My exclusive card pool

Chapter 41 Don't Look Her in the Eyes

Quiet and dense forest.

Two figures, a young man and a boy, shuttled through it.

They had the same dark hair and were equally handsome. If it weren't for their similar facial features, they might easily be mistaken for brothers.

In addition, one of them was dressed in gorgeous clothes and was unarmed, while the other was wearing leather armor and hunting clothes, carrying a sword and a crossbow... It looked more like a young nobleman going out hunting with his distant cousin as a bodyguard.

"According to the goblins, we're roughly in the eastern part of the Magic Forest... If we continue in this direction, we should be nearing the Mirror Black Lake."

Wang Xi looked around and spoke.

The porcelain doll-like Pinocchio raised his eyebrows and asked:

"Gai, why are you looking for basilisks? Those monsters aren't strong individually, but they can be troublesome in groups. Especially with their leader, Medusa..."

"I am the Ice Heart Man, Pinocchio."

Wang Xi suddenly said something irrelevant.

Hearing this, the young man was stunned.

"You have the Ice Heart Curse?!"

Pinocchio obviously understood this and looked surprised.

Wang Xi nodded and said frankly:

"I just had an attack not long ago. I should only have less than a year left before I freeze to death..."

"So," Pinocchio was clever and understood immediately. "You're looking for the basilisk to lift the curse?"

Wang Xi nodded.

"But as far as I know, there's no way to eradicate the Frozen Heart Curse, and it has nothing to do with basilisks."

Pinocchio frowned and raised his hand to rub his chin, as if imitating the way humans think.

Wang Xi glanced at him and told him about the demon hunting commission. He also expressed his intention to use this as an opportunity to contact the Queen through Minister Ando.

"So that's why you want to seek the help of the Snow Queen." The boy suddenly realized and said seriously, "Gai, my friend, I will help you."

"Thanks." Wang Xi smiled.

He had already seen it.

Although Pinocchio is a stubborn and liar, he is actually a good boy. He is not a bad person by nature and can be described as innocent, especially when it comes to his friends.

If you ignore his nature as a "mechanical creation", he looks like a young human being who has not experienced much of the world.

Furthermore, his stats reached four stars, making him a higher-tier hero unit than even the Forest Fairy. With his help, things would surely go much more smoothly.

The two walked for a while, chatting occasionally, and Wang Xi learned about Pinocchio's hometown.

About the Clockwork Kingdom across the sea.

It seemed to be a country with a technological level far superior to that of the Stag Kingdom, with trains, airships, cars, cannons... Through Pinocchio's brief description, Wang Xi roughly portrayed a steampunk-like magical technological society.

The "father" that Pinocchio mentioned was Geppetto Tesla, the chief engineer of the Clockwork Kingdom.

Therefore, the full name of the robot boy should be Pinocchio Tesla. Hearing this seemingly ambiguous name, Wang Xi felt quite puzzled.

"...Where did your father go after he left the Clockwork Kingdom?"

Wang Xi followed the topic and asked.

Pinocchio grinned and shook his head.

"Father didn't say anything. He just said that an old, distant friend had invited him to be a consultant, and then he left a huge mess behind and disappeared the next day."

Hearing this, Wang Xi raised his eyebrows.

So irresponsible?

But this sounds so familiar...

Oh, so I've done this before. I lied about having a client, then used the company's money to slack off on a business trip.

what?
You said the deal was not concluded and you want to be punished?
Just kidding, the client and I were having a blast together, and if we hang out a few more times, maybe we can close the deal. That's how it is in this company. The boss just has to wait for his Ferrari, while us employees have a lot to worry about.

As they were walking, Pinocchio suddenly exclaimed:
"Wow! There's black stockings!"

This sentence was like a wake-up call, instantly bringing Wang Xi back to his senses.

"Where are the black silk stockings?"

He suddenly turned his head to look.

Then he was stunned.

The nearby woods were covered in dense black spider silk. The bushes, twisted tree trunks, and muddy ground were covered in a thick layer of a sticky black substance. Countless fine threads formed a vast web, trembling and whimpering in the wind.

In the cocoon-like black balls, one can vaguely see the remains of various animals: squirrels, rabbits, roe deer, wolves, wild boars, and even humans… Some are left with only a layer of skin, their flesh and internal organs shriveled and drained of their essence.

Besides this, Wang Xi also saw a number of human-shaped stone sculptures standing in the forest, some of which were in tatters, missing arms and legs, while others looked very new.

These statues have different postures and movements, but most of them show a twisted and painful look, as if frozen in the last moment before death.

"..."

Wang Xi suddenly stopped and glanced at the black-haired boy beside him.

So, you call this black silk?

but……

That seems right.

It does make you look thinner after putting it on, with just a piece of skin hanging there.

"Enchanted Wedding Veil: A spider web made of black silk spit out by the monster "Eight-Eyed Trapper." It is tough and contains paralyzing toxins. It is often used to make traps and capture prey."

"Petrified Statues: Adventurers cursed and petrified after gazing into the eyes of the Gorgon Medusa. They are long dead, but their horrific deaths serve as a warning to those who come after them—Never look Medusa in the eyes! Never look!"

"Gai."

At this moment, Pinocchio came closer and lowered his voice.

"It seems we have reached the Black Lake and entered the territory of the Eight-Eyed Trapper and the Basilisk."

