Chapter 208: What a Coincidence, Everyone's Here?

"Coo-hum!"

A low-pitched bird cry like a bear's roar, mixed with heavy footsteps that made the ground tremble slightly, and the crisp sound of tree branches breaking and snapping, rang out continuously from behind.

Kashi gripped his blue-grey stone spear tightly and ran wildly.

On his bronze-colored skin, tattoos of waves, gales, and conch shells twisted and bulged with the writhing and swelling of his muscles as he moved at high speed.

The environment of the Mist Forest, dense with trees, was not his comfort zone.

The thick oak trees that filled every part of his vision were like the giant kelp in the deep sea that made people irritable, not only blocking his vision but also greatly slowing his movement speed.

Even with rich adventurer experience, whether it was the Underdark or volcanic ice fields, he had been everywhere.

But this middle-aged man, who grew up by the sea since childhood and held the profession of 【Sea Tide Hunter】, could only exert his full strength on the vast ocean with surging waves.

If there was even a stream, he could rely on his own professional abilities to easily get rid of the Owl Bear's pursuit behind him.

But now his eyes were full of trees, and his professional specialty had no room to play, making it difficult to pull away the distance from the opponent.

Kashi knew in his heart that the reason he hadn't been caught up by the Owl Bear behind him was just because he had a certain first-mover advantage, and his speed was not much higher than that of the bear beast with strong explosive power.

Once a trend of decline appeared and his speed slowed down, the sharp hooked claws of the opponent, which were enough to tear through steel, would mercilessly tear his body apart.

Can't go on like this!

Kashi gritted his teeth and held the last few fire oil bombs, which were his backup means, tightly in his palm.

Exerting sudden force under his feet, he leaped, and his whole body flew forward.

At the same time, his strong physical control ability and core strength as a professional allowed him to twist his body in the air, facing the Owl Bear behind him head-on.

Aim, throw fiercely!

"Boom!"

The fierce firelight reflected in his pupils, and the warm heat wave rushed toward his face.

This time, he didn't choose to throw the fire oil bombs onto the Owl Bear.

The special environment of the Mist Forest and the opponent's burly and strong physical body made the effect of fire damage extremely limited, and it couldn't cause much effective damage.

On the contrary, it would only make the Owl Bear fall into a state of rage, rushing wildly through the flames, making the situation even worse.

Therefore, the direction Kashi aimed at was under the feet of the bear beast.

"Squelch."

The grease and dust splashed from the fire oil bombs scattered on the bushes and meadows.

The surging flames were like rising from the ground, blocking the monster behind him.

Having just been scorched, with the residual hot phantom pain on its body, the instinctual fear of fire from the depths of its bloodline, and its remaining reason, made the Owl Bear not choose to walk through the flames and rush over.

Instead, it paused slightly, hesitating for a moment before the orange-red surging flames.

Seizing this hard-won opportunity.

Without looking at the ignited Owl Bear again, Kashi landed and took a backward roll, unloading the force while twisting his body back again.

The stone spear in his hand was thrown fiercely into the forest ahead.

Hum—

The sharp sound of breaking through the air made his eardrums ache, and in an instant, the blue-grey spear disappeared into the depths of the mist.

Running wildly, carefully feeling the connection with the stone spear in his heart.

Kashi activated his combat technique.

"Boom!"

A huge suction force appeared inexplicably in his chest, his legs left the ground, and his limbs shifted backward because of the sudden inertia of starting, and his whole body was like a magnet, being sucked toward the stone spear in the distance.

The spatial barrier was crossed in an instant.

Suddenly landing, his legs subconsciously rushed forward a few steps, and he picked up the stone spear that was inserted straight into the ground.

Ignoring the slight soreness of his waist and abdominal muscles, Kashi had already thrown the stone spear in his hand again.

Just like this, using the gap of the Owl Bear being blocked by the flames, he threw it three times in a row.

When Kashi panted and stopped his footsteps, there was no more low-pitched bird cry behind him that was like a life-taking talisman.

"Damn it, really damn it..."

He muttered in his mouth, sweat dripping uncontrollably from his chin.

He looked up and looked around, identifying the direction.

After the crisis, his originally tense heart relaxed slightly, and messy thoughts grew in his mind like weeds.

