Chapter 30

Wood was very professional.

Whether from the perspective of a "guard" or an "adventurer," he was the most experienced one in the entire squad.

Even during a short, temporary rest along the way, he would carefully set up perfect warning traps in the surrounding area.

But many times, perhaps because he was too professional and the traps he set were too meticulous and rigorous.

When Xia Nan and the others noticed the warning sound and nervously prepared for battle, they finally discovered that what triggered the mechanism was just a few harmless little forest beasts.

Regarding this, although Xia Nan sometimes felt mentally exhausted, he actually didn't have much resentment, nor would he relax his vigilance because of the frequent appearance of warning sounds, as written in the "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" fable from his past life.

Being a little tired was better than dying silently under the claws of some magic beast.

He still vividly remembered the scene where the Gnome Erji's skull was shattered during a Goblin ambush.

"Snap... jingle!"

At dusk, in the dense shrubbery shrouded in mist, a sound of a branch breaking suddenly came, followed by a burst of rapid and loud metallic bell ringing.

Trap triggered!

Xia Nan stood up violently, holding the longsword tightly with both hands, his eyes staring closely at the direction the sound came from, while also maintaining vigilance against the surrounding area, fearing that something might circle behind him.

Not the slightest slack.

The Half-Elf and his guard were the same.

The moment the bell rang, Haian picked up the wooden longbow placed at his feet, nocked an arrow, and aimed the sharp arrowhead at the swaying grass in the distance.

Wood's figure, which was still quite distinct in Xia Nan's line of sight, suddenly dimmed, as if covered by a layer of blurry black shadow, and his entire presence plummeted.

In comparison, the reactions of Lali and Doris were half a beat slower.

After all, one was fat and born as a rich young master; the other was thin and had been frightened repeatedly.

Having walked all day in the Mist Forest, they were already exhausted and lacked stamina.

Fortunately, their basic attitude was still quite serious.

Even though they knew in their hearts that the trap was likely triggered by some wild rabbit or deer again, they still grabbed their weapons and stood up to take a combat stance.

"Crackle."

The campfire flickered,

It seemed that only the faint sound of firewood burning remained in the air.

Night was approaching, and the pervasive mist seemed to become dense as a result, making the dim twilight scattering within it appear exceptionally decadent and powerless.

Visibility was far inferior to daytime.

The environment was complex, and the few people in the squad did not rush forward, just standing in place on guard.

"Patter... patter..."

Xia Nan leaned against a big tree, his expression tense.

His black pupils reflected the outline of the distant shrubbery and grass, and his nostrils flared slightly with his breathing.

This time, it seemed a bit different.

According to the movements when traps were triggered before, those timid herbivorous animals were often startled by the bell and would run away in a panic.

Back at the campsite, what one would hear would be a burst of short and gradually receding footsteps, occasionally accompanied by a sharp, panicked cry.

But the current situation was the exact opposite.

After the bell was triggered, the movement in the grass only paused for an instant before starting up again.

It even seemed to have detected the location of the squad members because of this and was approaching them straight on.

The crisp sound of branches and grass stems being snapped, the strange footsteps like sharp objects falling to the ground, and even mixed with unbearable noise made by some rough objects rubbing against each other...

Just like the increasingly intense and sharp background music before the "exciting" part of a horror movie, Xia Nan watched the swaying shrubs in front of him, and his heart beat faster and faster.

Finally, accompanied by a sharp, piercing hiss unique to insects that seemed to want to shatter the eardrums.

Four crawling, hideous figures appeared before everyone's eyes.

Wavy carapaces as rough and thick as rock covered their entire bodies, four sturdy and powerful pincers reached out to both sides, with sharp protrusions covering the joints;

Compound eyes like mung beans refracted a faint light, and the split mouthparts opened and closed slightly amidst the hissing sound; through the pale, sharp fangs flashing with cold light, one could vaguely see the contracting esophagus and viscous saliva inside;

And most eye-catching were the feather-like antennae reaching upward on the sides of its head, as well as the fin-like long tail that branched at the end like a swimming fish.

"Rust Monster!"

Wood's low roar filled with astonishment came to his ears,

"Damn it, how could they be here..."

"Prepare for battle!"

As soon as the words fell, a wooden arrow tipped with white tail feathers tore through the air, spinning through the mist.

As an archer, Haian had already completed his aiming action the second the warning bell rang.

After Wood confirmed the battle, he completed the squad's first attack.

It was just that the overly dim and blurry environment made the Half-Elf's arrow slightly off-target.

Even though he had deliberately aimed at the tiny eyes of the Rust Monster hidden under the thick carapace, he still failed to hit accurately.

"Clang!"

The metal arrowhead collided violently with the yellowish-brown chitinous carapace, splashing sporadic sparks in the twilight.

Friction, bouncing off.

It only left a black-brown scratch on the surface of the magic beast's rough carapace.

The battle was on the verge of breaking out!

Four Rust Monsters, about five feet tall, rushed toward the squad members amidst sharp hissing sounds.

First, it was Lali, who was closest.

It was unclear whether it was the courage given by the golden-haired girl behind him, or if the embarrassing performance facing the insect swarm during the day made him feel a bit ashamed.

This rich young master actually displayed courage far beyond the ordinary at this moment.

He held the single-handed hammer in his hand high, ignoring the white, fatty flesh exposed between his tight, short outfit, and rushed up in a dash.

The hammer, flashing with a metallic luster, smashed violently toward the Rust Monster's short, narrow head.

"Bang... ah!"

The sharp sound of hard objects colliding erupted suddenly in the forest.

Following closely behind was a scream filled with pain.

Facing the hard iron tool that symbolized the crystallization of human wisdom and skill, the Rust Monster's yellowish-brown chitinous carapace was almost hammered into a circle of fine cracks the moment it made contact.

But... that was as far as it went.

Because the next second, the violent reaction force transmitted from the hammer body numbed Lali's entire right side from his fingertips to his arm, and even his chest cavity, as if he had lost all sensation in an instant.

The hammer slipped from his hand and fell onto the meadow, Lali's face showing pain as he stumbled and retreated in a sorry state.

But how could two legs compare to four pincers.

"Hiss—"

The ear-piercing insect chirping almost set off invisible waves in the air, the sharp mouthparts opened and closed, and the scent of death grew stronger.

And at this critical moment, Doris, who had been hiding behind Lali, mustered all her strength and threw the other single-handed hammer over!

"Clang!"

By some stroke of luck, the hammer body smashed directly onto the Rust Monster's fragile mouthparts, causing its entire body to pause.

Lali rolled and crawled, using all four limbs, taking the opportunity to retreat.

Thick green saliva dripped from the Rust Monster's smashed mouthparts, splashing onto the hammer.

"Sizzle..."

Accompanied by pungent thick smoke, the metal hammer face, which was capable of cracking the carapace of an insect beast, seemed to have encountered some natural enemy and instantly softened and charred.

"Careful! The Rust Monster's venom can erode metal!"

Wood, who had already disappeared from sight, warned urgently.

"Ah!?"

Xia Nan, who was holding the polished longsword and preparing to rush up to support, slowed his pace instantly.

(End of chapter)