From the moment I was chosen by the holy relic

Eric nodded slowly, looking at the girl in front of him with a sense of awe and respect.

"You've gone further than I have, Leah," he said. "You're more of a true knight than I am."

Leah chuckled: "You are the one who walks in the light, I am merely dragging along the shadow of blood."

The night deepened, and the flames grew weaker.

They smiled at each other and said nothing more.

Only the miasma in the forest continued to churn, and finally a distant starlight pierced the night through the thin mist, illuminating their path ahead.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the forest seemed shrouded in a silvery-gray dream.

Eric crouched on the damp ground, tending to the remnants of last night's campfire.

Sunlight slanted down through the treetops, filtering through the dense foliage and casting dappled shadows on the rocks beside them, like scattered gold. However, just as he was about to rise, his nose twitched slightly.

There was a strange smell in the air.

It wasn't the lingering scent of last night's campfire, nor the common mold found in damp, decaying leaves, but rather an extremely light, faint aroma with a hint of charcoal, like the smell of charcoal and feathers burning together.

Eric slowly straightened up, frowning. "Can you smell it?"

Lia, who was tying her horse's tack, looked up at the sound of the voice: "Hmm? Was it yesterday's campfire?"

"No, it's not just this." Eric's gaze sharpened, and he no longer looked at her, but instead turned his attention to the surrounding trees.

He stood still in a patch of wetland grass, listening quietly.

The wind howled high above, but in the forest, apart from the calls of forest birds and the rustling of the morning mist, suddenly—

"Smack."

The sound was extremely faint, like a broken branch falling to the ground, or like a wet bird gently brushing against a branch.

It would be difficult for an ordinary person to notice, but Eric's body tensed up almost instinctively.

He abruptly reached his right hand into his cloak, pulled out his longsword, its blade gleaming like silver in the morning light due to the cold reflection of the blade. His left arm was already in front of Lia, his gaze fixed on a corner of the woods.

"Get behind me," he said in a low voice, without any hesitation.

Leah was taken aback, but seeing his grim expression, she immediately reached for her staff and whispered, "I understand."

"Don't use large-scale light spells," Eric said, his eyes still fixed on the fog. "They might be waiting in the fog to reveal our position."

“‘Them’?” Leah caught his choice of words.

"I don't know how many there are," Eric said in a voice as low as a blade scraping its sheath, "but to be this close at this hour in the early morning... they can't be ordinary wild beasts."

He moved slowly, leading Leah behind the large rock that had served as cover for the camp the night before, now a natural bunker. His gaze swept across the area ahead, every tree, every bush, every broken branch appearing as a potential threat to him.

Everything around him seemed calm, but it was magnified infinitely in his ears: the faint sound of water dripping through leaves, the subtle rustling of tree trunks rubbing against each other, and even the suppressed breathing in his own chest.

Suddenly, a "whoosh" sound came from the woods again, as if something enormous was sliding across the ground.

Then, a tiny, spark-like glimmer flickered behind a very low bush in the distance, before vanishing almost instantly.

"That's not fire, it's eyes," Eric whispered through gritted teeth. "Something is watching us."

He tightened his grip on the sword hilt, moving forward slowly and cautiously, every inch measured. The distant mist seemed to sense the killing intent, retreating slightly and revealing a clearer gap in the forest ahead.

But at this very moment—

"Gurgle!"

A sharp, low cry suddenly rang out, like the cry of a raptor soaring through the air! Immediately afterward, a shadow darted out of the fog, incredibly fast, almost just a black line!

Eric reacted almost instinctively, swinging his longsword fiercely.

"Clang!"

With a sharp crack, sparks flew as steel clashed with bone blades, shattering the mist. The shadow was knocked back, but not far; instead, it circled them slowly like an owl. Eric was finally able to catch a glimpse of its true form:

It was a creature that resembled an ape but had feathered bones on its back, sharp claws on its limbs, eyes like burning embers, and barbed teeth. It exuded a mixture of decay and scorching odors, which was clearly the source of the burnt smell.

The smell was clearly poisonous, but fortunately, Leah's Cleanse spell protected her and Eric from the toxins.

"It's not just one," Eric said, his gaze sweeping over him. "There's another—"

Before he could finish speaking, three similar figures leaped out from behind the mist and slowly approached them.

"We're surrounded," he said, his voice as steady as ice.

Leah slowly drew out a slender staff and whispered an incantation: "I can expand the range of the Purifying Waves spell, but it won't last long."

"Then get ready." Eric stared at the dark figures, his gaze sharp as a sword. "They've come at the right time. I thought last night that today would be a peaceful day."

"It seems this forest doesn't welcome travelers." Leah smiled faintly, but a fighting spirit was already burning in her eyes.

The battle erupted like a sudden wildfire; without orders or preparation, swords and claws clashed.

