I am the Demon King of the Dungeon!

The three walked eastward along the main street of Greystone Town.

Alsace walked ahead.

Ryan followed beside him, his mouth never stopping: "I secretly went to the Deadwood Forest once. That place is full of dead trees, and there are ditches everywhere on the ground. It's very easy to twist your ankle when you run there."

"The Firehound is fast and can breathe fire. Even though it's just a small flame, getting burned by it still hurts quite a bit..."

"When have you ever seen a Firehound with a Tail?" Oris couldn't help but retort, "Was it in a book?"

"I...I saw it once, but I only saw it from afar, and then I made a tactical retreat."

"A tactical retreat?"

"That thing is a mid-tier monster! Am I, a bronze-level monster, just going to run and wait to die?" Renn patted Arthas on the shoulder confidently and said, "But this time is different. With Dick here, we'll definitely make it!"

"You'd better have some backbone..."

"I call this assessing the situation!"

Arthas did not respond.

He was thinking about something else.

Firehound, mid-tier monster, fire attribute...

The third floor of the dungeon is currently missing a boss. Since the Lava Wyvern switched sides, we haven't found a replacement yet. As long as it's a fire-attribute monster, it doesn't need to be too strong, but it needs to be able to hold its own and have some presence.

The Firehound is definitely not qualified to be a boss, but what if there's a group of fire-attribute monsters in the Deadwood Forest...

Maybe we can find something suitable?

……

Once you exit the east gate, the scenery on both sides changes from houses to fields, and then from fields to wasteland.

After walking for about half an hour, we could see a gray forest in the distance. The dead tree trunks were densely packed together, like tombstones, and the branches stretched twistedly towards the sky, looking like countless withered arms from afar.

"That's the deadwood forest."

Ryan pointed to the gray shadow.

Arthas narrowed his eyes; he could sense that there was indeed the aura of monsters in that forest.

"Let's go."

The three quickened their pace and headed towards the withered woods.

The edge of the deadwood forest looked even more desolate than it did in the distance.

The ground was bare of fallen leaves, covered with broken branches that made a soft cracking sound when stepped on; the tree trunks were covered with gray moss, and some trees had fallen and lay across the road, their trunks covered with unknown vines and mushrooms.

There was a faint smell of burning in the air.

Arthas crouched down and rubbed the soil. There were fine black ash fragments in the soil, which were indeed embers from a fire.

"There are signs of fire-attribute monsters."

The three walked along the forest path for about ten more minutes. The burnt smell gradually faded, replaced by a damp, earthy scent.

Renn sniffed and asked疑惑地, "Strange, why does the air in the woods seem to be getting more and more humid?"

Arthas also sensed something was wrong. He pushed aside the withered bushes in front of him, and the scene before him made him pause for a moment.

In the middle of the woods, there was a clear pond.

The pond water was crystal clear, with withered leaves floating on the surface, and a ring of emerald green ferns surrounded it, which seemed out of place with the gray, withered forest.

In the center of the pool, there was...

Arthas narrowed his eyes.

A canine-shaped monster, soaking wet, was basking in the water, with only its head and two front paws resting on the rocks by the pool. Its dark red fur became even darker after being soaked, resembling charcoal that had been drenched by rain.

It's taking a bath.

The Fire Dog is taking a bath.

Ryan came closer and froze on the spot.

"This...this is a Firehound with a tail?"

The firehound turned its head, its amber eyes meeting the gazes of the three.

one second.

two seconds.

The Firehound's eyes widened suddenly, and it made a sound like a rubber toy being crushed.

"grumble."

next second.

It sprang out of the water, slapped its four paws on the surface of the pool several times, splashing up a large spray of water, and scrambled ashore, disappearing into the bushes nearby.

The sound of a dry branch breaking gradually faded into the distance, disappearing into the depths of the forest, leaving only ripples still spreading in the pool and a wet claw mark on the stone.

Renn's mouth was open, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

"It...ran away?"

Oris was also puzzled.

"It seems so."

"Does the Firehound run away from people?"

"The book says it will attack on its own."

"Then this one..."

"Maybe he's just a bit of a coward?"

Arthas walked to the edge of the pool, looked down at the wet claw mark, and then at the churned muddy water in the center of the pool.

He took a deep breath.

Ran.

Firehound, a monster that runs away at the sight of people?

"So what do we do now? Chase after them?" Renn scratched his head. "But is that really a Firehound?"

Arthas was also unsure, because in his understanding, the Firehound was indeed a fire-attribute monster, known for the flames on its tail, which grew stronger and stronger as the flames intensified.

but……

Why would someone take a bath in a pool?

Fire-attribute monsters shouldn't be afraid of water, right?

He squatted down and reached into the pool water.

It's cold.

Should a Fire Dog soak in cold water?

Arthas stood up and shook the water droplets off his hands.

Two possibilities popped into my head: either this Firehound is sick, or it's not a Firehound at all.

This contrast piqued his curiosity.

Arthas pushed aside the bushes and ran in the direction the Firehound had fled.

"It should have run in that direction," Olis said, pointing to the intermittent wet paw prints on the ground.

The Firehound had just come out of the water, and its paws left clear marks on the mud, which wouldn't dry for a while.

The three of them followed the claw marks for a while.

The paw prints became fainter and fainter, from clear to blurry, and from blurry to only occasionally visible as a small wet patch.

"I can't go on... I can't catch up... that guy's too fast... and why is this forest getting denser?" Renn gasped.

Arthas stopped and looked around.

The tree trunks grew almost side by side, their branches intertwined and blocked most of the sky, making the light as dim as dusk, and the damp, earthy smell in the air grew stronger, while the burnt smell had completely disappeared.

"I...were we lost?" Renn looked around, his face pale. "I don't remember where we came from..."

Oris glanced at Raine: "You led the way."

"It was clearly you who pointed in that direction!"

"I pointed in the right direction; you've gone the wrong way."

"I don't!"

"You have."

Arthas didn't join in the bickering. He crouched down and looked at the last paw print in front of him. The firehound had run here and then suddenly disappeared.

It didn't go forward, it didn't go left, it didn't go right.

It's like it evaporated into thin air.

wrong!

Arthas raised his head, his gaze falling on the intertwined branches overhead. Three meters above his head, on a thick, horizontal branch, crouched a dark red, canine-like monster. It was tightly gripping the branch with its two front paws, its tail tucked between its two hind legs, and its amber eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at the three people below.

The posture resembles a cat being chased up a tree.

Raine followed Arthas's gaze upwards, and the sight before him only deepened his confusion.

"It...it's in the tree?"

The Firehound seemed to be startled by Rein's voice; its paw slipped, and the whole dog fell off the branch.

"puff."

His body slammed onto a dry branch, bounced, and then he scrambled to his feet, shaking off the debris.

The Firehound did not run away again.

It stood there, looking at Arthas, the flame at the end of its tail flickering like a candle about to go out.

Arthas and the Firehound stared at each other.

"Are you a Firehound?"

The Firehound blinked, put its two front paws together, sat upright on the pile of dead leaves, looked up at Arthas, its mouth slightly open, and its tongue lolling to one side.

Like a domestic dog waiting to be praised.

Renn remained silent.

Oris fell silent.

Arthas also fell silent.

The forest of dead trees was silent for a full three seconds.

"...This thing is definitely not a Firehound."