Someone Crying for Help

In choosing their direction, the young man and woman both did their best.

Identifying direction by the stars was not something they were skilled at.

Zi Di's true expertise lay in business; potions and magic were secondary.

Zhen Jin possessed common sense, but his memory was incomplete. Currently, he found that he was skilled in combat.

The two were aiming for the position of White Sand City Lord, who could have imagined they would encounter a shipwreck? Who could have imagined they would be reduced to such a dangerous and strange island?

The two traveled in a straight line, only occasionally searching the nearby area to confirm their current direction.

Unlike yesterday, their exploration strategy was different, and they quickly surpassed yesterday's exploration range, reaching a completely new area.

"Be careful," Zhen Jin warned.

Beside them was a sheer cliff. A large tree grew right on the edge of the cliff, still reaching straight up into the sky. However, many of its roots were exposed on the cliff face, following the contours.

Many trees also grew at the bottom of the cliff, their canopies still rising several meters above the cliff edge.

Zi Di nodded and followed Zhen Jin, carefully avoiding the cliff.

The cliff was very high, and falling would have serious consequences.

A broken head or fractured bones would be normal.

In this forest, human fragility was actually beyond imagination.

Even just a sprained ankle could very likely cost a life. Because a sprained ankle would lead to difficulty moving, inability to escape beast attacks, and a series of other negative outcomes.

Once they lost their footing and fell, even someone with Zhen Jin's strength would suffer greatly.

After all, he couldn't use Battle Qi.

After moving away from this cliff, Zi Di still looked back with lingering fear.

This kind of cliff terrain was easy to avoid during the day. But at night, it was impossible.

It was too difficult.

Human vision was greatly limited at night.

Without the help of Battle Qi or magic, relying solely on their eyes, they were almost like blind people.

When you thought you were walking on flat, safe terrain, you might just push aside a branch blocking your way and step into empty space, falling off the cliff!

"Fortunately, we didn't encounter this kind of terrain when we were escaping before," Zi Di said thankfully.

"Yes," Zhen Jin also felt a lingering fear and strongly agreed with Zi Di's words.

If they had fallen off the cliff while being chased by the Fire Poison Bees that night, they would probably be skeletons at the bottom of the cliff by now.

As they gradually moved away from the cave, these cliffs became more and more numerous.

The terrain became increasingly undulating.

This change wasn't entirely bad.

Because sometimes, the young man and woman would stand on the edge of a cliff – a place with a relatively open view – to look into the distance and observe.

Of course, this was only an occasional occurrence. Most of the time, even at the edge of a cliff, there were dense trees, their canopies and branches completely blocking the view.

Trees were everywhere.

Walking in such an environment, it was too easy to get lost.

Zhen Jin constantly marked the map, recording the route he was taking – he drew a straight line.

But in reality, were they truly walking in a straight line?

Neither the young man nor the young woman could be sure; in fact, they were more likely feeling guilty. Because they understood that without reference points, it was difficult for them to guarantee that their path forward was straight.

Therefore, when they encountered a cliff with a relatively open view that allowed them to look into the distance, they cherished the opportunity.

It was hard for ordinary people to imagine this.

Exploring in the forest, even a simple distant gaze, would bring joy and confidence to those trapped deep within the woods.

This was also because Zhen Jin was not good at climbing trees.

Knight training had never included teaching people how to climb trees.

This was not strange.

Because knights possessed Battle Qi, they could easily leap up onto horizontally extending branches and did not need specialized training in climbing trees at all.

Knights were never alone when fighting.

They had mounts, attendants, and when legions went to war, auxiliary soldiers had already scouted and cleared the way long before.

Zhen Jin had tried climbing a tree.

After reaching a height of three meters from the ground, he gave up.

Firstly, to climb near the canopy, he needed to reach a height of at least ten meters to see into the distance.

This height was risky.

If he lost his footing and fell, he would be injured.

He was a knight, one of the most elite Temple Knights under the Saint Brilliance Great Emperor, but he could not activate his Battle Qi. Without Battle Qi protection, relying solely on his physical body, it would be difficult to withstand such a height difference.

Throughout the entire process of him climbing the tree, if an attack came, it would be the most vulnerable moment for both him and Zi Di.

