Pale Emblem

Chapter 167 Unexpected Factors

Victor and his group walked out of the gate of Echo Town before dusk. Nominally, they were out on a scouting and reconnaissance mission. With the mission documents issued by the Adventurer's Guild as proof, the soldiers guarding the gate did not make things difficult for them and readily opened the door to let them pass.

As for Yog, he wore the same full-body armor as the others, a hood on his head, and a windproof mask on his face, covering himself tightly, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. In addition, his body was more symmetrical, closer to the proportions of a half-elf, and unlike his barbarian compatriots, who were as sturdy as a thick wall.

Yog was inconspicuous among the team.

So, the blue-skinned barbarian boy Yog followed Victor and escaped from the place of imprisonment smoothly.

After leaving the town, they headed north along the steep ridge. In this direction, the mountains and forests were rolling, the terrain was rugged, and there were few people.

When the towering walls of Echo Town disappeared behind him, Yog could not help but pull open his windproof mask, kneel on the ground, gasp for breath, and breathe in the fresh, natural air of the mountains and forests, tears streaming down his face unconsciously.

"Get up and get going. Don't think you're safe now, you wimp!"

The burning Delina followed behind Yog. She was in a hot temper and kicked Yog on the butt and scolded him harshly.

Yog, who had finally escaped, suddenly realized that his life was still in the hands of these adventurers and he could not say that he was out of danger yet. So he quickly got up, stole a glance at Dalinna's face, and whispered in the barbarian language: "Just leave, why are you so fierce?"

As he said this, he walked quickly to Victor's side and followed closely. He had a hunch that as long as he was near Victor, the other adventurers in the team would not beat or scold him, just like when he was at the plantation in Braun Town, everything was fine when he followed Veltok.

Victor never forgot that the new character he was in disguise did not know the barbarian boy Yog, and as a stranger, it was difficult for him to accept a barbarian being too close to him.

"Hey, be careful, don't get too close to me!" He turned his head, his eyes gleaming with ferocity and warned with disgust on his face.

Yog was stunned for a moment, but he was not afraid. He just nodded subconsciously and took a few steps back. His obedient attitude was just like his attitude towards Veltok at the plantation in Braun Town.

There was no doubt that Yog still thought of him as Veltok.

  Victor couldn't help but frown secretly, and at the same time he became more curious about how Yog recognized that he was Veltok?

Of course, he could not reveal his true identity in front of Yog at any time, otherwise he would arouse the serious suspicion of Chief Rockbreak, and the plan to rescue the survivors would fail.

Victor had no choice but to suppress his curiosity and follow the team on their journey.

For adventurers, the greatest danger is not fighting and killing, but the unfamiliar wild environment. For example, if adventurers fail to find food and water in time, they will be hungry, thirsty and tired, and encounter extreme climate changes, which can easily cause hypothermia or heat stroke; for example, if they accidentally fall while walking and do not receive timely and effective treatment, these can all lead to death. Moreover, similar non-combat casualties account for the majority of deaths among travelers in the wild, even several times more than deaths caused by encountering wild animals and poisonous insects.

As the experience and lessons of the predecessors continued to accumulate, it gradually became a science for adventurers to travel in unfamiliar wild environments. The City-State Academy called it the art of pathfinding.

The Ranger sisters have maxed out their pathfinding skill. Ruth walks at the front of the team, responsible for exploring the way; Jessica walks at the end of the team, responsible for covering the rear. They have a flying falcon as their scouting partner, which can use its mind to sense the terrain beyond its sight by consuming only one drop of secret blood.

Like most mountain forests, the terrain of the Godore Mountains is complex and varied, with undulating mountains and rocks stretching for hundreds of kilometers, and valleys and gullies crisscrossing, like a huge semi-closed maze. Even experienced old adventurers can easily get into dead ends.

The road under Victor and his group's feet became narrower and narrower. On their left was a rocky cliff, and on their right was a cliff more than 300 meters deep. There was only enough space for one person to stand.

Everyone had to line up and follow the teammates in front of them, moving forward step by step.

At this time, if it were a normal adventure group, they would have to consider whether to turn back, because they couldn't see the end of the road ahead, and they didn't know if it would be a dead end. If it was a dead end, the adventurers would have wasted a lot of energy, and when the temperature dropped sharply at night, everyone's situation would become very difficult.

