Stan doesn't know how he managed to escape the smoke without hitting a tree, the firelight was like a beacon in front of him, and the knight kept his eyes closed as he got closer and closer to the fire.

The grinding and inhaling sounds faded away, and silence returned to Stan's side, for now, all he could hear was the rustle of the horse's hooves on the fallen leaves and his own breathing, and if he hadn't felt his cloak being pulled by Niss behind him, he would have even suspected that he was the only one left in this strange forest.

Suddenly, Rui's voice entered his head again. "Stop, open your eyes. Stan hurriedly complied, and the knight looked around, they were already out of the gray-green smoke, surrounded by the same white fog as when they first entered the forest, and Ness was still behind him, looking at her suspiciously. "I heard Rui's voice stop me, but where is she?"

As he spoke, another sound of horses' hooves came from in front of the three of them, and Rui rode slowly towards them. "Luckily, I didn't follow too closely, otherwise I would have been surrounded. ”

"What's that, Ray?" Stan looked at the calm mage in horror.

"I don't know, but I think Nellfi seems to know. Rui looked at Nerfi, who was about to speak.

"She was cast a silence spell and was unable to speak for a short time. Ness glanced at Nellfi's blushing face and explained to Rui.

"I see, although you have escaped from the encirclement of those monsters for the time being, as long as you are still in this forest, you can't say that you are safe, we had better go back now and leave this forest. With that, Rui turned his horse's head and rode backwards.

The three of them followed the mage, and Ness looked back with trepidation. "Those four mages don't know what happened, will those monsters catch up?"

"They are self-inflicted, kidnapping people to go somewhere, and they want to break into here. Rui didn't look back, and said disdainfully.

"I also find it strange why they are swapping hostages in the Twilight Forest, is there something out there that makes them more fearful?" Stan shook his head in confusion.

"If there had been something more terrible out there than those monsters, the villagers of Olaf would have fled long ago. Rui walked around tree after tree and led the way ahead.

Ness was also thinking, but there was no conclusion, and the girl decided not to think about such a complicated issue for now, and began to look at her surroundings, only to suddenly realize that the path they were passing on now seemed to be different from the one they had come in. "Rui, are we walking the same way we were when we first came?"

"Yes, I made marks on some trees, and I can't be wrong. Rui turned her head to look at Niss.

"But I remember there were no of these things on the ground when we came in. Ness pointed to a pile of wet fallen leaves and weeds not far away. "And why is this piece so wet?"

Rui frowned and looked in the direction of Ness's finger. "You're right, I didn't pay attention, but it was too wet. ”

"It's not just that, look there. Stan points in the other direction, and equally wet piles of fallen leaves are scattered around them, numbering no less than ten. Under everyone's gaze, some of the piles of fallen leaves began to bulge upwards, as if something was rising up below.

An ominous premonition welled up in everyone's hearts. "Get out of here!" Stan yells, pulling the reins and riding forward, not sure if he's in the right direction, Ryan and Niss follow.

At that moment, all the fallen leaves began to emit gray-green smoke outwards at the same time, which everyone did not expect, and Stan had only ridden a dozen yards before the smoke quickly reduced the already low visibility to within five yards, and the group was once again surrounded by smoke. Even more frighteningly, the grinding sound sounded around them again.

"Damn, I was careless, I didn't expect these things to be ambushed. Rui said in annoyance.

"We can't stand still, I take the lead, follow me, Ness, and burn all the monsters that stand in our way with flames. "Having had the experience before, Stan knew that their only hope was to get out of the encirclement as soon as possible.

But as before, the crowd walked blindly for dozens of yards in the smoke, and Ness even cast a pillar of fire spell on the two monsters, only to find that they seemed to be spinning in place.

"Hell, why is this still the case!" Stan cursed, looking anxiously at Rui. "Can you still use your magic to help us find the right way?"

"I'm afraid not, Stan, I was out of the smoke just now so I could see the way, but now I'm stuck here, and I can't find the way at all. Rui shook his head helplessly.

Ness tried the wind magic again, and the mage used almost all his strength, and the stagnant air was only carried up with a small ripple. "No, I can't blow the smoke at all. ”

"Hell, we can't give up hope anyway! Stan raised his sword, urging his mount to run quickly. "Follow me!"

The knight controlled Hope to deftly dodge one tree after another, moving quickly between the trees, and the smoke around him showed no tendency to fade. Sweat seeped from the knight's forehead, wetting his eyes, and the sight of the same could barely tell if he was in reality or hallucination, and heavy gasps echoed in his ears. Stan finally stopped, he felt that he couldn't run anymore, there was still no change around him, and the mages were all exhausted and followed him, despair written on everyone's faces.

