This kind of team was not uncommon in the areas surrounding towns, which was at least a good sign, suggesting that he might not be too far from Elpaxin.

Fang Hong checked, but found no other clues. The damp ashes in the fireplace indicated that the other party had left some time ago, at least several hours.

"How did you find this place, Tata?" he asked as he turned around.

"I discovered it while collecting Star Dew."

Fang Hong knew that Star Dew was not just dew on plants but the nectar from Starlight Flowers.

Starlight Flowers only bloomed at night and released pollen and secreted nectar from the rise of the Morning Dawn Star to the setting of the moon, before dawn. The nectar would vanish without a trace before the first light of dawn appeared, making the best time to gather it just before dawn.

The nectar of Starlight Flowers was the raw liquid of Fairy Wine, a favorite of fairies, though Tata collected it mostly for its contained Magic Power. Although she was a Dragon Soul, she was still influenced by some fairy memories and experiences.

By the way, the Morning Dawn Star was also known as Eteliria's Morning Dawn Star.

"Was there anyone here at that time?" Fang Hong asked again.

Tata shook her head. "But they must not have left long ago, as I saw embers in the campfire then."

"What a pity," Fang Hong said with some annoyance, "if we had come a bit earlier yesterday, perhaps we could have seen their campfire."

"But we couldn't guarantee that they would be friendly."

Fang Hong scratched his head, and after thinking, it indeed seemed so, Tata's words made him more cautious, and he hadn't forgotten the experiences in the Elf Ruins.

The others hadn't deliberately concealed their tracks, and Fang Hong could roughly guess from which direction they had left. This gave him some relief, otherwise, given the survival skills level of the others, it would be easy for them to shake off a newcomer like him.

But should he pursue them? Fang Hong was somewhat hesitant; if he continued south, he would eventually reach the coast near Axinpal, but he didn't know how long it would take.

Tata also reminded him on the side, "Leaving the original direction might lead us to get lost, Mr. Knight."

"Let's do this." Fang Hong finally made up his mind. He was primarily worried about the situation in Elpaxin—it was the traditional territory of the Rainbow Alliance, and he was now a bit wary of the Grand Guild, feeling it was necessary to understand the situation before entering the 'enemy's' territory.

"We'll follow this direction for an hour, and if we don't see anyone in that time, we'll return the way we came." He pulled out a pocket watch and flaunted it, it was probably the most valuable thing he had left—a gift from a Kapuka Artisan Apprentice, assembled by his own hands.

Tata nodded her head.

So the two of them continued on their way. The terrain ahead gradually lowered, the last traces of the hilly landscape disappeared, and the forest between them began to flatten, and this lowland forest finally revealed its true features.

Several streams converged here, forming a dim shallow marsh, and between the marshes were islands scattered like stars, the vegetation mostly consisted of banyan and mangrove species.

The giant banyan trees were not inferior to the ancient white oak wood trees he had seen; they grew together, with huge aerial roots hanging down to the water's surface also growing into thick branches, some like a wall, lush and leafy.

Fang Hong also spotted two Long-tailed Gannets, gigantic predators two meters high, nesting at the top of the banyan trees, a crocodile's corpse hanging from a tree trunk; they used their sword-like beaks to tear open the scales and pull out the entrails to feed their hatchlings in the nest.

He was startled by this sight, and quickly held his breath and backed away with Tata. The Long-tailed Gannets, although only level six creatures, were much more troublesome as flying creatures than land-based predators; walkers could hardly launch an attack on flying creatures.

On the other hand, it was much easier for Long-tailed Gannets to kill them.

Luckily, where food was abundant and without provocation or threat, most wild animals and Magic Beasts did not usually initiate attacks on people.

Fang Hong avoided that direction and, after another quarter of an hour, finally spotted more traces left by people ahead. It was a dagger, lying in the undergrowth, glinting brightly.

However, the trouble was a Dragon Feather Emu was also nearby, this featherless odd bird, with indigo plumage and a fiery red crest paired with a bizarrely large chin, intended to pick up the dagger as a decoration to attract a mate; it spotted the competitor on the other side of the brush and, unable to contain its anger, spread its gorgeous feathers and let out an angry shriek at Fang Hong.

Fang Hong certainly couldn't let the clue he had finally found be taken by it.

He stepped forward, trying to drive away the large bird.

But unexpectedly, the bird that was taller than a man directly breathed out a burst of fire at him.

The Colin people believed that this wingless bird had dragon blood in its lineage, and now Fang Hong was starting to believe it too. He hurriedly rolled to the side to dodge the fireball, causing the flames to scatter, but since he actively dodged it well, his evasion value only dropped by about ten points.

"Sword Hong, go!"

He pointed with his hand, and two flashes of cold light dove down. However, the Dragon Feather Emu was also keen, it stepped back, causing "Sword Hong" to miss, its blade feet plunging into the mud.

The walker lost its balance momentarily, but so did the Dragon Feather Emu. In Fang Hong's vision, a pale blue number appeared, the pale blue signifying evasion value damage, amounting to one hundred and fifty-seven points.

This damage was enough to affect the Dragon Feather Emu's balance.

It indeed stepped back into the mud, its body tilting as it tried to regain its balance. But Fang Hong's palm reversed, his middle finger and index finger snapped—a sudden extension of two blade claws from the walker cut through the mud.

The blades flashed past and the emu's thick claws were severed on cue.

Its cumbersome body, as tall as a man, lost balance and toppled forward.

The only remaining copper frame on Fang Hong's glove and the flexible tracks on it began to spin madly, and the walker's second pair of legs suddenly stretched forward into the mud to stabilize, its torso twisting, and both pairs of blade claws swiped upward in a bright semi-circle.

Just right to decapitate the monstrous bird's fiery red head. Because the fluid sack was ruptured, the flammable liquid met the air, and sparks exploded.

"Sword Hong" walker hurriedly dove downward, submerging in the water to avoid the flames, its wooden structure being fire-averse but water-resistant. Only the gears might need cleaning after taking in some mud and sand.

The entire combat happened in the blink of an eye, and it was only then that Tata slowly blinked, lifting her head to look at him.

"This is a level four creature."

Fang Hong also wiped some sweat off and nodded, "It was a bit of a stretch, but good thing it was close-range combat. At this distance, the high-accuracy walker actually counters it."

"But according to the stats, 'Sword Hong' wouldn't have beaten it."

"Fortunately, the walker is way more formidable than the Clockwork Fairy," Fang Hong sighed. A level four creature was about the same as a level three adventurer, which meant that he had performed at the standard expected of a War Profession Professional just now.

Combat Profession Practitioner—

He couldn't help but look at his own hands, slender and well-shaped, still those of a craftsman...

Tata had already flown over. He then came back to his senses, walked over, and pulled the walker from the water, flipping it to let the water and sand drain out.

At that moment, Miss Fairy picked up the dagger.

"Mr. Knight, this doesn't seem like war gear."

"This dagger..." Fang Hong was startled when he saw the dagger—engraved on the blade was a mark of seven rings of starlight.

"You recognize it, Mr. Knight?" Tata held the dagger in both hands and asked.

"This insignia is the mark of Stargate Port, it's a trainee's dagger."

Fang Hong nodded.

"Stargate Port? Trainee?"

Fang Hong scratched his head, unsure how to explain the matter of the Invoker to her. But at that moment, Miss Fairy seemed to realize and asked, "Mr. Knight, is it about the Invoker?"

"Ah? You know?" Fang Hong was stunned.

...

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