Milo was standing not far away, clutching his 【Witness】 wooden token.
At that moment, he happened to look up and catch the fleeting glimmer on Rena's finger.
Milo's breath caught.
A ring?
Since when did she have a ring on her hand?
He had never seen Rena wear a ring back in Grey Oak Village.
Let alone one that glowed.
He wanted to speak up and ask, but Ryan's voice suddenly cut through the mist ahead, interrupting him.
“Strange...”
Ryan stood beside a broken stone pillar, squinting toward the central ancient tree.
“Why is there light inside the tree?”
Severn immediately raised his staff, casting the firelight an inch further.
“What do you see?”
Ryan narrowed his eyes slightly and activated his 【Eagle Eye】 skill. His gaze pierced through the mist, locking onto the distant ancient tree.
Thick roots coiled across the ground like sleeping giant pythons.
Tiny, fragmented specks of golden light occasionally leaked from the cracks in the black bark.
Ryan frowned. “Hard to say. We'll have to get closer to find out.”
Xu Zhiheng saw the ancient tree too.
Although he couldn't make out the light in the cracks, he could see that the ancient tree was just ahead.
As long as they passed a few more road markers, they would be able to leave this damn dungeon.
He looked down at the fifteen chests trailing behind Su Xiaoman.
Though they had lost a few people, as long as they made it out, these items would be pure profit.
Suppressing the anticipation in his heart, Xu Zhiheng said in a low voice,
“Keep moving once you've caught your breath.”
“The ancient tree is right ahead. The longer we linger, the more dangerous it gets.”
Reece's face darkened. “Traveling with fifteen cargo chests will only make it more dangerous.”
Xu Zhiheng ignored him, turning his gaze to Su Xiaoman instead.
“Xiaoman, stay close to the team.”
Hearing her name called, Su Xiaoman nodded instinctively.
The fifteen cargo chests trailed behind her like a long, heavy tail.
Damon stared at the chests, the anger in his chest flaring up once more.
Yet despite his complaints, his eyes uncontrollably drifted toward a few of them.
Red crystal ore, cold iron ore...
...and even a chest of peacock-blue stones sealed in wax.
To Xu Zhiheng, those things were merely loot to be divvied up after they escaped.
But to Damon, who possessed a craftsman class, these were rare, high-grade forging materials that money couldn't buy.
He knew better than anyone how much a single piece of good ore could elevate a shield.
Besides, the iron shield in his hands had been used for far too long; its edges were chipped, and the load-bearing runes on the inner side had already loosened.
If he hadn't kept patching it up along the way, it would have shattered on the road long ago.
If he could get his hands on that chest of red crystal ore and mix in a bit of cold iron, he could reforge this shield.
He could create a perfect piece of equipment comparable to dwarven craftsmanship.
At that thought, Damon ignored the various wounds covering his body, puffing out his chest.
“Everyone stay sharp when we get attacked. I'm only protecting the chests; I might not be able to bail the rest of you out.”
The team stepped onto the sixth segment of the trade route.
This stretch of stone road was even narrower than the last, with thick piles of decaying leaves on both sides and fine black roots crawling through the gaps in the stone slabs.
Severn's firelight was stifled by the mist, only illuminating the road a few paces ahead.
The scraping sound of the sliding cargo chests dragged behind them like a pack of annoying rats.
Rena walked half a step ahead, her hand gripping her short dagger vigilantly.
Thanks to his class, Ryan's dynamic vision was superior to everyone else's. His bowstring remained taut as his gaze swept through the mist and decaying leaves.
“Danger on the right.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the decaying leaves on the right erupted.
Three roots whipped out simultaneously, striking straight toward the cargo chests at the very back of the line.
Su Xiaoman instinctively dodged to the left.
With her sudden movement, the fifteen cargo chests shifted as well.
The last two chests practically scraped the edge of the stone road, the corner of one already brushing against the decaying leaves outside.
Xu Zhiheng's expression changed dramatically. “Don't let the chests fall off!”