"I'm sorry, I can't get you out of here, but I'll block any attacks for you, and in case of crisis, you can leave me alone and run away, and I'll be here without a single step back. Stan swallowed, sat up straight on horseback, and looked at his companions solemnly.

"There's a way, Stan, we can get out. Ness gasped for breath and encouraged Stan.

Stan was about to say something, but the sound of rubbing again made him shut up, this time with no less than ten monsters coming towards them. The grinding sound was getting closer and closer, and everyone held their breath and leaned close together.

In this moment of despair, suddenly a loud slogan exploded into the smoke like a thunderbolt. "For Doyle!" a voice familiar to Stan shouted heroically, followed by a dozen identical slogans. Immediately afterward, the sound of messy horses' hooves and the sound of swords unsheathed came to my ears.

The knights, lined up in two neat columns, charged towards the smoke, avoiding the trees in front of them, but then immediately returning to their previous straight line, and nothing else allowed them to change the course of their charge. The whole formation swept through the smoke-shrouded area like a wave, and the knights did not stop attacking, they turned their horses' heads and began to charge in the other direction in a neat manner. All the knights slashed at all the monsters in their way, and the neat and wide formation kept them from detouring at all, avoiding the possibility of falling into illusions. Eventually, one by one, the monsters fell in front of the knights' ranks, and the smoke faded.

"Brewster!" Stan sees the knights still charging, but all of them are wearing helmets that cover their faces, and he shouts at them.

One of the knights in the formation gave a quick glance to this direction and shouted, "Follow us!" and the knight faced forward again. "Don't look back this time, keep going in this direction until you rush out of the forest, for Doyle!"

"For Doyle!" all the knights shouted, slashing the two monsters in front of them to the ground in an instant.

"Keep up with them!" Stan instructed his companions, and as the mages followed, the knight followed them, keeping an eye on what was going on behind them.

Without any pause, everyone rushed to the edge of the forest, and as the light around them suddenly brightened, the previously gloomy and obscure atmosphere suddenly disappeared, and they ran out of the forest.

The knights cheered, the girls hugged each other with relief, even Nerfi didn't refuse Ness's hug, and Ray just nodded to each other.

Brewster rode towards them, and the knight bowed slightly to the girls. "Dear ladies, it's great that you're safe and sound. ”

Ray is embarrassed to hide behind Niss, and Stan rides over. "Brewster, it's really you, how did you end up here?"

"To tell you the truth, after you left, Byron felt uneasy, and specially asked me to quietly follow you with twenty people to protect you. Brewster stole a glance at Rui.

"I see, that would explain why the mages didn't attack us all the way, and they had to capture Nerfi in the forest to exchange Nesse with us. Stan nodded in realization.

"We did spot a few mage-looking people following you along the way, so we deliberately followed them closely to keep them out of our sight. Brewster was proud of his decision.

"Thank you so much, if it weren't for you, we'd have died there. Stan glanced into the forest, only to see three figures crawling out of it.

"It's those mages!" Ness saw their faces, though they were covered in dirt and blood.

"Don't kill us, we have no choice but to do it!" Rolf saw the menacing knights and three mages in front of him, and he was so frightened that he stood unsteadily and fell to his knees.

Ness glances at the embarrassed trio and rides up to Stan's side. "Three of them died, and I think they've learned their lesson, so let them go. ”

Stan and Brewster exchanged a glance, the latter nodded slightly, and the knight looked back at the three. "Since Ness has interceded for you, I will spare you this time, I know that Ness is not the only one who is following you, and if you are still grateful, do not appear in front of us again, and do not tell the other mages where we are. ”

Rolf looked at the crowd gratefully, and almost burst into tears. "Thank you for your forgiveness, our companion is half dead, and we have no intention of getting involved in this matter anymore. The mage and the two surviving companions bowed to Nessy in thanks. "We're going to get out of here, forever. After saying that, the three of them ran east without looking back.

The group headed back towards Olaf, the knights chatting loudly in front and the mages slowly following behind.

"Ness, you're mature. Rui looked at Ness appreciatively. "I was really impressed by your composure in the forest in the face of danger and the forgiveness you faced with those three mages. ”

"Really? Thanks, Rui. Ness looked happily at the village ahead and thought of the mercenary. Fern, I really want to see you soon, so that you can see a different me, I am no longer the little girl who can only cry.