Gunsmoke swirled slowly over the piles of decaying leaves like a Ghost, filtering the bright, scorching midday sun into a murky amber color. This bizarre light cast a sinister veil over the entire battlefield.
Aleia knelt halfway on the ground, her eyes filled with sorrow, extending her Claws to dig pits in the earth, one after another.
Meanwhile, Nia, squatting beside a pile of Corpses, her small body trembling uncontrollably.
"Why are the Storm Wolf Mercenary Group and the Bright Moon Knight Order fighting fiercely outside the perimeter of the Dark Forest?"
Ross suddenly broke the silence. He narrowed his eyes slightly, the string of his Emerald Bow slowly tightening between his fingertips, emitting a soft hum.
He casually kicked aside a Broken Sword half-buried near his feet; the Scarlet ribbon wrapped around the hilt bore the wax seal of the Dorte Kingdom Merchant Guild.
"Just last month they were cooperating to escort a secret treasure at the Royal Capital auction. How could they suddenly be fighting to the death here?"
"There must be something strange going on."
Ross frowned, his gaze full of confusion.
Leah’s ice-blue pupils contracted slightly. She lightly swung the Long Sword in her hand, the tip flicking up a shattered Shoulder Armor from a Storm Wolf Mercenary, revealing purplish-black, ulcerated blood vessels beneath the skin. These vessels resembled writhing earthworms and emitted a nauseating odor.
"Overdose of the Berserk State Potion; muscle fibers are tearing in a spiral pattern. This is 'Blood Rage No. 3,' a new batch that only circulated on the Black Market ten days ago."
Her tone was icy. She forcefully crushed an empty Potion vial with the tip of her boot. A fluorescent green viscous fluid seeped from the glass shards, emitting wisps of strange mist.
"The Storm Wolf Mercenary Group obtained contraband, and then 'coincidentally' encountered a Knight Order at the edge of the Dark Elf territory..."
"This is absolutely not a coincidence; someone is likely manipulating all of this from behind the scenes."
Leah looked up into the distance, her eyes filled with vigilance.
Zhao Yun, who was wiping his Star Shattering Spear, frowned slightly. He carefully examined the Corpse of a Bright Moon Knight and found that each one bore a thumb-sized Black Moon mark on the inside of their wrists.
"It's related to the Black Moon Altar."
Aleia suddenly pointed her finger at the battle standard Os had dropped, her tone carrying a hint of anger.
Everyone followed her gaze, and they could vaguely see the Black Moon mark nestled in the gap between the fangs of the wolf-head Totem.
"Shh!"
Ross suddenly lowered his voice, signaling everyone to be quiet. His eyes instantly sharpened, and his hands rapidly drew back the bowstring. The Emerald Arrow on the string shimmered with a faint green light, ready to be loosed.
"Movement!"
He murmured, his voice carrying a note of caution.
With a "whoosh," the Emerald Arrow pierced a tree burl twenty *zhang* away like a meteor. The moment the rotten wood exploded, it let out a dull, heavy sound, and a Black Shadow shrieked as it shot out of the burl and into the high sky.
The group stared intently and saw it was a Night Owl with a human face. Its Left Wing was scorched by the arrow's energy, its feathers emitting Black Smoke; its appearance was extremely bizarre.
The Night Owl's human face twisted, letting out a sharp, piercing cry. The sound seemed capable of penetrating the soul, sending chills down their spines.
"A symbiotic Demonic Beast of the Peeping Vine."
Leah's expression grew grave. Frost instantly condensed on her sword tip, forming a net that enveloped the Night Owl. However, the Night Owl was extremely fast, and the Frost net only caught a few falling black feathers. The black feathers landed on the ground, instantly turning into a pool of black liquid, emitting pungent smoke and giving off a foul, rotten smell.
"The Dark Elf Patrol Team won't be more than ten *li* away. We must leave this place quickly, or we will be surrounded," Leah stated.
Zhao Yun carefully observed the surroundings. The Dragon Mark on his left arm suddenly burned hot, instantly boosting his perception several times over.
He could clearly sense seven serpentine bulges moving rapidly toward them beneath the humus layer in the forest to the northeast.
"Retreat!"
Zhao Yun led the group in a rapid withdrawal toward the southwest.
The Starlight bursting from the tip of his Star Shattering Spear was as dazzling as lightning, instantly tearing through the Vine barrier. Light condensed at the spear tip, forming a brilliant Light Blade. Wherever it passed, Vines snapped, turning into flying debris.
Aleia glanced back while running swiftly, just in time to see the wolf-head battle standard being mercilessly swallowed by purple vines emerging from the ground.
After running hard for an hour, Leah suddenly stopped. Her face was stern, and the tip of her sword pointed to a newly carved cross mark on the rock face. Frost had condensed on the edges of the cut; it was the marker she had left two quarters of an hour ago.
