I am a mage, with an infinite mana bar!

"Strange, why aren't there any monsters along the way?" Urshi said coldly.

The others also noticed this; although the paths they chose had relatively few monsters, they weren't completely devoid of any.

"And didn't Tana say that their team came to hunt goblins?" Eli muttered.

Goblins are typical social monsters, noisy and active, yet they hadn't found a single one nearby.

This is a very unusual situation. Out of caution, they had already concealed themselves with the Moon Shadow Necklace. Logically speaking, no matter how alert those low-level monsters were, they shouldn't have been able to find them.

The only explanation is that the monsters in this area have all disappeared for some reason...

As night fell, the forest fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the sound of a group of people walking forward.

Until the evening breeze brought a fresh scent.

"Blood……"

With a sense of smell comparable to that of a wild animal, Sirin was the first to sense something was wrong, gripping her spear tightly to warn her teammates.

Eli clutched his staff nervously and instinctively moved closer to Lynn.

Lynn was speechless. "Miss, you're only making the enemy's target clearer. Two fragile mages together are just more dangerous!"

As we drew closer, the pungent, suffocating stench of blood assaulted our senses.

The leopard-woman, Sirin, was choked and felt dizzy. The wildness within her was also aroused by the smell of blood. In order to suppress her impulse, she clenched her teeth and made a "crackling" sound.

The group quickly located the source of the bloody smell.

Upon seeing it, Eli was so startled that he quickly covered his mouth to prevent himself from exclaiming.

The forest clearing was littered with the corpses of monsters.

Green-skinned demi-human monsters and large, gray-haired dogs.

"There are more than thirty goblins and dire wolves in total... This situation is very strange. Although they are at the same position on the food chain, it shouldn't be enough to cause such a large-scale conflict."

The ranger Ulsey surveyed the devastation of the battlefield and calmly analyzed the situation.

Lynn slowly scanned the corpses. It was the first time he had ever seen such a gruesome scene, and his stomach churned.

The corpses of the green-skinned people were torn to pieces by wild beasts, while the dire wolves were disemboweled by the goblins' bone knives or had their skulls smashed by stone hammers.

Amidst the green trees and weeds, blood, red flesh, red and white entrails, and white bones intertwine to create a hellish scene.

Seeing that the two young men looked unwell, Liam quickly rummaged through his bag and pulled out a small bottle. "Try this."

He opened the bottle and handed it to Lynn; the refreshing scent of peppermint oil instantly made him feel invigorated.

Eli recovered somewhat after smelling it.

Lynn then picked up a long branch and examined the corpse of the strong goblin nearby.

It's really weird.

He whispered to Liam for a moment, and the halfling nodded, drew a dagger from his waist, squatted in front of the goblin corpse, skillfully twirled the dagger twice, then found the right spot and plunged it into the back of its neck.

After fiddling around for a while, they unearthed a jet-black worm, its fleshy surface emitting an eerie green glow.

"As expected, they are spirit-eating insects. This is the work of the Corruption Cult. They use these to control sentient beings."

Afterwards, the group dispersed to examine the goblin corpses in the area, but did not find any new spirit-eating insects.

It seems that spirit-eating insects aren't so cheap after all; after all, they are creatures that require magic to summon...

Urshi concluded, "It seems that goblin is their leader. That's not surprising, though. There's a strong sense of hierarchy within goblin groups; controlling the leader is equivalent to controlling the entire group of goblins."

The situation seems to be becoming clearer. The Corruption Cult has controlled the goblins with spirit-eating insects, but why they made them fight the dire wolves to the death remains a mystery.

"Could it be to deliberately create death? I... I can feel that the atmosphere here is terrible..." Eli whispered.

As a mage who wields the magic of life, she is naturally very sensitive to mysterious things such as death and the undead.

"I've heard of some dark magic rituals that require a large number of souls..."

This is quite in line with the behavior logic of cults... Lynn thought to himself.

"So, deep within the Whispering Forest, an evil magical ritual is being secretly carried out?"

His teammates' faces turned extremely ugly as soon as he said that.

It's hard to imagine the effect a magical ritual that consumes so many lives could possibly achieve.

Regardless of the circumstances, it will pose a tremendous threat to the Whispering Forest and even the town of Colin!

"It's too late to go back to the city for support now. I think we should sneak over using 'Invisible and Shadowless'. No matter how powerful that guy is, he's just a fragile spellcaster."

As a mage, Lynn was well aware of his own weakness. Based on Tana's previous information, he judged that the person who attacked them and took away her teammates was at most a powerful beginner.

Otherwise, with the strength of a seasoned professional, it would be impossible for a mere apprentice-level wanderer to escape so easily.

Their team now consists of five people, three of whom are beginners. Eli, as a healing mage, is positioned as a support rather than a combatant.

In terms of combat skills, he should be considered a near-beginner level.

Even in prolonged battles, the more powerful spellcasters are not to be outdone.

To be honest, Lynn didn't have any special feelings for Colin, but it was impossible for him to stand by and do nothing when he saw a disaster happening.

First, scout out the situation; if all else fails, run away without hesitation...

Thinking of this, he looked at his teammates and saw that their expressions were calm and determined, and they did not object to his suggestion.

By this time, it was completely dark. The group left the monster battlefield and found a safe and clean place to rest for a while.

Then, taking advantage of the darkness, they continued their journey.

The spellcaster who kidnapped Tana's teammates may have some magical skill, but their ability to conceal their movements and counter-surveillance is extremely poor.

With Urshi and the other two around, that guy's movements were completely undetectable.

Following the intermittent drag marks on the ground, they finally approached their target's hiding place after about two hours.

This is a low mountain area with extremely complex terrain.

Because almost no one has ever set foot here, the area is covered with ankle-deep weeds, making it impossible to find a path.

"The traces have disappeared..." Urshi looked around but found nothing. "There should be a hidden passage here, or even a magical barrier."

Just as Lynn was about to use "Magic Wave" to survey the surroundings, Eli raised his hand.

"The magic stored in the Moonshadow Necklace is about to run out. I need to use my own magic to restart it, which will temporarily disable 'Invisible and Shadowless'."

Like turning off your phone before changing the battery? Lynn laughed at her own absurd thought.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Eli first took out a bottle of magic potion from his staff, just in case.

Then, the invisible magical domain that had protected them along the way quietly withdrew.

Lynn suddenly regained that feeling of being in the jungle, being spied on and watched.

Insects in the grass, birds among the branches and leaves, and the scrutiny from the forest's native inhabitants.

as well as……

Suddenly, his spirituality exploded!

At the same time, Lynn suddenly looked up at the sky and saw the bright white full moon hanging high, but there was a faint shadow where the moonlight overlapped with the moonlight.

He focused his mind and finally saw the shape of the shadow clearly.

It was a completely black eye, silently watching them below.