Scattering away, Chen Jing and the others began to scout their surroundings, while Dao Nan gripped his knife and approached the corpse.
Chen Jing first noticed some bloodstains, and he continued to follow the trail of blood.
Dao Nan squatted down and examined the body beside it, saying:
"The cause of death was a knife thrown into a vital spot; something pierced the victim's throat. Wait, perhaps it was done by a slave's wandering spirit."
He stood up, gripped his pistol, and was about to fire a warning shot at those around him when Chen Jing stopped him.
"Wait a minute," Chen Jing called out to him, "It's not a throwing knife."
Chen Jing took out a small wooden splinter and showed it to Dao Nan.
The tip of the splinter was still stained with blood.
"Mist Stinger?" Dao Nan instantly became alert, scanning the surrounding mist and ruins, but of course, he saw nothing.
"What is the Mist Sting Monster?" Li Ai asked, completely bewildered.
“A kind of monster,” the lone scavenger explained. “A terrifying hunter.”
"The Mist Stingers aren't from this area. They're in the nearby Black Kiln Street, and they hardly ever leave the weeds and bushes there," Dao Nan retorted. "Besides, after each hunt, they use the carcasses as fertilizer, creating a patch of smoke-shrouded weeds. I haven't seen anything like that here."
There are no plants on either side of this place, only ruins and rubble.
Just then, another lone scavenger suddenly said, "I remember the reconnaissance team was also a group of four, right?"
There were only two corpses here.
Chen Jing and Dao Nan exchanged a glance, seeing the same message in each other's eyes.
"Damn it!" Dao Nan said, "The corpses have been dragged away! They've been dragged to their lair."
"Should we run away?" The lone scavenger had originally planned to do so, but hesitated for a moment before asking.
“No, ambush them here. The number of Mist Spikes that attacked the scouts wasn’t enough,” Chen Jing said. “They’ll definitely come back to drag these corpses away.”
"Ambush the Misty Monster? With us? Are you crazy?" The lone scavenger looked on incredulously.
“Of course, it’s not just us; we need to get the core battle group to come over.” Chen Jing said to Li Ai, “Go back the way you came and tell the core battle group what’s going on here.”
Returning via the same route is very safe. Staying here might lead to encounters with the Mist Spikes that have returned earlier. This is the usual way that Chen Jing and the other members of the hunting party deal with the situation.
Seeing that Li Ai was still confused, Chen Jing repeated, "It's those people from the Meijing Dojo, tall and well-equipped. Also, notify everyone you encounter along the way, and it would be best to tell Master Black Hand as well."
"I'll go," the lone scavenger said immediately, before Li Ai could react: "I don't trust her to go."
Without waiting for Chen Jing and the others' consent, he ran back the way he came.
...
Mellorian walked through the mist, leading Du Boshi and the others.
"Senior Brother, is it not good for us to leave early?" Du Boshi asked with some concern.
Mellorian scoffed, "You actually believe his nonsense?"
"He's just jealous of us, he's lying to us, and he's using his power to ostracize us. The Black Hand's mission was for us to act as monster lures and draw in the slave spirits, but he insisted on making us advance slowly from so far behind. What kind of contribution could we possibly make in the end?"
"Ignore him, let's go find the slave spirits."
"Hehe, let's go to the arena where the slave soul used to be. There must be clues there. Since the slave soul used to be there, there must be something wrong with suddenly abandoning him. Maybe he just came out for a stroll and will go back to sit there."
...
Chen Jing, Dao Nan, and Li Ai hid beside the scout's body.
All three remained silent, waiting for reinforcements, or for the Mist Spikes to come and drag away the corpses.
Chen Jing originally wanted Li Aidan to hide, but Li Aidan waved her fists and said that she was very good at fighting and could take on two or three scavengers by herself. Considering that she was also an invited guest, she couldn't be ordinary and had no ability. Moreover, there were rumors that this woman also had special abilities, so Chen Jing decided to believe her for the time being.
Legend has it that she can fight man-eating monsters in the water, can turn her hands into claws, and possesses immense strength.
However, Chen Jing didn't quite believe it. The rumors also said that she worked for another hunting group. What hunting group member wouldn't be familiar with monsters?
Knowledge about the Mist Spikes surfaced in Chen Jing's mind. This knowledge was summarized by senior hunters and taught to Chen Jing and his companions.
When the Mist Spike is lying still, it can blend almost perfectly into its surroundings, possessing a camouflage ability similar to a chameleon. Extremely meticulous observation is required to detect any inconsistencies with its surroundings. Once the Mist Spike moves or launches an attack, the flaws in this camouflage become very obvious and can be seen immediately.
The Mist Spikes can cause wooden structures to naturally grow a branch to lash out at enemies, but the branch cannot move. When fighting it, you must avoid wood, branches, and similar building structures.
The Mist Spike Monster's favorite attack is to silently spit out wooden spikes to ambush its enemies.
The Mist Spikes' claws make them exceptionally adept at climbing, allowing them to easily scale walls and other structures that are difficult for ordinary people to climb, enabling them to attack those below from a high vantage point.
When engaging it in close combat, be wary of its sharp, venomous claws and the spikes it spits from its mouth. While its speed and agility surpass those of humans, it lacks strength. It is quite intelligent and cunning, adept at tactics and ambushes, thus rarely engaging in melee combat. It prefers to climb to higher ground and use its spiked spikes to slowly assassinate its prey.
It normally emits a mist similar to the normal mist of the Misty Lands, but it can increase the concentration of the mist for a short period of time to help it hide and launch surprise attacks.
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