The leader Ruth would not have this confusion. Through mental communication with her reconnaissance partner Lin Falcon, she had a complete grasp of the terrain within a radius of ten kilometers.

However, Ruth only planned the shortest route based on the strength level of the team members, and such a path was destined to be difficult for some people.

The barbarian boy Yog almost stuck to the stone wall, with his back to the cliff, and walked forward sideways like a crab. If the mountain wind was not so strong that it was impossible for everyone to hear, he would probably cry and beg Victor in front of him to walk slower.

Yog is not an ordinary barbarian. His physical fitness is weaker than that of ordinary barbarians. Such a steep and narrow mountain road, with strong winds as an obstacle, is a huge challenge for him.

Victor didn't care about Yog's predicament. The alchemist demon Delina followed Yog and could always ensure his safety if anything happened.

The sun gradually set in the west, and the towering mountains cast a huge shadow on the river valley in the east. Victor walked on the cliff and could see the light and shadow dividing line of the river valley. On one side was the autumn forest illuminated by the afterglow of the setting sun, and on the other side was the dark valley shrouded in shadows.

Compared with the grandeur of nature, they are really as insignificant as ants.

Before Victor had time to lament his own insignificance, the shield guard Harvey, who was walking in front of him, stopped and made a gesture to him, indicating that the leader Ruth had found the place to get down the cliff.

Ruth stopped moving forward. The four alchemical demons, the vicious Herman, the giant Mowgli, the smelly Livdel, and the burning Delina, as well as the shield guard Harvey, the gladiator slave Kent, the rangers Jessica and Victor, and a barbarian boy Yog, a total of nine teammates, all gathered around her, waiting for the next action plan.

"Watch this, jump from here, and pay attention to every point where I land."

Ruth wore a windproof mask, but her voice was still drowned out by the mountain wind whistling in her ears. The female ranger simply stopped talking, just arched her eyebrows at Victor, then leaned back and fell headfirst off the cliff.

Yog suddenly saw a half-elf female adventurer jumping off a cliff. His eyes widened instantly, and he pointed at that place with his finger, making a hoarse sound in his throat.

  He really couldn't understand why the leading female adventurer would jump off a cliff and commit suicide for no reason.

However, what Yog didn't know was that Ruth had a very practical ability as a Ranger Venerable: as long as she could move freely, she would not stumble.

Although the cliffs here are dangerous, they are not as smooth as the city walls. There are uneven rocks everywhere on the stone walls, and there are a lot of vines and thorns to help you climb. Many goats live on the cliffs, and leopards, bears and monkeys often climb the cliffs.

Half-elves have undergone rigorous training and are brave enough to climb cliffs with their bare hands.

What ordinary people can do is not difficult for a group of extraordinary people who have ignited the fire of their hearts and implanted the alchemical snake tentacles.

Victor has not yet ignited the fire of his soul, but he is proficient in the secret form of the spirit monkey and is as agile as a real ape. Even though he is now maintaining an affinity for the water element and his perception attribute cannot exceed 20 points, it is no problem for him to climb mountains and cross rivers. What's more, Ruth has shown him every landing point for jumping.

The barbarian boy watched the half-elf adventurers jump off the cliff one after another, and he finally understood that Ruth was not committing suicide, but was continuing to lead the way.

Yog panicked and desperately tried to grab Victor's arm, but Dai Lina behind him held his hands behind his back and pinned him down. He could only yell, "What should I do? What should I do?"

Victor just winked at the gladiator slave Kent, and the latter understood what he meant. He strode over, grabbed the barbarian boy's belt, lifted him onto his shoulders, and jumped straight off the cliff.

Kent was originally a violent half-elf warrior, with a strong physique and amazing strength. Later, he ignited the fire of his soul and was able to control the strength of every muscle in his body in minute detail. It was easy for him to take Yog down the cliff.

The rest of the people jumped down one after another. The cliff several hundred meters high was by no means an insurmountable chasm for them.

Victor used his hands and feet to climb up and down the cliff as nimbly as a monkey. Soon, he reached the bottom of the cliff.

There is a large river valley at the foot of the mountain, but now it is the dry season, and the river valley has turned into a meadow wetland, covered with reeds more than two meters high, so dense that you can't see the end of them.

