Alka and his companions leaped swiftly along the steep slopes of the mountain, sprinting toward the source of the loud rumbling noise.
Based on their simple assumptions, they concluded that no matter which possibility arose, their assistance might be needed.
Soon, they saw the source of the noise through the cliff face. What had happened?
At least a dozen bizarre evil spirits of all kinds were gliding and leaping through the forest, chasing a target.
And that target, as Alka had anticipated, was a half-elemental from the Stonehoof tribe.
And its appearance was remarkably similar to the minotaur guard they had seen at the entrance to the stone forest.
In fact, they were identical in appearance, differing only in minor details.
This alone confirmed they were not the same person.
The minotaur resembled a brown-skinned minotaur, covered in a large area of mud.
But his body bore numerous cracks. Stone pillars rose from the ground, allowing the minotaur to swiftly move through the forest.
He dodged the pursuers with his swift movements.
He didn't use the swimming-like movement through the mud that Alka and the others had seen on the sentinels before.
"Ahhhhh!"
A piercing scream emanated from the mouth of a banshee-like evil spirit.
Alka and the others couldn't help but frown, shielding their ears against the stinging pain of the sound.
With this movement, the minotaur's escape faltered, and he fell from the stone pillar.
The damage caused to these half-elemental creatures by this soul's wailing was far greater than they had imagined.
A visible crack appeared on his body.
However, as he fell, he grabbed hold of a protruding stone pillar. He then stood up and once again escaped by manipulating the earth.
"It's over," Alka suddenly said, watching the scene.
With their arrival, they brought with them the evil spirits that had been following them. These spirits immediately began to pounce on the minotaur from the Stonehoof tribe.
They temporarily abandoned their pursuit of Alka and the others.
The direction they rushed towards was exactly where the minotaur had fled, and in an instant, the minotaur was surrounded.
The sudden onslaught of evil spirits left the minotaur frozen in place.
He was somewhat baffled by the sudden encirclement.
Under such circumstances, the stone pillar beneath his feet stretched infinitely upward, suddenly bulging over 20 meters. Judging by the minotaur's expression, it was clear that this was his limit.
These evil spirits clung to the stone pillars, constantly crawling upwards, attempting to reach the minotaur.
"Give him a hand," Alka said, and wings of wind, composed of a cyan breeze, appeared on his back.
The breeze emanated from his wings, propelling him upwards.
When they were close enough, Alka used the red flame card. A stream of flames surrounded the base of the stone pillar, blazing fiercely.
Instantly, a large number of evil spirits were burned and fell from the pillars.
The spikes on the stone pillars had no effect on these evil spirits. This scene made them understand why the Stonehoof group was reluctant to go deeper into the mountains.
These evil spirits were their natural nemesis.
Attacks targeting the mind and soul made them difficult to defend against. His most proficient earth elemental manipulation attacks had little effect on the evil spirits.
In Alka's eyes, this half-elemental minotaur had even reached the fifth stage of strength.
The highest of the evil spirits pursuing him was only at the fourth stage, with the vast majority at the second stage. Even so, he still struggled to make much of a dent in them.
It was as if he had encountered a natural enemy.
The minotaur breathed a sigh of relief at the sudden arrival of Alka and the others.
Judging from their actions, they were clearly here to help him.
Standing atop the stone pillar, he raised his hands high. A beam of golden light converged in his hands, which he then dispersed.
A large number of evil spirits instantly retreated, terrified by the golden glow.
"A follower of the Mother?" Sofia was surprised.
A half-elemental creature from the Stonehoof tribe actually believed in the Mother? That was too strange.
But there were more reasons for his help.
With a wave of his hand, white moonlight shone forth, driving away all the remaining evil spirits. All of them were either instantly incinerated to ash or took cover.
The stone pillar slid down, and the minotaur bounded over to Alka and the others.
"Thank you for your help," he said, crossing his arms in a gesture of prayer to the Mother.
Alka and the others nodded and responded with the same gesture.
Watching this, the minotaur sensed the Mother's aura emanating from Alka and Sofia, a much stronger presence than his own.
"Are you followers of the Mother? You're even a saint. Excuse me."
Watching this, Alka quickly waved his hand, "No need to be so rude."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're a member of the Stonehoof tribe. Why would you venture so deep?" Alka asked, puzzled.
If any of his tribe were truly lost in such depths, Alka was sure the elder would tell him and ask for his help.
"Have you been to the Stone Forest? What's it like there?"
The minotaur-like half-elemental from the Stonehoof tribe couldn't help but ask.
Arka could even hear anxiety in his fluent, tapping words.
