Chapter 205: The Beast Lurking in the Shadows

Biting, roaring.

Slaughter and blood filled every second in the Mist Forest.

Today was no exception.

"Squelch."

Fresh blood sprayed as a Gnoll's head, severed cleanly at the neck with a smooth cut, rolled onto the ground.

Perhaps the attack had been too swift for it to react; its furry face still wore the same ferocious, snarling expression it had held before death.

Only the slightly dilated beastly eyes and the scarlet blood gushing from its throat revealed the tragedy of its decapitation.

Drip—

A small drop of fresh blood, like morning dew, fell softly from the tip of a tender green leaf.

Yet, unlike the blood that had nearly dyed the entire forest floor red, it did not seep into the soil, but landed instead on a black, furry paw.

Only then did an abrupt influence from the outside world reveal a hint of discord within the deep shadows that lingered at the edge of the clearing, blending into the night.

It was a massive black panther, nearly three meters long, crouching deep within the bushes.

Its jet-black, flawless fur was as smooth as silk, as if it were draped in a layer of flowing shadow, making it difficult to detect; its golden eyes, like flickering fireflies in the night, held all its murderous intent and hunger for flesh beneath every inch of its hide.

It paced silently.

Its gait was extremely slow, yet every step it took made one's heart palpitate.

Its protruding shoulder blades shifted slightly with each stride, and one could faintly see the firm muscles rippling and contracting along its spine; its paws touched the rotting leaves lightly, the thick pads greedily swallowing every sound that might have been made, while the ivory claws that flashed occasionally in the gaps of the shadows revealed the killing intent hidden within.

Having grown up in the dangerous Mist Forest, thousands of hunts had given this predator, born of nature, an astonishing patience that ordinary beasts lacked.

Even though the thick, delicious scent of blood had already surged into its nostrils with its breath, it remained as it had been at the start, crouching low, burying its body in the mist and darkness, slowly approaching.

Unlike before, when it would ambush from deep within the shadows to hunt alone.

An invisible attraction from the depths of its bloodline caused it to ignore the noisy beasts around it at this moment, focusing all its attention on the few humans in the forest clearing ahead.

It had long since chosen its target.

Living year-round in an environment highly concentrated with magic particles, the black panther's intelligence was far higher than that of its kin elsewhere.

It could even understand the concept of the "Adventurer Squad" formed by these four humans.

Perhaps it did not know their specific roles, nor did it know their purpose for entering the forest.

But its rich hunting experience and decent intelligence led it, almost instinctively, to select the petite, slender figure under the protection of the others as its prey.

Crouching forward, it carefully stretched its forelimbs, the fluid lines beneath its jet-black fur highlighted by its muscles, its tendons taut like steel cables, storing power.

Closer, and closer still...

Not until that figure in the plain robe truly entered its attack range did it emit the first beastly roar since arriving at the edge of the clearing, from between its conical canines that were like bone-china daggers.

The long-accumulated power erupted suddenly, and that massive body crouching on the ground transformed into a lethal black shadow, pouncing toward its prey at a speed far exceeding the reaction time of an ordinary human.

The fair, paper-thin skin had no defensive capability against claws capable of tearing through thick, tough tree bark; the slender neck would not even require force—the natural closing of its upper and lower jaws would snap it like dry firewood fallen in the forest.

In mid-air, countless past experiences allowed the black panther to even imagine the wonderful experience of swallowing the flesh, mixed with warm, sweet blood.

But the next second, a high-pitched wolf howl that rang out inexplicably from its ear brought it back to reality.

The instinct for survival drove the beast to keenly perceive the terrifying danger contained within, and the feline's agile body allowed it, even in mid-air, to rely on its powerful core strength to attempt to twist its body and evade the attack.

However, the wolf howl was clearly faster.

Squelch—

The iron-grey wolf fangs traced a perfect arc through the air, and its prideful jet-black fur was instantly sliced open.

Mane, muscle, tendon, and bone—the sharp blade, carried by powerful inertia and refined by thousands of repetitions of practice, pierced into the flesh.

The sound of resistance vanished in a flash.

The jet-black headless body maintained its forward momentum, falling powerlessly.

And that black panther head, with its dilated beastly eyes and sharp canines, still maintaining its hunting posture, had already spun away from the body.

Carried by the scarlet blood, it rolled onto the ground.

