The Villain Saint is my secondary account

This group then gathered and headed back to the fortress.

Teplo then ordered his knights to attach the message to the eagle and quickly send it to the other student groups still active in the forest.

With one group retreating, the other groups of trainees naturally couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

So, half an hour later, the third group on the other side of the forest, which was Ye Xiao's student group, also received the news.

"...Temporarily suspend the trial?"

Professor Van Derrian stared at the small piece of parchment in his hand, paused for a couple of seconds, and then followed the instructions in the letter to call the students back.

Compared to Group 1, the trainees in Group 3 unanimously agreed with the news.

Most of these aristocratic students didn't want to torture themselves with wilderness survival exercises in the first place, so the thought of going back to slack off was incredibly appealing.

But by this time, it was already getting dark.

The teams were originally scheduled to set off in the afternoon, but by the time they received the news it was almost evening. Even if the scattered groups of students rushed as fast as they could, it would be difficult for them to return to Morningwind Fortress before dark.

As the sun began to set, their group had just crossed a rather large swampy area, and returning in the dark was too risky. With no other choice, Van Derrian had to order everyone to set up camp again.

Night falls quickly in the mountains, swiftly enveloping the forest.

In the pitch-black forest, only three burning campfires remained, like lonely stars.

"Professor Van Derrian, what happened? Why was the trial suddenly canceled?"

One of the students asked.

"The news is that a strange, unknown monster has been discovered. Princess Serendra, considering that the risks of the trial are not under control, has proposed to suspend the trial."

Van Derrian explained.

"Huh? An unknown monster?"

"Ugh, that sounds terrifying."

"They won't come here, will they...?"

A chattering sound arose among the trainees.

"Don't be afraid, dear students. If such a thing really exists, you only need to stand safely behind your teacher. The sword in my hand will protect you all."

Van Delian immediately flashed a charming smile, and his magnetic voice drew screams and excited chatter from the aristocratic female students.

Chapter Forty-Five: The Dark Invasion

Ye Xiao remained the same as always, hiding behind a tree out of everyone's sight, holding the double-headed eagle gold coin and listening to Greta's description.

A black snake parasitizing a monster?

He pondered for a moment; he had never heard of such a monster in his previous life.

However, the appearance of the "black snake" sounds somewhat similar to Ella's tentacles, and there is also a fake "Lydia" among the Dark Shepherds. Therefore, is it possible that the witness mistook the tentacles for a snake?

However, those bear-like monsters did not show any signs of being corrupted by evil gods. If they had, it would have been very obvious, and there would be no reason why they wouldn't have been able to tell.

This was indeed strange, making Ye Xiao consider temporarily leaving the group to search for the demonic snake deep in the jungle, hoping it might be a clue related to the Dark Shepherd.

The firelight flickered, and the burning wood crackled and popped.

The trainees sat around the stone-built camp, continuing to listen to Van Delian's eloquent speech.

This is his story of crossing the scorching desert alone, outwitting and outfighting the wild dog-men who ride sandworms in the vast wilderness.

After hearing it so many times, Ye Xiao couldn't help but admire this guy a little. Ordinary people would at least prepare a draft before bragging, but this guy had been talking for so many days and hadn't repeated a single thing.

This time, even Fimishir sat with his legs together by the campfire, listening with great interest.

As night deepened, the forest was enveloped in darkness and tranquility.

After everyone finished their casual conversation after dinner, it was time for them to rest.

Professor Rhodes used magic to summon soft vines to seal the stone camp windows into lattice-like skylights, allowing air to flow in and preventing monsters from entering.

The trainees spread out their sleeping bags on the ground, while the accompanying members of the Marine Legion took turns on duty.

Compared to actually sleeping in the wilderness, this spacious campsite gave people a great sense of security. The trainees slept soundly after a long day of hiking, and soon their soft snores echoed through the air.

Ye Xiao, who had already drifted off to sleep with his eyes half-closed, suddenly heard a fierce roar from some unknown creature.

"Roar!!!"

The sound was so loud and powerful that it shook the entire earth, as if it came from some ancient ferocious beast.

The noise caused the makeshift camp to shake, and pebbles fell like raindrops, naturally waking up all the trainees in the camp.