"We are walking in circles."
Her voice was steeped in coldness.
"The demonic plants in the Dark Forest shift their paths. Everything in this forest is being controlled by some mysterious power. We must deal with this carefully and stop wandering blindly like this."
Nia's Silver Bell Earring suddenly chimed without wind, the crisp sound being exceptionally jarring in the silent forest.
Following the direction of her terrified gaze, the group saw three Corpses of Bright Moon Knights dangling upside down from the branches of giant trees thirty *zhang* away. There was a thin, long bloodstain on their necks—clearly the three Knights Aleia had killed.
"This is not where we fought."
Ross's expression was serious. The arrowhead ignited with an Emerald flame, illuminating the dense tooth marks covering the tree trunk.
"The hidden enemy's methods are bizarre; they seem to know our every move. We have to root him out, or we won't get out."
His eyes were filled with vigilance, and he gripped his bow tighter.
Zhao Yun's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly thrust his spear into the ground. In an instant, Starlight spread outward like a Ripple, and a powerful Strength radiated from the spear as the center.
A scream like an infant's cry came from beneath the humus layer, a sound both shrill and eerie, as if from the depths of hell.
Immediately following, seven Peeping Vines burst from the soil. Their bodies were swollen like pythons, and every node was embedded with a human eyeball. These eyes rotated, emitting a strange glow, staring fixedly at the group, as if peering into their souls.
"Playing tricks."
Zhao Yun snorted coldly. His Dragon Pattern Azure Light surged, and the Star Shattering Spear spun rapidly in his hand, creating a galaxy-like vortex. Light flared around the spear shaft as the Power of the Stars surged wildly, forming a massive energy vortex.
Wherever the vortex passed, the air buzzed, and sand and stones from the ground were sucked in, emitting a sharp whistling sound.
The Vines sensed the immense threat and thrashed wildly. The eyeballs on their nodes flashed with an even stranger light, and they spewed Black Smoke from their mouths.
This smoke carried strong Corrosiveness. Wherever it landed, the bark of the trees was rapidly Corroded, emitting bursts of Green Smoke.
Zhao Yun flashed forward, weaving through the smoke like a Ghost.
"Pear Blossom Storm!"
The tip of the Star Shattering Spear instantly shot out thousands of points of Starlight, pouring down onto the Vines like a Rainstorm. Each point of Starlight contained immense Strength, accurately striking the Vines' nodes and eyeballs.
Where the Starlight collided with the Vines, the Black Smoke was instantly dispersed, and blackened holes appeared on the bodies of the Vines.
Seeing this, Aleia roared and lunged toward one of the Vines, her Claws flashing with Cold Light, stirring up a gust of strong wind. Her golden Claws fiercely gripped the Vine, tearing several deep fissures into it.
Leah was not to be outdone; she swung her Long Sword.
"Ice Prism Piercing!"
She cried out sharply, and countless sharp Ice Shards shot out from her sword, like a swarm of blue arrows, carrying bone-chilling cold toward the Vines. Upon impact, the Ice Shards instantly Freeze the Vines, covering them with thick layers of ice, making them extremely brittle.
Ross drew and loosed his bow from the rear. The Emerald Arrow, carrying powerful Magic Power, shot toward the Vines.
"Emerald Shadow Flowing Light, Arrow Shattering Void!"
He murmured an incantation in a low voice. The Arrow carved a green arc through the air, precisely striking the root of a Vine. When the root was hit, a stream of black liquid erupted, and the Vine's body began to tremble violently.
Under the combined assault of the group, the Vines gradually could not hold on. Their bodies began to break apart, the eyeballs on their nodes fell off one by one, turning into puffs of Black Smoke that dissipated into the air.
Just as the seven Peeping Vines turned to dust, the crisp sound of a crystal Wind Chime drifted from deep within the forest. The sound was clear and pleasant, yet carried an indescribable strangeness.
Following this crisp sound, a female Dark Elf Priest slowly appeared in the distance.
A black gem was embedded on the Priestess's forehead, and the Bone Flute in her hand was dripping with the Fresh Blood of the Mercenaries and Knights dragged into the depths of the forest. The blood dripped down, painting bizarre patterns on the ground.
"Leave behind the crystal recording the Black Moon Altar's coordinates, or become nourishment for the Peeping Vines."
Her voice had a serpentine hiss, and the Bone Flute pointed toward the Dragon Mark swimming on Zhao Yun's left arm.
"My children have been craving the taste of Dragon Blood for a hundred years."
Zhao Yun remained silent. Starlight rose from the tip of his Star Shattering Spear, and the Blood Pattern on his Silver Armor was fully activated.
He caught a glimpse of the Ice Crystal condensing on Leah's sword hilt; the moment the Dark Elf Priestess appeared, the temperature in the forest had quietly risen by ten degrees.