Eric drew his sword to meet the enemy, his figure flashing like lightning. His sword slashed out with cold light, transforming into flashes that cleaved through the darkness in the morning mist. He severed an arm from a monster, the blood splattering onto the moss like charcoal, burning and emitting smoke with a putrid stench.

On the other side, Leah summoned a pure light, and a rotating holy seal floated in front of her palm. The light fell like a drizzle, halving Eric's stamina consumption.

However, the enemies were no ordinary beasts. They seemed to know nothing of pain. Even with broken limbs and bones, they did not fall to the ground. Instead, they became even more frenzied, attacking from all directions as if the malice in the forest had gathered into a form.

Eric was covered in wounds, with a bloody gash on his shoulder armor, blood dripping down his clothes. He didn't retreat an inch, but gripped his sword tighter and slashed furiously through gritted teeth.

"There are too many of them!" Leah gasped, her voice already weary.

Eric forced back a ferocious beast with a single sword strike, then roared in response, "Hold on! We can hold on!"

But he knew it wasn't so. His arms began to ache, his legs felt heavy, and the surrounding debris, mist, and stench blended together, making it almost suffocating. Leah's magic was also gradually waning; the Pure Light was thinning, and the Illumination spell glowed as faintly as a firefly.

Just as a monster pounced, its giant claws closing in on Eric's throat.

"call out--!"

A string twang like an eagle's cry pierced the heavy fog in the forest.

Immediately afterwards, several cold lights shot out from the depths of the dense forest, swift as rain, one arrow piercing the brain, one severing the wing, and one piercing the throat!

Before the monster could even leap into the air, it was already frozen in death and crashed to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, a rain of arrows was unleashed, precise and deadly, each one slaying the enemy in an instant. The remaining monsters tried to retreat, but they had nowhere to hide and were shot down one by one.

The forest returned to silence, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the treetops.

Eric knelt on one knee, panting heavily, his Returning Wave Sword planted in the ground for support. Leah, meanwhile, sat down against a rock, her forehead beaded with cold sweat and her face pale.

Eric instinctively rose and stared into the woods. He heard footsteps, light and silent, like a deer moving through a secluded path. The next moment, wisps of mist parted, and a figure slowly emerged from behind a tree.

His hair was long and silvery, his ears were long and slender, and he wore a dark green hunting robe embroidered with delicate vine patterns. He held a recurve longbow in his hand, and his eyes were as cold and clear as morning frost.

Five others followed him, all tall and slender with sharp, dagger-like ears, their footsteps silent. They stood around Eric and Leah, their bowstrings taut, arrows pointed straight ahead.

"Put down your weapons." The leader spoke coldly, his voice authoritative without being angry, his tone clear yet carrying a hint of ancient speech.

Eric frowned, trying to speak: "We are not hostile."

The chief elf did not respond immediately, but instead scrutinized him and Lia like a hawk, his gaze not filled with obvious hostility, but rather with caution and a certain suppressed emotion. His eyes swept over Eric's shoulder armor and sword hilt, then landed on the Tear of Tranquility on Lia's chest, which shimmered with a soft light, and his brow twitched slightly.

"Who are you? What brings you here?" he finally asked, his tone cold and stern.

Eric took a deep breath, maintaining the solemn posture of a knight: "I am Eric, a knight of Nosteria. This is my companion, Lia, from Iser. We are en route to Diarant to meet an important friend."

"Dialante?" Upon hearing the name of the place, the leader's expression changed drastically, his pupils contracted, and his face tensed up like a leaf caught in the wind.

Before he could speak, a young elf behind him whispered a reminder: "It's clear that those forest apes attacked them earlier, so it's probably unrelated to these two."

"Forest Ape Beast?" Eric caught the unfamiliar word, turned to look at them, and a cloud of doubt rose in his heart. "What are you talking about?"

The leading elf finally lowered the fully drawn bowstring, and the arrow slowly retracted. His tone softened slightly, but his brows remained furrowed.

"You were indeed unaware," he said, a hint of worry in his voice. "A few days ago, Diarant was attacked by dark forces from the outside world."

"Those dark mages inject some kind of potion into the beasts, causing them to lose their minds and turn into rabid, killing zombies," another elf continued, a fresh scar near his eye suggesting he had recently suffered a battle wound.

"But what's even more terrifying is that," the leader elf's voice trailed off, as if casting a secret message into the night wind, "that the frenzied beast hordes, under their command, launched an orderly attack. The city's defenses were already weak, and almost overnight... Diarant fell."

This time, it was Leah's fingers that gripped Eric's wrist tightly. Unease flickered in her eyes, and Eric's heart sank.

Eileen.

"She..." Leah's voice choked, and she didn't finish her sentence.

