With no boats to cross the river, Ethan used the vines as rope and crossed it like a monkey. However, when he reached the other side, he met with a danger unprecedented in his life. The three man-eating crocodiles came for him. Although he managed to kill one, one of his legs was locked in its mouth while the other two came to rip him apart.

As their mouths opened, he saw the menacing teeth and the deadly bite.

He took out the dagger and stabbed the one coming for his thigh. He had already hurt one leg, if he lost another one it would be over. So he decided to give up one arm and saved his leg.

However, to his surprise, someone came to his rescue. A spear flew past the narrow gaps between the mangrove trees and hit the one coming for his arm.

"Divination!"

The voice came from a distance behind him. And it was the voice he was familiar with. After a moment, a scent followed the voice.

"*Tsk. How did you kill that beargum when you could not even fight three normal lizards?" Clara mocked Ethan. This time she was the one who was standing.

"And what are you? A monkey?" She pointed the rope and shook her head in disappointment.

Ethan was so embarrassed that he pretended to be busy with releasing the grip from the dead crocodile's mouth and not hear her.

Clara chuckled, "You won't say thank you? Whatever. Since you own me now, why don't you give up the book and go back? You need to treat your leg anyway."

"No. This was nothing. I had managed to succeed in many missions with worse injuries. And I don't own you. We are even. I saved you from that beargum."

Ethan argued back at the prideful girl. She smacked her lips with frustration.

"Fine. Shall we go separate ways then? Unlike you, I won't need any help. Though I doubt that you will be fine alone with just one leg, right?"

"Absolutely."

And so the two separated their ways again after they saw each other at the inn. After Clara left, Ethan dragged himself, slowly and painfully with occasional grunting, away from the shore so that he would not be bothered by the man-eaters again. He put some herbs into his wound and bandaged it. Before the night fell, he searched for a place to rest and made a fire. He also covered the fire with some bushes around, so that the light would not be seen from afar.

Like usual, a nightmare visited his sleep. Leila was hanged around the neck by the vines. Ethan rushed to rescue her but a body of water stood between them. The more he waited, the more she would suffer so he threw the dagger hoping it would not hit Leila. He successfully hit the vines and Leila was released. However, she fell into the water full of man-eaters. Desperate, he also jumped into the water to lure them toward him yet they went on Leila. He had to watch as they took her under the water and made it turn red.

He woke up from the haunting dream, exhausted and beat up. Each dream ate his soul.

The next day, he searched for the man named Sahel and his hut in the jungle. The jungle was wilder than he thought. Many kinds of animals he had never seen before were roaming around the vegetation freely. The jungle was their paradise. Venomous snakes and poisonous insects dominated along with plants.

He wondered how Clara, a prideful girl, would stay in this harsh environment alone. She might have already ditched the mission and gone home.

For days, he searched the man called Sahel and his secret lair. From time to time, he had to hide from the groups of adventurers, who had the same goal as him. And on the fourth afternoon, he finally found it.

To his surprise, what he found was not a lair but a military camp. From the armour and weapons, he noticed immediately that they were from the temple. Judging by the tents, there were over a hundred soldiers, guarding and patrolling the area. He also counted more than ten Templers stationed around. During his service in the temple, he had never heard of the camp in twin rivers.

"A centurion in the middle of a jungle? What mess did I walk into?" He muttered in disbelief.

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Crown City, Temple of Mordu',

"How did it go?"

A voice appeared from behind the partition and asked the Ayeegyee. The voice itself sounded dominant and overwhelming, it sent shivers down the spine. The Ayeegyee, who was a head taller than others and never had to look up, grovelled to the voice; shaking in fear.

"I have sent Templers to protect the book, my lord. Shall I move the book again?"

"No. Leave it as it shall be. The guardian will take care of any dared men. Watchers?"

"They have come back, my lord. They are praying in the hall, condemning their sins."

"God is ever merciful to his children who are always faithful and remember his grace. Let them redeem."

The Ayeegyee bowed to the voice and left the room facing the partition. He was waited outside by another Ayeegyee.

"Protector, have you got the lord's holy wisdom?" The Ayeegyee who was in charge of the temple in the crown city asked. He was also found bowing toward the voice as he waited outside.

"I did. The book shall still be there as it should be."

"I see. Well_ even if we move now, those dogs had already got a sniff of it. They will trail along. It is better to kill them all before we move again. What about the watchers? Will they be punished for failing to enclose the existence of the book?"

Protector sighed heavily as he answered the fate of his students, "the lord has forgiven them. They can redeem."

"I see. I shall prepare the ceremony."

The Temple prepared the redeeming ceremony for their fellow Templers. It was decorated with flowers and prayers. The three watchers kneed before the statue of Mordu'; the swords of service laid before them.

Stolen story; please report.

