abnabooks Chapter 118 Traces
Chapter 118 Traces
Chapter 118 Traces
"If we continue forward, we'll enter the area affected by the miasma valley."
Luo Jingshan gazed into the distance and continued, "According to the plan, we only need to patrol and scout within a 30-mile radius of the Miasma Valley. Everyone, take the Miasma-Clearing Pill and follow me."
Upon hearing Luo Jingshan's words, everyone quickly took out the pills and swallowed them.
After the pill entered his stomach, Li Youan felt a cool energy spreading from his dantian, which quickly flowed through his entire body along with the vital energy.
Ultimately, the miasma-clearing pill formed a barrier on the outermost layer of the body, keeping out the slight miasma that was seeping in from the outside.
Led by Luo Jingshan, the entire team began patrolling along the outermost edge of the miasma valley.
Li Youan discovered that the vegetation around this miasma valley was slightly different from that in other parts of the Ten Thousand Demon Forest. The trees were shorter, the branches were more twisted, and the leaves were darker in color.
Although the miasma-clearing pill had isolated him from the miasma, Li Youan could still smell the strange odor permeating the air, which was like a mixture of rotten wood and blood.
It's fine at first, but if you smell this strange odor for a long time, it will make you feel a little uncomfortable.
"Thank goodness we don't have to get close, otherwise it would be really uncomfortable."
Seeing that Dongfang Jinghong's expression was also somewhat unpleasant, Li Youan said.
"Hmm, I have a feeling this mission is not simple, my heart is pounding."
"It's alright, I will definitely protect the employer. Just remember to keep an eye on the orphanage if anything happens."
Although Li Youan also sensed something was amiss, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, and simply offered words of comfort to Dongfang Jinghong.
"Pah, pah, pah, don't say such unlucky things."
The two chatted idly. Of course, the other members of the group, while also keeping watch over the surroundings, were also chatting with people they knew.
For a while at the beginning of the patrol, the surrounding environment was relatively calm, though somewhat oppressive. None of them discovered any trace of the large-scale monster activity mentioned in the mission.
"Captain, the mission report says that monster activity has increased significantly—" Qi Xuan couldn't help but ask Luo Jingshan via telepathy as they walked.
Upon hearing Qi Xuan's words, Luo Junxuan also frowned. When he first received this mission, he felt that it would not be so simple, but he did not expect that there would be an anomaly from the very beginning.
"Perhaps the intelligence is wrong, perhaps the monsters have moved, or perhaps—the problem lies deep within this miasma valley."
Luo Jingshan paused for a moment, then continued, "However, our mission is only to conduct reconnaissance on the outermost perimeter. Without new orders, we do not need to venture deeper into this miasma valley."
At this point, Luo Jingshan emphasized, "Everyone be on high alert, pay attention to anything unusual around you, and don't have any unnecessary curiosity. We'll maintain formation and continue patrolling."
At their current pace, it would take at least two days to patrol the entire Miasma Valley. However, if we include rest and other things along the way, it would take three or four days.
And so, the group advanced cautiously for another hour. Wei Xiao, who was walking on the outer edge of the flank, suddenly transmitted his voice to the group, as if he had discovered something.
"Captain, I've made a new discovery."
The team members who received the telepathic message did not gather together. Instead, they immediately stopped and stood guard according to the pre-arranged plan.
Luo Jingshan approached Wei Xiao and saw a muddy depression ahead. Scattered in and around the depression were fresh monster corpses and numerous signs of a monster battle.
Looking at the chaotic scene of battle, with its messy vegetation and splattered demon blood, Luo Jingshan could tell that a fierce battle between demonic beasts had taken place here not long ago.
"These are claw marks from a lizard-like monster, and also—feathers from some kind of bird."
Seeing that Luo Jingshan had already arrived, Zheng Xuan got up and went to examine the traces. After observing for a while, Zheng Xuan made a judgment.
"A lizard and a bird demon fighting?" Kang Ping asked, somewhat puzzled. "It's quite rare to see these two kinds of demonic beasts fighting each other."
Luo Jingshan also knelt down beside Zheng Xuan, carefully examining the marks on the ground. After a while, he stood up with a serious expression.
"Judging from these battle traces, the two groups of demonic beasts fought fiercely, and their numbers were definitely not small." As he said this, Luo Jingshan's eyes swept around.
"There should be a small clan of lizard demons around here, and at least one lizard demon leader at the True Spirit Realm."
""
"Moreover, this bird-like demon beast should be the same type of demon beast as the eagle demon we encountered that day, but we can't determine whether they belong to the same group."
At this point, everyone around them became serious. Although there are many coincidences in the world, such a coincidence inevitably makes people suspicious.
Just as everyone was pondering, a rapid rustling sound came from the dense forest ahead, followed by some short but very sharp hisses.
It was as if something was rapidly fleeing from the depths of the dense forest. And the direction the owner of these voices was fleeing was precisely towards the Valley of Miasma.
"Let's go, let's chase after them and see what's going on. We can't let the monsters follow us."
Luo Jingshan pondered for a moment. Although he knew there was some danger in doing this, what is without risk? He then ordered his team to follow.
More importantly, their mission this time is to investigate traces of unusual monster activity, and now that they have discovered something unusual, this is part of their reconnaissance mission.
Led by Luo Jingshan, the entire thirteenth squad immediately changed course and sped off in the direction from which the sound came.
Li Youan followed the group, but he had a vague feeling that something was wrong. However, he shared the same thought as Luo Jingshan: at this time, they had to go and investigate no matter what.
Dongfang Jinghong felt that the sound they had just created was too cleverly timed. It appeared as soon as they discovered a trace, as if it was deliberately luring them towards the Valley of Miasma.
They had been chasing for more than ten kilometers, and now they were very close to the edge of the gray-green fog in the Miasma Valley.
The miasma here was significantly denser than on their previous patrol routes, which affected everyone's vision. They could only see clearly within a radius of about 100 feet, and anything beyond that was a blur.
Although Luo Jingshan's divine sense could reach three hundred feet, it wasn't of much help to them at their level.
Fortunately, the team had already taken the miasma-clearing pills, so their vision and senses were only affected to some extent. The miasma did not penetrate their bodies or affect their combat ability.
"Stop!" Luo Jingshan suddenly raised his hand to signal everyone.
After everyone stopped, they looked at the pale green fog in front of them, which seemed so thick that it could be stretched into threads.
At this moment, Luo Jingshan had already drawn his machete and was holding it in his hand. The veins on the back of his hand holding the hilt were bulging.