Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

Chapter 103 Onward, a Surprise Attack! Steel-Toothed Wild Hyena! (Seeking first subscriptions and continued reading!)

Cecilia was helping to cook the beans when she looked up and saw Lyndon rushing back from the woods.

Then he grabbed me and pulled me to a secluded spot.

This was the first time Cecilia had ever seen Lyndon in such a hurry.

She realized that something that could make Lyndon so uneasy must be something serious.

Before Lyndon could speak, Cecilia asked first, "What happened? I just saw someone with an injured leg. How did they get hurt?"

As Cecilia spoke, she increased the pressure on her hands.

Ignoring the pain in his arm, Lyndon pressed Cecilia's shoulder and said in a very serious tone, "Cecilia, for the rest of the journey, we will only walk in the middle of the group. Otherwise, no matter what happens, don't rush to be the first or fall to the last."

"Why?" Cecilia asked, puzzled by Lyndon's seemingly random question.

Lyndon's face drew closer to Cecilia's. He pulled off the veil covering her face; the swelling had mostly subsided, but it still looked strange.

The strange light flickering in his brown pupils, combined with his bizarre face, only added to Lyndon's sinister aura.

He took a deep breath and looked toward the campfire that was rising not far away.

"I suspect they lied to us."

"Them? Who are they?" Cecilia was getting more and more confused. She told Lyndon to calm down and explain things slowly.

Lyndon paused, organizing his thoughts.

"They are the Viscount, Barkley, and that guy named Ryder!"

Lyndon growled.

He noticed Ryder looking in his direction, so he didn't dare raise his voice, afraid that Ryder would hear him.

"What did they lie to us about?"

Cecilia had her back to the camp, so she was unaware that Ryder was watching them from behind.

"The forest isn't that simple. Our danger doesn't just come from the Dream Moths on the eastern mountain. There are even more dangerous things in the forest, and the danger may even be right next to us—"

His speech slowed as he saw Ryder stand up from the stake and slowly walk toward them with his gun on his back.

Lyndon's pupils trembled. Almost instinctively, he hugged Cecilia in front of him and buried his face in her shoulder.

Faced with Lyndon's "sudden attack," Cecilia had no time to react. She froze on the spot, her hands trembling uncontrollably.

At night, the temperature in the mountains drops rapidly.

Cecilia, who was already feeling a chill from being away from the campfire, could clearly feel his body heat being transmitted to her through her clothes when she was in Lyndon's arms.

Lyndon's body was like a small furnace.

"Blood—so much blood—I'm so scared—"

Lyndon hugged Cecilia, making low whimpering sounds that grew louder and louder, eventually attracting the attention of others.

They saw a grown man leaning against a woman's chest seeking comfort and couldn't help but chuckle.

As more and more people gathered, Ryder felt the gazes from behind. He glanced at Lyndon, who was in the woman's arms, snorted, and then sat back down on the wooden stake, no longer looking at him.

Just then, Lyndon shifted his head, revealing one eye, and watched Ryder return to his position. His eyes were as calm as a bottomless abyss.

"It's alright, it's alright, don't be afraid, I'm here—"

Cecilia stroked Lyndon's hair, gently comforting him.

Lyndon was surprised by Cecilia's action; he thought he was going to get slapped.

Seeing that Ryder had already shifted his attention, Lyndon saw no need to continue clinging to Cecilia.

He loosened his grip on Cecilia; although he had cried loudly, there wasn't a single tear in his eyes.

Cecilia saw that Lyndon had let go of her, but her hand was still touching Lyndon's hair.

"Are you feeling any better? If you're still uncomfortable, you can lean on my shoulder."

"No need," Lyndon waved his hand. "I feel fine now."

Fearing Cecilia might not have taken his words to heart, he reminded her again, telling her to be careful on the journey ahead.

In the dark oak forest at night, apart from the still-burning campfire, not even a sliver of moonlight could penetrate.

The roars of wild beasts or strange creatures could be heard from time to time in the darkness.

Therefore, people would keep watch by the fire all night long, firstly to prevent the fire from going out, and secondly to guard against wild animals or other species attacking the camp.

When it was Lyndon's turn to keep watch, he sat alone by the fire, a branch in his hand, stirring the embers.