The two who were attacked by the Beastman after the Green Wheat Village incident confirmed the identity of the target they were tracking, which was the Beastman in Xia Nan's investigation mission.

Unexpectedly, after entering the forest, they were strangely besieged by a large number of beasts, and even brought over monsters of the level of an Owl Bear.

This unusual situation, he suspected was directed by the Beastman they were tracking behind the scenes, although the other party hadn't revealed related abilities before, but this animal, if it really possessed the technique of controlling beasts, it wouldn't be surprising to do so.

Looking at it this way, the beast riot on the outer edge of the Mist Forest recently was also caused by it.

Thoughts flowed, and a shadow flashed on Kashi's face.

Considering the worst case, maybe even Xia Nan in the team, that "Grey Sword," was in the same group as it.

After all, it was too coincidental.

The target they had been tracking for a long time happened to be the Beastman in the other party's investigation mission.

It was not like a normal thing to encounter by coincidence.

And an ordinary professional who had just been promoted, how could he possess such courage and combat power, even daring to go up and fight a full-grown Owl Bear head-on.

Pretending to be a newcomer and agreeing to his invitation to join the Sea Thorn Squad must have been for some other plot.

However, when he was in Hegu Town before, he also investigated some information about Xia Nan.

It was about last year that he began to emerge, and his growth path was relatively clear, so at that time he hadn't made the decision to come to Hegu Town, so it was likely not a trap set in advance to confuse them.

So... when did he get to know that animal?

Or rather, who revealed his target to him?

Could it be Weiruisi?

No, this woman was in the same boat as him... no no no, if considering the things on that animal, maybe...

Kashi shook his head fiercely, clearing the increasingly messy thoughts.

No need to think so much, the top priority now is to meet up with that woman quickly, have a companion, and later whether to retreat temporarily or continue to go deep, there is room for choice.

He looked up at the sky.

Staring at the dim light leaking from the gaps in the tree crowns.

The Mist Forest at night was far more terrifying than many people imagined.

Kashi and Weiruisi, although not very intimate, were already old teammates for many years. Some secret codes unknown to outsiders, and several invisible rules formulated in the past, allowed the two to complete communication through eyes and several secret small actions even without face-to-face dialogue in the few seconds before evacuation.

Therefore, there was no such thing as getting separated.

After escaping the Owl Bear's pursuit, it was only over ten minutes.

Kashi, who was walking fast in the dense forest while being vigilant about the surrounding environment, heard that familiar female voice.

And the thick scent of blood permeating the air.

His expression moved suddenly.

Gripping the stone spear tightly, his body lowered, maintaining a posture ready to exert force at any time, crossing the bushes and tall grass in front.

He saw Weiruisi leaning against a tree trunk, holding a poisoned short dagger backhanded with one hand, the blade facing out, flashing with cold light, and the other hand clutching her upper abdomen tightly, with blood faintly visible seeping out between her fingers.

This Drow Half-Elf from the Underdark looked much worse than when she retreated from the field.

Although she hadn't reached the level of serious injury, she had many more bloody and flesh-torn minor wounds.

Seeing that the visitor was Kashi, she was obviously relieved.

Her whole body leaned back against the tree trunk, and the dagger that had been held across her chest also fell—of course, it wasn't sheathed, still held in her hand.

Seeing this, Kashi's brows furrowed slightly, as if wanting to ask something.

But before he had time to open his mouth, he heard Weiruisi take the initiative to speak:

"It's it, it's that animal!"

A flash of joy flashed in Kashi's eyes suddenly.

"It didn't run away? When did it attack you? Is it still nearby?"

Regardless of the other party's injuries, he asked repeatedly.

"This animal was lurking at the edge of the field, I didn't pay attention when I retreated, and got hit by a claw." Weiruisi shook her head lightly, not answering the other party's question directly, "Fortunately, the effect of the healing potion is still there, bandage the wound, it will stop bleeding soon, it won't affect the battle."

Located in the Mist Forest, two adventurers, one injured, one relatively intact, and the target that had been tracked for a long time and could bring huge benefits was right in front of them.

Even if the two had known each other for many years, at this time, they subconsciously guarded against each other.

Or rather, it was precisely because they had been together for many years and knew each other's character that Weiruisi didn't reveal all the information to the other party.

