Chapter 201: Attack and Signal

Xia Nan's reaction was fast.

Although it was a rare safe environment during the adventure, and he himself was in a state of immersion in restoring his mind.

But the good habits cultivated during this period since crossing over, and the perception attribute as high as 10 points, still kept him vigilant about the danger around him.

Almost at the same time the scream entered his ears, accompanied by the fleeting iron-grey sharp light in the air, the decapitation longsword had already instinctively left its sheath and was held tightly in his hand.

As for the bowl of mixed mushroom soup he was originally holding, it had naturally overturned on the ground.

His peripheral vision swept over, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Xia Nan didn't rush to rush toward the direction the sound came from.

Instead, he concentrated his attention, gathered his spirit, and checked the environment around him in the fastest and most secure way.

Staying in the tavern hall for so many days, it was naturally not for nothing.

He had heard countless strange anecdotes, and knew clearly that using the movement of teammates to attract attention and taking the opportunity of the adventurer's distraction to ambush and attack was a common means for many magical beasts and even intelligent creatures.

After confirming that there were no enemies in the night around him, he used 【Gravity Control】 invisibly to reduce the impact of gravity on himself and speed up his movement.

Toward the sound source, the pitch-black figure in iron armor melted into the depths of the night in an instant, and only the noise of the wind whistling remained in the air.

The village was not big, and although the empty houses were scattered, ten seconds of time was enough for Xia Nan to arrive at the scene.

First coming into view was a collapsed wooden house, clearly having just happened, and the air under the moonlight was even floating with wood chips and dust.

The entire house had collapsed for more than half, clearly divided into two from the ridge, the result of being rubbed and torn by some giant force, leaving only tilted beams and suspended, crooked wooden boards.

His nostrils flared, and a faint smell of blood surged into his nasal cavity with his breathing.

"This should be Bo He's residence, right?"

Xia Nan frowned, feeling something bad in his heart.

In his vision, a deep shadow flashed across the ground.

The next second, a tall figure in a leather outfit had already rushed into the ruins one step ahead of him.

The house Weiruisi lived in was much closer than his; although his reaction speed was fast, it was not enough to offset the advantage in distance, especially when the opponent he was comparing with was a Rogue.

Therefore, when Xia Nan followed the other party and rushed into the wooden house ruins, the Drow half-elf Weiruisi was already crouching down, checking the injuries for Bo He.

There was no need for extra reminders or explanations; his gaze swept over Bo He, and while guarding against a backstab from behind, Xia Nan had already stood guard for the two, guarding against the enemy who might not have left yet.

At the same time, his brain also quickly analyzed Bo He's injuries at a glance.

It looked very scary, and the scarlet blood almost stained half of her robe red, but the actual wound seemed to be only a scratch from her left shoulder to her collarbone, about five inches long.

Her right ankle should have been twisted, making the whole person sit against the wall.

Apart from this, there were no other superficial wounds.

And Bo He herself, judging from her expression and eyes, at least so far, was even clear-headed, with no possibility of being seriously injured and dying.

"Patta! Patta!"

After another few seconds, accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, Kashi also arrived with a solemn expression.

Behind him was the village, which had also been awakened from sleep by the noise and was gradually becoming noisy.

"How are the injuries?" Kashi nodded to Xia Nan who was guarding on the side, and stepped forward quickly to ask Weiruisi.

Before Weiruisi could answer, Bo He herself took the initiative to speak:

"Captain, I'm fine."

"Just, just a minor injury."

Although her voice still sounded a bit lingering in fear, her ability to express herself was still online, and there was no sense of weakness.

Glancing at the wooden house that had collapsed for more than half on the side, Kashi frowned tightly.

"What exactly happened, what attacked you?"

"Beast-kin, it's a Beast-kin!" Bo He said repeatedly, her already bloodless face looking even paler under the moonlight and blood, her body trembling slightly, as if still in fear.

"Just now, I was originally planning to organize the supplies, preparing for our squad to enter the forest tomorrow, and then I suddenly heard footsteps outside the house..."

"You didn't set up warning traps?" Kashi interrupted.

"I set them up, I absolutely set them up, I remember clearly!" Bo He showed rare excitement on her face. "The mentor told me before that even on the brightest moonlit night, I can't relax my vigilance."

"I don't know what method it used to avoid my traps."

"Fortunately, it seemed to be wary of something and didn't attack directly, leaving me reaction time to make noise and pick up the staff."