You have to remember that when he communicated with the half-elementals in the Stone Forest, his speech was either halting or extremely dull, as if devoid of emotion.
Even the elder, aside from his fluent speech, showed no emotion.
The minotaur before him, on the other hand, had an extremely steady and smooth voice, and his emotional fluctuations were extremely clear.
If Arka hadn't known that he was a half-elemental from the Stonehoof tribe and had met most of his people, he would have mistaken him for a flesh-and-blood creature.
"Yes, we came from that place. I don't know what that place looked like before, but it looks fine now."
The minotaur nodded at Arka's response.
Even his expression was vivid.
"Thank you, everyone. I'm a member of the Stonehoof tribe, and my name is Rockhorn."
After introducing themselves,
Lucelia sat on Alka's shoulder and couldn't help but ask, "You're very different from your people. You speak very fluently, and your emotions fluctuate."
Hearing this, Rockhorn smiled and said, "Maybe it's because I've lived among humans for so long."
"Speaking of which, why are you so deep down? It's really too dangerous for you, isn't it?" Alka asked from the side.
Hearing this, Rockhorn sighed and leaned against the stone wall. "You must be confused, but my brother and I left the Stone Forest 213 years and seven days ago. We planned to get to know this world better."
Then he added awkwardly, "But your world is actually an ocean world, so we haven't even left this continent.
After traveling through Scar in this world, we joined the front lines fighting those demons and became mercenaries.
We'll exchange your money for some earth-element materials and crystals."
Arka and the others nodded at this, finding it quite reasonable.
"But before that, about a month ago, while we were chasing a demon, that demon forced a portal open, sending us here along with it.
Honestly, it was such bad luck. Although we defeated that demon, the evil spirits here are even more threatening.
My brother... died at the hands of the evil spirits. Thanks to my faith in the Mother, I still have some means to deal with them, and I've managed to survive in this place."
At this point, the half-elemental minotaur looked at Alka, crossed his arms, and pleaded, "For the Mother's sake, my friend.
Can you do me a favor? My brother's core crystal is still there, and with the evil spirits surrounding it, I can't get through. I haven't found a way to retrieve it in all this time."
Hearing this, Alka nodded, a sudden realization dawned on him. So that's why.
No wonder there was an extra crystal.
So that's the reason.
Thinking this, Alka pulled the crystal they had already obtained from the space.
"Is that so?"
Seeing the crystal,Rockhorn looked a little surprised, then nodded and asked in confusion, "How did you get a crystal like this?
My people wouldn't let something like this get lost."
"This is what the elder of the Stonehoof tribe asked us to find in this mountain range. He said there are three in total."
Hearing Alka's words, he suddenly understood; it was clear he knew about this as well.
"Thank you so much, thank you so much for helping our people, but this one isn't my brother's.
Just now, so many evil spirits were chasing me because I tried to retrieve my brother's crystal, and I alerted the surrounding evil spirits."
Rockhorn sighed.
It must be said that although the appearance is similar to the Stonehoof tribe's half-elemental. But his expression of emotions and the flexibility of his speech were essentially the same as those of a normal flesh-and-blood creature.
Hearing Rockhorn's request, Alka nodded.
Putting aside the fact that they were already searching for crystals, and Rockhorn being a follower of the Mother, there was absolutely no problem with Alka and the others offering assistance.
After all, these evil spirits were a dangerous and difficult area for them, the half-elementals of the earth element.
But for Alka and the others, they posed little threat; they had plenty of means to deal with them.
At most, it would just be a matter of walking a little further.
Alka nodded and said, "No problem. You can come with us. We need to go deeper to find something. Once we find it, we'll take you out.
It's safer that way."
Hearing Alka's words,Rockhorn nodded and said happily, "That's great. Thank you very much for your help."
He thanked him again. After all, before Alka and the others came, he had already given up hope.
He was just trying to survive in despair.
Who knew a surprise would come so suddenly?
Led by Rockhorn, Alka and the others set off again, heading towards the place where his brother had died.
Soon they saw the stone pillars that the half-elemental creatures had turned into after their death. This one was even taller than the first one they had seen, standing at twelve or thirteen meters. It was also extremely thick, like a stone tower.
A large number of evil spirits had gathered around them. It was unknown if they were gathered here because they were waiting for something to happen.
After all, these evil spirits still possessed a certain amount of instinctive intelligence, like bloodthirsty beasts.
Looking at the group of evil spirits, Sofia extended his hand and swirled it. A sphere of light, resembling a moon, slammed directly into the area.
The sphere of light descended, spreading and expanding like a moon rising from the ground.