Seeing the Drow Half-Elf's reaction, realizing that he was too impatient, Kashi forcibly squeezed a smile on his face:

"How are your injuries, don't get infected with Beastman Syndrome, should we go back to Hegu Town first and purify the curse?"

To this, Weiruisi just glanced at him and mocked:

"Sure, then let's ignore this animal that we've been chasing for months and finally caught the tail of, let it run for another ten days and a half months, and wait for me to recover from my injuries in the town before setting off, okay?"

"Stop talking bullshit!" she quickly dealt with the wound on her upper abdomen, wrapping bandage after bandage, her mouth full of the most vulgar profanity from the Underdark, "Hurry up and catch that animal, get the things on it, and you can lie down for a lifetime."

Seeing her say this, Kashi didn't pretend anymore and put away the smile on his face.

While the other party was dealing with the wound, they exchanged information with each other.

"I suspect that the madness of the beasts in the forest, including the beast horde just now and that Owl Bear, are all guided by 'it' behind the scenes."

"There is indeed such a possibility." Weiruisi replied without raising her head.

Although her right hand was holding the bandage roll, the muscles in her forearm were tense, and with her speed, she could grab the dagger placed beside her back into her hand in less than half a second.

"When it sneaked an attack on me just now, it seemed like it had been lurking for a long time, maybe it had been premeditated."

"Hmm, it's good that you know." Kashi's gaze scanned the bushes on both sides from time to time, vigilant about the movement around him.

"Also, I suspect Xia Nan might be related to this incident."

"Him?" Weiruisi's brows couldn't help but pick, and a look of thought flashed in her eyes, "Why?"

"Otherwise, everything is too coincidental, don't you think?"

Without saying much, both were experienced veteran adventurers, Kashi just pointed it out slightly, and Weiruisi also noticed the trickiness in it.

"Damn, could it really be this kid messing around in it?"

She cursed.

The previous revelation of the Beastman's traces and the appearance of the target that had been tracked for a long time had made her ignore this layer of relationship.

Now that Kashi had said this, she couldn't help but feel suspicious of Xia Nan as well.

For a month and a half, ever since the Winter Wolf mission, she had been secretly keeping a close eye on this black-haired youth who had joined the team halfway.

She knew his strength was far greater than that of a newcomer, and many times she suspected that Xia Nan was lying to her.

But during their adventures, he had made no shortage of mistakes that only a novice would make, and he had shown an extreme lack of knowledge regarding professional information.

It didn't look like an act.

And Kashi's speculation cast a layer of mist over the image of Xia Nan in her heart, making it unclear.

However, with things having developed to this point, it didn't matter anymore.

Their target, that Beast-kin, was nearby, and Xia Nan had already been separated from the team.

In such a vast forest, without prior planning, it would be difficult to meet again.

Whether he lived or died later had nothing to do with them.

Weiruisi had many wounds on her body, but the vast majority were just superficial; the only one that needed serious treatment was the gash on her abdomen from the Beast-kin's claw.

It was finished in a few minutes.

Under normal circumstances, if it were a proper adventurer squad that encountered an enemy as powerful as an Owl Bear during a mission, resulting in the team size being halved and the remaining two having injuries of varying severity,

there would be only one choice for them—and that was to retreat immediately.

But right now, neither Kashi nor Weiruisi had the slightest hesitation in their decision to continue deep into the forest to pursue the target.

Even the Owl Bear that might continue to pursue them and the violent beast herds in the forest were cast to the back of their minds.

The reason for this was that if they weren't under the influence of some mental control spell,

then the expected gains were large enough—large enough to make teammates of many years guard against each other at the final moment, and large enough to cover up all these risks entirely.

And just as Weiruisi finished treating her wounds and the two were about to set off,

"Rustle..."

A sound of collision and friction suddenly came from the bushes nearby.

Amidst two pairs of vigilant and guarded eyes, the first thing that came into view was a flash of iron-grey sword light.

The thorns blocking the way were neatly cut off, and accompanied by an extremely thick smell of blood, set against the backdrop of minced meat and grass clippings, iron-grey, slightly white leg armor stepped out slowly, and thick leather boots, stained with blood and almost dyed scarlet, landed on the rotting leaves and soil.

Xia Nan looked at the two people in front of him and grinned, revealing his stark white teeth.

"What a coincidence, you're both here?"

(End of Chapter)