Chapter 111 Chapter 110-Twisted Grove, Chaos Mist(1st update, Cheer me with Power Stones!)
The eyes of Werewolf Tribe Seer Master Likexei were filled with anticipation, and even tears of sorrow began to flow.
Adam and Blue Sea exchanged glances, then simultaneously turned to John.
"What do you say? Do we take this side quest or not?"
As they were about to delve deeper into uncharted territory, the two of them naturally turned over the command to John.
In such a perilous high-level map, John was their best security.
If John deemed it too dangerous, they would retreat without hesitation.
Meeting their gazes, John didn't immediately agree to take the mission.
Instead, he asked calmly, "Sir, have others taken your request before?"
Likexei answered honestly, "Before you arrived, there were two parties of travelers willing to search for my little grandson, but they all never returned."
The whole group fell silent after hearing this.
Adam said in the team chat, "Sounds like this mission might not be as simple as we thought. Maybe we should give it a pass?"
However, Blue Sea had a different opinion, "Anyway, the dense forest ahead is on our way to Sunset Mountain. Helping this old werewolf on the way shouldn't pose too much risk, right?"
Adam maintained his objection, "Didn't you hear him? Two parties of players have already failed. This indicates that the side quest is extremely dangerous. We really don't need to court disaster."
The two were at a standstill for a moment, and eventually, the decision was left to John.
After pondering, John casually said, "I think we can accept this quest. I am quite curious about the reward."
Seeing that John had made a decision, Adam naturally did not oppose it any longer.
The team successfully accepted Werewolf Seer Likexei's request to help find his grandson.
[You have accepted the side quest - 20 Years of Longing. Quest description: Likexei is the oldest seer in the werewolf village and holds high prestige among the werewolf tribe. Twenty years ago, his promising grandson, Sylar, mistakenly wandered into the Twisted Grove and has never returned since...]
John and the others exchanged glances. They finally knew the name of the dense forest in front of them...
"Thank you, honorable travelers, for your willingness to help. If you can find Sylar, I will bestow upon you my highest blessing," said Werewolf Seer Likexei, as he bowed, expressing sincere gratitude.
John nodded, then took the lead, heading straight for the Twisted Grove, which was shrouded in a thick haze.
The others followed closely.
Watching the departing travelers, Likexei leaned on his walking stick, reluctant to leave for a long time.
...
It's a case of 'so near yet so far.'
The Twisted Grove seemed close at hand, yet it took them a full half hour to reach it. Staring at the dense forest in front of them, shrouded in a thick mist and tangled branches, everyone drew a sharp intake of breath.
Through the heavy white fog, they could vaguely make out the beast skeletons strewn all over the forest.
This place seemed capable of devouring all life. n(/o/.v--e((l/(b/(1-.n
Not only that, but the horses they were riding also began to neigh constantly.
Perhaps due to their animal instinct, these horses felt the threat to their lives.
All except for Adam's holy unicorn remained calm, while the other horses were like crazed beasts, stamping their hooves on the ground, refusing to set foot into the forest.
With no choice, the team had to recall their mounts and proceed on foot.
[You have entered the Twisted Grove (Restricted Area)!!]
The system's warning came with two bright red exclamation marks, enough to illustrate how dangerous this place was.
As soon as they stepped into the Twisted Grove, the white mist suspended in the air seemed to sense something and began to churn wildly.
The entire forest was like a sleeping ancient beast suddenly awakened.
The air was filled with a sense of desolation.
"Everyone stays close, don't stray too far," Adam, noticing the poor visibility, quickly instructed the team.
This was not a time to send rogues and stealth classes to scout ahead.
The white mist seemed to block the range of psychic detection.
As far as they could see, the visible distance was less than two meters.
If two people were more than two meters apart, they could hardly see each other.
"I'll take the lead, and everyone follows behind me," John said.
Seeing everyone clearly a little panicked, he had to step forward to steady the team.
He unhesitatingly walked in front, heading deeper into the Twisted Grove.
Emma naturally followed John closely.