Like a billiard ball, it collided gently with the Gnoll's head from before and came to a stop.

The ferocious wolf head, composed of grass clippings, thick mist, and blood-soaked flesh, blurred and floated in the air.

Without sheathing the sword, and with no time to warn Bo He to be careful of the sneak attack.

Amidst the howling wind, he had already returned to his original position in the squad's formation.

"Clang!"

The sharp fangs, sizzling with gas, were easily blocked by the Snake Scale Arm Shield, which possessed "300% Corrosion Damage Resistance," leaving not a single mark on its surface.

With a pull of his left hand, the sharp edge of the arm shield sliced open the neck of the colorful poisonous lizard, sending it flying.

At the same time, his right arm exerted sudden force, an iron-grey sword light flashed, and under the 【Spinning Slash】, another badger that had attempted to sneak an attack in the chaos was cut in two.

His chest heaving, Xia Nan panted heavily.

"Where are all these beasts coming from? Is it never-ending?"

At this moment, although he had no obvious wounds on his body, both the surface of his blade and his plate-chain composite armor and leg guards, along with the underlayers beneath them, were covered in blood and shattered flesh.

Dozens of minutes had passed since they discovered the roe deer that had broken into the camp.

And the beast horde that had surrounded the camp in his perception had long since launched a siege on the Sea Thorn Squad.

He did not know what reason had driven these crazed beasts to ignore their fear of other predators and their cautious instincts, rushing toward them like moths to a flame.

Nor did he know why, even though the corpses on the meadow were nearly piled a layer deep, these beasts still showed no signs of retreating, continuing to attack the squad without regard for their own lives.

But he knew in his heart that if this continued, the collapse of the Sea Thorn Squad was inevitable.

To a certain extent, the team was already on the verge of being completely disrupted and scattered.

Because both Kashi and Weiruisi had gradually drifted away from their original positions amidst the siege of beasts.

Allowing more and more beasts to break into the gaps in the formation, flanking from the sides and rear, or directly ambushing the team's core spellcaster, Bo He, just as before.

It was only because of his quick reactions and the high mobility gained under the effect of 【Tooth Hunt】 that a short-lived and fragile balance had been maintained.

During the battle, Xia Nan's peripheral vision swept across the field, his thoughts flickering in his mind.

Sure enough, Kashi and Weiruisi were hiding deep, their strength far from what they had shown in the battle against the Night-Walking Wolves.

The tide of beasts constantly emerging was forcing the two to use their full strength, unleashing combat techniques they had never revealed before to repel the horde beside them.

Kashi gripped his stone spear with both hands, muscles bulging in his arms, and with a "Boom" explosion, the spear tip fell like raindrops, churning up mist and blood, leaving a blood-red phantom in the air. And the jungle tiger, half a man's height in front of him, instantly turned into a corpse under the spear's thrust.

This power was undoubtedly a "Combat Technique."

As a Rogue, Weiruisi continued to brandish her two daggers, which were soaked in potent poison, leaving lethal wounds on beast after beast.

In just a few dozen minutes, many beasts lay on the ground nearby, foaming at the mouth and convulsing.

And it was clearly visible that as Weiruisi moved, a blurry shadow appeared behind her, her figure suddenly becoming much more agile and swift as she wove through the beast horde.

This should also be some kind of combat technique that could increase agility.

"These two old foxes, usually so quiet, have hidden quite a lot."

Xia Nan couldn't help but mutter to himself in his heart.

Of course, he hadn't used his full strength either.

With the combat system Xia Nan had built, his abundant stamina, extremely high mobility, and instantaneous explosive power meant that if there were no other distractions, facing enemies far weaker than him, mere numbers could no longer cause him effective damage.

Just like the current siege by the beast horde; the reason he seemed to be struggling slightly was, on one hand, because he hadn't used his full strength, including combat techniques like 【Gravity Control】 and 【Gravity Etching】, which he hadn't unleashed fully.

On the other hand, it was because he needed to maintain the formation, protect the flanks of his other teammates, and occasionally even rush out to provide support.

This, to a certain extent, greatly limited Xia Nan's performance, forcing him to abandon the advantage of his high mobility.

If he were the only one on the field, not to mention killing all these beasts, breaking out of the encirclement to retreat safely would be extremely easy.

