Chapter 451: Chapter 240: Incompatible Strength! (Four-in-one)_2 Smog Spirit: Appearance: The Smog Spirit’s body emits a dense, black mist. It has no noticeable facial or limb features, and generally, only a pair of red eyes can be seen. Attributes: High Dodge, low Health; both physical and Magic Attacks are weak. It can move silently within the smoke. Poison Tree Demon: Appearance: The Poison Tree Demon is tall and covered in tangled branches and vines. Its skin is light green, and its eyes are red. Attributes: High defense and high Health, strong physical attack power; it can release poison attacks, causing poison damage and poisoning the enemy. Smog Spider: Appearance: The Smog Spider is enormous, with eight poisonous, sharp spider legs and a gray-black abdomen. In the smoke, their bodies seem to be composed of mist. Attributes: High attack power and moderate Health; it can release poisonous attacks and bite attacks, causing physical and poison damage. Fog Beast: Appearance: The Fog Beast is tall and robust, with sturdy scales and iron-like claws. It is enveloped in thick smoke, and its eyes are usually red. Attributes: High attack power, high defense, and high Health. It can absorb smoke to enhance its power and launch physical and poison attacks. It can use range attacks and melee attack Skills. There were several others of this kind. Chen Mo compared these monsters to his own Soldiers. Despite the large number of his Soldiers, he feared many would perish if they were to engage these creatures. Fortunately, he hadn’t brought them along. Of course, Chen Mo himself could deal with them relatively easily. However, he was in no mood to clash with these monsters at the moment, as he was circling within the forest, searching for the two missing villagers from Green Bamboo Village. At the same time, he had dispatched a large number of his Skeleton Monsters, effectively increasing the search efficiency, though this also raised the likelihood of encountering other monsters. However, this was only a first-transition, level 40 instance dungeon. Each of Chen Mo’s Skeleton Monsters could inflict damage comparable to that of fourth-transition entities. Even if they encountered monsters, it would be a simple sweep with no real difficulty. Five minutes after Chen Mo entered the Smoky Intoxicated Forest, he couldn’t help but complain, This forest is too big! Even with my wide-range perception ability and 3,000,000 Skeleton Monsters searching, we still haven’t found a single trace of those two villagers. Is this a 12-hour timed mission? Chen Mo even began to suspect he might only be able to find them at night. However, since the forest was so vast, he hadn’t searched it all yet and thus hadn’t given up completely. Over the next period, Chen Mo continued to search deep within the dark and mysterious forest for any sign of the villagers. A short while later, just as he was about to give up and head to attack Storm City first, one of his Skeleton Monsters discovered a faint clue. It was a set of footprints resembling those made by human shoes. Using his Unity ability, Chen Mo observed them closely and confirmed that the marks were indeed left by human footwear. Discovering this clue, Chen Mo felt a surge of energy. He directed the Skeleton Monsters to continue searching in that direction while he himself sped over by Flying. As the Skeleton Monsters followed the direction of the footprints, Chen Mo soon discovered more tracks in the forest, along with some discarded items and scraps of torn cloth. This all proved that humans had been nearby, and he was on the right track. Seeing the tattered cloth, Chen Mo felt a sense of relief. Finally, I’m on the right trail, he thought, now certain he hadn’t made a mistake. However, he was curious. Since these were villagers from Green Bamboo Village, they should have been well aware of the dangers in this forest. Why then would they choose to venture so deep into it? Soon, Chen Mo would find out why. Continuing deeper into the Smoky Intoxicated Forest, Chen Mo gradually discovered some strange marks—remnants, it seemed, of some sort of ritual. He frowned; the scene unfolding before him felt distinctly unusual. A short while later, the Skeleton Monsters arrived before a large, circular altar constructed from earth and stone. Traces of fresh blood and candle wax remained on its surface, clearly indicating that someone had recently performed some kind of ritual here. As the Skeleton Monsters neared the center of the altar, Chen Mo noticed a strange item emitting a dark aura. It appeared to be some kind of medium used for summoning devils. Nearby lay multiple offerings of the kind Cultists would use, including animal carcasses and some unidentifiable objects. The altar was encircled by strange symbols and formation patterns. These markings were highly mysterious and likely served to amplify the ritual’s power. The entire altar exuded a bizarre, unsettling aura, making one feel a sense of unease and fear. Could the two villagers have been kidnapped by Cultists? he wondered. Are they planning to use them as live sacrifices? He began to meticulously search the area around the altar and soon discovered more unsettling traces. The Cultists had placed numerous offerings around the altar. Some of these were corpses bearing marks of having been bound—apparently humans intended as sacrifices. Chen Mo frowned and glanced at The Heavenly Path’s Hint. Fortunately, the mission timer was still counting down normally. This indicated that the sacrifices currently on the altar were not the villagers from Green Bamboo Village.