Damon cursed and threw himself forward.
His iron shield slammed heavily onto the stone slabs, forcefully planting itself in front of the cargo.
Bang!
The first root slammed into the shield. A burst of blue light erupted, shattering the root to pieces.
The second root whipped out immediately after, wrapping around the edge of the shield in an attempt to drag him and his shield off the stone road.
Damon gritted his teeth, the veins on his arms bulging as he forced the shield back an inch.
“Get the hell back!”
He let out a low roar, and the blue light on his shield flared again, shattering the roots binding the edge.
Yet those roots seemed to recognize that this guardian was the biggest obstacle.
Their slender tips suddenly bent sharply, drilling toward Damon's previously injured arm.
The wound that had been barely closed by the low-grade potion had already split open from the repeated impacts along the way.
The potion had only sealed the surface; the pain and corruption deep inside had not dissipated at all.
The moment the fine root pierced through, Damon's entire arm was impaled.
Su Xiaoman hurriedly dragged the chests away from the edge, waving her staff to desperately fend off the attacks.
Damon was pinned down.
He gritted his teeth, his other hand locking onto the shield handle, refusing to let go.
The fine roots coiled up his arm, creating bulging, squirming tracks beneath his skin.
The pain made the veins on Damon's forehead throb violently, and a hoarse gasp escaped his throat.
Kolo rushed forward, her double-bladed heavy axe slamming down on the roots binding him.
The blade bit deep, spraying black sap in all directions.
But this left a sudden opening on the other flank.
More roots, like snakes catching the scent of blood, slithered wildly along the edge of the stone road toward the chests at the back.
Xu Zhiheng bellowed, “Pathfinder! Protect the chests! Everyone protect the chests!”
Kolo paused, a flash of fury crossing her eyes.
But she had no choice but to turn around, swinging her axe to intercept the invading roots.
Severn's firelight flickered violently. “There are more behind us!”
Squeezed into the middle of the formation, the fifteen cargo chests threatened to collapse everyone's positioning with the slightest disruption.
Damon glanced at the chests behind him, then at Su Xiaoman, who was nearly pushed off the stone road by the roots. He suddenly let out a dry laugh.
“I'm really fucking unlucky.”
He raised his shield and took a massive step forward, almost stepping off the edge of the stone road entirely.
Reece's face paled. “Damon!”
Damon used his body and shield to block the cargo chests on the edge, forcing them back onto the path.
Seizing the opportunity, the roots wrapped around his waist and right arm, digging into his leather armor like nooses.
Though his shield remained upright, his entire body was being dragged off the road bit by bit.
Standing in the middle of the team, Xu Zhiheng's gaze swept over Damon before quickly locking onto the cargo chests.
The chests hadn't fallen off. All fifteen were still there.
When this thought crossed his mind, he actually let out a sigh of relief.
Isolde saw everything.
She wasn't surprised in the least, but she had her own problems to deal with.
Two fine roots shot toward her through the gaps in the stone. She sidestepped, cleanly slicing them down with her Soul Thread-wrapped dagger.
Damon was in agonizing pain.
At that moment, fear finally crept into his heart.
He was terrified of dying here, so pointlessly and obscurely.
He had only wanted to gather some resources, light his forge again, and reforge the old shield that had accompanied him for years.
But now, he was on the verge of losing his entire arm.
Enduring the agonizing pain, Damon roared,
“Xu Zhiheng! Order them to abandon the chests in front of me!”
“If we keep dragging them along, I'm not going to make it!”
Xu Zhiheng's face darkened as he snapped, “No! This cargo is too important!”
Reece, struggling to defend, glared at him. “What the hell is wrong with you? You're still thinking about the cargo at a time like this?”
Xu Zhiheng swung his sword to sever a branch, his gaze freezing on Damon.
“Damon, you are the Guard Captain. Protecting the cargo is your duty.”
He paused, his tone turning ice-cold.
“That is an order!”
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