in the space ring, they continued deeper into the forest.
Perhaps triggering a lucky buff, Chi Chi found three more required material herbs in quick succession. This meant that they completed four out of the six gold-level tasks directly.
Although these were relatively low-difficulty gold-level tasks deliberately assigned by Hollan, Field didn't hesitate to praise Chi Chi.
Rubbing Chi Chi's head, Field chuckled, "You really are my lucky star."
"Hehe~" Chi Chi was very happy. She felt like she was finally being helpful.
With renewed vigor, she continued to jump around in the forest, searching for the task targets.
In addition to the required materials for the tasks, Field also picked some familiar medicinal plants along the way. This way, if they encountered corresponding tasks in the future, they could submit them directly. Even if there were no corresponding tasks, these herbs were all gold-level and could fetch a good price.
Of course, they encountered some danger along the way.
There were many magical beasts in the forest, with many gold-level magical beasts lurking in the periphery. In less than an hour, Field encountered seven of them. For an ordinary gold-level mercenary, this would be challenging, if not dangerous.
But was Field an ordinary gold-level mercenary?
Clearly not.
With just a punch, Field could confuse these gold-level magical beasts, and then they would understand that this big two-legged creature was not someone to mess with and would obediently flee.
There were also a couple of stubborn ones who insisted on challenging Field, but they all ended up under Field's fists—he didn't even need to bring out his precious "Angel" hammer.
At noon, Field roasted the hind leg meat of a gold-level magical beast over a fire and enjoyed a delicious barbecue with Chi Chi.
After finishing the barbecue, Field and Chi Chi resumed their search for the Crystal Demon Snake.
However, luck seemed to have run out, or something else happened. Until four o'clock in the afternoon, Field had not been able to find any trace of the Crystal Demon Snake.
They had to return by five o'clock at the latest to make it back in time for dinner.
So, at half-past four, with still no luck, Field decided to head back with Chi Chi.
Although they couldn't give Hollan the Crystal Demon Snake's crystal as a gift, the herbs they had collected should suffice.
However, just as they were about to head back, there was suddenly a loud noise in the distance, accompanied by a hissing sound.
Field raised an eyebrow slightly. This kind of hissing sounded a bit like that of a snake-like magical beast.
Could it be the Crystal Demon Snake?
With this thought in mind, Field immediately rushed towards the direction of the noise with Chi Chi.
After crossing a small mountain and running for five or six miles, they arrived in a basin. Standing on the hilltop, Field finally saw the source of the commotion.
As Field had guessed, it was indeed a huge Crystal Demon Snake, about thirty to forty meters long.
But that wasn't all.
Looking at the entities in the basin, Field's brow furrowed gradually.
Because he also saw a human figure, and... eight Wolf Demons!
When Feld saw the Wolf Demons, he knew trouble was brewing.
Because Holland had said that Wolf Demons typically travel alone, and the presence of so many of them at once here likely meant... that a blood ground had indeed appeared nearby.
"It's the Wolf Demons, meow..." Feld swallowed hard as he looked at the scene in the basin, clearly shaken by the sight of the Wolf Demons.
And he noticed, among the eight Wolf Demons, one was particularly massive.
The others were around three meters tall, with two of them about four meters, but the largest one stood at a towering six meters, its claws a vivid crimson color, emitting a red glow even from a distance.
"Big guy, there's someone down there, should we go help her, meow?" Feld turned to look at Kiki.
Feld squatted down, silently observing, then grinned and said, "Of course we should, we know that person."
"Who is it?" Kiki asked, her vision not as keen as Feld's, unable to make out the person's appearance, only discerning that it was a woman.
"Hilda, remember?" Feld smiled.
"Oh, the Swan Sword Maiden Warren talked about, meow!" Kiki realized.
"That's right!" Feld snapped his fingers. "She needs our help now, this is a good opportunity!"
"What opportunity, meow?" Kiki asked curiously.
"Of course, it's a chance to be heroes and rescue a beauty!" Feld replied, unabashedly.
"Does the big guy like her?" Kiki suddenly asked.
"As long as she's beautiful, I like her," Feld nodded.
Speaking to a little cat, there was no need for the formality Holland demanded; straightforwardness was enough.
At that, Kiki fell into thought, then touched her own cheek and turned to Feld.
"Big guy, do you rescue every beautiful woman you see because it's dangerous?" Kiki asked.
"Of course, why wouldn't I save them if I can?" Feld snorted.
Kiki burst into laughter instantly.
Because Feld had saved her before, she counted as one of the beautiful women in Feld's eyes.
And as long as they were beautiful, Feld liked them.
From this, she deduced that Feld liked her!