"As God has created, the women serve with their beauty and the men served with their strength. These faithful men before us had served the lord for ten long years and the watch for three years. Although they had sinned, their prayers reached his ears. Praise!!."

"Bless the lord Mordu'. Bless the watchers."

"They will be condoned and passed on to the next life. A better life. A higher realm_a just to their contributions for the Lord and the Temple."

"Mordu'!"

As soon as Ayeegyee finished his speech, the choir behind sang the praises in unison. Three servant girls wearing thin white clothes came into the hall carrying the gold cups. A white liquid was filled in them.

The watchers paid homage to their Lord for the last time as they drank the cup down to the last drop. After the third bow, the three Templers never got up again.

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Ethan scouted the surrounding areas for three days hoping to find a gap in between to enter the camp and searched for the book. However, it was a centurion manning a camp with palisades and watchtowers. There was no chance to get inside unnoticed. In the morning, since dawn, a large number went out to somewhere in the jungle and only came back at dusk. However, there were still enough men to cover the whole base without a blindspot.

After much deliberation, Ethan decided to cooperate with someone with the same goal. After they went out, Ethan would use a decoy to lure them to one side while he entered it during the commotion.

Ethan went to Clara and told her the plan. During his three days of stay, he met Clara again near the camp and they exchanged some information.

"No." Clara rejected him blatantly.

Ethan knew she would say that. She was a prideful girl indeed. So Ethan decided to persuade logically.

"... I know you are thinking of entering the camp as a dancer. Sure it will work in other camps. Soldiers are always hungry for women. But this is in the middle of a jungle. They will surely suspect you."

Ethan persuaded her. However, it went counterproductive. It made her angry.

"Tsk* although I have no expectations from you, this is another level. You Templers are always thinking of girls as entertainment, are you not?"

Ethan panicked. He apologized to her immediately with a warrior salute: bumping his chest with the sword.

"I apologize if you felt offended. I did not mean it as such. I fully respect you as a warrior."

"Forget it," Clara dismissed the argument quickly. She knew it would not do any good for them especially when she needed a hand and Ethan was all she got. "_the book is not in there anyway."

While Ethan was surveilling the camp, Clara took an interest more in those men who went inside the jungle every day. Where did they go and why? She followed them to the place and found out the reason.

"What do you mean? Why are you so sure the book is not in the camp?"

"Because I found the book."

"You found it? Then why are you still here?"

"I can't get to it. Alright? I need someone to help me." She said frustratedly.

Ethan chuckled. And it annoyed her more. But the more she was frustrated, the more Ethan found it funny. He laughed until Clara hit him softly on his belly.

"Hahaha. Fine, fine. I will stop laughing. Haha. Where did that prideful girl go? I thought you said you won't need any help."

"I don't. I am just giving you a chance. And you miss it."

Embarrassed, she left him and went off alone. Ethan had to follow her and apologized.

"Hey. I am sorry. Can I still take that chance? I will do as you say."

And of course, it was not easy to apologize to an angry girl. She did not listen to him.

It was not because she was angry. She was embarrassed. She believed she could not meet his eyes for a while. And while she seemed like running away from Ethan, she was taking him toward the book.

She might be embarrassed but she still needed to finish her mission.

"Wait!" Ethan shouted suddenly.

"What!?" She turned and yelled back. As she turned, she walked backwards and tripped up into a trap.

A rope tightened on her leg and pulled her up. She was dangled upside down.

"God damn*t" She mumbled, "how many times do I have to embarrass myself in front of him?"

Seeing how her face turned red, Ethan wanted to laugh so hard yet he choked his laughter. He did not want to offend her again. He silently released her and dropped her down carefully.

After that, they did not talk for a while. And Clara was not so cold to him anymore.

She took him deeper into the jungle. It took them a candle time until she pointed him toward a place where the soldiers were. They hid behind the bushes.

"See. They are the soldiers from the camp. Every day they come here and guard this place around."

"So, the book is here?" Ethan asked. He looked around. There was nothing but trees. Why would they place the book here and not in the camp where it is safer? Then he noticed root vines, lying around like a web. He followed the origin and found a big tree.

"Don't tell me that it is a monster." He exclaimed.

"Yes. It is. A treant. A banyan treant. It is the reason they guard only at daylight and returned at dusk."

"And it is bigger than the one in the exam ground," Ethan said in awe.

The horror he met in the past revisited him. He felt like he cut endless roots to get to that flag. His arms nearly fell off from all the swings. And back then was only half of this monster.

Even if he looked from afar, he could tell this monster was on another level. It consumed all the trees around twenty feet. Its roots covered the entire area like a web. There was no spot big enough to stand two feet inside. The roots were dangling down from above like rain, with no gaps in between. And the book was inside.

Dejected, Ethan stared at the guardian hopelessly without a way to get to the book.