"By the goddess above, what was that sound just now!?"

"My God, that's terrifying!"

This immediately dispelled everyone's sleepiness.

Judging from that monster's roar just now, if it were wandering around nearby, no one would be able to sleep soundly.

Ye Xiao was also surprised, and without making a sound, he commanded the crow familiars stationed outside the camp to rise into the sky to investigate.

Several gazes swept outwards, but failed to pinpoint the source of the loud sound. However, they did see groups of dark figures hunched over as they crawled out of the mud in the swamp not far away, seemingly slowly approaching the camp.

The crow's night vision was not very good, and it was difficult to see the appearance of those things clearly, but Ye Xiao still immediately reminded Vanderlian: "Something is coming from the direction of the swamp, everyone be careful."

"Ok?"

Through the rattan-covered window, Van Deyan could only see a silent, dark jungle; nothing else.

Could it be that his perception, as a master swordsman, is not as high as that of the elemental mage next to him?

However, since they were all teachers at the academy, Van Delian did not think Ye Xiao was the kind of person who liked to show off. He still informed Sevierif, who was accompanying him, and the latter immediately led more than a dozen soldiers to set up defensive measures.

Everyone tensed up, anxiously staring out the window for two or three minutes, but nothing happened.

“…Professor Brandon, are you sure…”

Van Delian finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked with some dissatisfaction.

But the next second, Ye Xiao immediately interrupted him, "Here it comes."

Before the words were finished, a dark figure suddenly rushed out from the dense bushes, like a reckless wild boar, and crashed into the outer wall of the camp without saying a word.

"Boom"

The camp was not a real fortress; it was just a temporary structure built by Professor Rhodes using earth magic to summon stones from the ground. The seemingly sturdy outer walls immediately developed several cracks after this impact.

Professor Rhodes hurriedly chanted a spell and waved his staff to reinforce the outer wall, while several soldiers behind the window immediately drew their bows and arrows and fired at the sudden black shadow.

The Aslans are of elven blood and are quite skilled archers; even ordinary soldiers usually carry a bow with them.

Several arrows were fired simultaneously, instantly turning the dark figure into a hedgehog.

Ye Xiao immediately waved his wand, sending a ball of azure light out of the window. The bright light finally revealed the appearance of the approaching creature.

It was a humanoid creature covered in mud, with parts of its skin exposed from beneath the mud gleaming with an oily sheen, resembling some kind of tiny scales.

Its mouth was slightly open, revealing its interlocking fangs. Even though its body was riddled with arrows, it could still stare with bloodshot eyes and raise its front paws to slap the outer wall once more.

"How disgusting! What kind of monster is this?!"

Some students hiding behind saw the monster through the window and screamed.

The ball of light drifted forward, and soon, everyone discovered that in addition to the mud monster at the head, one after another of the same monsters emerged from behind the forest like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Their mud-covered bodies are faintly visible in the forest; there could be dozens or even hundreds in sight.

Upon seeing this scene, Van Delian immediately gasped, and the deputy commander, Sivirif, immediately ordered another round of firing.

This time, all the soldiers imbued their arrows with magical power. The arrowheads, trailing green arcs of light, pierced through the bodies of several monsters. Vines then grew from where the arrows had pierced, churning and destroying the monsters' interiors while binding them tightly, turning them into dumplings.

But there were just too many monsters. They moved with all their might like a pack of mad wolves, rushing through the forest one after another.

Even if one arrow manages to bind one, countless monsters still trample over the bodies of their own kind, rushing to the front of the outer wall and slamming it against the wall.

"This is bad, I can't hold on much longer!"

Professor Rhodes gripped his staff, his face beginning to turn pale.

He was trying his best to mobilize the nearby earth elements to support the walls and prevent the monsters from rushing up, but the forest soil and rocks near this swamp were not very hard, so the effect of constantly absorbing them to fill the cracks was so-so.

Summoning earth elementals out of thin air would consume an even greater amount of energy, and with the combined attack of these monsters outside, the collapse would only happen faster.

"Professor Brandon, could you please look after the students for now?"

Van Delian immediately slung his sword over his shoulder and gave Severif a wink.

“A volley of arrows won’t stop these strange things; we have to go out and stop them.”

