Frilian: The Adventure of the Hero

After a day and two nights of hard work, the three of them completely wiped out any trace of the [Demonized Rabbit] from the mountains and forests surrounding Krel Village.

Philon breathed a sigh of relief.

She no longer had to endure those disgusting tentacles.

Frillie also breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, I can find a place to get a good night's sleep.

Xia En gasped.

What's going on?! I've only been enjoying this parkour game for two days, and they've already implemented "anti-addiction measures"?

Gan.

This [Demonized Rabbit] is practically a gift from Lady Luck. It has absolutely no offensive capabilities and, apart from being a bit disgusting, has no flaws whatsoever. It's practically a walking encyclopedia of [terms/entries].

He wouldn't mind having more.

Ok?

and many more.

Thinking of this, Xia En suddenly snapped back to reality, a question he had overlooked instantly surfacing in his mind. He slowly surveyed the silent forest around him, vaguely sensing that something was amiss…

【Demonicization (Grayish Inferior)】: A cursed mutation that occurs with a small probability to some animals with low magical power after they come into contact with high-level monsters.

High-level monster!

Yes, the existence of [Demonized Rabbits] necessitates the presence of high-level monsters.

But after catching rabbits in the mountains for so long and turning the forest upside down, they still haven't encountered a single decent monster.

They didn't even detect a trace of a high-level demon.

"Frilian, are you sure there aren't any [Demonized Rabbits] or other monsters left in this forest?"

Xia En frowned, his tone revealing his doubt and even a hint of wariness.

Having enemies is not scary; what's scary is not being able to find them.

Upon hearing Shane's question, Frillian activated her Tracking Magic to carefully check once again to see if any rabbits had slipped through the net.

Philon also consciously activated [Magic Detection], trying his best to sense whether there was any demonic aura in the mountains and forests.

A moment later, the two mages said in unison, "No."

That's strange!

Xia En's brows furrowed deeply: "If there aren't any high-level monsters here, where did this [Demonized Rabbit]'s curse come from? It couldn't have just appeared out of thin air, could it?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of heavy footsteps suddenly sounded from behind the rocks not far from the three people.

Snap—Crack—

Their steps were slow and clumsy, each step accompanied by a heavy thud, mixed with the sound of steel armor rubbing together, which sounded particularly eerie in the dim night.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xia En's body reacted faster than her brain, and the [Goddess's Barrier] instantly unfolded, firmly protecting the three of them.

Neither Frilian nor Philon could sense each other's presence. In this situation, without thinking too much, they should hide first.

The footsteps continued to approach.

pat- pat-

Every step felt like stepping on the nerves of three people, and the air seemed to grow heavy.

The weapons in the hands of all three men were pointed in the direction of the sound.

Just as they were on high alert, the owner of the voice stopped in the shadow of a tree not far from them. The footsteps stopped abruptly, leaving only the faint sound of armor rubbing against each other.

A moment later, footsteps sounded again, but this time, the sound did not continue to approach; instead, it gradually became weaker, clearly moving away.

"?"

Xia En looked puzzled. What exactly was that?

They came and went, feigning mystery?

Beside him, Frilian stroked her chin, lost in thought: "There's no demonic aura, and I didn't sense any killing intent. Could it be some villager who was out for a night stroll?"

What villager would wear heavy armor and go out at night in the middle of the night?

Why did they even come all the way to the mountains?

Xia En deactivated the barrier, preparing to quietly follow and see what was going on.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he withdrew his barrier, the departing footsteps stopped abruptly, and then the heavy footsteps actually turned back.

pat- pat-

The sound approached them again, carrying an inexplicable sense of oppression.

?

This time, even Frilian was confused.

Xia En and she exchanged a glance. Since that was the case, the three of them simply stayed where they were and waited for the footsteps to approach.

wow——

A moment later, the other person stepped through the bushes and came into full view of everyone.

It was a person fully armed in armor.

The armor was covered in scratches and had rust spots at the edges, indicating it had been worn for many years. His tall figure stood there silently, exuding a cold and deathly aura.

The moment she saw the other person clearly, Frilian sighed and casually pressed down on Philon's staff.

"It's alright, he was just a wandering [undead]."

Wandering undead?

Shane and Philon both frowned.

Seeing that the two didn't understand, Frilian continued, "You should know that demons really like to make puppets, right?"

"Those corpses they manipulated with magic are called the 'Undead.' The one in front of us should be one of them."

Corpse?

Upon hearing this word, Philon frowned.

Shaen then grasped another key point: "You mean, some demon is controlling it?"

As he spoke, he glanced around warily.

"It should be said that it did exist."

With that, Frilian stepped forward and stood in front of the tall suit of armor.

She was less than a step away from the armor, a distance that would be dangerous for a mage, but the armor in front of her simply stood there and did not make any attack on Frilian.

"Many warriors with strong wills, after being controlled by the demons, break free of control with their remaining powerful will. This is how the wandering 'Undead' came to be."

Frillian's words instantly reminded Shane of Aura the Guillotine.

Her favorite thing to do was make puppets. To prevent the puppets from breaking free of her control, she would cut off their heads, hence the name "Guillotine".

Xia En gazed at the puppet armor in front of him, a sense of melancholy washing over him.

The armor's owner must have been a very powerful warrior in life to have been able to break free from the demons' control.

dong dong dong.

Just then, Frilian circled the puppet armor, tapped it a few times, and put her ear to listen.

When Xia En saw her eyes suddenly light up, alarm bells went off in his mind.

"Come on, Shane, help me take it apart."

"!!"

Xia En was shocked.

"Don't worry, although they're called the 'Undead,' they're already dead. At most, there's just a skeleton inside their armor."

"..."

Xia En silently took a step back.

If you hadn't explained, I might have hesitated a bit, but now that you've explained, I won't hesitate at all.

Seeing that Shane was not cooperating, Frillie turned her gaze to Philon.

As a result, Philon retreated even faster than Shane, instantly getting more than a hundred meters away from Frilian.

(≡ᆺ≡)

Ok.

Seeing that both Xia En and Fei Lun were very resistant.

Frillie had no choice but to roll up her sleeves and, with great effort, begin disassembling the armor.