Chapter 569: Attack In The Night
The low whistling sound did not have changes in its tone. It was a bit like the sound of a train whistle that had been lowered. Xiao Lin suddenly increased his alertness, but he was not surprised. From the start, they were already prepared for the fact that some powerful beasts would be hiding in the forest, as that would likely be the hardest point of this examination; it was just that it appeared a little later than they antic.i.p.ated.
However, the cry was a little odd, and when Xiao Lin tried to determine where it was coming from, he was surprised to find that the sound constantly changed in distance, as if it were floating about. What caused them to be even more in disbelief was that, at the nearest point, the sound sounded like it was right next to them!
That discovery caused the two women to have gooseb.u.mps, especially since the moonless sky had added to the strangeness of the atmosphere. Everyone had fallen quiet, waiting for a decision. Xiao Lin did not hesitate either, and immediately stood up as he said, “We’re leaving this place!”
Saying that, he had already launched two fireb.a.l.l.s, but the flames did not reveal anything. Only Xiao Lin vaguely felt like a thick layer of white mist seemed to have covered the forest.
Sitting down and waiting for death was not a habit of his, so Xiao Lin decided to abandon the camp, and he immediately distributed the torches they had prepared to everyone. After using flame magic to light the torches, he then headed toward the direction opposite of the cries. The night was not suited for combat, so Xiao Lin wanted to bring everyone as far away as he could first, waiting for the day to come before investigating. After measuring the strength of both sides, he would then decide to fight or to flee.
Xiao Lin walked at the back of the group, and the flames on the torch swayed violently as he heard the howling wind next to his ear, indicating that the wind was growing stronger again. He cursed to himself at their rotten luck that night. Everything they did ran into difficulties.
The rest of them did not say anything as they gripped the weapons in their hands tightly, aware that the mysterious beasts behind time could attack at any moment. In the half an hour that they ran, nothing happened, but that low cry kept on shadowing them, following them tightly like a nightmare that could not be dismissed.
“It’s so annoying! Come fight me if you have the b.a.l.l.s!” A man in the team suddenly shouted out in frustration, but he was quickly admonished by the others. The others did not agree with courting trouble like that, and of course the beast behind them would not understand their language.
Xiao Lin sighed subtly, as the current situation was worse than he had expected. Since just now, he had been under his Miracle state, concentrating his attributes on Intelligence to increase his perception. Even if it was pitch black, his perception was at least at Silver rank in that state, so he was even able to feel a bug flying across nearby.
However, he could not feel anything at that moment. One could only conceal themselves from a mage’s perception if they had the specialized skills for it, but beasts did not possess that ability. The forest should be filled with various life forms, whether it be insects or forest animals, but at that moment, they seemed to have completely disappeared. Xiao Lin could not even perceive the tiniest bug.
It was as if they had gone into a cemetery of death that did not have any trace of life. As if he was the only person left alive in the world. That feeling was a horrifying experience, which was why Xiao Lin did not tell anyone else in his fright, so as to not terrify them.
There was still a long time left in the night.
The winds started to get stronger, and they were going against the wind as they ran from the sound of the beasts, which meant the speed of their journey was especially slow. The strange thing was, those sounds seem to stop because of that as well.
When they moved forward, it would move forward, and when they stopped, it stopped.
The panic and anxiety caused by the unknown had started to spread from the two women to the others, and someone even suggested that, since they could not avoid it, they should just turn around and fight. After all, it would just cause them ten years of their life, which was better than being toyed with like that.
Xiao Lin could only smile bitterly, but under his perception, he could not even feel the existence of any life behind them. Either their foes had skills that far outstripped his, or their foes were lifeless undead, or there was absolutely nothing behind them. Of course, the last option was the least possible.
Xiao Lin hated that game of cat and mouse as well, there was still some time until the sun would rise, and if they did nothing before that, it might greatly affect the mental state of everyone else, which was something he did not want to see. So, he ordered Lu Renjia in a low voice, “You take the lead after this. Don’t turn back no matter what. Go straight ahead until the sun rises!”
“Then what about you?” Lu Renjia asked.
“I want to go see what kind of beast it is! If I can’t return, then Lu Renjia will take charge for the moment! The rest of you, don’t think about fighting it anymore. Flee, just keep fleeing!” Xiao Lin did not dare to be careless either. Even though he was confident in himself, if he really could not deal with it, then the rest could only flee.
Lu Renjia was both horrified and thankful for Xiao Lin’s confidence, but the man did not say anything more, and merely acknowledged his orders. After Xiao Lin’s final orders, he patted Lu Renjia on the shoulder before turning around.
Xiao Lin had no weapons with him, and those steel clubs were less useful than his own fists to him, which was why he chose to rely on his magic. Under his Miracle state, he carefully put up a water shield for himself. He had learnt that low-level defensive spell a long time ago, but never had the need to use it. That day was an exception.
Since he could not perceive where the beast was, he could only shoot his offensive spells at any possible direction he could. He shot a flame ball at the leaves, promptly setting a tree on fire. After seeing the fire grow to a satisfactory level, Xiao Lin stopped his attacks. He planned on using a forest fire to force his foe to retreat, but it would be no joke if he lost control of the flames and ended up burning himself.
A few burning trees finally dispersed the dreadful darkness. Xiao Lin once again closed his eyes, using his perception under his Miracle state. Xiao Lin first needed to ascertain the position of his enemy, and at the very least he needed to find out what it was.
Under his perception, his surroundings were still devoid of life, but he seemed to feel something at that moment as he dashed deep into the fires.
He saw that the flames were revealing a thick white mist. The mist was even bigger than earlier, and it was constantly moving, as if it were alive. At that moment earlier, the sudden feeling of life he felt came from that mist!