In the dense forest shrouded in mist, cold light flickered.
The tough and tangled shrub branches swayed violently, mixed with grass clippings and broken leaves, pale juice splattering out.
Two rather heavy high quality one handed hammers from the same "Rock Hammer" blacksmith shop hung at the waist, clashing with the thigh armor and emitting a dull sound as the body moved.
"Green Blood" Adeline walked at the forefront of the team, holding a machete specially designed for opening paths, hacking through the jungle’s shrub thorns that blocked everyone’s path like roadblocks.
Her own strength was close to that of a professional, clearly leaning towards "warrior" or "barbarian" type melee professions, with excellent physical quality.
After most of the day, she only sweated a bit, breathing slightly, without feeling much strain.
In contrast, Abi, who held a shield in the left hand and a sword in the right, constantly remained in a state of alertness along the way, was quite exhausted.
Even though Adeline had already cleared eighty percent of the obstacles on the road, this newcomer, just entering the field, still consumed a lot of stamina due to the highly pressured dangerous environment of Mist Forest, and the heavy equipment and supplies on the body.
Without even encountering a single battle, a significant portion of the combat strength was already depleted.
However, he still maintained some professional qualities, not uttering a sound no matter how fatigued, simply fulfilling his role in the team, holding the shield for Adeline who was opening the path, and alerting the surrounding dangers.
According to the roles planned on the way here, Xia Nan’s position was slightly further back, the beheading longsword already unsheathed, tightly gripped in hand.
If truly ambushed by demons in the middle of the road, after Abi blocked the first wave of assaults for Adeline opening the path, he would need to step forth to hold off the demons, gaining time for the teammates to react.
A team role inclined towards "support."
And at the very end of the team, standing almost shoulder to shoulder with Xia Nan, just half a body behind naturally was the archer "Berg," using the bow and arrow as the main attack means.
The fresh scent of plant juices, combined with the earthy aroma in the moist air, surged into the nostrils with each breath.
The chest rose and fell rhythmically and smoothly.
Moving footsteps, maintaining a position a few steps away from the two people in front while they moved.
Xia Nan devoted the majority of the attention to alerting the surrounding dense forest and tall grass clusters.
By now, it had been half a day since they left River Valley Town.
Progress wasn’t necessarily slow, but it certainly wasn’t fast either.
The four-person team was significantly stronger in terms of combat power overall, but the pace of progress was much slower than moving alone.
Not to mention the days when "the bigwig" was leading.
This stretch of road, if led by the barbarian "Frogon," might have been completed in half a day, no, just a morning.
No need to worry about encountering any ill-fated demons, ploughing through everything with all blocking shrubs and thorns frozen into icy shards and crushed.
Following behind, other than feeling a bit cold, the speed was even faster than in town.
Of course, Xia Nan knew in heart, such special experiences were those ordinary adventurers would never encounter in a lifetime.
As it was now, advancing with difficulty, being on high alert at the slightest movement around.
This was his own norm now and for a substantial time during future adventures.
Not far from the side and front of the team, a dense thicket suddenly shook violently, dropping many leaves.
The originally slow advancing team suddenly halted, quickly switching formation.
Abi’s forehead was drenched in sweat, with a big step forward, leaping to the forefront of the team, planting the Ironwood Shield firmly ahead, facing the source of the commotion.
Meanwhile, Adeline also unhesitatingly dropped the machete for clearing the path to the ground, freeing her hands to grasp the two one handed hammers at her waist.
Taking two steps forward as well, standing beside Abi, but clearly devoting more attention to the dense forest on the other two sides of the team — watching for ambushes.
Xia Nan held the beheading longsword horizontally across his chest, knees slightly bent, evidently ready to exert force.
And the archer Berg at the very end of the team, the moment the noise arose, quickly and nimbly climbed up a tall oak tree nearby, with the glinting metal arrowhead protruding from the dense treetop.
The amplitude of the shaking thicket became more intense, faintly revealing the blurry outline of the creature within.
Heart pounding rapidly.
Xia Nan could even see, at the very front of the team, Abi holding the wooden shield, with arms slightly trembling from excessive tension, and the cheek skin taut when the jaw muscles exerted force.