Midnight Fright

Lin Mo was the second-to-last one on night watch.

After Cody, who was handing over the shift to him, greeted him, he hurried off to catch up on sleep. Lin Mo stretched a little and felt that much of the day's exhaustion had faded, and the soreness in his muscles had eased considerably.

None of the traps around them had been triggered, and the sky was still dark.

Lin Mo leaned beneath a tree, the reflection of the campfire flickering in his eyes.

The Wolfbone Sword was, of course, placed within reach. His short blade was tucked at his waist as well, and he had never taken off his Leather Armor, so it had picked up quite a few sweat stains.

The forest nights were actually rather cool, but wearing Leather Armor beside a campfire and sleeping curled up in a sleeping bag still made it hard not to sweat.

The air felt slightly stifling, and paired with the darkness all around, it gave off an oppressive feeling.

Lin Mo rose again and looked around. Within the range the campfire could illuminate, there was nothing suspicious.

The slow crackle of burning firewood reached his ears, along with the occasional sweep of wind, and the insect calls of fireflies on a summer night. Layer upon layer of tiny sounds eventually settled into peaceful quiet.

This night, too, seemed as if it would pass steadily, just like the previous few.

Time slipped through his fingers like fine sand, and Lin Mo's vigilance quietly ebbed along with it...

Until a single discordant sound broke the stillness of the dark night.

It was an extremely faint noise, like a dragonfly bending a blade of grass, like a dewdrop seeping into the soil. The slightest moment of carelessness would have made him miss that fleeting movement.

Lin Mo's eyes suddenly widened. The trace of drowsiness brewed by his long watch was swept away in an instant.

His hand gripped the sword hilt, his breath held, and he heard his own heartbeat clearly.

"Crack—"

It sounded like a branch breaking, particularly grating in the silent black night.

Sure enough, it had not been an illusion!

Lin Mo stood up as fast as he could and strode to Bern's side.

No words were needed. He only touched Bern's arm lightly, and Bern immediately opened his eyes.

Their eyes met. Bern rolled up at top speed and woke the others in the squad.

Cody entered combat mode at once, instantly standing atop a treetop and observing the surroundings with the limited firelight.

Evan rubbed his eyes, sword in hand, trying his best to rouse his spirits.

Miriam yawned, then took a Feathered Arrow from her quiver and nocked it to her bow.

Just as everyone finished preparing, a burst of urgent alarm bells suddenly rang out.

A trap had been triggered!

Cody quickly jumped down from the tree. The area the campfire could illuminate was far too limited, and scouting had lost its meaning.

The group formed a circle with great tacit understanding, protecting Miriam, the Ranger, within it as they watched their surroundings.

Miriam drew the bowstring to its fullest, the sharp arrowhead aimed toward the direction from which the alarm bell had just rung.

"Crackle—"

The air returned to silence once more, leaving only the soft sound of the firewood burning, as if everything had merely been their imagination, and the triggered trap was just some unlucky wild rabbit or field mouse.

No, that was not it!

Lin Mo gripped his sword even tighter, his black eyes staring into the deep night. His breathing was light and careful, afraid that the sound of inhaling might make him miss some tiny clue.

He could feel it...

There was a pair of eyes staring at them from beyond the curtain of night.

A breeze blew past, stirring the grass around them into a gentle sway. Beneath the firelight, the shadows of grass and trees also wavered with the wind, and the flickering campfire made the forest before them shift between light and dark.

A sound like compressed air was hidden within that gust of wind.

The instant the shriek of air reached his ears, Evan's vision suddenly blurred. In that very moment, a figure blocked in front of him, and beneath the campfire's dim yellow light, a sword blade stopped the sharp claws that were like five daggers.

A chill surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head in an instant.

Evan's entire back was soaked in cold sweat. He panted heavily, huffing and gasping, while the hand gripping his sword trembled uncontrollably.

In that instant just now, he had been only a hair away from having his head pierced through by those sharp claws!

Lin Mo gritted his teeth, feeling the powerful force transmitted from the other end of the blade, shock appearing on his face.

It was not a cat demon!

That familiar build, those sharp claws and fangs—at the moment he saw the other party's figure, Lin Mo had seemed already certain of the attacker's identity.

Yet the truth did not seem to be so. Fortunately, he had not been careless in the slightest. He had swung out with Slash, drawing on the Wolfbone Sword to bring out the might of 7 points of strength.

Otherwise, he might not even have been able to block it firmly.

The other party's strength had reached at least 6 points, and perhaps even surpassed that!

This was absolutely not power that a Common Cat Demon could possess. And most importantly...

"So fast!"

Cody's cry of alarm snapped the remaining few back as if from a dream, and only then did they realize that the enemy had already reached them.

That was right. Just as Cody had said, it was too fast!

Even with Lin Mo's Agility as high as 8 points, he had almost failed to react. The creature had nearly succeeded and taken Evan's head off on the spot.

This monster's speed was actually above his!

"It's a Tattooed Cat Demon!"

Bern came back to his senses and recognized their opponent at once. At the same time, after its failed strike, the Tattooed Cat Demon withdrew before Lin Mo could counterattack, vanishing once more into the dark forest.

A Tattooed Cat Demon... the target of their other mission on this trip?

Of course Lin Mo remembered the name, and he also remembered the Monster Bestiary's description of this kind of monster.

Tattooed Cat Demons were mutant variants born at a low probability among Cat Demon groups. Just like Mutated Goblins, they possessed greater strength than ordinary members of their kind and were elite-class monsters.

These elite-class monsters, after reaching adulthood, could possess formidable strength at least on par with official professionals!

Of course, that was only after adulthood.

For example, the Mutated Goblin Lin Mo had encountered back then had clearly been a sub-adult that had not fully matured yet. The one before them now should be about the same...

If it had been daytime, Lin Mo was confident he could have fought it alone and at least not lost.

But unfortunately, it was nighttime now. His vision was limited, while the Tattooed Cat Demon was hiding in the dark, holding absolute initiative.

Even if he could barely protect himself, the others in the team could not.

Even Cody might not necessarily survive the Tattooed Cat Demon's ambush. Bern, as a knight, was still somewhat all right, but Evan and Miriam... against an opponent like this, they could be said to have no power to resist at all.

If Lin Mo had not acted just now, Evan would already have been sent off to collect his boxed lunch.

"This is trouble."

Bern shielded Evan behind him, his brows tightly furrowed. Of course he knew how awful it was to encounter a Tattooed Cat Demon at night. Fortunately, it was not too long until daybreak. If they could just drag things out for a while...

"It's coming!"

Lin Mo suddenly cried out in alarm, and Bern instinctively raised his arm.

The next instant, a tremendous force slammed into his shield.

Bern gritted his teeth and, enduring the numb ache in his arm, suddenly exerted his strength.

"Shield Bash!"

The Tattooed Cat Demon in front of him was knocked flying. Cody reacted swiftly, pressing the advantage as he threw the shortsword in his hand straight at the creature's throat!

Miriam also loosed the arrow she had been holding ready for a long time, making the steadier choice and aiming for the larger target of its torso.

However, at that very moment, she suddenly heard Lin Mo shout.

"Watch out!"

Miriam looked ahead at the Tattooed Cat Demon that had barely dodged Cody's shortsword, its neck cut open, and for a moment she was somewhat dazed.

Watch out? Watch out for what?

The next instant, claws as sharp as blades pierced through her throat from behind!