418: The Evil Priest Girl

"Someone has been here, more than one team. The footprints are very fresh."

Shang Wan Ning also leaned over, pretending to identify them carefully. "Is it Mike and his group?"

"Doesn't look like it. Based on the stride and depth, it's a team of adult males, but more professional than Mike's lot." Therese's brow furrowed slightly, a hint of worry flashing through her eyes. The appearance of other high-level mercenaries in the Mist Shadow Forest meant variables.

"Let's pick up the pace."

Therese stood up and quickened her steps.

The closer they got to Moonlight Lake deep in the forest, the denser the surrounding magical aura became. The light also turned more peculiar; even in broad daylight, it gave one the feeling of being in a moonlit night.

Finally, after passing through a dense area of glowing moss, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Moonlight Lake was quietly embedded in the forest clearing. A faint mist shrouded the lake's surface, and clusters of herbaceous plants emitting a soft moon-white halo grew along the shore—it was exactly the moonlight grass.

And above the lake floated dozens of translucent, umbrella-shaped creatures—Halo Jellyfish.

They moved up and down slowly, the edges of their umbrellas shimmering with halos, their long tentacles hanging down, emitting a magic that calmed the mind.

"That's them." Therese took down her longbow.

"I'll go lure some away while you take the chance to gather them. Remember, keep your movements light and try not to cause any large magical fluctuations."

Shang Wan Ning nodded and gripped the cloth bag in her hand tightly.

Therese took a deep breath and drew her bow.

She didn't aim at the jellyfish themselves, but instead shot at a reef on the distant lake surface.

"Swish!"

The arrow struck the reef, making a crisp sound.

The swarm of Halo Jellyfish above became restless, and about half of them were attracted by the sound, drifting leisurely toward the reef.

"Now's the time," Therese whispered.

Shang Wan Ning immediately rushed out from her hiding spot and hurried toward the moonlight grass by the lakeshore.

She carefully gripped the base of the stems and, using a bit of clever force, pulled them out whole and quickly placed them in the cloth bag. Her movements were as smooth as flowing water, without any of the hesitation of a novice herb gatherer.

Therese kept a nervous watch from a distance, needing to keep an eye on the lured jellyfish while also monitoring Shang Wan Ning and the surrounding environment.

Just as Shang Wan Ning gathered the eighth stalk of moonlight grass, an unexpected change occurred.

"Roar..."

A violent roar came from one side of the forest, shaking the leaves into a wild descent. Immediately after, a large, stout wolf with grayish-white fur lunged out.

Bloodthirsty red light burned in its eyes, and as it opened its mouth, it released a blast of searing fire breath that swept across the lakeshore.

"It's a Flame-Claw Wolf, be careful!" Therese's expression changed drastically.

This type of magical beast was violent and could control fire; it was by no means an ordinary Rank 2.

The target of the fire breath wasn't Shang Wan Ning or Therese, but the floating Halo Jellyfish.

Clearly, this Flame-Claw Wolf was here to hunt.

The jellyfish swarm, under attack, instantly became agitated.

The jellyfish that hadn't been lured away all turned toward the Flame-Claw Wolf, their umbrellas glowing intensely as several blinding light orbs slammed into the giant wolf.

At the same time, a mental paralysis toxin spread around, attempting to interfere with the intruder.

The Flame-Claw Wolf roared, flames erupting from its body as it endured the light orb attacks, its claws striking at the nearby jellyfish with searing heat.

The scene immediately fell into chaos.

"Damn it," Therese cursed, forced to redirect her arrow and aim at the Flame-Claw Wolf, trying to drive it away or at least buy time for the priestess girl.

Her arrows struck the Flame-Claw Wolf's thick fur, leaving only charred marks and failing to cause any fatal wounds.

Meanwhile, Shang Wan Ning fell into a "dangerous situation."

A few stray light orbs flew toward her, and she "panicked," waving her wooden staff. A [Light Shield] barely opened, but it vibrated violently under the impact of the light orbs, looking as if it would shatter at any moment... The shockwaves from the battle between the Flame-Claw Wolf and the jellyfish, along with the strong winds and fiery debris, made the girl look like she was in grave danger.

"Nicole, hurry back!"

Therese shouted anxiously while continuously firing arrows to pin down the Flame-Claw Wolf.

Shang Wan Ning retreated in a fluster, her foot tripping on a protruding rock, sending her falling straight backward, just barely dodging two passing embers of flame.

The young girl sat slumped on the ground, her linen skirt covered in mud, her small face pale with fright, and the hand holding the wooden staff trembling uncontrollably.

The Flame-Claw Wolf seemed ferocious, but there was a slight pause in its fighting; an old injury on its hind leg was clearly affecting its power.

The mental paralysis toxin of the Halo Jellyfish had limited effect on the thick-skinned magical beast, but the light orbs they fired effectively interfered with the wolf's vision.

More importantly, Shang Wan Ning sensed another group of people hiding in the shadows of the forest in the distance.

They weren't posers like Mike's group, but three well-equipped adventurers with solid auras.

The few of them were hiding their presence, clearly intending to be the fisherman who profits from the fight.

"Roar!"

The jellyfish's light orbs had clearly infuriated the Flame-Claw Wolf. It gave up chasing Therese, the flames on its body surging as it suddenly reared up on its hind legs and slammed its two fire-wrapped front paws down toward the lake surface.

"Boom~"

The lake water exploded with a roar, and scalding steam wrapped in shockwaves spread in all directions.

The swarm of Halo Jellyfish floating on the lake bore the brunt of the impact; over a dozen were instantly shattered, dissipating into specks of fluorescence, while the rest were blown away by the shockwave, their formation completely collapsing.

Therese, being closer to the shore, was pushed back several meters by the airwave, her back hitting a tree trunk as she let out a few muffled groans.

The area where Shang Wan Ning was hiding was also affected, as the airwave swept through with dust and bits of grass.

She took the opportunity to let out a short scream and curled up, covering her head.

"Now."

In the distance, among the three lurking adventurers, the leading bald warrior whispered.

The thief beside him, wearing brown leather armor, immediately darted out like a leopard, his target being the dimly glowing moonlight grass by the lakeshore.

His footwork was both fast and sneaky, clearly the mark of a veteran who had spent years in the field.

The other adventurer, a mage holding a staff, immediately began chanting, a faint light gathering at the tip of the staff, clearly preparing to cast a spell for cover or attack.

Therese had just caught her breath when she glimpsed this scene, her emerald eyes instantly igniting with rage. "Get lost, you fools!"

Enduring the pain, she drew her bow and notched an arrow, the tip locking onto the speeding thief.

But the thief was extremely agile; with a side-step, he avoided the arrow's trajectory, and his speed even increased slightly.

The Flame-Claw Wolf had expended a lot of energy with that strike, and the flames around its body had dimmed considerably. It growled, its crimson eyes scanning the area before finally settling on the adventurer team, who were more numerous and had a more enticing aura.

"Boss, this beast has its eyes on us." The thief's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly halted his steps.

The mage behind also redirected his staff, pointing it at the Flame-Claw Wolf.

Chaos erupted once more.

Shang Wan Ning curled up behind the bushes, her mind quickly calculating the situation.

Therese was injured, the adventurer team was pinned down by the Flame-Claw Wolf, and very few Halo Jellyfish remained... now was the perfect opportunity.

Her hand flicked quickly inside the cloth bag, and an inconspicuous fragment of glowing moss quietly stuck to a blade of grass beside her.

Then, pretending to be panicked, she poked her head out and shouted toward Therese, "Over here, come over here quickly!"