Chapter 14: Accident.

At 10 PM, Xiao Fen and Sylvia quietly left through the back door of the tavern.

Sylvia, still wearing her maid outfit, had been given nearly two hours of rest and enough food, so she looked much better.

She pushed open the back door of the tavern first. A blast of cold, damp mist hit them, making Xiao Fen, who was following Sylvia, shiver involuntarily.

“Follow me, don’t stop, no nonsense.”

Sylvia spoke concisely, pulling a sharp blade that shimmered with a strange light from her sleeve.

The short knife that was once Xiao Fen’s protective weapon looked even stranger in Sylvia’s hands. The light spilling from the tavern and surrounding houses scattered hazily over the blade under the shroud of mist. For a moment, Xiao Fen almost thought the knife had come to life by devouring the light.

The mist outside was already very thick. Even though he was following closely behind Sylvia, Xiao Fen could only vaguely see a blurry shadow. As for what the surrounding streets looked like, he could see nothing at all now.

However, this mist seemed to pose no hindrance to Sylvia. She quickly weaved through the streets and alleys, familiar with the place as if it were her own backyard.

Xiao Fen, who couldn’t see anything around him at all, struggled to follow behind Sylvia, terrified that she would vanish from his sight if he wasn’t careful.

Even so, Xiao Fen did not call out to ask Sylvia to wait for him.

The two walked in silence for over ten minutes. Sylvia seemed to have taken a large detour, leaving the noisy blocks behind. Only then did she slightly slow down, giving Xiao Fen a chance to catch his breath.

“I have to avoid the Li Family people. Although I don’t know if they are there, I must be as careful as possible.”

Sylvia glanced back at Xiao Fen and whispered, “From here, we are not far from the center of the Web you mentioned. If you have triggered the next step of the mission but haven’t accepted it yet, perhaps at the center of that Web, the mission can continue.”

Xiao Fen let out a long breath. The air here was not only damp but also carried a choking smell of smoke and dust. If he hadn’t been holding his breath, he would have coughed out loud on the way.

He subconsciously glanced in the direction Sylvia was pointing. Seeing nothing, Xiao Fen smiled bitterly. He had noticed just now that there were no sounds above their heads along the way.

In other words, they had been walking on the outer side of the Web just now. From this point on, they had to break back into the coverage of the Web and rush all the way back to that three-story house he was in before, to try and find and trigger the second related mission regarding Lux.

Going back to where he came from made Xiao Fen feel somewhat emotional.

Just as he was about to speak, Sylvia suddenly raised the short knife in her hand, signaling Xiao Fen not to make a sound.

Xiao Fen paused, only then realizing that beside them, some rustling sounds had appeared at some point.

Amidst these strange sounds, there was also some abnormal panting. That panting sounded like a miniature version of a broken, old bellows. Between breaths, it made a flapping vibration sound, as if the lungs were trembling during respiration.

At the same time, Xiao Fen faintly smelled the scent of blood from the smoke-filled mist around him. Moreover, the scent came from all directions, becoming clearer and stronger, as if a river of blood was rising around Xiao Fen.

Unable to see the other party, only knowing they were nearby and likely very dangerous, this indistinguishable sense of oppression was heavier than when he escaped the Web’s attack earlier. At least earlier, Xiao Fen could see those ropes, knew where the next step would appear, and where he could escape. But now, apart from listening to the sounds behind the thick mist, he could do nothing.

“It is Garm, the guardian of the underworld. Their appearance here is not a good sign. Yggdrasil won’t let creatures unrelated to the mission appear in the Trial World. Listen, stand here. I will handle them. Unless necessary, do not move. If real danger occurs, run in the direction I just pointed to you, and don’t worry about anything.”

Sylvia instructed in a low voice. She seemed able to see directly through the mist where the source of those sounds was.

Then, she flicked the short knife in her hand twice and whispered a sentence in a language Xiao Fen could not understand. It sounded like English, but the grammatical structure was completely different from what Xiao Fen knew.

Accompanying these words, the short knife in Sylvia’s hand suddenly brightened. In Xiao Fen’s eyes, the short knife began a strange transformation. In a few seconds, the knife rapidly extended, turning into a kukri with a slightly curved spine and a beautiful streamlined shape.

Seeing the slight surprise in Xiao Fen’s eyes, Sylvia smiled slightly and said, “This is not my ability, but Yggdrasil’s ability. It can only be used in the Trial World.”

As soon as her voice fell, Sylvia had already flashed out. It could be said that in an instant, this woman still wearing a maid outfit had vanished into the mist.

The mist was very thick to Xiao Fen. He didn’t know what exactly was happening to Sylvia behind the heavy mist, but a few seconds later, his question was answered.

A strange hissing sound rose and fell abruptly. It sounded like the noise made by some creature suddenly approached and having its throat slit. Following this sound was a dull thud against the ground, which should be the sound of that unlucky creature falling over.

With the sound of the fall, Xiao Fen vaguely felt that the sounds around him suddenly stopped. The smell of blood was stronger than before, but the sense of oppression lessened.

Xiao Fen breathed a slight sigh of relief. He turned his head nervously to look in the direction the sound came from, wondering where the next sound would come from, when he suddenly heard Sylvia shouting not far away: “Run, Palin, run fast!”

Xiao Fen did not doubt her for a second. He turned and ran in the direction Sylvia had pointed earlier. The very moment he left his original position, a gust of strong wind suddenly descended from behind him. With a bang, it seemed something had pounced on the ground. The force was so great that the running Xiao Fen even heard the sound of the ground bricks cracking.

“Don’t stop, keep going, Palin!”

Sylvia’s shout stopped abruptly, as if she had also been entangled by some creature and had no time to continue warning Xiao Fen. However, even without her reminder, Xiao Fen did not dare to stop his steps.

Behind him, strange panting sounds were constantly approaching. Accompanying this sound was a smell of blood that couldn’t be shaken off.