"Alright, alright, got it." Shadi stuck her tongue out and went into the woods on the side to keep watch.

Asuna sighed and took out a map to study it.

The Lime Mountain Range was so vast, and with only four of them, it was almost impossible to search the entire area.

If they wanted to quickly find some clues, they needed a method.

Asuna contemplated the map, where several circles were drawn with a feather pen.

One circle marked the usual patrol area of the missing Mountain Patrol Team, while the others were calculated positions by Asuna.

These positions were Asuna's estimations based on the patrol time of the Mountain Patrol Team, providing a rough idea of where they might have gone missing.

The border army's patrol teams all had fixed times for entering the mountains. By comparing the entry times and the approximate time of disappearance, and checking the patrol routes, she could determine a few potential locations where they may have gone missing.

The location of their disappearance would be where the team encountered danger, and searching such places would have a significantly higher chance of finding clues.

There were several such locations, and Asuna planned to visit each one first, eliminate possibilities, and then search elsewhere for clues.

The progress through the forest was slow, and it wasn't until sunset that Asuna and her group entered the interior of the Lime Mountain Range.

Asuna glanced at the map again, calculating the dates.

Searching all these locations would take about seven to eight days.

It's slow, but there's no other option.

In the vast mountains, a blanket search was impossible.

They didn't have enough manpower or time.

After sunset.

Asuna and the others found a sheltered spot where they planned to rest for the night.

It's very dangerous to wander around the mountains at night.

With the campfire lit, Asuna and the Holy Mage sat around the fire.

Shadi was next to them, using a dagger to handle a rabbit they had just caught, while the warrior sat on the perimeter, watching for any movement outside.

As she dealt with the rabbit, she said, "Asuna, we've been walking all day and found nothing. We have no idea where those people went."

"I don't know either. We'll just have to see if we can find any traces tomorrow."

Asuna hadn't detected any magical energy residues today, unsure if too much time had passed and it had dissipated, or if it was just undiscovered for now.

"The others don't seem to have found anything either. I wonder if we can find it," Shadi said, shaking her head.

During the day, they encountered several other adventurers, but no conflicts arose.

Everyone was here for the same reason: to find clues about the missing team.

Before there was any interest to compete over, no one would act recklessly.

With the configuration of Asuna's team, ordinary adventurers wouldn't dare to provoke them.

Half an hour later, while they were roasting the rabbit around the fire.

Asuna suddenly stood up, looking into the distance.

"Asuna, what's wrong?" Shadi asked.

Everyone's expressions turned serious. If Asuna was this tense, something must have happened.

Asuna's perception had always been very sharp, especially for danger, far surpassing ordinary people.

Now her expression was one of terror, making the others' skin crawl.

Seeing Asuna with that expression meant something serious was definitely happening.

Asuna took a deep breath, calming her nerves and adjusting her breathing: "Over there, there's a very strong surge of magical energy, a very potent magical aura."

She pointed towards the dark, shadowy mountains in the distance, where Shadi and the others felt nothing.

"Abandon this task, leave now!" Asuna decisively made a decision.

"Huh? Abandon it?" Shadi was a bit baffled.

The task promised a high reward, and giving it up was quite disheartening.

Moreover, leaving now, at night, seemed a bit hasty and dangerous.

Asuna explained, "That magical aura over there might belong to a middle-tier caster, or even a high-tier spellcaster, which is way beyond our ability to meddle with."

"The danger that missing team encountered likely exceeded everyone's imagination. We must leave immediately, even if we encounter demons on the way back, it's better than facing a high-tier spellcaster."

With that, the others quickly realized the seriousness of the issue.

A high-tier spellcaster?

In Shadi and the others' eyes, Asuna was already a very powerful caster.

But even she was only at the caster apprentice level.

They had hardly seen any official casters, let alone high-tier spellcasters.

Such beings were practically legendary.

Now, such a presence was in the mountains, and the thought of it had Shadi and the others with their hearts in their throats, wishing they could teleport out of the Lime Mountain Range.

They didn't wait for the rabbit to fully roast, immediately extinguished the campfire, packed up, and hurried back.

For many years, Asuna's judgments had always been accurate.

Shadi and the others never questioned Asuna's decisions, always trusting and executing them.

They began to quickly trek back in the dark, moving faster than when they had come during the day.

They had been leisurely before, but now they were fleeing.

They were accustomed to the dark forest, finding it quite manageable to move through it.

Their physical fitness was good, allowing them to see fairly clearly even at night.

"Good evening, everyone." They suddenly heard a voice behind them, and when they turned around, they saw a black-haired man standing on a tree, smiling at them.

Asuna's pupils dilated instantly upon seeing Herag, her mouth gaping in terror before she covered it tightly with her hand, displaying an extremely horrified expression.

"Asuna! Asuna! What's wrong!" Shadi immediately noticed Asuna's abnormal behavior.

The black-haired man seemed unremarkable and had done nothing, yet why would Asuna show such an expression?

At that moment, in Asuna's eyes, apart from the man's magical power, comparable to a middle-tier caster.

Most importantly, the bloodline power within him was terrifyingly strong.

Asuna could see the strength of others' bloodline power, with most people just having some red glow within their bodies.

The more powerful knights would have a faint red glow enveloping their bodies.

Even more powerful great knights would be surrounded by some red glow all over.

The strongest bloodline power Asuna had seen belonged to an elf, who was completely shrouded in a layer of red mist, signifying extremely robust bloodline power.

But compared to this black-haired man, they were insignificant.

The red glow from the black-haired man could almost be described as a sea of blood, forming surging tsunamis and tidal waves.

Asuna looked up and saw the red blood light covering nearly the entire night sky.

And within the red glow, a black humanoid shadow, with a pair of bat-like wings—only wider and larger than those of a bat.

This was a spectacle Asuna had never seen, never having witnessed bloodline power manifest such phenomena.

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