Almost Had to Start Over

Redd moved forward cautiously, trying not to make a sound so he would not attract the monsters' attention.

Yet he had barely gone any distance when he suddenly heard leaves rustling behind him. The sound grew louder and louder, as though something was rapidly approaching.

Redd instantly turned to look back, but the many trees blocking his view kept him from seeing anything.

Even so, a powerful sense of danger rose within him. Something had set its sights on him.

Redd could no longer worry about anything else and immediately took off running.

The dense trees around him severely slowed his pace.

Before long, hordes of deformed monsters emerged, their bodies rotten and reeking, their appearance utterly horrifying.

Redd knew he definitely could not outrun them at his current speed. Spotting a massive tree, he hurried over, pressed his back against it, held his shield in front of him, and readied his sword.

Leading the charge was a wild dog with a rotting body that gave off a foul stench.

It lunged at Redd. He blocked it with the shield in his left hand and thrust the longsword in his right with all his might, piercing the wild dog's chest and killing it in a single strike.

Just then, a system notification sounded in his mind: "Cursed magical creature killed. Magical energy obtained. Hatching progress: 2.1%."

But before Redd could feel pleased, more deformed monsters charged at him.

He curled up behind his shield, bracing it against the ground and using the tree to form a triangular space to shelter in.

He relied entirely on the shield to withstand the deformed monsters' onslaught, holding it firm with every ounce of strength he had.

Deformed monsters crowded beneath the tree. Redd used all his strength to brace his shield, thrusting his sword outward with his right hand as hard as he could whenever he had an opening.

Occasionally, agonized howls rose from the deformed monsters, and red blood tinged with white or green ran down his blade.

Redd held on with all his might, unable to spare any attention for the system notifications sounding in his mind.

He had no idea how many times he had thrust his sharp longsword. The deformed monsters' corpses piled together, almost burying him.

The blood pouring out stained all the soil around the tree red, and a pungent stench of blood filled the air.

Just as Redd was about to buckle, the smell of blood attracted large numbers of Green Poison Ants.

Each ant ranged from the size of a little finger to that of a thumb, with a pair of mandibles that gleamed green. One glance was enough to tell they were extremely venomous.

Almost every deformed monster bitten by the poisonous ants collapsed in convulsions within two seconds.

Seeing this, Redd felt a surge of hope.

He knew he had a chance to escape.

He pushed hard against the deformed monsters' corpses on his shield, then quickly climbed out.

Ignoring the pain and exhaustion in his body, he hurried forward, trying to get away from this dangerous place.

Yet he had barely run any distance when he suddenly heard leaves rustling all around him, as though swarms of something were approaching.

Redd's heart jolted. He knew even greater danger lay ahead.

He had to find a way out as soon as possible, or he might remain trapped in this terrifying place forever.

Unable to find a way out, Redd grew frantic. He looked around and suddenly caught sight of a large tree beside him.

The tree towered into the clouds, its branches thick with leaves. It seemed to be his only escape route.

Redd clenched his teeth, silently praying that the creatures about to surround him would not be able to climb trees.

He took a deep breath, wrapped both arms around the trunk, and pushed hard with his feet, beginning the difficult climb.

Every step was fraught with uncertainty. Redd's heart beat faster and faster, but he dared not let up for even an instant.

When Redd finally managed to climb a little over three meters up the tree, he suddenly heard a clamor.

His heart tightened, and he hurriedly looked down. A dense mass of creatures surged out from all around, their hideous faces as chilling as those of zombies.

There were so many of these creatures that they seemed endless. They lunged at Redd with claws flailing, roaring all the while.

This is bad, Redd thought. Had the tree he chose not been so thick and sturdy, they probably would have pushed it over already.

Redd dared not look down again. He quickly climbed to a high fork in the branches and settled himself securely.

Then he steadied himself and carefully looked down. What he saw nearly scared him into falling out of the tree.

These deformed creatures were completely different from those he had encountered before. They looked like lumps of rotten flesh sprouting tendrils or bone spurs, with no way to tell what creatures they had originally been.

What shocked Redd even more was that his dragon might had absolutely no effect on these creatures. It was what he had always relied on!

Redd did not know whether he was imagining it, but he kept feeling that these creatures' eyes revealed a deep hatred for him, as though he were their sworn enemy.

The feeling sent a chill through Redd, and he could not help wondering whether he could really escape safely.

Fortunately, this group of deformed creatures did not seem skilled at climbing trees. They could only glare helplessly from below and roar at Redd.

Meanwhile, the Green Poison Ants beneath the tree had already begun a fierce battle with the deformed creatures.

The numerous Green Poison Ants quickly formed an attack formation and fought the deformed creatures to the death.

Although the deformed creatures were enormous, the Green Poison Ants were nimble and agile. Using their venom and sharp teeth, they inflicted considerable damage on the deformed creatures.

For a time, the sounds of slaughter rose beneath the tree as blood and flesh flew everywhere.

Redd watched nervously from the tree. He did not know how this battle would end, nor whether he could survive the chaos.

Feeling safe for the moment, Redd breathed a sigh of relief. However, system notifications kept sounding in his mind, so he opened the system to check.

Personal panel information:

Name: Redd;

Sex: male;

Age: eleven;

Bloodline talents: Old Valyria Dragon King bloodline, Dragon Rider; Dragon King's Aura.

Status: exhausted

Quest panel

Quest: collect energy to hatch King Ghidorah;

Reward: unlock pet space.

Pet-King Ghidorah, hatching progress: 3.9%. Ability-Dragon King's Aura.

Redd's gaze was suddenly drawn to the change in hatching progress. What had originally been just 2% had now shot up like a rocket, reaching 3.9% in the blink of an eye, and the number was still climbing.

A thought instantly flashed through Redd's mind: As long as magical creatures die nearby, the system can collect energy!

However, this discovery came with system notifications constantly sounding in his mind. The noise was extraordinarily grating, leaving Redd somewhat agitated.