The rifle was placed horizontally on his lap.

Hearing the distant roars, Linden suddenly felt a sense of peace.

He took out another bottle of mental potion from his pocket; this was the last one he had.

"After finishing this bottle, I can use [Dream Weaving] at least once more."

Lyndon looked at the potion bottle and said in a low voice.

Regardless, this was his last trump card, and what he intended to save for Jingmeng'e.

Lyndon drank the potion in the bottle in one gulp.

He felt the surging power of the potion emanating from his body, constantly impacting his internal organs.

Fortunately, he already had a gestational tract inside him.

The earthen body vibrated continuously, each vibration representing a release of spiritual energy.

This power easily neutralized the pain caused by the potion.

Lyndon let out a long sigh of relief. He stared at the burning flames and sat quietly all night.

Because the trees in the Dark Oak Forest are tall and have exceptionally lush canopies, even at daybreak, it is not much different from dusk inside.

Ryder woke everyone up and urged them to quickly collect the tents and other equipment.

As for the person who was injured last night, they gave him a simple bandage, then cut two thin branches, wrapped them with cloth, and made a makeshift stretcher.

They descended along the valley and soon came to an abandoned building.

The structure is crooked, the windows are broken, and the roof has collapsed.

The building, covered in moss and weeds, silently tells the story of its years of neglect.

"This is the watermill I told you about."

Cecilia whispered in Lyndon's ear.

Lyndon nodded.

Strangely enough, after what happened last night, Cecilia kept grabbing Lyndon's forearm.

Ryder stopped in his tracks, pointed to the towering mountain ahead, and shouted to the group, "See that mountain? Get over it! It's not a long walk, and we'll reach our destination and get out of this damn place!"

The crowd cheered in unison, as if victory was just around the corner.

But there was no smile on Lyndon's face.

"No!" he whispered to Cecilia as he leaned down.

"What's wrong?"

"The route is wrong," Lyndon said seriously. "We do need to cross the ridge in front of us, but there's a large depression behind us, and then we have to climb another mountain to reach the platform where the Dream Moth lives. But he said it's only a short distance."

"Perhaps he was just trying to motivate them," Cecilia guessed.

"But perhaps he wasn't lying," Lyndon said casually.

The two followed the group, walking along the riverbank of the stream.

Along both banks, monkeys cry and birds sing, and lush trees abound.

Halfway there, Lyndon glanced down at the riverbank beneath his feet.

The smooth pebbles on the riverbank were now moving strangely.

Lyndon's eyes widened as a terrifying thought suddenly popped into his head.

"No! Scatter!"

Lyndon practically yelled it out.

His words were like a pebble thrown into a calm river, instantly creating ripples.

Ryder, who was at the front of the line, turned around in shock.

However, it was too late.

Rumble!

A series of thunderous sounds echoed from the high mountain in front of them.

The birds in the forest scattered and fled.

Ryder steadied himself and took out his telescopic binoculars to look up at the mountain.

The mountain was covered with a dense mass of gray figures.

The gray figure with curved fangs was charging towards the riverbank below the mountain.

"It's Steel-Toothed Hyena! Get cover!"

Ryder recognized the plague demons, his expression changed drastically, and he directed the team to disperse to higher ground on both sides of the riverbank.

But at that moment, the first wave of Steel-Toothed Hyenas was already almost upon them.

"Fire! Free fire!"

Ryder nimbly dodged the Steel Fang Hyena's charge, took the rifle from his shoulder, and pulled the trigger at the Steel Fang Hyena.

Several steel-toothed hyenas howled as they were shot and fell to the ground, but many more steel-toothed hyenas fearlessly trampled over the corpses of their companions and pounced on them.

They were like locusts in a disaster, leaving nothing but barren land in their wake.

"what!"

The guard with the injured leg was knocked to the ground by the fangs of the Steel Fang Wild Hyena and then trampled into a bloody pulp.

Even some of the faster guards couldn't escape their fate; just when they were about to climb to a high place, their legs were bitten and they were pulled down by the steel-toothed hyenas.

The once tranquil riverbank is now filled with wailing cries.

The blood flowed down the river to a lower point.