After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply

He pried the stopper loose and fiercely threw it at Hu Er.

The red liquid splashed all over Hu Er.

"What is this?"

Hu Er's expression was full of suspicion and uncertainty.

The liquid possessed an extremely strong burning ability and instantly set his pants on fire.

Lin Da spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and smiled, "It's Dragon Blood."

"What?"

"I said, it's Dragon Blood."

Lin Da pointed toward the night sky above, "The wind is quite strong tonight, pray that the smell of the Dragon Blood doesn't drift to the Forest Dragon."

"Ha ha… If I were a parent and saw someone covered in my children's blood, I'd probably kill them without a second thought, right? Oh, you also want to change your pants? It's useless, the scent of Dragon Blood has already seeped into your skin."

Watching Hu Er's increasingly ugly expression, Lin Da felt a surge of satisfaction:

"Right, even though I carry the Revenge Mark of a young dragon, it can only be sensed from a very close distance. But you, a 'murderer' drenched in blood, will be more noticeable, won't you?"

Lin Da, carrying Tasya, strode forward.

Not to the periphery of the Dragon Forest.

He chose the direction deep into the Forest Dragon's Lair.

Lin Da was returning on the same path!

If Hu Er dared to follow, he would have to face the risk of encountering the Forest Dragon.

If he didn't follow, he could only watch Lin Da escape helplessly.

"You little bastard!"

Hu Er cursed with a spit, his expression fluctuating uncertainly.

Despite the anger in his heart, his feet never managed to step forward.

He didn't leave immediately either, but instead adopted a sly expression.

The fox clan was cunning and deceitful and wouldn't settle for being mocked by Lin Da.

Hu Er planned to stay here and keep an eye on Lin Da, to prevent him from doubling back to the outer layer after letting him leave.

He wanted to watch Lin Da personally, as he re-entered the deeper parts of Dragon Forest.

It would be best if he encountered the Forest Dragon and got eaten outright!

Hu Er jumped onto a Mondale Tree that was over twenty meters tall and stood on one foot at the very top.

In midair, the wind howled, but Hu Er's posture remained immovable.

His eyes were fixedly staring at Lin Da's retreating back.

"What a trouble, if only all Beastmen were as hot-blooded and foolish as Xiu."

Lin Da, feeling a cold gaze constantly behind him, couldn't help but shiver.

Turning back, at the top of the tall tree stood a fox.

The two were far apart, unable to see each other's specific expressions. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

But it was easy to guess that the corners of that fox's mouth were certainly curled up mockingly.

Many times, Lin Da didn't want to use his intelligence, but he had no other choice.

Facing these Star Rank and Moon Rank adventurers, he could only rely on his wits to make up for the lack of strength.

Going forward might lead to an encounter with the Forest Dragon, while behind was the menacing Hu Er.

Neither side was easy to deal with.

However, Lin Da still held one last ace in his hand.

He couldn't guarantee it would work against the Forest Dragon,

but it would certainly be enough against Hu Er.

The only issue was that it was a 'Schrödinger' card. Lin Da also couldn't be sure whether it would come through at the crucial moment.

That was the [Shadow of Darkness Experience Card].

By unlocking Tasya's trust bar, he would immediately receive all rewards between 0–90 points of trust.

Just like a mobile game's season pass, every 10 points of trust would grant him a reward.

The reward at the 90-point mark was precisely the Shadow of Darkness Experience Card.

Lin Da was very confident in his own character's strength.

At his peak, he could lead the Primitive Adventure Team to take constant attacks on the Demon King.

But he figured the system wouldn't be so kind.

The Experience Card would probably represent the early stages of Shadow of Darkness.

How early was hard to assess.

The only thing he could deduce was that, as a reward only given at the Witch's 90 points of trust, it definitely wouldn't be poor.

Even Baolulu's Experience Card would be fine.

Lulu had 88 points of trust in herself at the moment, just one short of obtaining the experience card.

But he didn't know where Lulu was at that time.

Of the witches left by his side, only one remained.

Lin Da stopped in his tracks, shifting Tasya from his back to cradling her in his arms.

He solemnly shook Tasya, whispering softly, "Wake up."

