Starting with the goblin extermination

Chapter 111 The Meaning of the Ring

Logan walked through the Ash Forest, his gaze involuntarily falling on Elsa, who was walking ahead of him. She had a slender waist and a full, pert bottom, which swayed gently with her steps, casting an alluring arc through the woods.

Logan instinctively swatted away the tree branch blocking his view.

Ellis, on the left, strode forward, brandishing her fists, while Sylvie, the ranger, stood between the two, exchanging insults with Ellis.

"...Hey Ellis, you were fucking slutty the whole way here!"

Sylvie, holding his longbow, gave a cold laugh.

"Logan was talking to you, and you just pressed your chest against his face. What, were you trying to suffocate him with those two big breasts? Or are you in heat?"

Elizabeth immediately bristled.

"Bullshit! That was normal interaction between brothers, okay? Unlike you, who sways your hips every few steps, your ass bobbing like a doe in heat! And you have the nerve to criticize me? If your waist were any thinner, it would break in the wind, and which man would dare to press against you?!"

Sylvie squinted.

"Wow, at least I have a slim waist and a perky butt; men want to press me down a bit more. What about you? All muscle, you're like a door panel when you lie on the bed. If Logan were to press down on you, his back would probably be broken the next day." "Wait, a tomboy like you should be the one pressing others, riding on top of them and bombarding them with blows, right?"

Ellis blushed instantly, but still stubbornly retorted, "Fine, I'll ride! At least I'm skilled; I can ride him until he cries 'Mommy' all night! What about you? Always so sarcastic and gossipy, you're probably a dead fish in bed; a man's gone soft in three seconds!"

Sylvie sneered, showing no mercy: "Three seconds? That would require a man to dare to go in. Some people just drool when they see a handsome guy, but they always end up beating him until he's limp and useless."

Ellis's chest heaved with anger, and she was about to unleash a torrent of curses when she suddenly noticed Logan and Elsa listening intently. Her face flushed red, and she coughed twice.

...Ahem, never mind, I won't stoop to your level, you gossip.

Sylvie elegantly tossed her long hair and said nonchalantly, "Tsk, chickened out? Didn't you just say you were going to ride her until she called you 'Mommy'?"

Ellis: "...Shut up!"

Logan couldn't help but chuckle as he listened to the increasingly absurd conversation between the two women.

Logan was truly glad he had these two with him.

After getting to know the two women, Sylvie no longer restrained her sharp tongue. She engaged in a series of verbal battles with Ellis, the rough and tomboyish woman, using vulgar language and treating herself and Elsa as family.

If you really want to put it in perspective, the way the two of them were going back and forth sounded to Logan somewhat like a stand-up comedy routine from his past life. Although Ellis wasn't as eloquent as Sylvie, she always managed to come back in unexpected ways. If this were in his past life, she would have been considered a great comedian.

Logan couldn't imagine what this tall, strong woman would look like in a black coat; it would definitely be quite amusing.

Just then, Elsa suddenly stopped.

She spotted a large, spiky boar rubbing its spiky back against a tree trunk not far ahead.

She nodded slightly to the crowd, and after Sylvie confirmed that there were no other monsters around, the half-elf girl's figure blurred and disappeared in the dappled sunlight.

next moment.

hold head high!

A tremendous roar suddenly came from ahead, and a ghostly black shadow appeared without warning from the wild boar's blind spot.

The blue-glowing dagger had already plunged into the wild boar's eye from the side. With a twist of the wrist, the wild boar's huge body crashed to the ground, and red and white liquid slowly flowed from its eye socket.

Elsa became terrifyingly powerful after taking up her post. Coupled with that formidable leather armor, if Elsa so desired, Logan would have no chance of spotting her in this forest of interwoven light and shadow. Even now, with the sun high overhead, she could still gain the upper hand.

The [Shadow of the Raven] squad is getting stronger, which is a good thing for Logan.