"Yeah." Wang Xi nodded. "Be careful and try not to make too much noise."

The two slowed down and continued walking forward.

Pinocchio whispered again:

"If you encounter these two monsters later, be especially careful of their leaders. The leader of the eight-eyed trappers is Arachne, the Weaving Banshee. Once trapped by her, it's difficult to escape..."

As he spoke, the boy frowned slightly.

"As for the leader of the basilisks, the Gorgon Medusa, she's even more formidable. It's said that all adventurers who came to hunt her were, without exception, transformed into stone statues."

Wang Xi had heard of Medusa's horror more than once, and her appearance was indispensable in his previous life's fantasy works.

He's quite the veteran actor.

"Okay." He thought for a moment and then said, "Just don't look into her eyes, right?" "Yes, don't look into her eyes!"

Pinocchio restrained his smile and spoke very seriously.

...

...

The two men walked through the bushes.

A lake comes into view.

The lake is huge, surrounded by dense and quiet woods, and there are endless mountains in the distance.

The lake water is pitch black and calm, like a shiny black mirror.

"Look! There's a white corpse!"

Pinocchio grabbed Wang Xi's arm and pointed to the lake dozens of meters away.

Come again? !
Even though Wang Xi was mentally prepared this time, he still couldn't help but take a few more glances.

The lakeside was littered with white corpses, roughly a dozen or so in number. Among them were ferocious spiders the size of millstones and giant lizards the size of crocodiles.

Both monsters were completely white, the former's round abdomen and the ends of its limbs covered in pale fur, while the monitor lizard's entire body was covered in grayish-white scales.

The gravel beach was covered with dark green blood. It looked like the two sides had just experienced a great battle.

Quite tragic.

Boom...

rumble……

At this time, further ahead where corpses were scattered, a roar came from the woods.

A group of black birds flapped their wings, flew out from the treetops in panic, and fled into the distance.

"There's a fight going on over there," Pinocchio said softly, looking over. "Those two groups of blackened monsters might still be fighting. Want to go check it out?"

"Not urgent."

Wang Xi raised his hand to signal.

Pinocchio stood aside, waiting for what was to come.

But Wang Xi said nothing more. He simply glanced around furtively, then closed his eyes and used "Heartbeat Listening" to check. After confirming there was no danger, he quickly ran towards the monster's corpse.

I wonder if anyone wants these monster corpses...

Who wants me to pick it up?
bass!
He drew the dagger from his waist and, with quick and accurate strokes, slashed open the belly of a petrified lizard. Suppressing his nausea, he dug out the fist-sized heart. He wrapped it in the leather he had prepared, tied it with a string, and stored it away securely.

"Successful!"

Wang Xi smiled.

He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. He'd immediately found a bargain and gotten the materials needed for the demon hunting commission.

After Caius's investigation, he found that this heart was the source of power of the petrified lizard, containing 50 points of energy.

It's like Pinocchio bragging about something.

He only left this one.

As for the hearts in the rest of the corpses, they simply didn't take them out. Instead, they used a dagger to cut open their stomachs, reached in, and converted them into energy.

Under Pinocchio's astonished gaze, Kay was busy like an old farmer harvesting crops, running among the corpses, his knife rising and falling, his smile never ending.

Gay...

He really likes hunting demons.

Pinocchio rested his elbow on his cheek and rubbed his chin.

In just a few minutes, all the petrified lizard corpses on the ground were ripped open, and the hearts inside disappeared, transformed into energy.

Energy: 1300

There were 11 basilisk corpses in total, and excluding the ones left behind for the fight, the remaining hearts provided a total of 500 energy points. Adding the crystal growing from Pinocchio's crotch, the accumulated energy now exceeded four digits.

Wang Xi was very satisfied.

He was about to dig for treasure on the spider's corpse when he suddenly felt the ground tremble.

Boom! !
It was as if something heavy had hit the ground, making a deafening sound.

Looking up——

I saw a giant white spider the size of a rhinoceros falling miserably on the mudflat in front of me, with gravel flying everywhere.

At the front of its body, there was a half-body of a beautiful woman. Her blonde hair reached her waist, hiding her vital parts, and her facial features were exceptionally beautiful.

The woman was in pain at the moment, with blood coming out of the corner of her mouth.

"Blackened Weaver Siren Arachne (Scarlet/Three Stars)"

The entry is covered in bronze patterns, clearly an elite unit.

"Medusa! Get out of my territory!"

Arachne screamed.

The response she received was a sweet sneer.

In the sight of Wang Xi and Pinocchio, an enchanting figure emerged from the woods.

It was a mature woman with long dark green hair. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the strands of hair were like dancing snakes, rising and spitting out their tongues.

Her appearance is also exquisite, and her figure is even more outstanding, especially the huge thunder on her chest, which is far beyond human standards. She has no legs, but instead a long dark green snake tail.

"Blackened Gorgon Medusa (Scarlet/4-star)"

Bronze pattern entry, elite unit.

Because they were quite far away, Wang Xi looked at him carefully from a slightly sideways angle.

"Just don't look her in the eye..."

As he watched, he was quickly stunned.

His face changed drastically.

"Damn! No wonder all the adventurers who came to hunt her died!"

There are no eyes on Medusa's face at all!

Her eyes—

Growing on the big thunder!

Who the hell can resist watching this?!

(End of this chapter)