"And then?" Kashi's expression was serious, as if thinking about the girl's words. "It was scared away by you?"

"No, it shouldn't be." Bo He shook her head with a hesitant expression. "It had great strength, and the wall was as fragile as dead tree bark, without any defensive ability at all."

"My thorns should be considered to have barely delayed it for a few seconds, but..."

She looked at her slightly swollen ankle.

"I was too hurried when retreating, and accidentally twisted it, and the whole person fell to the ground."

"Originally thought..." Bo He paused, revealing deep confusion on her face. "But I don't know why, clearly as long as it took one more step forward, I absolutely couldn't escape, but it turned around and ran away directly."

"Perhaps... it heard the movement of you guys rushing over?"

"Detailed appearance? Did you see it clearly?" Kashi nodded slightly to show he understood, and asked again.

Having just encountered a close-range attack, even if it was night, Bo He should have been able to see the enemy's identity clearly.

But at this moment, facing Kashi's question, she shook her head ambiguously.

"It was covered by a layer of shadow, even the moonlight couldn't shine through, and I couldn't see clearly even standing in front of it."

"I judged it should be a Beast-kin through its roar and rough body size."

"As for whether it was a Bear-kin..." the girl revealed a trace of thought in her eyes, trying her best to recall. "I can only say, its body was much more slender than a normal Bear-kin, and I can't be sure."

"Bo He is right." On the side, Weiruisi, who was crouching and checking the injuries for the girl, spoke up suddenly.

"I was closer, and was the first to arrive here." She glanced at Xia Nan on the other side, then looked at Kashi, her tone carrying a strange feeling that outsiders couldn't detect.

"When I came, although I didn't catch up with the frontal battle, from afar, in the dust of the wooden house collapsing, I still saw the shadow of that Beast-kin."

"Just like what Bo He said, the body wasn't as bloated as a Bear-kin, and it was covered in thorns."

"But I only caught a glimpse, and when I rushed over, it had already disappeared."

"Direction?" Xia Nan, who had been silent since the beginning, listening carefully to the conversation of several people, suddenly asked.

"Do you still remember the direction that Beast-kin escaped?"

As soon as the words fell, Bo He, who was sitting against the wall, raised her right hand that was not injured and pointed to the plain behind the house.

"It was there!"

Xia Nan's steps were slow, concentrating his spirit to perceive carefully, while his gaze was also sizing up the ground.

Good news, there were footprints.

Bad news, the footprints left on the ground, just like the Beast-kin's body that Bo He described as being covered by shadows, were also fully covered up. The specific foot shape and number of toes were completely invisible, as if wearing some kind of shoe cover, leaving only blurred oval footprints with uniform depth in the soil.

And it disappeared suddenly at a corner about ten meters behind the house.

And the open plain under the night in the distance also had no escaping figure.

"How is it, any discoveries?"

Behind him came Weiruisi's inquiry.

Having been together for so long, even if it wasn't detailed, the several people in the squad knew that Xia Nan's perception ability was far beyond ordinary adventurers.

Right now, seeing him act, they couldn't help but have some expectations.

Didn't answer directly, after pondering for a moment.

With his back to several people, a grey light flashed in Xia Nan's eyes suddenly.

【Heart-Drawing Vision】!

Mental power was consumed rapidly by the second, and his head felt slightly dizzy.

The world covered by the night turned into pure color blocks of black and white in an instant, and the complex gravitational ripples collided and merged with each other, turning into dense water ripples.

Suddenly sensing something wrong, he recorded the position in his brain.

The special vision turned off in an instant.

Xia Nan stepped forward, walking toward the position revealed by the strangeness under the help of 【Heart-Drawing Vision】.

Bent down, reached out.

The next second, a small cluster of pitch-black mane was already between his fingers.

Turning around, while signaling the discovery to his teammates, he also focused his spirit, paying attention to the reactions of several people.

Bo He performed extremely normally, fitting her image of having just encountered a Beast-kin attack.

First stunned, and after seeing the thing in Xia Nan's hand, she pointed out excitedly that it might be the hair left by the Beast-kin when it escaped.

And the expressions of Kashi and Weiruisi were quite wonderful.

Similarly stunned, but following that, it was a great surprise as if they had won the jackpot.

And Xia Nan noticed that although there was a slight difference in time because of the order of seeing the mane clearly, their expressions of shock mixed with ecstasy were exactly the same.

