When Du Chen stepped out of the Mo Ye Forest, he never imagined there would be a day when he'd return. The days spent surviving in the wild had already given him enough material to digest for a lifetime. But who would have thought, just two days after leaving the forest, they would have to go back in.
Standing at the edge of the forest, facing a row of trees, Du Chen dramatically slumped, his arms hanging limply, and a comically exaggerated expression on his face. In a dejected tone, he said, "Are you absolutely sure you didn't make a mistake with the route map? Is this really the only way from Lingyu County to Zhenlian City?"
Canghai gave him a merciless reply, "Stop whining. There's no mistake. Li Tongyu said it before we left: This path is treacherous, full of dangers, and only Immortal Masters can walk it."
"Alright, alright," Du Chen sighed helplessly, straightening up. He then pointed at the group behind them, "We might be able to manage, but what about them?"
The people Du Chen was pointing to were the residents of Li Family Village, who were also heading to Zhenlian City to join a sect. Li Tonghan had to come along, but his health was too poor. Despite being buffed with various enhancements, he could only walk a few steps before gasping for air. If he had to walk for more than two minutes, he'd probably collapse. As a result, two attendants were carrying him on a shoulder palanquin.
Li Tonglin's son, Li Anfang, was too young to take care of himself. Li Tonglin wasn't comfortable leaving him, so he was accompanying him as well. Two other children, one nine and the other seven, were also with family members or attendants. This meant a large group of more than ten people, all carrying bundles, following behind.
"This feels like a picnic. Do they not realize how dangerous and difficult this road is?" Du Chen complained, his face full of dissatisfaction.
Canghai adjusted his glasses and glanced back, saying, "Of course they know. But if it were just them, reaching Zhenlian City would be impossible. By following us, they have protection. They've thought this through quite clearly. And stop assuming everyone else has the same low intelligence as you."
Not bothering to listen to Du Chen grumbling about how he could never escape being insulted, Canghai moved to the side where the Li family had unloaded their bags from the carriage. He addressed Sang Tian and Tong Xinfen, saying, "Let them leave their things with us. The journey will be tough, and it's already hard enough to look after themselves. Carrying extra stuff will only slow them down."
The two girls nodded and went to help pack things away.
Canghai then walked over to Li Zhong, instructing him to take care of the Li family members. Li Zhong was Li Tongyu's trusted assistant, and due to his extensive experience in the wild, he was the perfect person for the job.
With everything ready, Du Chen and Canghai took the lead, with Tong Xinfen and Xiao Yue bringing up the rear, covering the group. The Li family members walked in the middle. As usual, Sang Tian took on the role of a scout, moving stealthily around the group, keeping an eye on their surroundings.
Du Chen reluctantly grumbled, "Why is it always me at the front? Feels like I'm being sent out to die first…"
Tong Xinfen interrupted, "I'd really love to swap places with you, but I'm not the MT."
Du Chen had no choice but to zip his lips, trying to cheer himself up by thinking that if they encountered monsters along the way, it would at least be a good opportunity to level up.
Whether it was Du Chen's beast-like intuition or just sheer bad luck, as soon as they entered the forest, and after walking only a few steps, they were greeted by a few wind blades flying toward them. Canghai reacted quickly, casting a shield over himself. The two attacks hit the light shield and vanished silently. Du Chen, though, was slower to react, and though the wind blades struck him, his chainmail armor kept him unharmed, only giving him a dull ache where he was hit.
The three people at the back immediately hurried forward upon seeing the enemy attack. They quickly took up positions, readying their spells, waiting for Du Chen to charge, at which point they would unleash a full barrage of magic at the two level five demonic dogs that were continuously shooting wind blades at them.
The five of them had worked together for a long time and had plenty of experience fighting monsters, so they were not afraid. However, the people from Li Family Village, who had never seen demonic beasts in action, were not as composed. When they saw the demonic dogs still spraying wind blades around, the younger ones started to cry loudly. Some of the adults hugged children, hiding behind trees, trembling with fear. A few others were so scared they collapsed onto the ground, scooting backwards, and some even started to panic and run away.
