Traversing the Dense Forest

As soon as they entered the forest, both of them instinctively quickened their pace.

The movement caused by the evacuation of several hundred people was significant; one could easily discern the direction the bandits had fled without even trying.

Despite the difficulty of distinguishing north from south in the dense woods, they could accurately track the bandits' path simply by following the messy footprints, broken branches, and trampled grass on the ground.

Po Kong took the lead, running with long strides through the trees.

His robust physique was like a human steamroller, crashing through bushes, vines, and low trees along the way, carving out a clear path for Starlight behind him.

While somewhat crude, it was an efficient method. Starlight, whose frame was a size smaller, followed closely behind him, saving himself a great deal of trouble.

In this manner, the two ran through the forest for a full hour, one after the other.

During that hour, Po Kong looked back several times to check on their progress, but each time he saw Starlight keeping pace right behind him.

While it was impossible to run as smoothly in a dense forest as on a road, running on such uneven, muddy ground should have been far more physically taxing.

When the two finally came to a halt and sat under a large tree to hydrate, Po Kong couldn't help but give Starlight a thumbs-up.

“You’ve got some impressive physical stamina, kid! I thought I was strong enough as a Swordsman, but I didn’t expect a mage like you to keep up with my pace. Did you grow up in the mountains or something?”

Starlight gave a slight smile, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and replied easily.

“You guessed right. I did grow up in the mountains, so running through dense forests like this is second nature to me. Besides, our current speed isn't actually that fast. If you want to go quicker, I shouldn't have any problem with that.”

After all, since he was a child, Carlos had been full of praise for his physical constitution, mentioning more than once that if it weren't for his excellent elemental affinity, he might have made for a fine Swordsman.

Consequently, while completing the assignments Carlos set for him, he never neglected his physical training. Although the exercises were simple, they were unexpectedly effective.

“Is that so? ...I find that a bit hard to believe,” Po Kong muttered, stroking his chin as he eyed Starlight suspiciously.

Starlight shrugged helplessly, a hint of a smile touching his lips. “If you really don’t believe me, there’s not much I can do. How about this? I’ll use some wind elements to give us a speed boost. What do you think?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he gave a light wave of his hand. A gentle breeze instantly swirled around their bodies, bringing a cooling sensation as if the very air had become lighter.

Their bodies, which had been feeling slightly overheated, were immediately enveloped in a refreshing coolness.

“Oh! You have a trick like that? Why didn't you tell me sooner?” Feeling the magical buff, Po Kong jumped in place a couple of times and stretched, his eyes shining with excitement.

“You didn't exactly give me a chance to explain, did you? You were the one who charged headlong into the forest first and then ran for an hour without stopping.”

“Uh... is that how it was? Haha... I guess I did forget...” Po Kong scratched his head and laughed sheepishly upon hearing Starlight’s response.

“......”

After a brief rest, Po Kong was eager to test their travel speed under the magical enhancement. Giving Starlight a quick signal, he bolted forward like a wild horse breaking free from its reins.

But before he could take more than a few steps, a sharp “snap” echoed through the woods, sounding like a taut rope being suddenly yanked apart.

Starlight immediately grew alert at the sound. He had studied the simple traps hunters set in Carlos’s books and had even tried making a few himself to catch small animals.

In that moment, he realized the sound was almost identical to the trigger of the traps he had set in the forest before. He immediately shouted, “Watch out! A trap!”

Unfortunately, his warning was clearly a beat too late. A log at least half a meter thick swung horizontally toward Po Kong, studded with numerous sharp spikes that glinted coldly.

If an ordinary person were caught off guard, even a graze from such a log would result in a severe injury.

However, Po Kong didn't look panicked at all. Instead, he nimbly raised his right hand and slammed a punch directly into the oncoming giant log.

Starlight was surprised to see a pale yellow light suddenly flare up on Po Kong’s body, as if an invisible force was shielding him.

The moment the log made contact with Po Kong’s fist, it was as if it had been struck by an invisible power. It exploded violently, turning into a cloud of flying wood chips without holding out for even a second.

Po Kong stood firmly in place, not having retreated even a single step.

As the dust settled, he turned around coolly to look at Starlight, a smirk playing on his lips as he asked, “What were you saying just now?”

While that single trap hadn't caused any real hindrance, they encountered a series of minor troubles afterward.

The bandits had actually laid out various traps along their retreat path, making them difficult to guard against.

Some traps were cleverly hidden under fallen leaves; if one stepped on them carelessly, their ankle would be caught in a snare and they’d be hoisted into the air. Others were shallow pits filled with sharp wooden spikes, where a single misstep would result in a pierced foot. Some were even simpler, with animal traps tossed haphazardly into the bushes, waiting for an uninvited guest.

Though these traps were simple, they were a constant source of annoyance for Po Kong, who was responsible for clearing the path.

These various simple traps couldn't even scratch his skin under the protection of his externalized battle qi, but they effectively slowed their travel speed.

As Po Kong carefully avoided the traps, he couldn't help but complain, “Damn it! Are these bandits insane? How many traps did they set along this road?!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Po Kong’s front foot kicked aside a hidden wooden spike, but his back foot inadvertently fell into a mud pit over half a meter deep.

Even with his quick reflexes, the foul-smelling black sludge splashed all over his legs.

While these crude traps didn't do much damage, they were highly insulting, leaving Po Kong somewhere between laughter and tears.

Starlight stepped forward quickly, summoning a stream of water to wash the mud off Po Kong’s legs while holding his nose to comfort him. “It’s a good thing you’re the one leading the way. If it were me, I might not have been able to handle the frustration of these traps.”

Po Kong leaned down to catch a handful of fresh water in the air, washing his dirty hands and face as he sighed helplessly. “To be honest, I really regret not bringing a teammate like an assassin or a ranger. Dealing with these traps really isn't my specialty.”

Starlight could only shrug helplessly, indicating that it was too late for regrets now. Since they had already come this far, they couldn't exactly give up halfway.

On the bright side, at least they were clearing a relatively safe path for any reinforcements coming behind them.

Po Kong stepped aside, eyeing the trap he had just destroyed, and said suspiciously, “Whether there are reinforcements is another matter entirely; don’t get your hopes up. But speaking of which, since we’ve encountered so many traps here, does that mean we’re getting closer to the bandits' nest? If that were the case, there should be sentries around. I haven't seen any sign of them so far, which is definitely strange.”

Starlight pulled out the map to compare their position, but because their rhythm had been broken by the constant stream of traps, it was difficult to accurately judge exactly how far they had traveled.

If Po Kong hadn't been carrying a small compass with him, they might have completely lost their way in this nearly lightless forest, unable to even tell north from south.

Combined with the fact that there were no prominent landmarks in the forest before them, he couldn't discern much even after studying the map for a while.

“By my count, we’ve been walking for several hours now. It’ll probably be getting dark soon. If the information from the city defense force is accurate, we shouldn't be far from that marshland they mentioned, right?”