Besides Elsa, Sylvie, who was walking in the middle, also successfully got the job. It can be said that among the four, only Elise is not yet a professional.

However, she has a protective aura, Logan believes, and Iris is stronger than the average professional, after all, Logan himself doesn't want to take a direct hit from her steel-like fists.

The group abandoned the wild boar carcass and continued on their way. They had all brought enough dry rations, so there was no need to cook the foul-smelling wild boar meat. Although the pork chops Logan had eaten at the tavern were indeed delicious, everyone has their own specialty, and he didn't know how to handle this large animal, so he didn't want to drag others down with him.

They are heading at full speed towards the [Twisted Wood Forest]. According to the location on the map, the round trip will take at least two days, or even longer.

As a notorious and special area deep within the Ash Forest, the trees in the Twisted Wood Forest are actually just ordinary oak trees and are not particularly aggressive.

It was a low-lying basin. Due to its low elevation, the trees were densely distributed, and their huge canopies intertwined, making the entire basin very dark and difficult to see sunlight.

The place was called the Strangler's Grove because a gray vine had overgrown there. It was the same strangler vine that Logan had seen on the ceiling of the herbalist's shop.

These strangling vines are thicker than a person's thigh. They coil around and strangle the original trees. Countless giant trees are strangled to death by these vines, their trunks deformed and twisted, their nutrients sucked away, forming a morbid symbiotic relationship.

The strangled tree trunks loomed together in mid-air, hanging down countless thick, gray vines. The entire basin resembled a wooden maze forcibly divided by countless inverted vines.

The severely obstructed view, the ubiquitous vines that could trip someone up at any moment, have turned this place into a graveyard for many adventurers.

Here, even slightly large movements can easily lead to hands and feet getting tangled in the vines, let alone high-speed runs and battles.

The more dangerous part is that it is the habitat of the Stone-skinned Giant Lizard, a monster with a challenge level of one.

Although monitor lizards are not numerous, in the dim strangler forest, you never know whether you'll trip over vines or one of these level-one monsters covered in thick keratin. Countless careless adventurers have perished in their gaping maws.

Their target this time, the giant mantis, roams in such places.

Logan rubbed his eyebrows, a little anxious. He was ready and couldn't wait to see the giant mantis.

But the journey will not be significantly shortened because of his anxious mood.

As darkness fell, they reached the boundary between the inner and outer edges of the Ash Forest. They were still a third of the way from reaching the Twisted Wood Forest. But there was no need to risk traversing the depths of the Ash Forest at night.

They found a small cave to use as their campsite for the night.

Elsa stroked the Blood Crystal Ring on her hand. With a thought, a one-ring Alarm Spell covering thirty feet of the cave entrance was successfully activated.

Elise was munching on dry rations when she suddenly stared excitedly at the ring on Elsa's hand. As if she had discovered something, she turned her head and, under Elsa's evasive gaze, stared at Logan, who was starting a fire, with a meaningful look.

Sylvie, who was standing next to him, also covered her mouth and burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

Logan, an outsider, might not know this. But in the customs of Bailang Province, when a man gives a woman a ring, whether it is worn on the left or right finger, it has the important meaning of pledging their lives to each other. Although it is not a formal engagement, it is not far from it.

Logan was completely bewildered by the two men's snickers, but his intuition told him what was going on.

However, there was nothing to be coy about; whatever promise the ring represented, he could accept it readily.

So, under the watchful eyes of the two, Logan naturally put his arm around Elsa's waist and pulled the half-elf girl into his embrace.

He looked defiantly at the two people in front of him who were covering their mouths and exclaiming in surprise, and then decisively planted a long kiss on Elsa's hot lips.

The night passed quietly as the three women and one man chatted leisurely around the campfire.

The alarm did not sound.

however.

At the very same moment Logan kissed Elsa, the atmosphere in the bloody hyena stronghold in the sewers was far from relaxed and warm.

A bloody storm is brewing there.