The players who grouped together to find the source of the rainbow light they saw while in the city found themselves blocked by trees in the cursed forest. This left them terrified, many becoming hysterical and running in different directions. Despite there being no monsters attacking them, they were petrified because of rumors that the forest was filled with zombies at night—those who had entered and never found their way out.

Siegfried's group stood at the forest entrance, tying ropes to each other to avoid getting separated. Hearing the cries of terrified players from within the forest made their nerves falter a bit.

"What should we do?"

Peach Blossom asked nervously, starting to doubt if she really wanted to enter the forest.

"We promised Chang Long, so we must go in,"

Siegfried said firmly, ignoring the terrified screams of the players who were lost in the cursed forest.

"Well, aren't you brave? Let me lead the way,"

a voice called out from the forest, startling everyone. Kimhant tightened his grip on his camera, ready to capture the moment.

"Davy-Chan!"

Oliang and Wet Trash Can exclaimed simultaneously upon recognizing the speaker.

"Hm? Davy-Chan, Chang Long's ghost?"

Draco exclaimed, shocked. Everyone then turned their attention to Davy-Chan.

Davy-Chan was a tall, slender man with pale skin and long, sleek black hair. He had a handsome, sharp face and wore an outfit similar to Chang Long's. His body was semi-transparent, making him visible but not entirely clear.

"What's it to you if I'm a ghost?"

Davy-Chan scolded, looking around at everyone irritably.

"How did you get here, and where is Chang Long?"

Oliang quickly changed the subject, fearing Davy-Chan might get angry and decide not to lead them to Chang Long.

"I was scouting the area as missy ordered and overheard you mentioning her. Lucky for you, she hasn't wandered more than fifty meters away. Otherwise, you'd be searching for her on your own,"

Davy-Chan replied with a frown.

"So, you'll lead us to Chang Long, right?"

Siegfried asked happily.

"Of course, where else would I lead you? Follow me, but let me warn you: keeping up with me requires some speed. If you lag, you'll get lost!"

Davy-Chan cautioned before darting into the forest. Siegfried's group quickly followed, although Kimhant's lack of speed became a problem. Oliang and Wet Trash Can helped carry him to keep up with Davy-Chan.

Soon, they arrived at a small clearing where Chang Long, Kitsune, Ugly Duckling Prince, and something unknown lay on Chang Long's lap. They quickly untied the ropes binding them together while Davy-Chan reported the state of the forest within fifty meters to Chang Long.

"Someone used magic to make the trees in this forest move and trap those who enter from leaving. When they are exhausted from trying to find a way out, a path will open. I don't know where it leads, but if we keep moving, it should open for us eventually,"

Davy-Chan reported.

Chang Long's group began their journey again, staying close together to avoid getting lost and separated. Within an hour, the sun had completely set. Fortunately, some in the group had prepared and brought torches to light their way. Chang Long, however, had not brought any supplies.

"Why have we been walking for so long, and yet the path that Davy-chan mentioned still hasn't opened for us?"

Oliang asked curiously as everyone stopped to set up camp.

"It might be because we have the mission,"

Chang Long said, quickly lighting the campfire with the help of Kitsune.

"What does it have to do with my mission, quack?"

The Ugly Duckling Prince asked.

"Indeed!"

Everyone echoed, equally puzzled.

"If my guess is right, this could be the place where the Witch Lily is hiding herself and Princess Anna,"

Chang Long speculated, making everyone ponder. Even though the Ugly Duckling Prince had heard this theory from Chang Long before, he still found it hard to believe.

"It's possible, since Davy-chan did mention that this forest is enchanted,"

Siegfried nodded in agreement.

"By the way, do you guys have any elemental gems? My Hulu is so hungry it's fainted,"

Chang Long asked, having no idea where to find elemental gems in this cursed forest.

"Hulu?"

Everyone asked in unison.

"Uh-huh, Hulu, my pet. It just hatched from the quest egg,"

Chang Long answered, pointing to the rainbow kirin lying exhausted on Kitsune's back.

"Wow! Your egg hatched into a kirin?"

Oliang exclaimed in amazement, seeing a real kirin for the first time since starting the game.

"You always have such unusual things, Chang Long,"

Draco teased with a laugh, pulling a piece of meat from his ingredient box and handing it to the Firetail.

"Here, I've only got a couple of medium and small pieces,"

Wet Trash Can said, offering the multicolored elemental gems he had to Chang Long.

"Thanks, Can. I'll compensate you for this,"

Chang Long said gratefully, taking the gems.

"No need, no need. Just take responsibility for my meals a few times and we're even,"

Wet Trash Can quickly refused, having grown fond of the food from the Cone of Abundance.

"You're quite the gluttony, Can. Here, Chang Long, I have one large gem and five small ones,"

Oliang handed his elemental gems to Chang Long as well.

"Thanks, Oliang. What would you like in return?"

Chang Long asked, accepting the gems from Oliang.

"I don't want anything. Just being with you is already a big profit for us,"

Oliang replied, recalling the valuable quest they had completed together last time, which far outweighed the few gems he was giving away.

"Don't take your words back, Oliang,"

Chang Long laughed softly.

"Hehe, of course not. You're my lucky charm, Chang Long. This is nothing,"

Oliang said, laughing heartily.

"All right then..."

Chang Long chuckled lightly before getting up to walk over to Kitsune and Hulu, who were lying beside her tent.

Upon smelling the elemental gems, Hulu lifted its head quickly. Chang Long placed a medium-sized gem on a clean cloth, and Flatear approached to sniff and then hungrily devoured the gem. Once it finished, it looked at Chang Long with pleading eyes, as if wanting more. Chang Long then placed two small gems on the cloth, which Hulu promptly gobbled up in no time.

"Pack up quickly. A horde of zombies is heading this way!"

