Surrounded

Rhode was awakened by a rustling sound. He rubbed his eyes and found that Miss Serie had already packed her things and was standing outside the tent.

He had rarely slept so soundly last night. He had felt warm, as if he had returned to the days when he slept hugging his life-sized body pillow—and this pillow had even been nice and warm.

But was this so-called body pillow actually Miss Serie herself?

Rhode did not dare be sure. After all, if he had really hugged her all night, why had Miss Serie not resisted at all?

Outside the tent, Miss Serie stood with her back to him. "You're awake?" she said without turning around. "Pack up. We need to move faster today. We have to leave this swamp before sunset."

Rhode stretched and casually asked, "I didn't do anything last night, did I? My sleeping posture has always been pretty bad."

Miss Serie turned around and stared directly at Rhode, making his scalp prickle.

"It really was bad. You kept hugging me, and it made me uncomfortable."

Miss Serie did not really understand the thoughts of humans like Rhode. This was a common problem among elves; it had nothing to do with whether someone was human. Elves were naturally emotionally detached creatures.

Besides, when she woke up this morning, something had been poking her uncomfortably. She did not understand—was this normal for humans?

Now that Rhode had brought it up himself, she did not hold back in criticizing him.

Rhode looked a little embarrassed at Miss Serie's words. "Sorry. If this happens again, you can just push me away."

Yes, next time.

Rhode hid a small selfish thought. Such a comfortable body pillow was not something he would be satisfied hugging only once. Maybe there would be a next time.

Miss Serie tilted her head at him. "Why are you apologizing?" Her golden eyes were filled with confusion. "You only hugged me like a sloth bear hugs things. I merely felt a little uncomfortable. There is no need to apologize."

"Sloth bear?" Rhode's hands froze.

It seemed Miss Serie was focusing on something rather strange.

But was the sloth bear she mentioned the kind he remembered?

"It's an animal in the Elf Forest," Miss Serie explained. "It likes to hug things while sleeping." She paused. "But you are much warmer than they are."

Rhode did not know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed elves understood intimate contact completely differently from him. As expected of an ancient elf from Frieren.

He secretly let out a sigh of relief, though he also felt inexplicably disappointed.

"Want some tea?" He changed the subject. "We're not in that much of a hurry, are we?"

Rhode had obtained quite a few plants from the Dwarves that could be used for tea.

Dwarves hardly drank tea, but they could still identify which plants in this world were edible or suitable for brewing. After all, their history could be traced back to before the Mythical era.

"Mm." Miss Serie first withdrew her Warning Magic, then cast Detection Magic. "Strange. Why are there even more Monsters around us after just one night?"

Miss Serie furrowed her lovely brows.

Before camping last night, she had deliberately cleared out all Monsters within a hundred meters, and she had done so silently. Yet after one night, the number of Monsters nearby had returned to what it had been before the clearing, with even more than before.

This was not normal.

Either this swamp was overflowing with magic, causing Monsters to fill any gap that appeared, or the two of them had caught the attention of something.

"Try expanding the detection range to five hundred meters?" Rhode moved closer and noticed the red dots on her Magic Circle.

Miss Serie channeled her mana and expanded the detection range to five hundred meters, her brows knitting even tighter.

"There are even more Monsters. There are nearly over a hundred surrounding us now."

Rhode understood the seriousness of the situation. Whether this was a coincidence or not, it meant they could not stay here any longer.

Miss Serie unfolded the map. "Follow the stream. By noon, we should be able to get away from this central area."

"I'll pack up right away."

Rhode immediately began gathering their things. Throughout it, Miss Serie kept watching the movement paths of the Monsters on the Magic Circle.

The only thing that reassured her was that the Monsters showed no signs of moving. Yet that only gave off an even more indescribably eerie feeling.

Rhode quickly finished packing, and the two set off briskly along the stream. Rhode glanced back from time to time, always feeling as though something was watching them from the shadows.

"Don't look back. Act like nothing happened," Miss Serie warned in a low voice. "They're observing us."

As an elf, her senses were sharper than Rhode's.

The moment the two of them began moving, the Monsters around them started moving as well, confirming the bad feeling in her heart.

No matter how they moved, those Monsters kept the two of them firmly surrounded.

Someone was definitely commanding them!

"They?" Rhode swallowed. "You mean...?"

He immediately understood as well. If Miss Serie was taking this so seriously, the danger they faced this time could not be small.

"The Demon Race." A trace of killing intent appeared in Miss Serie's eyes. "At least two of them. They are directing over a hundred Monsters to keep us tightly surrounded."

Cold sweat seeped into Rhode's palms.

Was it finally happening?

Demons from the Mythical era—this would be Rhode's first time encountering them.

"Why haven't they attacked?" Rhode asked quietly, concentrating on the surrounding bushes.

"They're waiting for us to reveal an opening." Miss Serie kept watching the distance between them and the Monsters. "The Demon Race is a very cunning species. They have no emotions. Their purpose for existing is to kill their enemies."

Miss Serie thought that the leading Demon must be fairly intelligent. After noticing that she was an elf, it had begun acting cautiously.

But when had it discovered her?

Her Warning Magic had a range of over a hundred meters, and it had not issued any warning last night. Could it have been because she had been distracted this morning?

"Keep going straight. There aren't many Monsters ahead. If a fight breaks out, remember to run forward. I'll cover your retreat."

Miss Serie gave him a few more instructions. She had already prepared Light Arrow and could cast it at any moment.

Just then, the bushes ahead suddenly shook violently.

"Careful!" Miss Serie instantly deployed a magical barrier, shielding Rhode behind her.

To conserve mana, she had turned off Detection Spell earlier and only kept the most basic Monster detection active. She had not expected a Monster to approach so closely without making a sound.

Could it be a Monster with a skill that concealed its presence?

At that moment, a familiar figure staggered out. "Wait! It's me!"

It was the Dwarf Som.

Covered in blood, he dropped to his knees. The Runes on his battle axe had also dimmed. "Run. So many Monsters!"

Let me apologize to everyone in advance. Tomorrow might be the last day.