Secondly, climbing such straight and tall trees was much more difficult than climbing rainforest trees with horizontally extending branches and tangled vines.

Finally, he had to consider his physical strength.

Climbing trees consumed too much energy.

Once he exerted too much effort, he would sweat, become hungry, and need to replenish a large amount of food and water. Especially the latter, the young man and woman's reserves were truly not much.

Zhen Jin climbed high to look into the distance.

"Look there, there's a low-lying area," Zhen Jin said.

They needed to try to go towards the low-lying areas.

This type of terrain was likely to have water.

On one hand, it could help the young man and woman replenish water, and on the other, they might be able to find a river. By following the river, they could get out of the forest.

This was because the Sea Island was surrounded by the sea on all sides, and water flowed downhill, eventually merging into the ocean.

An ideal river would end at a beach or reef.

After sprinkling a packet of bright powder potion near the cliff edge, the young man and woman slightly changed direction.

Soon after, they arrived at a low-lying area.

To their disappointment, they found neither a river nor any water.

This terrain resembled a giant bowl, and the bowl was still filled with trees.

However, just as the two were about to change direction, they suddenly stopped.

A black panther unexpectedly appeared in their sight.

It had a body covered in black fish scales, and a horn grew in the middle of its forehead.

It was a Scaled Horn Black Panther!

At the same time they discovered the black panther, the latter also discovered them.

In an instant, both sides froze in place. This encounter seemed to have caught both of them off guard.

Zhen Jin quietly gripped his spear, his tension rising.

He wasn't afraid of a single Scaled Horn Black Panther; he could easily severely injure it. But what about a group?

Even more terrifying, what if it wasn't the group of black panthers that had attacked the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear, but a relatively intact panther pack?

Although most of these Scaled Horn Black Panthers were only at the Bronze level, when their numbers were large, they could hunt collectively and even dare to surround and attack Silver-level magic beasts like the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear.

If Zhen Jin were surrounded by a black panther pack, he would have to protect Zi Di while struggling to protect himself.

This would be very difficult to achieve.

However, there was nothing better to do at the moment; they could only act according to the situation!

Both sides remained motionless, and the air seemed to solidify.

Zi Di held her breath, the pressure in her heart growing, her face starting to turn a little pale.

After a brief standoff, the Scaled Horn Black Panther suddenly turned around and ran away.

An unexpected turn of events!

"Quick, chase it! It might be trying to lure the entire panther pack," Zi Di whispered a reminder the next moment.

Zhen Jin nodded. He vividly remembered that the Fire Poison Bee swarm had previously driven away a black panther, resulting in the entire panther pack seeking revenge, and ultimately getting into a fight with the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear.

"You follow me. If not..." Before Zhen Jin could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Zi Di.

"Don't worry, we both have potions. We can mark the ground anywhere to regroup!" Zi Di quickly replied.

This was a method they had agreed upon to prevent getting lost.

Zhen Jin took off running at full speed.

Trees flashed past, one after another, all swiftly dodged by Zhen Jin.

The sound of rushing wind whistled past his ears. Zhen Jin was fully focused, not only keeping a firm lock on the black panther's figure but also paying attention to his surroundings to prevent any insidious attacks.

It wasn't night now, but daytime, and Zhen Jin had good visibility.

He breathed deeply, his heart pumping blood vigorously, almost bursting. The large muscles throughout his body were expanding and contracting, providing powerful kinetic energy.

Zhen Jin's speed was incredibly fast, and he quickly closed the distance between himself and the black panther.

This Scaled Horn Black Panther wasn't particularly fast.

As the two got closer, Zhen Jin was surprised to find that the Scaled Horn Black Panther was injured.

"Injured? Could it have participated in the siege of the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear?"

Zhen Jin felt a little relieved.

Because the panther pack that had been severely wounded by the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear had lost their leader, and the remaining ones were only in twos and threes.

"Still need to be vigilant!"

"What if this is just a tactic by the panther pack to lure the enemy?"