Kiki thought she was a genius~
So she nodded and jumped onto Feld's back. "Then let's hurry and save her, meow!"
"Alright!" Feld immediately leaped up and rushed toward the basin.
Meanwhile, the battle in the basin resumed.
...
Hilda held her slender sword, facing off against both the Crystal Serpent and the pack of Wolf Demons.
But in reality, the threat posed by the Wolf Demons was far greater than that of the Crystal Serpent. Even the Crystal Serpent was now defensively postured against the Wolf Demons.
Hilda felt a heavy weight in her heart.
Her purpose in coming to the Norfalka Forest this time was for training, and incidentally to help Professor Holland collect the materials she needed.
Yes, it was quite a coincidence that her and Feld's goals were the same.
But she was here to express gratitude to Professor Holland for her previous help, so when she heard that Professor Holland's research team needed these materials, she applied for an expedition to collect them, also helping her along the way - Professor Holland was unaware of this.
This time she came alone, or rather, she had always been alone.
Despite her high popularity in the academy, in reality, she had few true friends.
And as a Platinum Two-Star, she certainly had the qualifications to venture alone into the Norfalka Forest for training.
Although her main target this time was the Crystal Serpent, an average of Platinum Three-Stars, one tier higher than her, she was confident in herself.
As the youngest and most talented swordsman in the clan, she possessed all the qualities of a genius, including the confidence to fight across tiers!
On the third day of her journey in the Norfalka Forest, she finally encountered a Platinum Four-Star Crystal Serpent.
Although it was two small tiers higher, Hilda was not afraid. She was determined to kill this Crystal Serpent; it would just take a bit more effort.
However, what she didn't expect was that just as she successfully subdued the Crystal Serpent and prepared to slay it, these Wolf Demons emerged from nowhere and attacked her.
If she hadn't reacted swiftly, she might have been injured by now.
But even so, in order to avoid the Wolf Demons' sneak attack, she forcibly interrupted her sword technique, suffering from the backlash of magic.
It wasn't pleasant.
At this moment, she was confronting both the Crystal Serpent and the pack of Wolf Demons.
She knew of Wolf Demons, but this group seemed different.
The leader was larger and more ferocious than the average Wolf Demon, with crimson claws that emitted a red glow, indicating venomous claws, a feature not typically found in Wolf Demons.
It was this very Wolf Demon that had ambushed her, its speed was extremely fast, reaching at least the Platinum tier.
And those blood-red claws, with a mist of blood, usually meant that they were poisonous.
Hilda had a premonition that if she were to be scratched by those claws, even if it were just a graze, it would cause her a lot of trouble.
So the current situation was very unfavorable for her.
Having just fought with the Crystal Serpent, the consumption was quite high, and nearly half of her magical energy had already been depleted.
Her magical energy was very special, possessing extremely high intensity and unparalleled explosiveness, far exceeding those of the same tier. This was the capital that allowed her to fight across tiers.
But there was also a downside: her magical energy reserve was less than that of the same tier, so she had started learning to distribute and control her magical energy from a young age.
Now that half of her magical energy had been consumed, facing the pack of Wolf Demons in their prime, she was clearly at a disadvantage.
Thinking back to how she had seized the Crystal Serpent's weakness just moments ago, preparing to kill it, only to be interrupted by these Wolf Demons, which led to her being affected by backlash, Hilda couldn't help but feel irritated.
And she saw "cunning" in the eyes of the massive Wolf Demon.
It had intentionally struck at that moment to interrupt her attack.
If the ambush had succeeded, she would have been severely injured. If it hadn't, it would still have caused her backlash.
So Hilda knew that this Wolf Demon in front of her couldn't be compared to those with low intelligence among magical beasts.
This was a fierce and cunning opponent!
Her best option now was to retreat.
She knew what it meant for so many Wolf Demons to appear here.
But her pride and anger kept her standing in place, raising the sword in her hand.
A swordsman of Scallot, dared to wield her sword against the strong!
A knight of Scallot, dared to charge into death!
She, Hilda Keel Scallot, would never disgrace the glory of the Scallot family!
Nor would she disgrace the honor of the Sword Saint family!
So, facing the bloody creatures, she would never flee without a fight!
Since she encountered them today, she must slay them here to prove her legendary path!
With that thought, she turned sideways, facing the pack of Wolf
Demons.
With her slender sword held horizontally, its blade, no thicker than a finger, was almost parallel to the ground, pointed directly at the huge Wolf Demon.
Her other hand rested behind her back, her sharp eyes and the aura of her sword rising to their peak, her golden hair tied into a high ponytail fluttering without wind.
A chilly voice slowly emanated, exuding elegance and confidence.
"Prepare to die."