Two attendants carrying Li Tonghan's palanquin suddenly dropped it and ran towards the nearby bushes, causing Li Tonghan to fall heavily to the ground. The impact left him breathless for a moment in pain.
Canghai noticed the chaos and furrowed his brow, but he had no time to deal with it. The five of them were already in direct combat with the demonic beasts, and since hyenas on Earth were often pack animals, he also had to be wary of potential ambushes from other demonic dogs nearby.
Suddenly, a scream of pain pierced the air, making everyone's ears ring. One of the attendants, in a panic, was struck by a wind blade from another hidden demonic dog, the blade cutting through his thigh. He fell to the ground, blood spilling everywhere, letting out a wail as loud as a pig being slaughtered.
"Jingqiu!" Canghai shouted. Without a word, Sang Tian immediately transformed into a giant bear, charging to intercept a third demonic dog.
"Everyone, focus your fire and take down these two first!"
Li Zhong, who had been just as frightened, now displayed his experience and composure. He shouted to the panicked crowd, "Don't panic! We have Immortal Masters protecting us. Running around like this will only lead us into more danger!"
He yelled a few more times, and the crowd slowly calmed down. They gathered around him, huddling behind a large tree. Some of the braver ones peeked out from behind the tree to watch the battle.
Now that the Li family was no longer causing chaos, the five of them could focus and deal with the demonic dogs. In a matter of minutes, the first two demonic dogs were down, and the four others came to assist Sang Tian.
The druid's bear form, also known as the "Bear Tank," was comparable to a warrior when it came to drawing aggro. The giant bear not only had thick skin but also healing abilities. The demonic dog's wind blades, after all its efforts, only scratched a small portion of Sang Tian's health bar, while Sang Tian swiped at it with a mighty bear paw, instantly healing back to full health.
However, the biggest flaw of the druid's bear form was its weak offensive abilities. After all this time, the demonic dog's health was still far from half gone.
"Druids are amazing—able to tank, deal some damage, and even heal. Look at how steady the aggro is. They're even better than I am at pulling." Du Chen, unhurried, stood to the side with his arms crossed, making sarcastic comments. It was rare for him to get the chance to watch Sang Tian in action, so he was in no hurry to jump in.
"Hurry up and come help! Turning into this bear form is the stupidest thing ever!" Sang Tian shouted unhappily.
The other three had already started to engage, and Canghai, feeling sorry for his girlfriend, turned to Du Chen and said, "Alright, alright. Let's finish up quickly and get out of here. Who knows if there are more monsters around?"
After taking down the last demonic dog, Du Chen handled the spoils of battle. Canghai went over to check on the injured from the Li family. The attendant's wound, though severe, had already been partially treated by Li Zhong, but Canghai cast a healing spell on him. The wound healed rapidly, to the amazement of the Li family members, who couldn't help but call it a miracle.
Canghai glanced at the bloodstains on the ground and instructed the Li family members, "Quickly pack your things and leave this place. The scent of blood may attract more monsters."
The terrified members of the Li family, who had been sitting on the ground catching their breath, immediately stood up upon hearing this. The two attendants quickly picked up Li Tonghan, and without further prompting, everyone moved swiftly, eager to leave the area as quickly as possible.
The distribution of demonic beasts in this forest was clearly denser and more dangerous than the area outside Li Family Village. As they advanced, they encountered many new types of monsters, most of which were level five or higher. The deeper they ventured, the higher the level of the beasts they encountered.
Du Chen felt like he was back in a monster-hunting game. With more monsters, leveling up was faster. After half a day of travel, Du Chen had leveled back up to level five, and the other four were all at level six.
Around noon, Du Chen and the others found a small clearing in the forest, intending to rest and have some food. However, the seven-year-old boy managed to stir up a hornet's nest, quite literally—he was poking at a stick and ended up disturbing a swarm of giant bees.
These giant bees, while only level five with relatively short health bars, were huge—each the size of a soup bowl. Their attack style completely shattered the group's understanding of bees. They gathered together like a rolling cloud or the formation of ancient Roman archers, relentlessly firing stingers, causing the group of ten or so humans to cry out in pain.