Zhen Jin had heard Zi Di's retelling and knew how the insidious and vicious blue wolf had repeatedly attacked and killed the exploration team. The wild beasts on this sea island couldn't be judged by common sense. If the Scaled Horn Panther pack employed a luring tactic, Zhen Jin wouldn't be surprised at all.

Again, to Zhen Jin's surprise, the Scaled Horn Black Panther that had been running ahead suddenly stopped.

It let out a whimper, pacing in place, hesitant to move forward, appearing quite agitated and restless.

Zhen Jin gradually approached it, but the black panther remained the same, as if something hidden in the forest ahead instilled in it an immense fear, far greater than the fear Zhen Jin brought.

For a moment, the young man couldn't help but show a solemn expression.

He didn't rush to attack the black panther but looked around.

Thus, he quickly discovered that the surrounding forest was darker than before. Although the trees were still tall, their leaves were sickly green, and the surface of the trees seemed to show signs of decay. The ground was covered in thick dead branches and fallen leaves. The air also carried a chilling aura.

Not observing any other beasts, Zhen Jin refocused his gaze on the Scaled Horn Black Panther in front of him.

He slowly advanced. When the distance between them closed to a certain point, the black panther finally couldn't bear it anymore and began to flee forward again.

Zhen Jin followed closely.

Roar—!

Not long after running, the black panther suddenly let out a tragic cry.

A clump of white spiderwebs suddenly rose from the ground, sweeping upwards and completely enveloping the black panther.

The spiderweb quickly lifted upwards. The silk had extraordinary stickiness, and the more the black panther struggled, the more firmly it was stuck by the silk.

Soon, the surface of the black panther's body was almost completely covered in spider silk.

A pale blue spider slowly descended from the tree canopy, landing on the spiderweb.

The main body of this spider was as large as a millstone, but its eight legs were thin and long, each at least two meters in length.

The spider landed on the web and moved smoothly, as if gliding on ice.

It began to work, its eight legs like a master playing the strings of a zither, busy but not chaotic, even revealing a hint of elegant demeanor.

The spider web that had originally trapped the panther was somewhat damaged. But under the spider's mending, it quickly became complete, without any holes.

The panther's struggles grew weaker and weaker. The white silk, like bandages, bound it tightly between the trees, about six or seven meters above the ground.

Watching the spider successfully hunt, Zhen Jin couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

He slowly retreated, his nerves taut.

The young man's gaze wasn't just fixed on the spider that was still mending its web; he was also paying close attention to the ground beneath his feet.

Perhaps there was a spider web hidden near him.

Fortunately, after completing its hunt, the Eight-Legged Spider did not take the opportunity to attack him. Instead, it followed the silk deeper into the tree canopy, its figure disappearing.

Zhen Jin did not dare to let down his guard in the slightest; in fact, his nerves tightened even further.

Because in the tree canopy nearby, he had discovered other hunted prey.

White spider silk wrapped around them, revealing various shapes.

The most common shape was that of a panther.

Zhen Jin immediately speculated: Could it be that the group of Scaled Horn Black Panthers that were chased away by the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear earlier all met their end here?

He now understood that the Scaled Horn Black Panther from before was afraid of this kind of Eight-Legged Spider. The panther group had encountered an ambush here and were almost completely wiped out. One panther had luckily escaped, only to encounter Zhen Jin along the way.

The panther's intelligence was insufficient. In its panic, it fled back to the previous location and ended up being hunted.

Besides panther-shaped prey, there were also spider webs in the shapes of elk, foxes, rabbits, and so on.

There were even tigers and rhinoceroses.

Who knew why there would be rhinoceroses living in this kind of terrain?

Seeing these things, Zhen Jin's heart couldn't help but beat a little faster.

Although he had only seen one Eight-Legged Spider, there were definitely many hidden in the tree canopy here. Otherwise, a single spider could not have annihilated the panther group. And large prey like rhinoceroses and tigers could not be captured by a single spider alone.

Normal spiders hunt alone, but this kind of Eight-Legged Spider seemed to be gregarious.

Zhen Jin was not surprised by this change in behavior.

Just as he was about to withdraw and leave this place, a faint voice suddenly drifted over: "Wait."

"Don't go."

"P-please... save me, save me."

Someone was calling for Zhen Jin's help!