This was her first time exploring such a dangerous map, and her inner fear was greater than anyone else's.
But when she lifted her head and saw John's broad back, her fear gradually subsided.
It seemed that as long as John was in front of her, all danger ceased to exist.
The others walked in pairs, keeping a distance of no more than half a meter between them.
Everyone tightly gripped their weapons, their nerves taut, constantly looking around.
If even the slightest sign of danger appeared, they would not hesitate to act.
Adam and Blue Sea walked at the end of the line.
As the second most skilled players in the team after John, they bore the responsibility of covering the rear.
Seeing the gray beast skeletons all over the ground, Blue Sea couldn't help but remark, "No wonder no players have been able to explore this area for so long. This place is literally hell."
Adam nodded in agreement, "Such areas may only be explored and developed when the general level of players reaches 100."
John, leading the way, should have been the most at risk.
But there wasn't a hint of tension on his face.
Instead, he seemed leisurely, as though he were strolling in his own backyard.
It wasn't that John was being careless, but the mysterious white fog didn't obstruct his scouting ability in the least.
He reached out a hand, gently stirring the fog in front of him, and felt as if he was running his fingers through water.
Suddenly, he seemed to recall what this mist was: Chaos Mist.
If he wasn't mistaken, that was the name.
It was a special kind of fog originating from the depths of the abyss, and even in the abyss, only certain special areas gave birth to Chaos Mist.
The mist could block psychic energy, leaving enemies within it blind despite their open eyes.
From his memories inherited from The Devil Azazel, he knew that when leading his demon clan to war on the continent of Godslayer, Azazel would always release Chaos Mist on the battlefield.
The fog would cover the enemy's psychic detection ability and create large-scale slaughter.
The reason John's scouting ability wasn't blocked by this mist was because he wasn't using psychic energy to scout, but rather his divine sense...
The higher order crushed the lower, and the Chaos Mist had no effect on John.
Suddenly, John stopped in his tracks, and naturally, everyone behind him did the same.
He furrowed his brows, eyes shining, and looked sharply into the depths of the fog.
"What's wrong, Johnny?" Emma asked, cluelessly looking up at him from behind.
John gave a crooked smile and casually said, "It seems something doesn't welcome us into its territory. It wants to take advantage of the cover of the fog and launch a surprise attack on us..."
His words immediately put everyone on high alert.
They tensed their bodies, gripping their weapons tighter, their eyes scanning the surroundings.
Unfortunately, the mist was too thick, and they couldn't see a thing.
From the back, Adam asked loudly, "Brother Galewind, are you sure there are monsters? We can't see anything at all."
John smiled slightly, answering with absolute certainty, "I'm sure. It seems these monsters are used to silently hunting passersby in the fog without a sound. It's normal that you can't detect them. Just be ready for a fight. They are still a few thousand yards away."
Adam, Blue Sea, and the others exchanged looks.
A few thousand yards?
They couldn't even see an object a yard away, and John could detect monsters approaching from a few thousand yards away?
How did he do that?
Unable to hold back, Blue Sea asked, "Brother Galewind, this weird fog doesn't affect your psychic power?"
John nodded and answered, "I have a small method that can solve the interference of the fog, but unfortunately, this method can only be applied to myself and I can't help you guys with it."
Hearing this, everyone immediately felt a surge of encouragement.
To have one person in the team who could deal with the fog's effects was indeed a relief.
Having John was already hugely significant.
At least they weren't completely blind.
If John hadn't been leading the way, they would have been lost in the Twisted Grove by now.
They couldn't even see objects two meters away; their sense of direction was completely useless at this point.
Adam, his face lit with excitement, asked, "Are the monsters attacking us high-level? Do we need to avoid them?"
John shook his head and casually said, "I'm afraid we can't avoid them. They seem to be able to sense intruders in the fog and are coming right at us."
With that, he silently activated his Eye of Artemis.
Under the augmentation of this divine skill, even the interference of Chaos Mist on his vision ceased to exist.
John was able to see the monsters clearly.