After hearing Alan's speculation, Julie wiped a cold sweat from her forehead, thinking to herself, "What a close call!"
Uncle Ryan's face darkened, his eyes filled with anger.
Someone plotted against his beloved son—this was truly a violation of his will!
"There's someone in the woods! Cast a sneak attack!"
Ryan lowered his voice and gestured to the group.
"Crew and griffins, stay and guard the airship!"
"The rest of you, follow me into the woods to search for the enemy!"
Including Alan, the group of eight quickly approached the dense forest.
...
Into the dense forest.
"Haha... We've been tricked."
"A bunch of naive people, just die here." "
The ventriloquist sneered and summoned his magic.
The body beneath the cloak rapidly transformed.
The feet transformed into goat hooves.
A pair of curved horns sprouted from his forehead.
A wisp of goatee fluttered beneath his chin.
Level 1 Atavistic Transformation: Goatman Form!
The ventriloquist snapped his fingers.
Magic surged from his fingertips.
Level 0 "Illusion Sound" was cast at a distance of twenty meters. On the stone.
The stone immediately rustled.
It was as if someone was scurrying through the woods.
The rustling of clothes rubbing against branches.
It was so lifelike, it was indistinguishable from the real thing!
The name "Ventriloquist" wasn't earned for nothing!
As expected.
Lyan and the others fell for the trick and turned around, rushing towards the stone emitting the phantom sound.
The ventriloquist's smile grew even more triumphant.
Everything is under control!
Then he pulled a recorder from his belt.
Through atavistic meditation, he had learned the secrets of playing magical music from the satyr spirits.
The ventriloquist began to play a "lullaby."
The ethereal and melodious flute notes echoed through the forest.
It was like the sound of wind rustling through the treetops.
Or like the gurgling sound of a clear stream.
Refreshing and refreshing. The elegant melody harmonized harmoniously with the surrounding natural environment.
Even the forest spirits were happy to listen to his playing, rather than being angered by it.
Not far away, Ryan and the others heard the sound of the flute drifting from the forest.
They all stopped, their expressions dazed.
The expressions on their faces shifted from vigilance to relaxation, and they yawned one after another, drifting off to sleep.
"Hehe... Go to sleep, go to sleep, sleep well."
The ventriloquist could actually speak while playing the recorder.
Whispers came from his abdomen.
It was as if his belly button had become another mouth.
The first-level magic of "Ventriloquism" was truly magical!
With this unique skill, the ventriloquist could simultaneously perform both the "lead singer" and the "backing vocals" on the stage.
"Hey! Knife Thrower, it's your turn. "
"Use your knife and kiss their throats."
"Send them into a sweet and eternal sleep. "
The ventriloquist continued to play his flute, quietly reminding his companions through ventriloquism.
The thin knife thrower nodded gently.
A slender, white hand brushed across his waist.
Eight willow-leaf throwing knives were clamped between his fingers.
The hand moved slightly, so fast that the throwing motion was indistinguishable.
Eight silver lightning bolts suddenly pierced the forest!
Eight throwing knives, each aimed at the throats of Ryan and the others.
The knife thrower's lips curled up slightly.
The foolish pursuer, already bewildered by the ventriloquist's lullaby, had lost his vigilance. There was no way he could dodge his throat-blocking throwing knives!
But in the next second...
The knife thrower's smile froze on his face!
Bang!
A sudden thunderclap exploded in the forest! A wave of thunder roared across the sky, shaking the surrounding trees and sending leaves cascading down.
The ventriloquist and the knife thrower were both startled by the thunder. Coming to their senses, they saw that it was an unassuming young man among the eight who had suddenly unleashed a thunder wave, causing a tremendous roar.
To be more precise, Allen had unleashed a "Shaped Thunder Wave," shielding the Griffin family from the wave's range and preventing them from being accidentally harmed.
It was intercepted and shattered to pieces.
Among the eight members of the team, only Allen was not hypnotized.
His mental attribute was a whopping 23 points, much higher than the ventriloquist's.
Under these circumstances, it would be difficult for the other party to hypnotize him.
Alan had no choice but to resort to "Thunder Wave" to save the situation.
Only after he confirmed that the mere roar of thunder, not a logical language, would anger the forest spirits did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Turning to face where the ventriloquist and the knife thrower were lurking, Allen's face was icy cold as he raised his hand and unleashed a finger wave.
Swish—bang!
As if a bullet The bullet struck the ventriloquist's flute.
It shattered instantly!
The ventriloquist's expression changed slightly, and he quickly retreated, escaping into the woods.
Hound Stance!
Alan flashed and caught up!
A throwing knife was already waiting ahead.
The knife thrower's prediction was accurate to the millimeter.
It looked as if Alan had deliberately tried to hit the knife!
While using Hound Stance, you cannot change direction again.
In fact, Alan didn't need to do so.
Without changing his expression, he let the knife pierce his chest.
Clang! !
The flying knife struck Allen's chest, stirring up a faint ripple of silver magic followed by a metallic clang.
The tip of the knife shattered and bounced back to the ground.
Allen never fought a battle he wasn't sure of.
Before following the Griffin family into the forest to pursue the enemy, he had already cast a "Shield" spell on himself and activated "Bronze Skin and Iron Bones."
Proof of caution was warranted.
His body deflected the flying knife, unscathed.
A faint fishy smell emanated from his chest, where the knife had touched him.
At the same time, Allen received a system notification.
"Exposure to Level 3 Snake Venom, Immunized!"
...
As soon as the poisoned flying knife was released, the knife thrower vanished into the dense forest.
Allen watched his rapidly receding figure and smiled.
"Haha... Playing with poison in front of me? Friend, you're very brave!" "
Alan stared straight ahead, casting a cone-shaped detection spell to scan for toxin reactions.
Normally, the zero-level "Detect Virus" spell spreads spherically, centered on the caster, within a 30-meter radius.
The advantage of this detection method is that it eliminates blind spots.
However, the detection radius is too short, and its efficiency is too low.
The lower half of the scanning area, the entire hemisphere beneath the surface, is usually redundant.
Alan used the metamagic skill "Spell Shaping" to reshape it into a 1/8 sphere + 60-meter radius cone.
The detection radius has doubled compared to the original version!
Alan knew the general direction the knife thrower was escaping, so a 1/8 cone scan was sufficient. Alan pursued the creature slowly into the dense forest.
His eyes occasionally flashed with a silver light! Using this highly effective method, Alan quickly detected the poison reaction.
The source of the poison reaction was rapidly moving through the forest.
It was the snake venom carried by the knife thrower, specifically used to poison his throwing knives.
A poisoned knife, a fatal blow!
However, the knife thrower could never have imagined... His most prized hidden weapon would become the "signal source" that revealed his hiding place!