Chapter Forty-Six: The Uninvited Guest

When faced with an attack by hordes of monsters, the wisest choice for an ordinary adventure team is to retreat tactically.

But now it's pitch black outside and the terrain is complex, making it obviously too difficult to forcibly evacuate more than fifty trainees.

Therefore, Ye Xiao understood Van Derrian's decision. He originally wanted to say that he could also lend a hand and secretly capture a few people to take back for research.

Unfortunately, Vandrian, sword in hand, and Teplo led their squad of soldiers straight out, giving him no chance to discuss the matter. He had no choice but to stay behind and take on the responsibility of being a caretaker for this group of students.

As far as Ye Xiao knew, Van Derrian and Teplo, one a master swordsman and the other a grandmaster swordsman, were not so strange as to cause them to lose their lives.

After a moment's thought, he leaned his staff against the wall and sat down with the students who had gathered together.

"By the Goddess... what exactly are these monsters? I've lived in Blue Mane Bay for years and have never seen monsters like these before."

"Could that be the unknown monster mentioned in the news...? It looks really unsettling..."

The students, still shaken, were whispering among themselves. Most of them were first-year students, and in this era, they had not yet participated in any truly fierce battles.

Ye Xiao glanced out the window and saw sword energy, shimmering with a dark green light, crisscrossing through the forest, slicing through the mud-covered human figures.

Those monsters looked quite frightening, possessing ridiculous strength and incredible resilience, surviving multiple arrows as if they had never died. However, when faced with the combined might of two high-ranking swordsmen, Vandrian and Teplo, they were routed and quickly reduced to a pile of mangled limbs.

The green sword light gradually moved deeper into the jungle, suggesting that the two intended to take this opportunity to eliminate all the strange monsters and prevent future troubles.

"As expected of Lord Vanderrian, even monsters like these were dealt with in a single move!"

Seeing this, the trainees finally relaxed a little.

But at that moment, Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow, and the wall he was leaning against suddenly shattered.

A large hand covered in black hair burst out from the wall and immediately grabbed him like a little chick.

The sudden turn of events caused the students nearby to scream in terror.

The sturdy wall was easily torn apart like paper, and Professor Brandon, who had been perfectly fine just moments before, was dragged into the deep black crevice by the abyssal giant hand without any resistance.

Beside the crevice, three slender figures draped in black cloaks appeared conspicuously in the night.

The man in the lead had a fierce glint in his eyes beneath his hood, a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, and a prominent, hooked nose.

“I told you, as long as we distract that knight from the Ocean Legion, the rest will be lambs to the slaughter.”

His voice was hoarse and low, as if he were sizing up prey, admiring the terrified faces of the group of students inside the stone house.

"Damn it! Who are you people?!"

Professor Rhodes noticed the commotion from behind, quickly drew his staff, and turned to shield the students. "What have you done to Professor Brandon?!"

"Heh, if you're referring to that mage who looked like he was about to die, he's already my master's prey."

The black-robed sorcerer smiled.

As soon as he finished speaking, the black-robed figure beside him immediately waved his arm, and several black tentacles shot out from his sleeves, rushing towards Professor Rhodes from all directions like a tidal wave.

The latter summoned a barrier made of earth elements, but the magic circle opened, and the orange-yellow magic barrier that had been formed melted away like ice and snow the moment it touched those tentacles.

The dark tentacles easily pierced through the barrier. If Professor Rhodes hadn't immediately dodged to the side, his chest would probably have been pierced through by these tentacles.

However, the wide mage's robe was still torn open, and bright red blood seeped out from the waist.

Professor Rhodes' eyes were filled with disbelief. Even if he had cast the spell on the spot, it was still a third-ring earth element barrier. Why couldn't it stop the strange tentacles for even half a second?

"Tsk tsk, it seems I still need to get used to this new ability; my aim is terrible."

The hook-nosed, black-robed sorcerer glanced at his silent subordinate, then extended a strange hand from his sleeve, covered in various stitches, the dense stitches resembling a centipede crawling.

Several green flames appeared in his palm. At the same time, Femishiel in the crowd immediately recognized the method this person was using and exclaimed, "A sorcerer!?"