At the camp, the moment Lu Xin returned, someone noticed the honey jar in his hand.
A knight from the Kingdom approached, eyes fixed on the jar.
“Hey, you got honey? Share some.”
Other knights also noticed the honey in Lu Xin’s hand and wanted to come see.
Hai Er reached out to block the Iron Wall Rose knights.
“What do you think you’re doing? You really think he’ll share with you?”
As expected, after Lu Xin opened the honey jar, he first poured some for the Fluffball Monster to drink.
Then he carried the Fluffball Monster back to the stone he had been sitting on earlier, completely ignoring those asking for honey.
“Tch, what’s your deal? You’d rather give it to an animal than to us?”
“If you want some, go get it yourself.” Lu Xin spread honey on his bread, speaking calmly.
“There’s a hive over there. No one’s stopping you.”
The knight’s face went pale, then red.
But with others watching, he couldn’t bring himself to keep pestering Lu Xin.
“Fine, I’ll go.”
He muttered, grabbed his waterskin, and headed in the direction Lu Xin had come from.
Lu Xin didn’t stop him, let alone warn him about the abnormal trees.
If a knight couldn’t even match his level of vigilance, then he didn’t deserve to live.
He glanced at the Fluffball Monster rubbing against his chest and said helplessly, “Alright, you can only eat a little more, or you won’t have any honey tonight.”
A few minutes later, Ruilin emerged from the mist, quickly walked over to Audrey, and whispered something in her ear.
Audrey’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Are you sure?”
Ruilin lowered her voice.
“Positive. Several trees have definitely moved. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before.”
Audrey was silent for a moment.
Her gaze passed over the crowd and settled on the man sitting on a stone, playing with the Fluffball Monster in the distance.
That man’s perception was even keener than Ruilin’s.
Interesting.
But she couldn’t blame Ruilin—the monster following them was indeed troublesome.
If Audrey’s guess was correct, the monster was an Arachnaea, what adventurers commonly called a Silent Giant Spider.
An Arachnaea might be weak in direct combat, but in terms of camouflage and interference, it was better than many high-level monsters.
Its special ability, Root Camouflage, allowed its legs to perfectly blend in with the surrounding trees.
Its favorite tactic was to stalk its prey from above, slowly following while using the fuzz on its abdomen to absorb any sounds its prey might hear.
Then, it would quietly inject venom and drag the prey back to its nest to eat.
Ruilin hesitated, then said quietly, “Knight Captain, should we call Lu Xin over?”
“No, let him rest for now.”
She paused and added, “Send someone to bring that foolish honey gatherer back.”
Ruilin nodded and disappeared back into the mist to retrieve the man herself.
But just a few minutes later, Ruilin returned to Audrey’s side and whispered, “He’s gone.”
“Tch.”
Audrey immediately stood up, and her white horse came to her side at once.
“Everyone stay put. An Arachnaea is active nearby. If you feel like you can’t hear anything, stay alert.”
After saying that, she swung onto her horse and charged straight into the forest.
Ruilin immediately leaped onto a branch, following closely behind Audrey through the trees.
Seeing this, Lu Xin grew interested.
That monster was at least mid-tier. If he followed, he might be able to snag a new skill.
So he set the Fluffball Monster on his shoulder and jumped onto a branch himself.
Several knights stared in disbelief as Lu Xin’s figure disappeared into the mist.
“What… a commoner… how…”
The Tree Body Sprint ability made it so that Lu Xin moved across the trees as if on flat ground, wind whistling past his ears.
He was moving so fast that even he was surprised.
A dozen or so meters ahead, Ruilin’s form darted between the branches.
She sensed someone following and glanced back.
Then she was somewhat stunned. Lu Xin was leaping through the forest at a speed not inferior to hers.
She diverted her attention to observe him.
Though his movements weren’t as graceful or fluid as hers, the moment his feet touched a branch, his speed increased.
This wasn’t the skill of an ordinary person; it didn’t seem like something a human should be capable of.
Ruilin turned her gaze forward and sped up.
Lu Xin followed behind, neither deliberately catching up nor falling too far behind.
There was no way he would personally join in hunting the monster. He just needed to throw a Throwing Knife and snag an assist.
At the target location, Audrey reined in her horse and looked around.
The trees in the area were almost identical. If the Arachnaea wanted to avoid a fight, there wasn’t much she could do.
Ruilin dropped down from a tree and said softly, “It’s this area. Be careful.”
Audrey nodded. She closed her eyes and was silent for three seconds.
She couldn’t find it.
But she couldn’t pinpoint its location—that didn’t mean she couldn’t hurt it.
Lu Xin crouched on a branch a dozen meters away, watching the scene unfold.
Audrey raised her right hand, and a ball of white light shone in her palm.
As the light grew brighter, it was as if she were holding a sun, illuminating the entire area for dozens of meters around.
The next moment, she clenched her fist and slammed it into the ground.
Boom!!!
The white light exploded, radiating outward in all directions from her.
The blinding flash instantly dispelled the surrounding mist. Lu Xin felt the ground shake before he heard the explosive sound.
When the light dimmed slightly, he saw that where Audrey had stood was now a massive crater.
Several large trees had been uprooted and thrown outward in a chaotic tangle.
Sunlight, absent for a long time, shone into the area. Audrey’s face remained calm.
Lu Xin: (⊙口⊙)
So this was the strength of a Knight Captain?
And from the looks of it, Audrey wasn’t using her full power. All this was just to force the monster into the open.
Lu Xin thought that if he activated Hardening (Basic), not only would he be unable to withstand such an attack—he wouldn’t even be able to stay standing.
Ruilin and the white horse had long retreated to a safe distance when Audrey was about to strike.
They were long used to Audrey’s strength.
Ruilin started sensing the changes around her, frowning deeply. “No target found!”
Just then, Lu Xin’s Air Flow Perception (Basic) detected a faint fluctuation. Several trees on the left were slowly moving away.
“Left!” Lu Xin shouted.
Audrey reacted instantly. Almost as soon as Lu Xin spoke, she swung her sword in that direction.
A silver-white blade of energy carved a trench into the ground, slicing through the air toward the Arachnaea.
But just before the strike hit, a massive pincer emerged from the trees, deflecting the blade.
Though the attack didn’t kill it, the pincer’s shell cracked and bled profusely.
The Arachnaea’s true form was now fully exposed. Its oval abdomen was covered in fuzz, and several feelers twitched lazily.
The honey-gathering knight was wrapped in those feelers, his entire body swollen and purple.
It was clear he could no longer be saved.
The only reason he was still alive was that the Arachnaea preferred to eat its prey alive.
“Save… save…”
Before the knight could finish, Audrey swung her sword again.
This time, the blade of energy was even more ferocious. The surrounding trees snapped under the invisible force.
The Arachnaea was no match for Audrey. Its body was directly pierced by the blade of energy.
Large splashes of purple blood burst out, and the monster’s massive body collapsed limply to the ground.
As for the knight, at least he was fortunate—he wasn’t eaten alive, piece by piece, while still conscious.