Even, after a moment of surprise, the tense expression of forcibly suppressing emotional fluctuations was also exceptionally the same.

Secretly recording it in his heart, Xia Nan had no extra expression on his face and handed the mane to Bo He.

"Look carefully, is it it?"

The girl reached out to take it, rubbed it with her fingertips, and then put it close to the tip of her nose and sniffed lightly.

"Yes, it's it, this cluster of mane is absolutely left by that Beast-kin!"

She was very affirmative, as if she was quite familiar with the smell of the Beast-kin.

"Cough cough." Coughing twice, Kashi took over the conversation, revealing a concerned expression. "How are your injuries? Can you still do it tomorrow?"

Hearing this, Bo He sat up:

"I'm fine, Captain."

"Although it looks a bit serious, it's actually just a minor injury; the wound on the shoulder was even scratched by the broken wood falling from the ceiling, that Beast-kin didn't touch me at all, so there's no need to worry about Beast-kin syndrome infection."

"This little injury, I'll heal it myself when I go back, and it will basically be healed tomorrow, it won't affect the squad."

"Hmm." Kashi nodded, his gaze swept over Xia Nan and Weiruisi on the side, and looked at the plain filled with darkness in the distance.

"Night is the natural home field for beasts."

"Plus that Beast-kin that attacked Bo He seems to possess some kind of concealment ability; chasing rashly is too dangerous."

"After a Beast-kin completely falls, perhaps its personality will become violent and bloodthirsty, but its IQ is still the level of the original intelligent creature." Weiruisi crossed her arms and added.

"According to the scene described by Bo He, we cannot rule out the possibility that it has already set up traps in advance, and actively exposing its whereabouts is just to lure us to chase it."

"Therefore, I personally suggest that we take turns keeping watch tonight, while giving Bo He enough rest time, and also guarding against the enemy's attack again, and wait until dawn tomorrow before making plans."

Kashi suggested seriously.

Weiruisi had the same little thoughts in her heart as him, and naturally wouldn't oppose it.

Bo He had injuries on her body, even moving was difficult, and she needed time to heal; going out to fight with her current body would only be a drag.

Xia Nan keenly sensed the meaning of several teammates, and the environment was indeed not suitable; in the case where the Beast-kin had disappeared without a trace, chasing rashly would only put himself in a more dangerous situation, so he nodded in agreement.

Looking around, seeing that no one in the squad had any opinions, Kashi also explained with an accelerated speaking speed.

"Xia Nan, you take Bo He to your house first, Weiruisi and I will go back to pack things up, and we'll gather later, and we'll spend the night at your place."

"Remember to check all the warning traps around, set up more..." Saying this, Kashi shook his head. "Forget it, you take Bo He back first, and when we gather later, we'll check and set them up together."

Understanding the other party's meaning, Xia Nan exerted force with his right hand, pulled Bo He up from the ground, supported the other party, and walked toward the direction of his house.

Behind him, Weiruisi and Kashi walked together, seemingly on the way back to their respective residences to pack their luggage.

Silent, without saying a word.

Until the backs of Xia Nan and Bo He in the distance completely disappeared into the night.

Weiruisi was the first to be unable to suppress the excitement in her heart, deliberately lowering her voice that was trembling because of ecstasy:

"It's it, right! Isn't it!"

Seeing this, the arc of Kashi's mouth couldn't help but become more and more obvious, and finally, he grinned:

"Don't mention that cluster of mane, didn't you see the shadow when you rushed over?"

"Don't you think?"

"Really didn't expect it." Walking on the road, Weiruisi's dark skin seemed to melt into the darkness.

"Beast-kin... Beast-kin..."

"Should have realized it earlier, where would normal beasts have such high IQ, playing us for such a long time."

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, her brow couldn't help but furrow.

"In this way, Bo He is easy to talk about, but this Xia Nan... what to do?"

"This is his mission; if he really goes back, with his personality, he definitely won't agree, but if it's really done to the end, and this kid discovers it..."

"Don't rush."

To this, Kashi gradually calmed down.

"That beast has played us for such a long time; even if it's close now, it's not that easy to catch."

"We need Xia Nan's perception ability, as for the others..."

"If he doesn't discover it, that's fine; the mission rewards can all be given to him, it doesn't matter."

"If he discovers it... watch my signal."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 202 =====