149: Chapter 0149 Four-person team

The night deepened, and the bonfire gradually died down.

Li Size and Gelia lay in the tent, Gelia's head resting on Li Size's shoulder:

"dear, what do you think Feiting's wizards are really doing?"

Li Size stroked her hair:

"I don't know, but it certainly isn't anything good. We'll observe them tomorrow before deciding what to do."

Gelia's fingers traced across Li Size's chest:

"You must be exhausted today. Rest early."

Li Size smiled and pulled Gelia closer:

"I'm not tired when you're by my side."

Outside the tent, Violet tossed and turned, unable to sleep...

She heard a soft sound coming from the adjacent tent—

It was Gelia's soft sigh and Li Size's low whispers.

(Censored)

Her heart pounded faster and faster.

Felina noticed Violet's unusual state and patted her back:

"What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

Violet quickly shook her head:

"N-no, Sister, I'm just a little cold."

Felina sighed and pulled Violet into her embrace:

"Don't overthink things. We have an operation tomorrow."

Violet nestled into Felina's arms, but her ears remained perked up, listening to the sounds from the next tent, her heart jumping like a trapped rabbit.

The next morning, the morning mist enveloped the forest like a thin veil. Li Size and Gelia were the first to emerge from the tent—

Gelia had changed out of her usual crisp scarlet police uniform, wearing a dark green, form-fitting hunting suit. The fabric was embroidered with dark gold thorn runes that accentuated her slender waist.

Half a silver wrist guard peeked out from her cuff, wrapped around which was a black spider silk rope (woven from the remaining shadow spider silk they had purchased previously).

Her black leather boots were damp with morning dew, the toe caps inlaid with a small magic crystal. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, with stray strands blown across her forehead by the wind.

Her ice-blue eyes flashed with a sharp light, completely lacking the cold aloofness of the police station, now possessing the capable air of a wilderness hunter.

She stretched, her fingertips brushing the collar of her hunting suit:

"Husband, the fog today is even thicker than yesterday. Will it affect the drone reconnaissance?"

Li Size, who was adjusting the drone's lens, looked up and smiled when he heard her:

"Don't worry. Although the night vision rune is only at the proficient level, the visibility in the morning fog is sufficient. Moreover, I added a 'Penetration' rune, which allows it to see through fog layers within 50 meters."

Felina and Violet followed, exiting the tent. Felina rubbed her eyes; her golden curly hair was slightly messy, and her light purple eyes were bloodshot, clearly having not slept well.

Violet yawned, her amber eyes half-open and half-closed, swaying slightly as she walked:

"Brother-in-law, I heard many Magic Monster calls in the forest last night. I couldn't sleep at all..."

Li Size patted her head:

"It's fine. We have the drone on alert today; there won't be any danger."

Li Size launched the drone. The screen quickly displayed the distribution of Feiting's squads—

Most squads were concentrated on the west side of the forest, with only one four-person squad in the oak woods on the east side. There were no other squads within a five-kilometer radius.

The drone lens zoomed in, showing the Feiting squad's actions:

The captain, Kyle, wore a white and blue striped military uniform, with a rune dagger hanging at his waist. The wolf head rune on the dagger's hilt glowed with a faint cyan light—

He had just pulled it from the corpse of a Shadow Claw Wolf. The dark green wolf blood splattered on his pant leg, and he frowned, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve:

"Aila, burn the carrion clean. Don't leave any strange smells to attract other Magic Monsters!"

Aila was a witch with her hair in a high ponytail, an orange-red magic crystal inlaid at the tip of her oak staff.

Her fingertips traced the flame rune on the staff, and with a "whoosh," an arrow-shaped flame shot out, instantly turning the carrion on the wolf corpse into ash. A scorched smell permeated the air.

She shook her aching wrist:

"The bloodstains from the Magic Monsters in this damned forest are really hard to clean. Last time, my staff even got corroded with a mark!"

Lucas was a melee wizard wearing leather armor, the muscle lines on his arms taut from exertion.

He thrust his silver-quenched short sword into the wolf corpse's abdomen. With a "click," he pried out a dark purple magic core, still coated in viscous bodily fluid. He distastefully wiped it with a leaf:

"Mia, make a note. This Shadow Claw Wolf's magic core level is 3.2, 0.1 higher than yesterday's!"

Mia squatted on the ground, her notebook resting on her knee covered in dirt. Her quill slid quickly across the yellowing page, the tip stained with traces of wolf blood. She pouted and complained:

"Captain Kyle, we have been cleaning up in this forest for one year, three months, and seventeen days!

Every day is killing Magic Monsters, finding magic cores, and writing reports. When can we return to the Feiting training camp?

The last letter I received from my mother was three months ago!"

Kyle leaned against an oak tree, pulled a piece of hard, dry black bread from his backpack, and took a bite. Crumbs fell onto his uniform. He spoke with a hint of helplessness:

"Who knows? The higher-ups said we have to clear out all the Magic Monsters, but the monsters in this forest seem endless—

Last week we just finished clearing the valley to the west, and this week a new group popped up in the east!"

Lucas tossed the magic core to Mia. It landed on the notebook with a "thud." He wiped the dirt from his face:

"Stop complaining. At least we still have dry rations! Last time in the Misty Forest to the north, we couldn't even get water and had to drink sap from leaves covered in dew!"

Aila sat on a moss-covered stone, nervously fiddling with a tear in her clothes:

"I miss the pumpkin soup from Feiting. The air here is filled with the stench of Magic Monsters, and even the bonfire won't burn strongly!"

The drone in the distant treetops emitted a faint buzz, masked by the chirping of insects and the sound of the wind in the forest...

Kyle rubbed his aching shoulder, completely unaware that a scope five kilometers away, hidden behind a rock, was aimed directly at his heart—the heart protection talisman there was dull due to long-term wear, offering only level-3 protection.

Li Size, miles away, pointed at the screen:

"Look, this squad. They just finished clearing a small group of Shadow Claw Wolves and are resting now.

The reason I chose them is that there are no nearby reinforcements, and their location is at the bottom of a slope. We can snipe from behind the rocks above the slope—

There's natural cover there, and the angle perfectly covers their resting area."

Gelia leaned closer, pointing a finger at the screen:

"What about the timing for the sniper shot? They are eating dry rations now; their guard should still be up, right?"

Li Size shook his head:

"Wait until they finish resting and are about to get up to continue clearing—

At the moment they finish resting, their muscles haven't fully tensed, and their vigilance is at its weakest, just like when you first wake up and feel a bit groggy."