"Underworld Envoy Seal!" Seeing the mark on this tree, Li Chen’s face showed a hint of hope.
Although he hadn’t seen Catherine among these people, this mark was enough to prove something.
Catherine was still alive!
Moreover, she had left them a mark because she believed that they would definitely come to rescue her.
"This woman, still so smart," Ning Wangyang shook his head.
Back in the Palace of the Nether King, although he and Ye Tu were the strongest in the Palace aside from Li Chen.
However, the most convincing was still this woman, Catherine.
Her strength might have been the weakest among all the leaders, possibly even slightly weaker than the average Nether Army Warrior. But undoubtedly, in the entire Palace of the Nether King, besides Li Chen, Catherine was the most trusted person.
This woman was always full of confidence and had never made a mistake.
"Among you, has anyone seen this woman?" Li Chen approached a group of recently rescued captives, took out Catherine’s photo, and asked.
The group was still immersed in the euphoria of being rescued. Originally, they had been in despair, thinking they were about to become food for the monsters, but unexpectedly, this group had suddenly appeared, killed the monsters, and rescued them.
"This woman..." A man immediately came forward upon seeing the photo in Li Chen’s hands and said loudly, "I’ve seen her, this woman was taken away today!"
"Taken away today?" Li Chen asked, "Where was she taken?"
"That way!" The man pointed in a direction that was exactly where Li Chen had discovered the mark on the tree earlier.
"As expected." Li Chen and Ning Wangyang exchanged glances.
"What did she look like before she was taken away; did you notice?"
"She... I’m not sure; I just thought she was strange. She’s different from us, not a local. Even though nobody spoke, I could feel that she seemed... very calm, like she wasn’t afraid at all."
"That’s it." Ning Wangyang nodded.
From this man’s words, it could almost certainly be concluded that what the man described was likely Catherine.
"We need to keep searching for people. You should go back the way we came," Li Chen said indifferently. Although he had saved these people, it didn’t mean he was a saint.
The situation with the monsters was still unclear; any power was valuable. He couldn’t afford to dispatch the Nether Army to escort these people back to Blotto Town.
"Could we follow you?" The man who had spoken earlier asked tentatively.
They had been in this forest for several days and had witnessed its dangers. Even under the protection of these monsters, some wild beasts had still attacked them.
Going back on their own seemed too daunting.
"No." Li Chen shook his head decisively. He didn’t want to be burdened with a group of people who could potentially hinder them if a real battle broke out.
"Then... then we’ll just stay here and wait for you to come back!" The man, who seemed to have some authority among the group, said directly.
"Very well!" Li Chen responded, "If we find the person we’re looking for, we will come back and take you with us. For now, just stay hidden here. Of course, if you decide to go back on your own, I won’t oppose."
After saying this, Li Chen immediately called the Nether Army to his side.
"Brother Rams, are we really just going to let them go?" A young man said to the man who had spoken earlier after Li Chen and his group had turned to leave.
"Otherwise, what do you think we should do?" the man named Rams snapped with a glare.
"They saved us, but they just left us here, isn’t that a bit..."
"Shut up!" The young man was cut off by Rams before he could finish his sentence.
"You know they saved us? That’s already a huge favor. They don’t owe us anything. Why should they have saved us?"
"Alright!" Rams waved his hand and addressed the people around him, "Everyone, find a place to rest for a bit first. Those monsters dug holes by the trees, it’s best if we all hide in the tree holes. This forest is too dangerous."
"Also, Kayes, I don’t want to hear any more disparaging words about our lifesavers!"
"Yes, yes, big brother Rams!" The young man quickly nodded his head.
Regardless of the people who were rescued, Li Chen and the others had ventured deeper into the forest.
"Did you hear that?" Li Chen suddenly stopped, stretched out his hand, and spoke softly.
"My lord, is that the sound of water?" asked a Nether Army Warrior.
Li Chen nodded, "If I’m not mistaken, there must be a water source nearby. No matter the creature, they instinctively live close to a water source."
"I believe these monsters are no exception!" Li Chen’s eyes narrowed, "From now on, we act cautiously and it’s best to not expose ourselves before getting close to those monsters."
With Li Chen’s command, everyone consciously lowered their bodies and started moving through the deep and disordered underbrush.
The Nether Army under Li Chen, being seasoned warriors, were familiar with this type of forest environment and knew well how to conceal themselves in such jungles.
Soon, a group of simply camouflaged Nether Army soldiers began to quietly move towards the direction of the water sounds through the bushes.
As the sound of the water became clearer, Li Chen also heard some animal roars mixed in from the direction of the water.
And these sounds were exactly those of the Chupacabra and the Jersey Devil that they had heard earlier.
"Indeed, they are here!"
Li Chen gestured for his followers to stop, and he slowly approached the bushes, gently parting the vegetation in front of him.
In front of him, there surprisingly appeared a small lake.
The monsters were all by the lake. Li Chen quietly counted—there were no less than a hundred of them!
Yet, that wasn’t what shocked Li Chen the most.
What shocked Li Chen the most was that around the lake, there were piles of firewood that had been lit.
The monsters could actually make fire?
Next to these fires, there were several people tied up; the monsters seemed to be preparing for something.
With careful scrutiny, Li Chen’s gaze suddenly brightened.