“No wonder…”
Lan Lianhua muttered.
She knew it; when they entered the castle, she thought she had smelled the scent of monsters.
But it was only for a split second, so she had assumed it was just her imagination.
“To think that a nation’s king would actually stoop so low as to associate with monsters.”
Meng Xiu’s chiseled face was currently filled with solemnity.
“This king needs to be purified!”
Meng Xiu spoke with righteous indignation.
Well, his dream was to become the toughest Holy Knight.
To him, humans who associated with demons were blasphemers who deserved to be burned at the stake.
“Calm down a bit.
He is the king, and besides, we don’t have any concrete evidence.”
Lan Lianhua placated the righteously indignant Wang Quan and Meng Xiu.
Even if they suspected the King was colluding with monsters, at the end of the day, they had no proof.
Although the royal guards were mostly ordinary people, there were still quite a few warriors among them.
“What do you think, Gu Xin?”
“Barging straight into the royal castle isn’t appropriate.
Even if we have the strength for it, according to the Adventurer’s Guild regulations, we can’t just kill people as we please.”
“Therefore, let’s take a trip to the Dark Forest first.
I imagine there should be clues there.”
Gu Xin smiled.
Since the King had directed them to the Dark Forest, there was definitely something fishy going on there.
“Yeah, regardless of whether the princess was actually kidnapped and taken there or not, let’s head there first.”
Wang Quan thought it over for a moment and nodded in agreement.
It didn’t matter if the princess’s abduction was real or if it was all just a trap.
Since the King had specifically guided the heroes to the Dark Forest, there was bound to be something there.
After a brief discussion, the four of them resumed their journey.
The Dark Forest, located about ten kilometers north of the royal capital, was a dense woodland.
Because the branches and leaves of the trees were so incredibly thick, barely any sunlight could penetrate through.
“I smell the scent of many monsters.”
Lan Lianhua’s nose was as reliable as ever.
Not long after entering the dense forest, she warned Gu Xin and the other two.
Meng Xiu took the lead, raising his shield as he walked at the very front.
Wang Quan and Lan Lianhua followed behind him, while Gu Xin brought up the rear.
It couldn’t be helped.
Wang Quan was the damage dealer, and Lan Lianhua was the healer, so Gu Xin was the only one left to cover their backs.
Sure enough, after walking a little further into the forest, pairs of eerie green eyes gradually lit up in the darkness.
One after another, gray wolves the size of calves emerged.
The most striking feature was the long fangs extending down from the corners of their mouths.
“Beast-type Fangwolves.
There’s quite a lot of them.”
Gu Xin raised an eyebrow.
Fangwolves were Tier 1 magical beasts of the beast category.
They were social creatures that generally appeared in packs, making them one of the monsters novice adventurers least wanted to encounter in the wild.
Because they were cunning and ferocious, they would coordinate their attacks.
“Just a bunch of weak trash.
Watch me finish them off with a single spell.”
Wang Quan sneered, pulling out his staff to prepare a spell.
“Hahaha, my shield is indestructible!”
Meng Xiu laughed heartily as he slammed his shield heavily into the ground.
His battle aura transformed into a barrier that protected Wang Quan and the other two.
Following the howl of the Fangwolf Alpha, the pack launched their attack, and then…
There was no ‘then’.
They were completely wiped out.
With frost covering the ground, Gu Xin picked through the remains and still decided to store the Fangwolf Alpha’s frozen, stiff corpse into his spatial scroll.
Even though it was only Tier 1, who knew when it might come in handy?
When it came to alchemical materials, you could never have too many; the real fear was running out when you needed them.
As the four of them continued deeper, they encountered Spotted Slimes, Twisted Goblins, Man-Eating Trees, Poisonous Bees, and more.
“This place is practically a monster’s den.”
Lan Lianhua finally couldn’t hold back her complaints.
Wave after wave of monster attacks came at them, and although they survived without any real danger…
The sheer frequency of the ambushes still made her cry out that she couldn’t take it anymore.
It was even more ridiculous than the mine.
The wilderness in this Secret Realm world was simply too dangerous.
“Look over there.”
Meng Xiu suddenly spoke up, pointing at the base of a tree not far away.
Gu Xin looked over and discovered a messy pile of iron armor.
The armor was heavily bloodstained, and bones could vaguely be seen remaining inside it.
Clearly, this was a hero who had previously entered to rescue the princess.
But he had been killed by the monster attacks along the way, and his body had even been eaten clean.
“How tragic.”
Wang Quan took a glance.
There wasn’t much to say about this sort of thing, but they certainly wouldn’t end up with the same fate.
Meng Xiu was still kind-hearted.
Even though this nameless warrior was reduced to nothing but bones and armor, Meng Xiu still dug a hole and buried him, allowing him to rest in peace.
Continuing onward, the four of them finally arrived at the depths of the dense forest.
“There’s actually a cabin here?”
Gu Xin looked at the dilapidated wooden cabin and scanned the surroundings.
There was a clearing around the cabin, and there were no monster footprints on the ground.
This alone was enough to prove how special this cabin was.
“Meng Xiu, go take a look.”
Wang Quan also noticed this bizarre detail.
After a moment of thought, he decisively told Meng Xiu to check inside.
Who knew if this was some kind of trap?
Having the toughest knight trigger any potential pitfalls was the most rational choice.
“Leave it to me!”
Meng Xiu was a valiant knight, and he knew it was his time to shine.
He raised his shield and cautiously approached the wooden cabin, but nothing happened even as he reached the doorway.
However, Meng Xiu still didn’t dare to be careless.
With a solemn expression, he slowly pushed open the cabin door.
When he got a clear view of the situation inside the cabin, Meng Xiu froze.
“What’s wrong, Meng Xiu?
What’s inside?”
After a good while, seeing Meng Xiu just standing motionless at the door, Wang Quan frowned.
“Could he have been hit by an illusion?” Lan Lianhua was equally worried, raising her staff to prepare a Holy Light spell for Meng Xiu.
“No, I’m fine.”
At that moment, Meng Xiu snapped out of it.
He turned his head with a bizarre expression and scratched it.
“I don’t know how to describe it, but there shouldn’t be any danger here.
It’s just that there seems to be a person inside…
I think it counts as a ‘person’?”
Meng Xiu stepped aside, allowing Gu Xin and the other two to see into the room.
The layout inside the cabin was very simple and old—just a bed and a table.
At this moment, a young girl was sitting at the table.
But the key point was that her figure was an ethereal blue.
Yes, she was visibly illusory and intangible to the naked eye.
“This is…?”
*A spirit body?
Or a soul?*
Gu Xin was astonished, continuously and carefully observing the young girl’s soul sitting blankly and motionlessly at the table.
He could vaguely tell that she wasn’t very old and had a rather slender figure.
Atop her head was a crown-like ornament.
But she seemed to have lost her sanity, just sitting there blankly, staring straight ahead with a vacant expression.
“It seems she’s Princess Lisaka, right?
To think she’s been reduced to just a soul.
Where is her physical body?”
Lan Lianhua was thoroughly perplexed.
“And it looks like her soul seems to be lost.
Hmm?
What are you doing, Gu Xin?”
“Ahem, this young girl’s soul looks so pitiful.
I just wanted to put her in here to warm her up a bit.”
Gu Xin stopped his movements, giving an awkward smile as he hid his spatial scroll behind his back.
*This is the lost soul of a princess!!*
*This material is absolutely precious!* Gu Xin practically wanted to drool as he stared at the princess’s soul.