Chapter Thirteen: Ruins in the Fog

  The three figures did not search for any more traces this time, because the two figures climbing halfway up the mountain were simply the most obvious targets. They just exchanged a glance and rushed towards the direction where the two people were.

  But Rode's speed is not slow either.

  He flashed down from the middle of the mountain, accompanied by a loud whistle. The soul bird flying in the sky also seemed to have received some kind of instruction and flew down towards the three men in black.

  “——！！”

  Facing the sudden attack of the Soul Bird, the three men in black did not panic. They quickly formed a battle formation, one wielding dual swords and charging forward, while the other two continued to pounce towards Lijie and Mes without changing direction. It was clear that they were well-coordinated and highly professional. They wouldn't stop their advance for such a minor entanglement, and if the opponent was just an ordinary bird, it would indeed be unable to block their way.

  But unfortunately, it's not physical.

  In the face of the icy sword blade, the green bird did not show any intention to dodge, but instead flew directly towards it. The black-clad man's eyes revealed a hint of joy at this sight, but in the next moment, his expression changed to one of terror - because he clearly saw that the green bird had pierced through the sword and was flying straight towards him!

  Elementary organism!

  The man in black was greatly shocked, and he hastily forced his body to twist, barely avoiding the opponent's attack. However, even so, the Soul Bird still pierced through his shoulder, and the man in black felt as if half of his body had instantly fallen into an icy abyss, losing all sensation. His body, which had been trying to maintain its balance, paused for a moment in mid-air before heavily crashing to the ground, causing the short sword in his hand to fly out.

  The other two people were not much better off, and when the soul bird flew past them, they didn't notice either. But soon, a cold wind that pierced to the bone came after it, blowing over their bodies. The two of them only felt their bodies suddenly become numb and stiff, and had no choice but to stop in their tracks.

  Although the strange discomfort soon dissipated, Lijie and Mais had already reached the position of the white stone due to the delay of a few seconds. Seeing this scene, the black-clothed man leading the way frowned, made a gesture, and then took out a short crossbow from his waist.

  "What's going on?!"

  The fat merchant, who was already paralyzed with exhaustion halfway up the mountain, stumbled to the side of the white stone under Lijie's guidance. He leaned against the stone wall beside him and panted heavily, but before he could complain a few more times, several black shadows suddenly flashed past his side and shot onto the stone wall nearby.

  "Wow!"

  Mays hastily hugged his head and squatted down, while Lijie also subconsciously shrunk her body, and she didn't forget to pull the fat businessman with her, pushing him into the shadows to avoid another attack.

  "We must hurry up."

  At this moment, Luo De also appeared closely behind him. He glanced at the three black shadows in the distance below the mountain and said.

  "Who are they?! What's going on?! Why are they attacking us?!"

  "Probably a spy."

  Although the distance was not too far, due to the clear weather, Luo De still managed to see that they were wearing the standard attire of a spy. The attire of spies from various countries under the protection of the Light Dragon Soul were mostly similar, and it could only be known which country these people came from after killing them. However, Luo De currently did not have such strength, and even the special ability of the Soul Bird could only freeze them for a few seconds. It was not that these people had high resistance to soul element attacks, but rather because his own level was too low, he could not achieve a better attack effect.

  Long waiting is of no use.

  "As for why they attacked us, I think you can ask them yourself. Maybe if they're in a good mood, they'll tell you one or two things before you die."

  Although Lord Rod said a joke, the fat merchant couldn't laugh. As a businessman who had been doing business abroad for many years, he knew that those spies were not easy to mess with. If they fell into their hands, what would happen? The fat merchant just thought of the unpleasant rumors circulating among his peers and turned pale, sweating profusely. So although his legs were trembling with fatigue, he still forced himself to stand up and follow Lord Rod towards the small path hidden behind the white stone.

  The Zernar Mountain Road was once a very magnificent trade route, with wide roads that could accommodate two horse-drawn carriages advancing side by side. However, it has been completely abandoned now, and all sorts of rocks falling from the cliffs on both sides have accumulated on the road, making the originally wide road rugged and extremely narrow. The three of them stumbled forward, but none of them dared to stop their feet. Rode occasionally turned his head back to look around, but the situation did not improve - the footsteps chasing behind were getting clearer and clearer, if it weren't for the terrain restrictions here, they would have been surrounded long ago.

  "Mr. Luo! There's no road!"

