Chapter 364
He gritted his teeth and issued the order.
"If we still can't find any clues tonight... then we'll go back!"
"Understood."
Faced with this ultimatum, everyone looked at each other in dismay, and after gritting their teeth, accepted the task.
The group then dispersed to search again.
But when everyone gathered together again after dark, looking at each other's somewhat empty faces, they all understood what had happened.
The guard leader didn't say much, just nodded and then temporarily set up camp.
He'll take his men back first thing tomorrow morning.
But things never went as planned.
Night falls.
The guard on night watch yawned boredly, carefully poking at the campfire with a branch in his hand.
The dim forest reveals too far a distance... pure darkness evokes humanity's most primal fears.
"It's strange... Why would the young master choose to run away when he had a perfectly good life?"
Perhaps out of sheer boredom, one guard asked another, his voice tinged with a hint of helplessness.
In these times, wouldn't someone of the young master's status be better off staying at home and living a comfortable life as a wealthy man?
Even if you're not content with an ordinary life, there are still many things you can choose to do.
Why did you have to become a field researcher?
After arguing with the city lord, he ran away to this place all by himself.
You know, even skilled mountain laborers wouldn't dare to venture into such remote mountain areas lightly, would they?
God knows what's in there.
"Who says otherwise? I heard that the young master listened to the nonsense of a group of people called... the Shanhai Assembly Clan, and insisted on believing in some Great Beast. If you ask me, what's the use of believing in this or that? Being alive is enough."
"Well."
Several guards grumbled listlessly.
In the forest, a certain current was slowly surging.
A few more minutes passed.
Suddenly, a guard looked up sharply.
He glanced around, his eyes narrowing slightly.
The campfire beside them flickered restlessly.
"Hey... do you sense anything strange?"
"A strange place?"
Upon hearing his companion's question, the other person also frowned.
After carefully observing his surroundings for a while, he shook his head helplessly.
"Aren't you overthinking it? We've been stationed here for almost a week, and nothing's happened... Aren't you being too sensitive?"
"No... no!"
The other guard was not affected by his companion's nonchalant attitude.
He looked around carefully, and the more he observed, the more he sensed a sense of oppression and unease.
The forest was quite dark, but... it was never this dark, to the point where not even light could get through.
Without any hesitation, he decisively picked up a red-hot piece of wood and threw it in one direction.
His companion wanted to issue a warning.
But then, seeing the wooden block suddenly disappear into the darkness, his expression changed drastically in an instant!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!"
He immediately shouted, braced himself with his weapon, and his face turned serious.
Meanwhile, their comrades, who had been awakened, hurriedly raised their weapons and began to assemble.
"Enemy attack? Where is the enemy?"
The group stood back to back, forming a circle, pointing their spears in every direction around them.
Many of them are still somewhat confused.
Looking around, they found no monsters.
But the captain, who was in charge, had a furrowed brow.
"Did you really see the enemy?"
"... No, Captain, I didn't see it."
The two night watchmen who had woken the other guards answered very honestly.
But they still couldn't resist adding one more thing.
"But the surroundings... are strange."
"Around?"
The other companions were somewhat confused by what the other person was saying.
They exchanged glances for a few moments, and finally stared intently at the surrounding black mist.
Can...
"Isn't this perfectly normal?"
The group was somewhat puzzled.
Just by looking, they indeed couldn't detect anything amiss with the black mist.
But at that moment, the leader seemed to notice something, and his pupils widened suddenly!
Get out of the way!
He let out a low growl and flung his spear away from his companions!
Before the surrounding guards could even react to what was happening, they were shot and fell to the ground.
But by the time they hurriedly looked up...
But they discovered that an unknown attack had pierced through their leader's chest.
Blood was seeping from his mouth, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.
That thin leather armor was utterly inadequate to protect him!
"Boss!"
Exclamations erupted as everyone hurriedly rose to their feet, attempting to protect the other person.
But the leader at the head of the group widened his eyes.
Although it was only for a moment...
Although there was only a fleeting sound in the darkness, he had already seen the attacker!
Yes...
It's their young master!
But...
How could this be?!
The captain of the guards' eyes widened.
He tried to get up and asked questions about the surrounding black mist.
But through his pierced chest, blood flowed incessantly like a stream, piercing his every breath.
He was in increasing pain and discomfort...
He has been in the army for quite some time now, so he naturally knows that what he saw was definitely not the real young master.
Absolutely... something is affecting his mind.
What he wanted to do was to question the other party about whether it was truly him who killed his young master.
Struggling.
But when the man got up, he was horrified to find that his fellow guards had lost their focus.
They muttered to themselves, reaching out in astonishment into the surrounding black mist, and walked into it with disbelief on their faces!
Example 1: A state of constant confusion and disorientation, repeatedly losing oneself.
"Wake up! Everyone, wake up!"
The men roared, trying to rouse their minds.
Unfortunately, they seemed to be bewitched at that moment and had no interest in listening to the man's words.
They were like puppets, drawn to something within the black mist.
Not everyone is like him, orphaned at a young age and solely devoted to the Li Family...
"Damn it!"
The man struggled, trying to get up.
He tried to control the actions of others.
No matter what, they absolutely must not get close to that black mist.
Unfortunately, the wound in his chest made him increasingly hesitant and pained in his movements.
"No! Don't go in! Listen to my orders!"
He growled, his voice deafening.
But the surrounding soldiers seemed to have completely lost their ability to think, and could not hear any other sounds, as they walked step by step into the black mist...
Then...
Right before his eyes, one by one... they shattered...
"!"
Suddenly, the man leaned back from the ground.
He looked around in astonishment, his whole body covered in cold sweat.
Meanwhile, the brothers, who were unharmed, just looked at their leader with some curiosity.
"What's wrong, boss?"
They all stopped using their exercise equipment and looked at each other with strange expressions.
The man then realized that he was lying in the training ground, covered with a blanket...
"This..."
"This."
The brothers exchanged glances and scratched their heads somewhat awkwardly.
Seeing the man's puzzled expression, they also spoke up.
"We saw you were so tired you were almost asleep, so we borrowed a blanket from Auntie so you wouldn't catch a cold... Come to think of it, if you really can't go on, you should rest for a while. You've been working so hard lately."
"Yeah, boss, why don't you take a break?"
The crowd began to echo their agreement.
The man looked around with a completely bewildered expression.
A moment later, he suddenly flew into a rage.
Do you think I'd settle for a place like this?