Davy-chan floated in with a panicked expression, startling everyone as they turned to look at him.

"Zombies?"

Chang Long repeated, handing another small elemental gem to Hulu.

"Yes, zombies! Not raw eggs! Don't just stand there, they're of varying levels from the low thirties up to the sixties!"

Davy-chan emphasized, seeing everyone in a daze.

After Davy-chan's second warning, they hurriedly packed up the camp. But before they could fully prepare themselves, a shrill howl resembling a buffalo being slaughtered echoed through the forest from all directions. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly. The Ugly Duckling Prince, Kimhant, and Hulu were in the center, surrounded by their friends and the campfire, while Firetail clung tightly to his master's back as usual.

Hoooo. Raaah...

The moaning grew closer, stopping only when the creatures were illuminated by the campfire's light. Their skin was gray and almost black, their clothes tattered, their hair disheveled, their eyes deep and dark, and their teeth and nails pitch black. The sight made Chang Long briefly think of Elder An, but Elder An was not nearly this terrifying.

"Oh my god! Master, I don't want to die here."

Kimhant cried out to Chang Long, his voice trembling as he saw the hundreds of zombies closing in on them.

"After this mission, I'm going to train you a hard, Kimhant. It's lucky that Can and Siegfried are here, or I wouldn't be able to protect you all the time,"

Chang Long said, rolling her eyes at her subordinate, not expecting a journalist player to be so weak.

"Huh, you want me to fight, Master? I won't be able to write the news then!"

Kimhant asked in shock. If he had to fight, when would he find time to take pictures and make notes?

"You can do both if you're skilled enough,"

Chang Long replied nonchalantly.

"It seems they're afraid to come closer to the light,"

Oliang squinted, analyzing the situation. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Look over there, there's a wide path. It might lead us out of the forest,"

Draco pointed out. According to Davy-chan's information, the path led to a small cabin.

"So we have to fight our way through them,"

Peach Blossom said, tightening her grip on her magic staff.

"And we'll need fire!"

Wet Trash Can said, looking at Peach Blossom, who was already prepared.

"Don't worry about fire. We have plenty of people and pets who can use it,"

Draco said, pulling Firetail from his back to face its first battle.

"Kitsune, give us a big fire!"

Chang Long instructed her trusty pet. Kitsune nodded and opened his mouth to release a large ball of golden fire. The zombies shrieked and scattered in all directions. Kitsune's golden fireball also set nearby trees a blaze in a split second, demonstrating its destructive power.

"Wow, Kitsune's fire is amazing!"

Wet Trash Can exclaimed in awe.

"Tch! My fire isn't any less impressive, even if it's not golden,"

Peach Blossom grumbled, throwing a fireball to clear a path through the zombies.

"Should we just burn down the forest? It'll regenerate on its own anyway,"

Draco suggested, watching Firetail gleefully set zombies' heads ablaze with its fiery tail.

"Good idea, Sea of Flames!"

Chang Long agreed, activating her Eye of Fire skill.

Flames erupted from the Eye of Fire, engulfing the grass in front of them and quickly spreading. In no time, Chang Long's Sea of Flames combined with Peach Blossom and Kitsune's fire, creating a massive wildfire that spread rapidly to the nearby trees.

"What are you doing, quack? We're going to die here, quack!"

The Ugly Duckling Prince yelled, fearing he would end up as roasted duck for Davy-chan.

"Don't worry! Stop whining like those zombies!"

Chang Long chuckled at the prince's panic, finding it amusing how different he was from the bedtime story prince someone used to tell her.

"Master, if you burn our way out, how are we supposed to leave?"

Kimhant shouted in alarm. They were now surrounded by intense flames, with no clear path to escape.

"Maybe we should wait until more zombies are burnt before moving out, Chang Long,"

Siegfried suggested, standing beside her. Everyone nodded in agreement, knowing that fighting the hordes head-on would cost too much time and effort.

The flames raged for a while, and when the number of zombies had significantly decreased, Chang Long used the Fire Fortress skill from the Eye of Fire to clear a path leading to a small cabin. Everyone speculated that it might be the hiding place of the Witch Lily and Princess Anna.

After walking for a while, the small cabin came into view. Despite the wildfire's devastation which burned the forest around the area, the cabin remained unscathed, indicating powerful magic protecting it. Kimhant, who had been tasked with carrying Hulu, finally put the struggling creature down with his tattered body. Flatear had kicked, thrashed, and even bitten him along the way. Kimhant then took out his camera to document the mission.

As they approached the cabin, the door suddenly opened, and a beautiful woman stepped out, smiling seductively at them. Her voice was soft and enchanting as she asked,

"What brings you here at such a late hour...?"

Draco, Oliang, Kimhant, and Wet Trash Can stared at her, as if mesmerized by spell. Peach Blossom and Chang Long, being women, were unaffected. Siegfried, recognizing the charm spell, quickly averted his gaze to avoid falling under its influence. Even the pets continuously growled at her, including Hulu, who had been quiet the whole time.

'She's a witch,'

Davy-chan whispered to Chang Long while remaining invisible.

'Master, I sense great danger from her!'

Kitsune warned Chang Long anxiously. The Ugly Duckling Prince, meanwhile, stayed hidden behind Chang Long, too frightened to speak.

"We're looking for someone. Do you happen to know them?"

Chang Long asked bravely, stepping forward to confront the woman.

"Hm? And who might you be looking for? Perhaps a lover? Hehe, people often get lost in this forest. I wonder if the one you're searching for is still alive,"

the woman replied, her gaze shifting from the men to Chang Long. She gently caressed Chang Long's cheek with her pale hand.

"Princess Anna,"

Chang Long answered, causing the woman to halt her playful demeanor and immediately step back.

-----

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