When the plot-skips players into the game world

The plan of Aiwass and the three others was certainly not something they could share with the locals of this village.

Because the "swamp" here is considered the forbidden territory of Eagle Cape Village. Not to mention outsiders, even the locals couldn't always approach it whenever they wished.

Fortunately, they had a "traitor" among them.

Using the excuse of searching for Aiwass's grandfather Jacob's past—a task they were indeed about to undertake—they left early in the morning after having something to eat to fill their stomachs.

They even brought along Hayna's Gryphon this time.

Though Hayna was completely unaware of the problem, she trusted Aiwass and Sherlock's brains implicitly.

Now that both of them were speaking of great secrets and unknown risks in the village, Hayna did not hesitate to choose trust. If that was the case, then her dear little Gryphon, Liz, couldn't leave her sight.

Led by Hayna, they didn't get lost at all and went directly to the swamp.

Listening to Hayna describe the layout of the village along the way, Aiwass gradually understood its orientation and map.

On the left and right sides of Eagle Cape Village, there were large lakes. The lake on the northeast side is the well-known Sapphire Lake of Flute Town. Passing through a dense forest from the easternmost point of Eagle Cape Village, one could arrive at that lake.

The southwestern lake was also beautiful and closer to Eagle Cape Village. The path to this lake didn't require passing through a dense forest but followed a wide, grass-covered downhill road.

William and the others usually went fishing here. And William's lakeside cabin is beside this lake.

As for the swamp—strictly speaking, it was already out of the village. It was right by the lake where William was, which is to the south of Eagle Cape Village.

If one could look down from above at the entire Eagle Cape Village, they would see a very complete circle.

And both the lakes and the swamp were actually outside of this circular area.

"I was a very mischievous child... running around the village all over the place."

Hayna and the Gryphon Liz walked in the forefront, skillfully navigating through the pathless dense forest, and, without looking back, replied, "I've heard since I was young that this place is very dangerous, but to a kid who doesn't understand, 'danger' is more like a kind of encouragement."

"Indeed," Aiwass nodded slightly, saying softly, "It represents a sense of novelty and also symbolizes a desire to conquer—a potential that children have over adults."

The fact that children know they are children makes them all the more want to shed that identity. They don't truly want to grow up, but rather to rid themselves of the restraints imposed upon them; or to swap status with the adults who tame them.

"—Even though their actions are childish and unreasonable. But that's only because they know so little and lack experience."

Aiwass looked at Hayna's back and said softly, "No doubt, that is the desire for transcendence within their subconscious."

Hayna's steps paused for a moment, and she sighed and admitted, "That's true indeed."

Perhaps, it was since that time that awakening began...

I really haven't changed much since I was a child...

A faint yellow color tinged the depths of Hayna's eyes.

Just then, a faint white fog suddenly rose around them.

Sherlock slightly furrowed his brow.

He immediately caught a distinct pungent odor—a rotten smell quite different from the usual swamp scent. It was more like the odor emitted from a corpse that had been decaying for several days, already fermenting, mixed with the moist and fishy smell of the soil.

Without knowing when, the soil beneath their feet had turned into mucky mud.

Stepping into it would seep out clear yet slightly sticky yellow water.

Somehow, it evoked the thought of the clear fluid that seeps from a bleeding body.

Just then, Lily suddenly stepped forward, extended her left hand to protect Aiwass behind her, and said coldly, "Something is coming."

Aiwass tilted his head slightly and noticed Lily's focused and indifferent expression.

This was a rarely seen aggression that she seldom showed before him. The usual Lily was always smiling gently, standing quietly behind with her hands clasped, like a shadow.

But the Lily of now was like a dagger fiercely drawn from its sheath, sparkling with a chilling light under the moonlight—

"I have never hated anyone."

Lily whispered this deceiving "lie" to herself in a low voice.

Suddenly, many grey threads appeared in the air.

Like spider webs, the threads of grey spanned all around, woven between the trees of the dense forest.

The next moment, several headless undead slowly approached from all directions.

"Energy Level Two, Headless Corpses."

Aiwass's voice sounded, "Do you need me to take action?"

Hayna's expression instantly became focused.

She subconsciously reached for her blade at her waist, but her hand grasped at nothing. It was only then that she realized she had given her weapon to her brother for maintenance.

But it didn't matter.

The gryphon Liz at her side had already charged into the fray.

With a couple of steps on the ground, she flapped her wings and took to the air.

Rather than calling it flying, it was more like gliding—Liz pounced on one of the headless undead, and upon contact, her front claws unleashed a tornado, brutally tearing the foe to shreds.
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It was a style of combat completely different from the calm and graceful manner of a fully-grown White-Feathered Griffon.

This was also Liz's first real battle, and she had exerted too much strength. She injected too much mana at once, turning what should have been claw-enhanced slashes into something like embedded bombs.

The corpse, shattered by excessive force, exploded like a land mine in an instant, ejecting fragments within approximately a 140-degree angle behind it. Those chunks of broken bone deeply embedded into the tree bark.

Meanwhile, Lily simply pressed down slightly with her right hand entwined with several loops of thread, then suddenly raised it.

The grey threads, like pulleys, quietly descended from the branches and hoisted the struggling undead into the air, hanging them from the trees.

They writhed, but could not escape their bindings for the moment.

Sherlock sighed and stretched out his hand towards the marsh.

The marsh trembled as if coming to life, restlessly shaking.

Soon, several clumps of mud emerged from it. They cracked open like eggshells, turning into a few small creatures.

They were about half a meter tall, resembling a mix of some kind of bee and a kind of bat.

They had no eyes but possessed sharp and dirty yellow teeth. Their forelimbs were like bee stingers, long spears, while behind them were thick wings.

After being summoned, they flew behind Sherlock.

These were elemental creatures temporarily summoned by Sherlock, the Mud Hawks.

Knowing this place was unsafe, Sherlock, as a mage, must prepare some protective measures.