Blood Moon Demon Wolf

"What is this..."

Xiao Wen stared at the pillar of light rising in the distance, his heart giving a sudden lurch. He felt as if something was watching him from the shadows.

This was a man's sixth sense, the danger-sensing ability of a top-tier player.

"Centipede, return!"

He withdrew the card from his Duel Disk, and the Centipede transformed into a stream of light, disappearing back into Xiao Wen's deck.

Summon Cooldown: 5 minutes.

Glancing at the numbers on his Duel Disk, Xiao Wen looked away and strode towards the direction where the pillar of light was emanating.

As he walked forward, the look of confusion on Xiao Wen's face grew.

[Shadow Snake]

Level: 10

Attack: 180

Defense: 120

HP: 1100

Attribute: Poison

Temperament: Ferocious

Description: A venomous snake assimilated by the Nightmare Forest. Its fangs are highly toxic; do not let it bite you.

[Bewitching Fox]

Level: 12

Attack: 250

Defense: 200

HP: 2000

Agility: 15

Temperament: Cautious

Skill: Charm

Description: A fox-like creature dwelling in the Nightmare Forest, possessing the Charm skill. It often lures passing travelers to their doom.

Besides these two monsters, Xiao Wen also saw a Level 15 Flowing Cloud Leopard, a Level 12 Blackwater Pig, and a Level 12 Corrosion Bird...

The levels of these monsters were all Level 10 or above, without exception.

At this moment, these creatures were fleeing in a panic, trying to escape the Nightmare Forest. Not a single one attacked Xiao Wen.

This was a sight Xiao Wen had never witnessed in his past gaming experiences.

Right now, Xiao Wen was filled with questions, but also excitement!

The more abnormal the situation, the greater the possibility of triggering a valuable hidden quest.

"I want to see what exactly is going on here!"

As soon as he spoke, a dark wave of light spread from the hazy pillar of light. When the wave swept over the monsters, those that had been running instantly froze in place.

Some were caught mid-leap, frozen in the air; others had one foot raised, the other not yet touching the ground; still others were lunging forward, like dogs pouncing on prey...

All of it was frozen, like a painted scene.

Xiao Wen's eyes widened in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

The next moment, the black wave of light spread towards him, and an incredibly powerful force was hidden within it, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Ding!

Just as the black wave of light was about to touch him, the Millennium Puzzle hanging around Xiao Wen's neck emitted a soft chime. The golden eye in its center suddenly burst with golden light, transforming into a sphere of light that enveloped Xiao Wen.

As the black wave of light spread, it vanished before the golden sphere as if a stone sinking into the sea.

After a few breaths, the golden sphere faded. Xiao Wen looked at the strange scene before him, then down at the Millennium Puzzle on his chest, frowned, and continued to walk deeper.

The further he went, the higher the levels of the monsters he saw. Inside, they were mostly Level 15 monsters, with several elite monsters among them.

"Holy crap! Is the Nightmare Forest really this terrifying?"

This was only because the monsters were frozen by the black wave of light. What if they all woke up?

Xiao Wen swallowed hard.

Even though he was said to be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with gods, with such a huge disparity in levels and numbers, even he would have no chance of survival.

Unless he could draw a card on par with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!

"My luck has been amazing lately, I shouldn't run into any major problems, right?"

Xiao Wen muttered uneasily.

"Roar!"

Hiss!

Meow!

As soon as the words fell, the forbidden monsters suddenly landed, and hisses erupted, one after another, forming a sound wave in the Nightmare Forest.

Xiao Wen's body stiffened abruptly, and cold sweat simulated by the system seeped from his forehead.

In that instant, he even thought he would be impacted by hundreds of these high-level monsters.

But he wasn't.

After bursts of howling, the monsters fell silent, their pupils opening, their black eyeballs turning white and hollow. Like walking dead, they converged from all directions towards the light pillar.

Xiao Wen hesitated for a few seconds before blending in with the monsters and moving forward.

After walking for about three thousand more meters, the monsters converging from the surroundings became more and more numerous. Xiao Wen even saw extremely rare Lord-class BOSSes among them.

Without exception, these Lord-class BOSSes, like the other monsters, had hollow eyes, clearly under control.

"Normal monsters, elite monsters, Lord-class BOSSes. These high-level monsters are all controlled. What are they trying to do? Could someone really have found a BUG in 'Phantom Gods'?"

Xiao Wen thought to himself, slowly suppressing his inner surprise, and stepped forward.

Before long, he arrived at an open space.

As Xiao Wen's feet touched the clearing, a prompt sound came from the game system.

Ding! Congratulations to player Halfway Through the Mortal World for triggering the hidden quest - Horn of Disaster!

Horn of Disaster: A mysterious ritual is suspected to be taking place in the Nightmare Forest. Investigate the purpose of the ritual and inform the novice village chief. You will receive a large amount of reputation and a Guild Founding Token!

Guild Founding Token?

Hearing this, Xiao Wen's eyes immediately flashed with a sharp light.

A Guild Founding Token, as the name suggests, is a token used to establish and form a guild.

Although there were many guilds in the novice village at the moment, they were all privately organized, not formal guilds.

The formation of a guild represented the formation of a force. If Xiao Wen remembered correctly, the top ten players to form guilds on the server would receive a permanent guild territory for free.

He recalled that in the previous game, the first Guild Founding Token was obtained by luck by a wild player. It was then targeted by guilds under the Four Emperors and Kings. Under dual pressure from reality and the game, the player was forced to put the Guild Founding Token up for auction.

Even though the various forces exercised restraint, it was eventually auctioned for over ten million.

That wild player became rich overnight and embarked on the pinnacle of life, marrying a beautiful and wealthy woman.

As for reputation.

Reputation might not have much use in the novice village, but it became extremely important after entering the main city.

The level of reputation affected the intimacy between NPCs and players. Players with higher reputation were more likely to trigger hidden quests, and could even hold official positions in the main city, or even become the city lord!

Overall, the rewards for this hidden quest were very tempting.

"The rewards are not bad, but I wonder if this thorny rose is easy to pick."

Xiao Wen muttered, shrinking his body and hiding among the monsters, peeking his head out to look at the center.

It was an altar built of stones. The first circle outside the altar was occupied by four level 15 Lord-class BOSSes.

In the center of the altar, a human dressed in a long gown stood with his body bent, holding an exquisitely patterned ancient book under his arm.

"Egudulamu, Xixilaku..."

As chanting sounds came out, streams of black airflow rose from the surrounding monsters and flowed into the body of the person at the altar.

A faint sound came, and Xiao Wen saw cracks appearing on the exposed arm, and then the entire body exploded, and a wolf with silver fur and blood-red eyes emerged from its body.

Blood Moon Demon Wolf!

A King-tier BOSS!