Chapter 287

This was Abi's first time entering the Mist Forest alone.

Although he had been in the "adventurer" line of work for a while and had completed quite a few association commissions.

Previously, he had always followed veterans in his squad, wandering around the outskirts of the forest and dealing with small Goblin tribes.

He had never ventured this deep before.

He felt a bit uneasy in his heart.

"Don't worry, with me here, even those with the keenest dog noses won't be able to smell the scent on you."

"Besides, haven't we already been in the forest for two days? Look, haven't we encountered any danger at all?"

A hoarse, magnetic male voice echoed leisurely within his skull in a comforting tone.

After a few days, the subtle mental control caused Abi's originally tense body to relax slightly under the devil's voice.

"You are right, I... I am just a little nervous."

"Lord Saloyang, may I ask how much further we have to walk before we reach our destination?"

"Don't be anxious." The male voice echoed gently, as if containing some kind of magic, calming the surging fluctuations in the young man's heart. "Soon, we will be there very soon."

Their target was naturally the Goblin lair deep within the Mist Forest that had already been wiped out by a group of high-level adventurers, according to Saloyang's intelligence.

Actually, according to the original plan, he should have had Abi go deeper and descend from the main passage located near the core area of the Mist Forest.

But after all, his strength was low and his pace was slow; even with his own cover, it was inevitable that he would encounter accidents over such a long distance.

Thus, Saloyang modified the destination, locking onto another Goblin lair branch located at the junction of the outskirts and the depths of the Mist Forest.

And then, by utilizing the underground passage left behind by that previous super-large Goblin settlement, he would head toward its core.

Feeling the young man who was gripping his iron sword tightly and clutching an iron-inlaid wood shield in his left hand, stepping forward carefully step by step with a pitiful and laughable cautious posture.

Saloyang originally wanted to urge him again to speed up his pace.

But then, considering that the current pressure seemed a bit too great for this young man who was not at all rich in experience, and that adding more pressure might force him to commit unwise acts under the immense strain, affecting the subsequent plan, he stopped applying pressure and only deliberately acted as if he cared about him, comforting him softly.

Come to think of it, under normal circumstances, any ordinary person with even a modicum of thinking ability and remaining sanity would never agree to such a dangerous request to venture deep into the Mist Forest alone.

Let alone an adventurer living in Hegu Town who dealt with the monsters in the forest year-round.

Abi might not be that experienced, but he was no fool.

If Saloyang had stated his demands to him at the very beginning, he would never have agreed.

But being a devil from Hell skilled at bewitching human hearts, Saloyang clearly knew:

From 1 to 10, the span is too large, and the vast majority of people cannot accept it.

But if one goes from 1 to 3, then from 3 to 7, and finally from 7 to 10, proceeding step by step in this manner, according to the nature of intelligent beings, one could achieve the final result he wanted.

Using gold coins as bait, under the influence of victory after victory at the card table, he gradually established an image of being "harmless" and "considerate" and authority in the young man's heart.

By using a sliver of magical power to blur his cognition and weaken his psychological defenses, he gradually transformed him from "as long as you believe the points he reports, you can win gold coins" to "as long as you listen, you can get benefits."

Building a causal link between "obeying orders" and "gains."

In this way, coupled with a little bit of verbal guidance and the "pie in the sky" that caused high expectations for a better future life.

Abi lost his ability to judge and became a marionette in the devil's palm.

With just a little instigation, he resolutely stepped into this dangerous territory that did not belong to humans.

Making it possible for himself, who had not descended in his true form but only as a temporary idea, to cross the spatial barrier and reach the Goblin lair.

Magic particles carrying a trace of extremely faint sulfur scent floated up and down in the air, masking Abi's scent.

While driving away those dangerous small creatures that acted purely on instinct, it also kept him isolated from the perception of the vast majority of powerful monsters.

A profound and exquisite technique of magic application.

It was precisely because of this that Abi had not encountered any attacks even when camping to rest at night over these past two days, which was unprecedentedly smooth.

And compared to his relatively healthy and energetic body, it was his spirit that had become increasingly exhausted and muddled due to his constant fear and highly concentrated attention along the way.

This was exactly what Saloyang wanted.

He had not lied to Abi; after two days of travel, they were not far from their destination.

After walking deeper for only another two hours or so, Abi stopped in his tracks at Saloyang's reminder.

"Is that it, Lord Saloyang?"

Panting slightly, the young man holding the iron sword looked nervously at the cave in the forest ahead, asking carefully while keeping his volume as low as possible.

"It is here, but..."

Saloyang's voice paused, as if he had noticed something.

A mental idea from the Nine Hells, as a devil noble, spread silently downward.

Immediately, a massive, bloated figure appeared within his perception.

"This is... a Basilisk?"

Saloyang couldn't help but feel that it was troublesome.

The intelligence had not mentioned that this branch Goblin lair, which had gradually fallen into ruin following the total annihilation of the Goblin base camp, had been occupied by another monster.

He had already made up his mind that once he returned, he would send the spy responsible for the intelligence network in the Hegu Town area of the Pan Yun Province to the Blood War as cannon fodder.

Actually, even if it were replaced by some other monster, such as an Owl Bear, which might have stronger combat capabilities, it would make no difference to him; he could easily use his own abilities to take Abi deep into the tunnels of the cave.

But it just had to be a "Basilisk," a creature that relied on its own special abilities to support its challenge rating.

As just a consciousness temporarily relying on a special item, he had no way to help Abi resist the attack of "Petrifying Gaze."

And given the other party's physical constitution, as long as he was within the range of the ability's effect, being looked at even once would almost certainly trigger the petrification effect, leaving him with no ability to resist.

"This is troublesome now."

The devil from Hell began to think of countermeasures.

"Lord Saloyang, is there a problem?"

The sudden silence of the male voice in his brain caused Abi, whose spirit had been gradually influenced and controlled by him during this time, to suddenly appear flustered, asking in a nervous tone.

"Hehe, it's nothing major, it's just that we might have to change a..."

Saloyang comforted the other party as he had in the past, but he had only just spoken halfway when he seemed to have discovered something else.

His tone carried some surprise, letting Abi look toward his northwest.

The young man, who was crouching in the bushes with his scent masked by magic particles, cast his gaze toward the grass to his front-side.

What came into view were three fully armed figures.

An adventurer squad!

And almost in an instant, Abi recognized the familiar back in the middle of the team.