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墨書 Inktalez
Cong Fei stood on the tree, looking around at the pitch darkness, patiently waiting.
Kato and Shijieyu went to check the situation nearby together. Kato held a simple torch to light the way ahead, while Shijieyu swept the ground with a soft sword.
Suddenly, as the two looked up, they felt that the area in front of them was becoming brighter...
Surrounded by thick darkness, the torch could not illuminate far. It seemed that a glowing sphere was approaching them. Due to the darkness, it was impossible to gauge the distance; they could only judge its proximity by the size of the light, which fluctuated between round and flat.
The two were intrigued, and Shijieyu couldn’t help but feel scared, moving closer to Kato. "What is that thing?"
As it got a bit closer, they could see that it was just a swarm of fireflies forming a pattern.
So many fireflies gathered together like a giant lantern, illuminating a large area of the forest. As the fireflies moved, they revealed twisted trees and intertwining branches that looked eerie and frightening; after passing through, the fireflies quickly vanished into the darkness.
Seeing so many fireflies for the first time, Shijieyu momentarily forgot about the danger and exclaimed, "I never expected such beautiful scenery in this deep mountain forest."
Kato was not disturbed by the beauty of the fireflies. In front of where they had just lit up, something seemed to move in a patch of grass taller than a person. Of course, it was definitely not caused by the fireflies since they were in the air. Moreover, after the fireflies passed, there seemed to be some flickering light in that dark area; it happened in an instant and would be easily missed if one wasn’t paying attention. However, Kato noticed it; he did not believe it was just a few stray fireflies because he clearly saw that the light seemed to be pulled by something.
His heart sank as he quickly whispered to Shijieyu, "Don't move; there might be danger!"
He slowly raised his right arm and lifted the torch higher before throwing it forcefully in that direction. The path illuminated by the torch became bright as it flew through the air with a whooshing sound above the fireflies, startling them and scattering them away.
At that moment, they also saw clearly that not far away in the grass lay a beast with sharp teeth and fangs, its two green-glowing eyes staring hungrily at them. Several long antennae swayed above its head, with light emanating from their tips; at first glance, they looked just like fireflies.
Kato cursed fiercely; it turned out this creature was using fireflies as camouflage with the intent to ambush them.
The torch then fell beside the beast, illuminating its size. The beast, which had been quietly lying in place, was startled by the torch and stood up. As it rose, both of them were horrified; this creature could hardly be described simply as "big."
The torch fell to the ground and extinguished.
The two individuals immediately turned around and sprinted back.
The monster hidden in the shadows could no longer hold back; it let out a low growl, crouched down, and charged out of the bushes, pursuing the two.
Leaning against a tree, Mei Shuang suddenly saw many twinkling lights appear in the darkness, seemingly coming from all directions. She exclaimed, "Where did all these fireflies come from?"
Occasionally, a few flew past her eyes, illuminating her surroundings. Mei Shuang reached out to catch one but ended up grasping at nothing.
Anriyan scoffed, "You really are like a curious child. Those things might have poisonous stingers."
Mei Shuang quickly withdrew her hand, sighed, and turned her gaze away to avoid looking at Anriyan, who was ruining the atmosphere.
Coach Brothers was losing patience. "Why haven't they returned yet?"
As soon as he finished speaking, hurried footsteps could be heard from the bushes in the distance. Soon after, a panicked Kato and Shijieyu appeared in sight.
Behind them, the bushes fell like a storm, indicating that something was chasing them.
The group quickly signaled for them to climb up the tree.
Hearing their comrades' calls, the two hurriedly scrambled up.
At the same time, the monster arrived like a gust of wind. With the light from the fire pit below, everyone gasped in shock. What on earth is this thing that resembles a floating boat?!
Its dark, shiny fur glistened ominously. Although its shape was similar to that of a wild boar, it was twice the size of any wild boar Mei Shuang had ever seen.
Its head was elongated and flat, with sharp tusks protruding outward, gleaming menacingly in the firelight. At first glance, it resembled a crocodile's mouth, while the antennae on its head gently glimmered with light.
Seeing the prey about to fly away, the monster was naturally unwilling to let it escape. It stood on its hind legs and thrust its sharp tusks upward towards the tree where Shijieyu was.
This was something no one had anticipated; the monster actually had this move.
Shijieyu, who had already climbed up the tree, thought she was safe. Unexpectedly, the monster stood up, and its tusks, over half a meter long, reached into the gap between her back and the wrapping.
Feeling the hard tusks against her back, Shijieyu turned pale with fright, and those on the tree hurried over to grab her.
The monster, excited to have struck its prey, suddenly yanked back its tusks. Shijieyu's body swung down from the tree; her legs were clamped against the trunk while her upper body was being forcefully pulled backward.
