As the knife thrower sped, he activated his ancestral form.
His ears grew pointed, his hair green.
He transformed into a forest elf, his agility significantly enhanced.
His footsteps were silent, his footprints unseen, and his breath untouched.
Even the most seasoned hounds would have been unable to track him.
His vision pierced through the dense foliage, unobstructed.
This was the unique skill of a Nature Warlock, "Emerald Vision."
Not far ahead, in the brush, a trap had been set.
Animated vines created by the first-level "Entangle" spell took root under the cover of the grass.
The knife thrower ran over the trap he had set, and the animated vines lay obediently at his feet, motionless.
Forest Step, a magical movement technique, allowed one to move freely through natural or magically generated vegetation as if walking on flat ground.
Leaving the entangled area, the knife thrower stopped, hid in the bushes, and quietly cast a spell.
Using the 0-level spell "Lesser Illusion," he created a figure identical to himself in the center of the trap.
The convincing phantom crouched among the animated vines, poised to throw a knife at any moment.
He deliberately made a slight noise to alert Allen and lure him into the trap.
So far, the plan was going smoothly.
The knife thrower took out a small bottle of snake venom and expertly coated the knife with it.
He had previously shot Allen with a poisoned knife, but it had been deflected.
At that time, the knife thrower had heard the sound of metal clashing.
What did this mean?
"That kid's wearing a breastplate under his coat!"
The knife thrower came to a logical conclusion.
This time, he intended to target Allen's throat.
The throat wasn't protected by armor; a blow would be fatal!
As he was secretly calculating, Allen paused at the edge of the trap.
Then, a tall figure was enveloped by a cloud of silver mist.
The knife thrower was stunned by this.
What was going on?!
A strong sense of danger prompted him to turn around!
Sure enough, he saw a cloud of silver mist rising from behind him, gathering a humanoid shape!
A cold sweat immediately ran down his spine!
The knife thrower, not even bothering to throw his knives, ran away!
Behind him, Allen sneered, stepped out of the mist, and thrust his left arm forward.
A bone spur suddenly erupted from his palm, transforming into a three-meter-long whip.
With a swish!
The bone spur whip lashed out with lightning speed.
Like a strange ivory snake, it stretched its body across the air.
Precisely wrapping itself around the knife thrower's neck.
Alan exerted force with his left arm, dragging him back.
Infused with magical power, his right hand delivered a powerful "Bone-Breaking" blow, slamming him firmly onto the back!
BOOM!
The knife thrower fell to the ground as if struck by lightning.
In his dying moments, he uttered a weak question.
"How did you know..."
Alan ignored him and struck back at lightning speed!
Sizzle!
"Finger Wave" pierced his throat!
The knife thrower, his face filled with resentment, died.
After confirming he was dead, Allen searched the body, muttering to himself:
"Your illusion had no venom reaction at all. Who would fall for such a trick? Idiot!"
From the knife thrower's body, he found a small bottle of Level 3 snake venom, over 20 attributeless magic stones, and a small booklet.
The booklet had nine pages, each depicting an "arcane mark."
It looked like an address book.
Besides the knife thrower's own, the remaining eight marks likely belonged to the other eight members of the "Amazing Circus."
Alan stuffed all the items into his storage bag.
Finally, he injected the knife thrower's body with digestive fluid.
He watched as his body decomposed into a pool of pus and blood.
Alan turned and returned the way he had come to reunite with Felin and the others.
Felin and the others had failed to capture the cunning ventriloquist, but fortunately, everyone was safe. For safety reasons, they abandoned the pursuit deep into the dense forest and returned to the airship.
…
In the dense forest.
The ventriloquist looked through the telescope and saw Alan return safely. He was furious and cursed his partner inwardly.
"Knife Thrower, where the hell have you been?"
"Can't even handle a little kid? What a disgrace!"
As if in response to his rebuke, footsteps came from behind him, approaching from afar.
"Knife Thrower, is that you?"
The ventriloquist turned and asked in a low voice.
His eyes fell on the newcomer, and he was startled.
"It's you..."
"Strange, why are you here?"
A cloaked figure stood in the shade of the trees.
He raised his index finger, covering his lips.
"Shh—"
Seeing the other person's cautious look.
The ventriloquist smiled nonchalantly.
"It's okay! I've tried using ventriloquism to mimic the goblin's whispers. It won't alarm the forest spirits."