The first few people who came down had already cut a circle of open space with their hatchets. Harvey stepped on the fallen reed stalks and jumped hard, feeling the softness and dampness under his feet. He muttered, "Swamp and reed marsh, the two things I hate the most are both here!"

"Don't worry, Ruth and I can always find the best way." Jessica raised her chin and smiled proudly.

Victor was secretly watching Yog's reaction. If Kent scared Yog silly when he took him jumping off the cliff, it would be difficult to explain to the barbarian slave leader Ingrid later.

When Yog was forced to "jump off the cliff" just now, he didn't even scream or shout, and now he is still in a daze. No wonder Victor was worried that he was over-stimulated and had problems with his mind and body.

The blue-skinned barbarian boy suddenly noticed that Victor was observing him. His eyes lit up and he immediately shook off his excitement. He slowly walked over and whispered to Victor, "I also want to learn your cliff jumping skills. Can you teach me?"

In my impression, Yog is very studious and very smart. He can learn reading, writing, sliding, and forging alloys in one go. Even the Myne Sage in Braun Town was amazed at his learning ability and thought that his intelligence exceeded that of most half-elves. However, climbing mountains and crossing ridges as if walking on flat ground is not an ordinary skill. Even some types of goats can run and jump on cliffs because they are familiar with the terrain and have memorized all the footholds. But Ruth and Jessica rely on an extraordinary talent of the sixth-level ranger, which is actually the extraordinary talent of the sixth-level archer. They do not need to consume their own secret blood, but can maintain freedom of movement in unfamiliar environments by intuition without losing their footing.

Without this extraordinary talent, even if the adventurer has ignited the fire of the soul, it is not easy to jump down the cliff, and there is still a certain risk. However, Victor and his companions knew those stable footholds in advance, so they could maintain freedom of movement and jump off the cliff easily.

Being able to move freely and pass through unhindered is a very refreshing experience. No wonder Yog envies others for having the ability to "jump off a cliff".

Victor himself did not have the extraordinary gift of freedom of movement, and thanks to Ruth pointing out the path first, he was able to land safely on the ground.

Besides, extraordinary talents cannot be taught or learned.

Victor gave Yog a cold look, then turned away and ignored him.

In any case, Yog was not frightened by the gladiator slave Kent, and his courage impressed Victor.

Several alchemists have strong hands-on skills. Their soul wills are loaded with a lot of knowledge and practical skills. They can use reed stalks to weave many round pads and buckle them on waterproof leather boots to prevent everyone from sinking into the mud when walking.

Ruth forced her way through the dense reeds and led the team deeper into the river valley wetlands.

The reeds in autumn are not very strong, but there are too many of them, not only blocking Victor's vision, but also posing a great obstacle to their journey. Ruth, the leader, is not strong and light, so it doesn't take much effort for her to push aside the reeds, but the endless reeds will quickly consume her energy.

Victor soon realized that Ruth was very burdened. He thought about it, then quickly passed the others, came to the front of the team, and said to Ruth, "I'll help you clear the way."

He is now the tallest and largest person in the team. He has evolved strong muscles from the gold-level alchemical snake tentacles. His body toughness and basic strength have been enhanced by about 20%. Things like wading through the reeds are easy for him.

In addition, Victor now has green eyes, maintains an affinity for the water element, has awakened his surging talent, and has more physical energy than any of his followers.

Ruth smiled at Victor, pointed at Yoger beside him, and said, "Why is this guy following you?"

A flattering smile immediately appeared on Yog's face.

Victor turned around and shouted to the people behind him, "Come here Kent, drag this barbarian slave to the middle of the team and don't let him run around. Everyone else, make sure to protect him."

The gladiator slave strode over with a stern face and escorted the dejected Yog back to the center of the team.

The reed marsh was not safe. Victor had heard the roar of animals that sounded like the mooing of cows. It could penetrate the whistling of the wind blowing through the reeds, which showed that these animals were huge and powerful. Their voices were very similar to those of herbivores such as bison. If there were still beasts preying on them in the reed marsh, they must be strong enough.

Mainly because of the two or three meter high reeds that block the view, although Victor and his followers are not afraid of wild beasts, the barbarian boy Yog does not have the alchemical snake tentacles implanted, so he may still suffer fatal injuries.

The main task of this trip is to ensure Yog's safety until he is handed over to the barbarian slave leader Ingrid.