Eric raised his head, his gaze as firm as a rock.

"She's Eileen," he said. "She managed to escape when Kadir attacked the town last time. She's not the kind of person who's easily defeated."

The leading elf glanced sideways and continued, "A few days ago, our tribe encountered a codebreaker who had escaped from Diarant. He was severely injured and begged us for help. Initially, we had no intention of interfering in the conflicts outside, after all, we live deep in the Iwforest and have very little contact with the human world."

As he said this, a faint hint of anger appeared on his face.

"But after using the beasts, those dark mages did not quell their frenzy. Instead, they let them scatter into the forest, resulting in injuries to many of our people."

A sharp glint appeared in his eyes.

"We can no longer stand idly by."

Eric gazed at the group of elves standing silently in the misty forest. They were only a few people, but they were like the faint, flickering light of a crescent moon in the mountains and forests—cold, pure, and serene.

"Are you ready to leave?"

"After tonight," the elf replied, "we will circle around to the outskirts of the city from West Forest Pass. The cryptanalyst mentioned several underground passages; we might be able to sneak in through one of them."

Eric nodded and asked in a deep voice, "Are you only sending these few?"

The leader smirked, his voice brimming with confidence: "We are the Arrow of the Mist."

He looked at each of his companions, his eyes as clear as ice reflecting the sun.

"Each of us is capable of taking on a hundred enemies."

Eric exchanged a silent glance with Leah. He didn't need to speak; he knew the meaning in her eyes: no matter how treacherous the path ahead, they would not stop. Eileen was still in Diarant. They could not and would not retreat.

"Leah and I will go together," Eric said firmly, "for my friends, and for your people."

The elf did not answer immediately, but stared at Eric intently for a moment.

He finally nodded slightly: "You have the courage, and you have the reason. We accept."

Before she finished speaking, Lia took out a jet-black feathered bird from inside her cloak.

"Mirrorwing," Leah called softly, "You remember Eileen, don't you?"

The Mirror-feathered Crow let out a low cry, its eyes flashing with a spiritual light.

"Fly," she said, pointing southwest. "Tell her we're on our way to rescue her."

The Mirror-feathered Crow took flight, piercing the boundary between the mist and the dawn, like a ray of light shooting towards the horizon.

Leah stroked her fingers and sighed, "I don't know if she'll see this, but at least we tried."

Eric glanced at her, his eyes still holding that unwavering conviction.

"We will see her," he said.

The forest remained shrouded in mist and shadow, the stream murmured, and the leaves formed a curtain. As they rested briefly by the stream, Eric finally turned and asked, "We've fought side by side all this way, yet we still haven't received your honorable name. How shall we address you, sir?"

The leading elf put down the water pouch, raised his eyes to look at Eric, and seemed to see the reflection of the wind and the moon in his eyes.

"My name is Elotian," he said in a deep, clear voice, "meaning 'the morning light shines on the forest.'"

"Good name," Eric nodded.

"This is the name my mother gave me." Elotian nodded slightly. "She said that on the day I was born, the entire Moonbush Forest was shrouded in mist, and it wasn't until the moment I opened my eyes that the first ray of dawn pierced through the treetops."

Upon hearing this, Eric felt a sense of closeness. He was about to ask another question, but after a long pause, he finally said, "Elotian... I've been thinking about something."

"you say."

"Are you sure the dark forces you speak of are just roaming mages and monsters, and not some more organized force?"

Elotian frowned slightly: "Why do you ask that?"

Eric's gaze was somber: "Because I suspect they might be connected to someone we encountered before, Kadir."

He began his narration slowly, starting with Kadir's ambush in the North, recounting how he used sacrifice to capture magic users, and mentioning the letter from the unknown messenger. A slight breeze stirred in the forest, and the crowd listened in utter silence.

"He is a knight clad in black armor, ruthless and meticulous in his actions," Eric continued. "What he seeks are the objects we brought from the ancient ruins."

"A relic?" Elotian's eyebrows twitched slightly. "What function does that object have?"

Eric shook his head: "We don't know either."

Leah interjected, "But I don't think this has anything to do with the invasion of Diarant. Kadir escaped with serious injuries in the mine and has been missing ever since. He didn't even know we were coming to Diarant next, so it's unlikely he would have acted before us."

"You forgot, Leah." Eric looked at her, his voice low but firm. "We haven't figured out the identity of that messenger. He's with Kadir, and I suspect he's ruthless too."

Leah didn't reply, only frowned slightly. It wasn't that she hadn't considered this, but she was unwilling to believe that the dark forces had already woven such a vast web.

After a moment of contemplation, Elotian said, "It's not time to draw conclusions yet. Let's get to Diarant first, and then everything will become clear."

"Perhaps." Eric nodded, his gaze still fixed on the distant woods.