  Lijie's exclamation made Rode turn around, and indeed, the mountain path not far in front of him was completely blocked by rolling rocks, making it impossible to cross or penetrate.

  Indeed it is.

  Rod shook his head slightly, originally thinking that doing so in the game was to force players to follow the route set by the system settings, but now it seems that's not the case - whatever, anyway this is not his original purpose.

  "Go right."

  "Right side?"

  Upon hearing Lord's command, both of them were taken aback. They involuntarily cast their gaze towards the small path on the right, and their footsteps slowed down with a hint of hesitation.

  Although the main road was blocked, there was a small path nearby. The strangest thing was that although it was sunny with clear skies, the path was shrouded in thick fog. The sunlight passing through the dense mist created an eerie atmosphere. Just looking at it made one feel that something strange must be lurking within, and now Rode was asking them to go in there?

  "Hurry up, it's too late."

  However, under Rode's urging, the two of them quickly walked into the fog, and soon their figures were completely obscured by the thick fog, disappearing from view.

  And seeing two people enter, Luo De also let out a breath of relief. He turned his head back to look behind him again, then stretched out his right hand.

  “Cage！”

  The card in the center of his palm changed from blue to white, and then the snow-white sword blade reappeared. Afterwards, Luo De grasped the long sword tightly and suddenly swung it towards the precipice.

  A gleaming blade of light flew out from the sword, striking a massive boulder teetering on the cliff face. Soon, under a deafening roar, shattered rocks mixed with dust rolled down together. When the three black-clad men gave chase, Rode's figure had already vanished into the thick fog, hidden by smoke and rubble.

  "This is infuriating!"

  Looking at the rugged mountain path in front of him, a man in black clothes gritted his teeth and complained. The road ahead had been completely blocked by rubble, making it impossible to pass through. Not to mention that Rode's sword had triggered a chain reaction, now the cliffs on both sides of the mountain path were shaking, and continuing on might be even more dangerous.

  "What should I do?"

  "There's no way."

  Another man in black stared intently at the mountain road which had been completely sealed off.

  "After returning to report to the captain, they sent people to monitor all the villages around, thinking that they must want to leave from behind, but I really didn't expect it, these guys actually have a plan."

  "Elemental beings, could there be mages among them?"

  "If it's really a monk, then it wouldn't be strange, but from our observation, there doesn't seem to be any monks among them."

  Just as the two men in black were exchanging opinions, another man in black who had been silent and staring at the marks on the mountain wall spoke up.

  "Among them was a fairly strong swordsman."

  After saying this sentence, the man in black turned his head away.

  "Let's go, these three goals are indeed not simple, but we haven't lost yet. Pass the order down, immediately monitor the surrounding villages, I believe they can't stay in the mountains forever."

  For Rode and others, however, the danger was far from over.

  "What is... this place?"

  The stout businessman stared blankly at everything in front of him, thinking that after traveling all over the country for so many years, he had seen it all. But the experiences of the past few days told him that there were still many things in this world that he didn't know about.

  After passing through the thick fog, what appeared before everyone was a deserted and abandoned small town. The entire town was shrouded in dense fog, making everything look blurry. Even looking up at the sky only revealed a dull grayness. It was completely different from the clear and bright weather earlier, with the whole world now dimly lit, as if it were an entirely different realm.

  "This is the Ruins of Fog."

  Rode replied casually from behind.

  "As long as we get through here, we can reach the Aragak Pass and then we'll be able to leave."

  "But is it... safe here?"

  Anyone who isn't blind would never think this place is peaceful.

  "Danger is certainly present."

  Rode didn't finish what he was saying, the Misty Ruins is one of the first 10-man instances in the game and also the player's first instance. It's not difficult to say it's hard, but it's also not easy to say it's easy. However, for these three players, it's quite a problem. After all, Rode is only level 8, and Liche is only level 6, as for the merchant with combat power of 5, he wasn't even counted in. So in the end, this is actually an 8-level summoner and an auxiliary profession soloing a 10-man instance - if you put it in the game, people would definitely think they're idiots.

  Rode is not a fool, in fact he also thought of this adventure method after seeing Lize, otherwise Rode would not have chosen this path - and in fact, this path is now the safest.

  In terms of risk ratio comparison.

  "But as long as you follow my orders, there won't be too much risk. So..."

  Saying this, Rode turned his head and looked at the blonde girl beside him.

  "Lijie, it's up to you now."