From a distance, Hu Er saw Lin Da standing still and laughed out loud, "Have you run out of tricks? Venturing deep into the Dragon Forest was just a bluff, meant to scare me."

"If you had run over fearlessly, I might have thought better of you, and when I mentioned it to Bear Ji, I would have praised you as a 'brave fool.' But now, I can only call you a coward."

Hu Er relished the superiority of being above it all, playing cat and mouse.

Watching the prey hesitate, struggle, and suffer, Hu Er deeply enjoyed the beauty of being alive.

"Ah, bullying such a young and promising adventurer feels different indeed. If I had known, I would have brought my 'Meat Grass Cup' to use, watching Lin Da's painful expression from atop a tree, spending a pleasant time; just thinking about it excites me."

As Hu Er's cheeks flushed, he licked the blade's edge with his tongue, and though it cut him and blood flowed out, he was completely oblivious, instead savoring the taste as if he had drunk red wine, closing his eyes and indulging himself.

Lin Da had no idea that a certain perverted fox wanted to watch him "play accordion."

He was entirely focused on calling out to Tasya.

He used the emergency wilderness first aid method essential for adventurers.

With his hands over Tasya's forehead, he stimulated her with magic power.

Like electrified, the silver-haired woman in the thick maid skirt in his arms groaned softly, her eyelashes fluttering.

A few seconds later, she finally opened her eyes.

...

In Tasya's green pupils, confusion filled the air.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I doing?

The classic Sage's triple questions.

For Tasya, most of her memory was fragmented.

The only impression in her head was of being injured before stumbling into a tunnel.

Now, as she opened her eyes, she saw a night sky fragmented by the towering Mondale Tree Crown.

The sparse stars in the sky shed a faint light on the woods, barely illuminating a face looking at her with concern.

"You're awake, that's great!"

"This is urgent, there's no time to explain. Tasya, there's something I need you to believe—that I am truly the Shadow of Darkness, and I need your complete trust in me."

"I know this might be very confusing and troubling, but it is extremely important to me, concerning whether we can survive out of the Dragon Forest."

With a dragon ahead and a fox behind, Lin Da, without time to explain further, spoke hastily as sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Wait, my mind is a bit scattered. Why are you here, and where is this?"

"I remember being attacked by a group of Cold Poison Feathered Snakes and the Doomsday Sect, the Crimson people scattered, and I was also poisoned by the snakes..."

As Tasya spoke, she suddenly paused as if she had realized something incredible.

She reached out to touch just below her left chest, where there had originally been a wound from a Cold Poison Feathered Snake. The wound had been pus-filled and festering, unable to stop bleeding, and had once left her feeling helpless.

Now, however, it had already scabbed over, healing bit by bit. The troubling magic circuit, like a layer of frost frozen over it, and the damn snake poison, had completely disappeared.

In its place was a fiercely hot power.

Tasya could feel the benefits of this power for her body.

It was being subtly absorbed by her body, and if she went to the Adventurers' Guild's training ground to test her 'strength,' it would probably increase by 10%.

"—I haven't eaten Behemoth Beast meat, but I've seen a Behemoth Beast running in a recording."

Tasya was shocked. The only thing that could resolve the Feathered Serpent poison in her body in a short time, and that was hot and could enhance muscle strength and increase strength... was one thing.

Dragon Blood!

Yes,

Tasya vaguely remembered, someone had placed something thick and hot

That thing, it wasn't Lin Da's...

but a cup filled with Dragon Blood!

It was Lin Da, who had stuffed the cup into her mouth!

At this thought, Tasya looked at Lin Da incredulously, tears of emotion welling in her eyes.

Previously, in the Primitive Adventure Team, Lin Da would dismiss team members he didn't need by kicking them out; why would he go through such trouble to obtain Dragon Blood to save a teammate?

Although still weak, Tasya felt an unprecedented fiery fighting spirit in her heart.

She had to recover quickly, serve Lin Da diligently, and repay Lin Da's kindness with her life.

Even if she could only become a useless maid in the future, helping Lin Da and his Oath-bound by washing their wet, dirty sheets, she would spare no effort.