Amidst hoarse screams, the group of evil spirits instantly turned to ash.
A gentle breeze swept the ashes from the ground and gathered them.
Rockhorn stood there, stunned, watching the scene.
It felt surreal.
The problem that had troubled him for so long was easily solved by someone else.
He couldn't help but sigh, "It's great to have so many tricks up your sleeve."
After all, his strength wasn't weak, but he was simply too restrained by these evil spirits.
Fortunately, he believed in the Mother, and through prayer, he was able to temporarily receive some additional Holy Light power from her.
The bodies of half-elemental beings are both a gift and a hindrance.
It grants them innate elemental manipulation, but also limits their control over other powers.
Hearing this, Alka smiled.
Everyone walked over and looked at the towering stone pillar.
"Is this your brother's body? It's much larger than the one we saw before. Is it because of its strength?"
Hearing Lucelia's question, Rockhorn nodded. "That's partly the reason. Another part is the passage of time. After all, the stone pillar has been here for too long, and time will wear away everything."
Hearing this, everyone nodded. They watched as Rockhorn approached the stone pillar and placed his four-fingered hand on its surface.
Like mud rolling, a crystal emerged from within, a special effect not dissimilar to the one Alka had previously used.
This crystal was noticeably larger than the one Alka had previously acquired.
The energy it emanated was also much stronger.
From this, it was clear that his brother's strength was undoubtedly greater than the one Alka had once possessed.
Looking at the crystal in his hand, Rockhorn sighed.
He placed it against his chest, allowing it to merge into his heart, presumably for temporary storage.
"Thank you, everyone."
Alka nodded, then turned slightly and headed towards their destination.
Rockhorn followed them.
After a brisk journey, Alka arrived at the orange pillar of light, where the Cloud Staff was hidden, after only about two days.
Upon arriving, they could sense the eerie atmosphere. Evil spirits were teeming with them, their black and red eyes everywhere.
These evil spirits hid in various places, observing them.
Even in the daytime, the place was already gloomy and dark, with a biting cold wind blowing.
The wind whipped through the mountains, making a whistling sound like a howl.
In this area, Rockhorn felt extremely uncomfortable. The stronger one's strength, the more sensitive they were to dangerous things.
And every evil spirit here posed a deadly threat to him.
It was like a lamb in the midst of a pack of wolves.
A gigantic evil spirit charged directly towards Alka and the others, completely ignoring the threat posed by the moonlight.
But a fourth-stage evil spirit was still just an evil spirit.
Alka's neighbor unleashed a powerful fireball, imbued with a tiny bit of holy light. In an instant, it ignited, reducing it to ash.
I had been following Alka and the others for several days, and had witnessed nearly every aspect of their attack.
Rockhorn, watching this scene, couldn't help but ask, "Have you defended the Demon Hunter Fortress before?"
Hearing this, Alka turned to look at him and nodded.
"Indeed."
"So you're the Compass Eye?" Rockhorn asked.
It seemed their reputation had spread. Alka nodded without hiding it.
"No wonder it was you. You're truly formidable."
As they advanced, Rockhorn recounted his story: "Before I was teleported here by the demon, I was fighting at the Demon-Proof Fortress.
The soldiers who came to support us from the Demon-Hunting Fortress heard about you. They said how powerful you were, and I even saw you playing with the Devouring Mouth in my dreams."
"I didn't expect to meet you here. I'm truly lucky."
Although Alka and his companions hadn't gone to the Demon-Proof Fortress to support them, the soldiers from the Demon-Hunting Fortress who had gone had spread their fame.
Add to that the fame they had already spread across the World Scar a few years earlier, further enhancing their reputation.
Alka smiled.
As they chatted, they reached the edge of the area. "Let's set up camp here."
Hearing this, Rockhorn asked doubtfully, "Are you planning on staying here longer?"
Alka nodded. "Yes, what we're looking for might not be easy to find right away."
Hearing this, Rockhorn nodded, then squatted down, pressing his hands to the ground.
As the earth element spread, the ground began to float, and soon a square stone house emerged from the ground.
"I can't offer much help against those evil spirits, but I can handle this little thing."
Looking at the stone house, it seemed this wasn't the first time he had used this skill.
The stone house was very well constructed, even down to the lookout tower.
It included a simple stone bed and benches, along with other furniture. The stone house's components were also well-suited for defending against enemy attacks.
There was a bonfire in the center, and a chimney for venting smoke. After a quick stroll, Alka looked at Sofia and said, "Let's take a walk around here together. We can get to know the surrounding terrain and prepare a map." Sofia nodded. The two of them walked out of the camp, while the others stayed inside and began to set up.