If the monster applied more force, Shijieyu would surely not be able to hold on.
Seeing this, Cong Fei quickly drew his knife and cut through the wrapping. The monster lost its balance and fell heavily to the ground with the broken wrapping.
Water pouches and dry rations spilled everywhere.
Shijieyu cried out in panic, "That’s our food and water for the next three days!"
“At a time like this, what are you worrying about food and drink for? Hurry up and get back up here,” Mei Shuang said.
Everyone worked together to pull Shijieyu back up into the tree. Seeing that the monster had failed to catch anyone, it began to spin in circles below.
Once they were temporarily safe, a still-shaken Shijieyu recounted what had just happened. Mei Shuang exclaimed, “I’ve heard of a type of deep-sea Anglerfish that has a long filament on its head that it shakes all day as bait to lure small fish in for feeding. This creature is like an Anglerfish on land!”
Logically speaking, jungle animals should be afraid of fire; however, this creature seemed to enjoy the warmth of the flames. It lazily lay down near the campfire, which disheartened everyone as it was clear that this thing was not afraid of fire at all.
After running all this way and battling the Man-Eating Tree, Kato's bandages had come undone. When Mei Shuang accidentally brushed against him, she felt blood seeping through his back.
Mei Shuang let Anriyan activate Firestarter to change Kato's bandage, but Kato refused to budge, insisting on waiting for Dawn.
Although there were monsters lurking under the tree, from another perspective, they felt much safer; at least the typical ferocious beasts dared not approach.
Thanks to the light from the campfire, they witnessed small creatures eyeing the dried food that had fallen from Shijieyu's bag, drooling but too afraid to come closer.
Even a slight sneeze from the monster would send them all fleeing in fright.
After a long while, they could no longer tell what time it was and could only guess it was nearly midnight by the moonlight overhead.
Midnight is said to be the boundary between yin and yang, the time of day when yin energy is at its peak, and many abnormal phenomena tend to occur at this hour. Entering the deep mountains at night, one cannot help but believe these tales.
The six of them had previously split into two groups; one group began to rest while the other continued to keep watch. Thus, after a brief nap, the resting group was gently shaken awake and reminded to remain vigilant at midnight.
It was unclear how much time had passed when the flames of the campfire began to dwindle. The monster seemed to awaken from slumber, slowly rising from the ground. It first stretched lazily, then its antennae began to sway, emitting a glow reminiscent of fireflies.
It circled around the ancient tree where they were hiding several times before suddenly stopping in place. Its antennae began to shake violently as if trying to convey something.
Everyone exchanged nervous glances, unsure of what had caused this sudden behavior from the monster.
After lingering under the tree for a moment, it suddenly lifted its crocodile-like head and slammed it against the ancient tree. This blow appeared to be just a headbutt, but its force was immense—greater than that of a Bear-like Creature.
With a loud "bang," the tree shook violently. The dull sound sent shockwaves through the towering trunk, making it difficult for several of them to hold onto it.
Mei Shuang was jolted back more than half a meter; fortunately, Anriyan caught her just in time; otherwise, she would have slipped off the branch.
Startled, Mei Shuang trembled and instinctively grabbed Anriyan's arm tightly, refusing to let go.
To be honest, if she were really swallowed by the Colossal Creature below, her small frame wouldn't even be enough to fill its gaps.
The Coach Brothers had already been observing from the tree for a while and discovered that the ancient tree they were on actually intertwined with the branches of the nearby ancient trees. The thick trunks even twisted together, making it easy to climb onto another tree.
Upon hearing there was a way out, everyone immediately prepared to retreat. After all, preserving their strength was the priority, and confronting the Colossal Creature below head-on was not a wise choice.
Fortunately, just when everyone was feeling lost, the originally dark sky seemed to clear up without anyone noticing. The moonlight filtered through the treetops, suddenly broadening their view, allowing them to vaguely see the path ahead.
The monster below sensed the movement in the trees and became alert, launching a second attack immediately.
This time, perhaps due to having rested for half a day and regained some strength, there was a loud bang that shook the ancient tree from top to bottom. The sound was like a hurricane passing through.
A few people turned around to look; if that wind were to hit them while they were still in that tree, they would probably have fallen down like dumplings by now.
Not daring to waste any time, they quickly crawled forward using both hands and feet. After leaving the ancient tree, they could still see the monster circling around the tree where the campfire was located.
Suddenly, a fierce whirlwind swept across the ground, bringing with it a foul odor.
It turned out that the nearly extinguished campfire was stirred up by the whirlwind and suddenly flared up with a whoosh...
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