If one day Xia Nan truly needed to formally form or join an adventurer squad, his role in the team would actually be more like Weiruisi, the Rogue.

Wandering on the flanks, providing support for teammates.

Just with higher defensive capabilities, stronger explosive mobility, and a few minor spellcasting abilities.

"Swoosh!"

The dagger, flashing with cold light and green-purple edges, precisely pierced the back of a hyena's neck, withdrawing as quickly as a bee sting, reaping life cleanly.

The silver-white hair inherited from her Drow Elf heritage was dyed scarlet by blood, and her dark skin was covered in a mixture of sweat and flesh fragments.

Even though her posture remained as agile and swift as a Rogue's should be, her blood-covered appearance made her look more like a Berserker who had just survived a bloody battle.

"Kashi!" Weiruisi screamed, "These animals aren't right! Should we retreat?"

In the past, for these two veteran adventurers, let alone fighting to this extent, they probably would have retreated the moment they discovered they were surrounded by a beast horde.

They would never have allowed themselves to fall into such a dangerous situation.

But now, the traces discovered after the raid on Green Wheat Village had confirmed the identity of the target they had been chasing all along: it was the very Beastman from Xia Nan's investigation mission.

And their rich adventurer experience had already linked the strange event of suddenly encountering so many beasts to the Beastman.

With the target they had been pursuing for so long right before their eyes, they were naturally unwilling to retreat just like that.

But...

Kashi gripped his stone spear tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force, pinning the leopard beneath him to the ground.

At the same time, he lunged backward, causing a claw that had reached out from the side toward his neck to miss, leaving only three deep claw marks on his scale armor.

The shout from the Drow Half-Elf on the other side of the field reached his ears.

He jerked his head up, his gaze sweeping over the members of the squad.

Long hours of high-intensity combat had caused Weiruisi's speed to gradually slow down compared to when they started.

Although they both knew they still had trump cards they hadn't revealed, now was clearly not the time.

Bo He was in the middle of the team, in poor condition.

Even though they had tried their best to maintain the formation, there were still a few that had slipped through.

And she herself needed to concentrate on casting spells to support her teammates, making it inevitable that there would be oversights.

She had already suffered minor injuries, and her face was even paler from the excessive consumption of mental energy.

Xia Nan was too far away, and the angle was bad, so he couldn't see clearly.

But he knew that many of the beasts that had slipped past him were dealt with by the other party, doubling his stamina consumption.

In his peripheral vision, the sight of the other party covered in blood suggested he couldn't hold on much longer either.

He made a decisive decision.

Kashi gritted his teeth and roared loudly:

"Tighten the formation, prepare to retreat!"

Having long since formulated a corresponding retreat plan, the members of the team did not panic upon hearing this.

They simply exerted sudden force, clearing the surrounding beasts, and then quickly gathered around Bo He.

Kashi swung the stone spear in his hand forcefully, not seeking to kill, but clearing a small space in front of him as much as possible.

At the same time, he took a few fire oil bombs from his waist pouch and threw them suddenly toward the dense forest ahead.

Boom—

Grease and dust exploded with a spark, and the surging flames seemed to stir the fear from the depths of the beasts' bloodlines in a fleeting moment, causing them to cry out and retreat.

"Now!"

Under Kashi's command, the Sea Thorn Squad seized the opportunity and rushed quickly through the gap cleared by the flames in the beast horde.

And even at this time, the professional quality of veteran adventurers still allowed them to maintain the most basic formation.

Kashi in the lead, Weiruisi wandering, Bo He in the center, and Xia Nan bringing up the rear.

Kashi had made no mistakes in his decision to retreat temporarily, nor in the corresponding operations after making the decision.

However, he had overlooked a more critical factor.

The Mist Forest, a famous gathering place for monsters in the Servia Kingdom.

With such a huge commotion, how could there be only these ordinary beasts on the field?

The one who suffered was Xia Nan, who had been the first to notice the abnormality and the first to adopt a defensive posture.

In his hasty movement, he only had time to raise his left arm shield.

The next second, a massive force sent his entire body flying, landing in the forest to the side.

Under the illumination of the firelight, although thick mist still drifted through the dark forest, the visibility was significantly higher.

It was precisely because of this that, amidst the sharp pain and dizziness, he caught a glimpse of that burly figure with the head of an owl and the body of a giant bear.

(End of Chapter)