The cloaked figure shook his head slightly and pointed behind him.
The ventriloquist instinctively turned his head to look.
There was nothing behind him, nothing at all...
It was completely baffling!
Puff!
The sharp blade pierced his back and exited through his chest.
"Ugh—"
The ventriloquist's eyes bulged, and he tried to scream.
A hand suddenly reached out from behind him.
It tightly covered his mouth, silencing him.
The ventriloquist struggled a few times before his eyes rolled back.
The cloaked figure gently set his body down and whistled.
Following the sound, two monsters slithered through the brush and approached.
The cloaked figure gestured.
The two beasts buried themselves in the ventriloquist's corpse.
In a flash, even the bloodstains on the grass were licked clean.
A perfect destruction of the corpse.
…
The wind died down.
The airship took off again, successfully passing through the Whispering Valley.
At the end of the valley lay the famous "Hundred Springs Swamp."
Hundreds of springs dotted the swamp.
The airship landed at the edge of the swamp.
Then, the challenge facing everyone was how to navigate this maze-like swamp.
The swamp contained hundreds of springs, some of which were the legendary "Teleportation Springs."
Each teleportation spring is guarded by a monster called a "Water Ghost."
The Water Ghosts have two missions.
First, to prevent outsiders from contaminating the spring water.
Second, to teleport anyone who touches the spring water to the vicinity of the next teleportation spring.
As long as outsiders don't try to throw dirty objects into the spring, they won't be attacked by the Water Ghosts.
"It's said that if you teleport through the springs in a specific order, you'll eventually reach a secret realm," Charlie frowned. "But we don't know which springs can teleport, nor do we know where we'll be transported to."
"So what do we do next? Do we have to try them one by one?" Flynn asked his father.
"Trying them one by one would be too time-consuming and dangerous." Ryan shook his head slightly. "For example, if one of the teleportation points is at the bottom of a quagmire, and we're swallowed by the mud just as we complete the teleport, wouldn't that be tantamount to suicide?"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. I had to admit that the risks Ryan pointed out were real.
The uncertainty of teleportation was precisely the most terrifying aspect of Baiquanze!
Alan silently pulled out his handkerchief.
The trainer had drawn a simple map on the handkerchief he'd given him with lipstick.
Alan had compared it from above while aboard the airship, and the map on the handkerchief was indeed the map of Baiqua.
The trainer had specifically circled seven red dots and connected them sequentially with broken lines with arrows.
If the trainer was trustworthy, this map would indicate the correct teleportation sequence.
"Uncle Ryan, please look."
Alan handed the handkerchief to Father Flynn.
"Before, at the airport, I had a fight with a circus trainer."
"During the fight, this handkerchief fell from her body. I picked it up and found some interesting things depicted on it. It might help solve our current problem."
"Oh? Let me take a look!"
Ryan took the handkerchief, glanced at it, and immediately saw the clue!
"Hmm... so that's what's going on!"
"Little Alan! You've done a great job this time!"
Uncle Ryan's face lit up with joy.
"Don't be too happy yet! Could the map on the handkerchief be a trap?"
Flynn reminded his father.
"The bad woman deliberately dropped it on the ground and had Alan pick it up, luring us to teleport along the path shown, only to end up at a dead end. Is it possible?"
"There are risks!" Julie picked up her cousin's words. "But are you willing to do that without giving it a try?"
Flynn was stunned, shook his head, and smiled bitterly.
Indeed, with the map in hand, no matter how skeptical they were, they couldn't resist giving it a try.
The Griffin family collectively transformed into griffins and, following the index on the handkerchief, flew to the first teleportation spring.
Julie, the strongest of the group, carried Allen, the only one in the group who couldn't fly.
Soon, Ryan found the corresponding spring on the map and descended first.
The other griffins followed suit, transforming back into human form.
Alan jumped off Julie's back and pulled a cloak from his storage bag, draping it over her.
The griffins, beneath the cloak, transformed back into human form.
The tall, voluptuous girl stood up.
"Thank you, Allen, how thoughtful!"
Julie smiled and shook the boy's hand, thanking him for covering her up in time, preventing her from exposing herself.
Rubbing her aching waist, Julie looked surprised.
No wonder her cousin complained earlier that Alan seemed heavier than he looked!
She must be quite tired after carrying him for such a long distance!