The followers put Yog in the middle of the group and continued to trudge forward through the reeds.

Victor borrowed the long-handled axe from the Alchemist, tied a hatchet to the front end of the axe, and swept it left and right on the ground. The reeds in front of him were cut off at the roots, making it very convenient for him to cut the reeds to clear a path.

Not long after, the road ahead suddenly opened up, and Ruth led them to an open space.

No, to be precise, it is a beast path in the reed marsh.

Tall herbs such as reeds, foxtail grass, and elephant grass were all trampled by wild beasts, forming a road about six meters wide that meandered forward, and no one knew where it led.

There are only so many places that can be passed in the meadow wetlands. The high-level rangers can find them, and the beasts that live here can also find them. The fact that the team led by Ruth broke into the beast path can only mean that she found the right way.

"Huh?" The sharp-eyed Ruth found an intact palm print in the animal trail, which aroused her interest.

"It's a tiger's paw print." Jessica squeezed through the crowd, came to Ruth and squatted down. She used her slender hands to measure the paw prints on the ground, frowned and said, "It's too big... Based on the paw prints, I guess this tiger is two meters tall at the shoulder and weighs more than 3000 pounds... Ordinary spotted tigers and night saber leopards can't grow this big!"

Victor held the sickle that he had converted from a long-handled axe and asked, "Ferocious Tiger?"

"It must be a ferocious beast." Jessica nodded vigorously, then changed the subject and said, "However, I think it might be the legendary saber-toothed beast."

"Sabertooth?!" Ruth said excitedly, "You mean the kind of sabertooth that can hunt wild monsters?"

"Yes."

"Sabertooth can be tamed by a trainer?"

"Yes."

"I really want it to be my fighting partner..."

"Hehe, I want it too."

The two sisters were just joking. Adult sabertooths were powerful and agile and had the ability to hunt ogres because they could always avoid being hunted by the ogre leaders.

If the saber-toothed beast here is smart enough, it will be almost impossible for Victor's team to find it.

The alchemists devoured souls and drank blood, and a powerful saber-toothed beast could just satisfy their appetite. To the saber-toothed beast, they were a danger.

Based on this, the ranger sisters judged that even if there was really a saber-toothed beast nearby, it would stay away from it.

Victor and his companions were not afraid of the lone saber-toothed beasts, and still decided to use the animal trail to cross the meadow wetland and go to the predetermined location to meet and negotiate with Ingrid. If they encountered a saber-toothed beast on the way, they would catch it if they could, or kill it if they could, but the most important thing was that they should not reveal any flaws while they were on the road, otherwise the beast would not be able to suppress its hunting instinct and launch a fatal attack on them.

They formed a relatively tight defensive formation, and everyone remained alert, holding their weapons in hand, and always paying attention to the reeds on both sides of the animal trail. Ruth and Jessica also took turns driving their animal companions, falcons, to hover over the team's heads for reconnaissance.

As long as there is no opportunity to take advantage of, according to the habits of saber-toothed beasts, they will never show up, as if they do not exist.

Victor said he was not afraid of the saber-toothed beast, but as time went on, the pressure brought by the ferocious saber-toothed beast was gradually increasing, especially as it got darker, the sun had completely set below the horizon, and night enveloped the swamp. Everyone in the team had a grim expression and remained silent.

  Suddenly, Victor felt a palpitation in his heart. Before he could understand it more deeply, Ruth and Jessica had already issued a warning!

"There is danger from the sky!"

"Everyone go to the reeds on the left and lie down to hide!"

Harvey and Kent immediately dragged Victor into the reeds nearby, lay on the ground and hid themselves.

At this time, Victor could clearly feel a pressure approaching rapidly from the southwest!

"Hidden Breathing Method!" Victor quickly reminded everyone, and then activated the Hidden Breathing Method of Life in the Golden Toad Secret Form, lowering his heart rate, and his breathing became weak, like a lifeless piece of wood, but his perception and spirit became exceptionally sharp.

Three giant creatures slid over Victor's head with strong airflow. Large tracts of dry reeds could not withstand the air pressure created by them and broke one after another, making a continuous crackling sound.

  Victor saw their slender bodies that were hideous and terrifying yet full of power and beauty, as well as their iconic dragon wings and scales, and their mighty power that could shock the soul!

Could it be that a giant dragon is coming? !