Luo Wei never imagined that while fleeing for her life, she would encounter a monster. This stroke of luck was truly extraordinary.

"The Ode of Aldrich" contained records about monsters. These creatures, wherever they went, would spread infection and even devour people.

"Let's run quickly!" She made a snap decision and was about to get up to fetch the horse.

However, Troy drew his sword with a "swoosh," his gaze fearlessly fixed on the forest. "You go. I'm going to kill it."

Luo Wei was nearly furious. How could she leave alone? She didn't even know the way.

"How can you, a mere swordsman, kill a monster? Let's leave first. When we find the next village, we'll have the villagers notify the temple or the city lord. They'll come to deal with the monster."

Troy: "We can't give the monster time to grow stronger."

Luo Wei nodded resignedly: "Fine, fine, fine, you go, you go. Just don't die out there!"

Troy, sword in hand, strode towards the chestnut horse with great determination.

"What are you doing?" Luo Wei, seeing his intention, cursed for the first time since arriving in this world, "You bastard, you're planning to ride off on my horse!"

"I'll return it to you." Troy didn't look back, walking off with a tragic heroism reminiscent of 'The wind whistles, the waters of Yi River are cold.'

Return my ass, by then you'll be dead out there, man and horse together!

Luo Wei roared inwardly. She was about to explode with anger. Not only was Troy leaving, but he was also taking the horse. She would be left alone in this wilderness, not knowing the way, with night falling soon. Was she supposed to wait to be eaten by wolves?

"Wait, I'm coming with you!"

Even if it meant going to her death, Luo Wei couldn't care less at this point.

Troy pulled her onto the horse, and together they galloped towards the center where the black mist was billowing.

The closer they got to the pine forest, the more uncomfortable it felt.

It was as if the air had become sticky, with a rotten, fishy stench.

The faint black mist was blown to the edge of the forest by the wind. Luo Wei saw at a glance that the grass leaves, once enveloped by the mist, withered and died at an extremely fast rate, as if corroded by some kind of concentrated acid gas.

In this environment, could people really enter without dying?

Troy stopped outside the forest, tied the horse's reins to a small tree, and turned to put on his black cloak: "I'm going in."

Luo Wei glanced at the gloomy forest, her heart pounding as if it would jump out: "I'm coming with you."

She clenched her fists. Going together, at least they could look out for each other if something happened.

Troy looked at her in astonishment: "Aren't you afraid?"

"You've protected me for so many days after all. I can't just watch you die here with no one to even collect your corpse," Luo Wei said fiercely.

Troy suddenly smiled, saying confidently: "I won't die. It's just one monster. I've even fought through hordes of magical beasts before."

Luo Wei pursed her lips: "Yeah, right. Keep boasting."

Troy's eyes curved with amusement. He didn't explain further but stepped into the forest: "Follow behind me, step in my footprints, and be careful not to slip."

Luo Wei nodded like a pecking chick. Looking down, she saw two rows of large footprints on the ground and carefully stepped into them.

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Troy's feet were very large. When she stepped in his footprints, there was ample space around her feet, making her feel secure.

The only drawback was perhaps that his strides were too big, and she had to stretch far with each step.

The forest floor should have been covered with a soft layer of fallen leaves, but due to the erosion of the black mist, the leaf layer seemed to have melted away. The ground was thin and sticky, and stepping on it felt like stepping on melted asphalt.

They had walked about a hundred meters when the air had already become acidically foul. Luo Wei covered her nose with a handkerchief. For a moment, she didn't watch where she was going and bumped into Troy's back.

"Why did you stop?"

Troy stood motionless in front, his voice ice-cold: "It's the swamp monster El. It has eaten people."

Luo Wei stood on tiptoe, her gaze passing over his shoulder to see the scene in the distance: In the thick black mist that had almost solidified, a huge monster loomed.

Its decaying body was covered in messy hair, two blue flames burned in its pitch-black eye sockets, and two long fangs protruded from its mouth.

Its upper body was like a giant, but below the waist, it turned into a foul-smelling mud, sticking to the ground.

Luo Wei couldn't tell if it had eaten people or not. She couldn't even find where its stomach was.

This monster was at least five meters tall, about as high as a two-story building. Its mouth, like rotten mud, roared in all directions, yet made no sound.

Perhaps the sound it made was inaudible to humans.

Luo Wei looked at Troy worriedly and asked in a low voice, "Are you really sure you can kill it?"

"Trust me." Troy left these words and his figure shot out like an arrow released from a bow.

Luo Wei saw a blur rushing towards the giant monster. When it was only seven or eight meters away, that figure leaped high into the air, the sword in his hand reflecting a dazzling silver light.

Troy's speed was too fast for her to see clearly.

She only saw one of the two blue flames extinguish. The monster twisted its enormous body, angrily striking the ground. The mountain shook and the earth moved, making her unsteady on her feet.

In just a few seconds, the black mist thickened several times over. The sky suddenly darkened, and the forest became pitch black. She couldn't see anything anymore.

Her ears faintly heard the intense sounds of battle from afar, which, in this darkness, gave her an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

At least this proved that Troy was still alive.

She didn't know how long it had been, long enough for her legs to go numb, when suddenly a ray of light shone into the forest.

Luo Wei realized something and immediately ran towards where the monster had appeared, calling out Troy's name as she ran.

The valley was eerily silent, and her heart tightened.

"Troy!"

"Are you still alive? Make a sound if you are!"

There was no response. She pulled out the magic wand from her sleeve, muttered a fire control spell, and released a flame. Holding the fire, she rushed into the thick black mist.

The monster was gone. On the ground was only a large puddle of foul-smelling mud. Luo Wei's sharp eyes caught something moving in the mud. She picked up a tree branch and poked at it. Suddenly, a hand stretched out.

"Ah!"

She was startled and stepped back, only to realize it was Troy.

Troy sat up from the mud puddle, wiped his face, revealing his signature iron mask, which was why Luo Wei didn't recognize him at first.

"As expected of you, Troy," Luo Wei couldn't help but say, "Even at a time like this, you're unwilling to take off your mask."

His nose, ears, and eyes were all covered in mud, and his hair was so caked that its original color couldn't be seen. He looked like a mud man.

"You look quite miserable now!"

Troy choked twice, coughing up a large glob of mud: "There was a bit of an accident, but the outcome is still good."

Luo Wei went in to help him up: "What kind of accident?"

Troy's body was a bit weak. He supported himself with one hand on his sword while she propped him up. Trembling, he stood up: "Some of the people it had swallowed were still alive, so I cut them out first."

"Where are they?"

"They should be in here somewhere. Let me dig around."

Luo Wei looked down at the knee-deep mud: "..."

Even if those people were still alive earlier, they must have suffocated in this mud by now, right?

Ah, who told her to be so kind-hearted?

Luo Wei put away her magic wand and rolled up her sleeves to start rescuing people.

Seeing her actions, Troy was surprised once again, seemingly not expecting the delicate noble lady to do such dirty work.

She had even found clear river water to be unclean.

What a contradictory person.

Troy watched Luo Wei for a while, and as soon as he regained some strength, he immediately joined the rescue effort.

TBC