The members of the Li family screamed, "We're done for!" as they tried to shield their heads and faces with their wide sleeves, running for cover. However, their thin clothes did little to protect them from the sharp stingers. Li Zhong, with a herculean effort, called out for everyone to lie down on the ground, protect their heads and vital areas, and eventually managed to restore some order to the chaos.
The five from the main group were not in an easy position either. Facing the giant bees, they had no significant advantage in terms of levels, and the bees were numerous. Despite constantly killing them, a thin layer of dead bees had already piled up on the ground, but the air remained thick with the swarming, buzzing horde.
The stingers that struck Du Chen's armored body rang out like the sound of metal being struck. He wildly swung his greatsword in front of him, but the places not covered by the armor were still stung repeatedly, and he winced in pain. Before long, the areas that had been stung began to feel numb, indicating the stingers were laced with poison.
The only mage who could use area-of-effect magic, Tongxinfen, only had enough mana for a single Firestorm spell, after which she needed to wait for her mana to regenerate. With such a slow rate of killing, it seemed like they wouldn't even be able to finish off the bees before they themselves were overwhelmed.
Du Chen's spirits sank. He said, "Are we really going to wipe out this time? I don't think I can take much more. What should we do? Xiao Yue, did you bind your soul stone to the priest yet?"
Although Du Chen's taunting skills drew most of the giant bees toward him, there were still a few stragglers attacking the others. Even though the few wearing cloth armor had buffs to protect them from magic, their faces contorted in pain as they were stung.
Xiao Yue gritted her teeth, enduring the pain, and still managed to answer Du Chen's question obediently, "I've done it, but…"
The little ghost, who had been sitting back and watching up until now, finally opened his eyes upon hearing Xiao Yue's pain-filled voice. Seeing the stingers flying toward them, he let out a cold grunt, his face darkened, and he raised his hand. A dim black light shot out without a sound.
The giant bee swarm, which had been swirling together like a cloud, immediately began to dissolve upon contact with the black light, as if they were melting away like snow. Within moments, the entire swarm had been swallowed up by the black light, as though they had never existed in the world. All that remained were the stingers embedded in everyone's bodies and the giant bee corpses that Du Chen and the others had slain. It was as if the bees' attack had never been a hallucination.
The little ghost waved his hand again, and the black light obediently returned to his palm, disappearing silently without a trace. He then snorted disdainfully and closed his eyes, remaining still once more.
The battle abruptly ended, and everyone received experience, leveling up by one. Du Chen was still somewhat bewildered. Having been at the front, he hadn't seen where the black light came from. After asking the others, he learned that the terrifying spell had come from the inconspicuous little ghost. Thinking back on how he had previously disrespected the little ghost, Du Chen felt a deep sense of having survived a close call.
The people who had narrowly escaped death began to finish the aftermath of the battle. Everyone helped each other remove the stingers embedded in their bodies. Sitting on the ground, Sāntián let Cānghǎi help her pull out the stingers while she cast Detoxification on each person. Tongxīnfěn's Frost Armor had frozen the stingers to her clothing. She walked to the side, took off her outer garments, and with a light shake, the stingers, now frozen in place, fell to the ground like delicate crystals, glistening like beautiful works of art. The little ghost waved his hand, and all of the stingers on Xiao Yue's body disappeared, leaving no trace on her clothing.
Du Chen, who had no one to help him, had to remove the stingers on his own, tears welling up in his eyes. Despite his tough exterior, he couldn't help but examine each stinger closely. To his surprise, the system gave him a red message: (Giant Stinger, low-level refining material).
Du Chen instantly perked up, shouting excitedly in the team chat, "Hey, hey, look what I found! The system can actually identify materials now!" He didn't wait for anyone's response and enthusiastically began collecting the giant bee stingers from the ground.
After this chaotic battle, their lunchtime was delayed by more than an hour. When everyone finally sat down, starving and ready to eat, they could only nibble on cold, hard rations. But all eyes were on the seven-year-old boy.
Cānghǎi sighed and said, "There's an old saying: 'Seven or eight years old and hated by dogs.' It's completely true." This bloodbath, triggered by the child's prank, had almost cost them all their lives. To prevent such incidents from happening again, they decided that they must keep a close eye on every child, ensuring they never run off again.