Not too long after Reilei called out, the bushes nearby began to shake.

The next moment, two figures emerged. One of them turned out to be Xiao Liang in his human form; however, the person by his side was an unfamiliar face—a young girl.

The young girl looked to be six or seven years old, with hair that echoed the winter's snow and eyes that contained a myriad of colors. She wore a simple pale blue dress that stopped just above her knees, and around her neck was a pendant with one beautiful spherical gemstone attached to it. This young girl was the small doe who had been by Reilei's side since she was born, Ayanellia.

"So slow! Next time, just let me carry you on my back!" Xiao Liang complained.

"..." Ayanellia's mouth moved like she was talking; however, no sound seemed to escape from her mouth.

"Ha?! What do you mean it's embarrassing?! You should be honored that this young master is willing to give you such extravagant treatment! You ungrateful little!" Xiao Liang pinched both of Ayanellia's cheeks and pulled on them.

"..."

"Hm? You're sorry? It's too late for apologies!" Xiao Liang stated with a mischievous grin.

Despite her words being inaudible, Xiao Liang did not seem to have any trouble understanding Ayanellia.

As Xiao Liang teased Ayanellia, he heard Reilei's voice call out his name.

This caused Xiao Liang to pause his actions and chuckle as an innocent smile formed on his face.

Ayanellia hurriedly moved to Reilei's side and hid behind her.

Reilei gave a helpless smile as she shook her head inwardly.

"Are you alright, Ayanellia?" Reilei asked as she looked down at the young girl.

"..."

"That's good. Did you have fun?"

"..."

"My, how nice. Then, next time, I will have to go along as well." Reilei said with a gentle smile.

"Since I gathered everything in this area, we can finally return to Eastgate. But... Is it really okay to go back there...?" Reilei muttered the last part to herself. She appeared troubled by something.

Reilei opened her system interface as she read over the last message she received.

The message was from Phoenix, one of the first players Reilei partied with in RML.

Out of all the players that she ever formed a party with, Phoenix was the one Reilei was closest to.

Although Reilei was still a newbie when it came to several aspects of gaming, Phoenix was the one who helped her learn and understand things.

In addition, when everyone else joined their respective war branches, instead of becoming a part of the War Brigade or War Intelligence Group as the others did, she chose to stick with Reilei and join the General Support Unit!

Reilei was surprised by Phoenix's decision. After all, from what she learned about the war branches, the General Support Unit would have the most challenging time accumulating the contribution points that players were doing everything in their power to obtain.

The reason Reilei chose to join the General Support Unit had to do with the fact that its members were free to do as they pleased and go where they wanted.

But, more importantly, Reilei felt that she would not be a burden to anyone or get in their way if she went with the GSU.

At first, Phoenix told Reilei that it was just a coincidence that she also joined the GSU. However, that excuse did not hold up for long as one of the other players in her usual party, Shuyi, informed Reilei of the true reason.

"Coincidence? Weren't you the one most excited about joining the War Brigade? What was it you said again... Ah, right, I remember. It was 'If I leave her alone, I won't be able to rest easy.'"—is what Shuyi said at the time, parroting Phoenix's words.

〈System Alert: Player Phoenix has sent you a message, "I just logged on. I'm still at Eastgate, but it looks like I won't be able to join you any time soon. All the roads have been blocked off because of some wild beast that's on the loose. I heard a few War Brigade 10-Man Squadrons have already been wiped out by it. For now, try to stay off the roads until things settle down."〉

Reilei issued a small sigh. Eastgate was the nearest outpost. If she could not go there to turn her war objective in, she would have to visit the second nearest outpost. However, it would take her at least half a day to get there on foot!

"Hm... Should I just log out for now?" Reilei said to herself.

Just as Reilei began to ponder her next move, she received a sudden message alert from the system.

The message was from Phoenix, and it seemed to be a follow-up from the one she previously sent.

〈System Alert: Player Phoenix has sent you a message, "You're still completing your war objective near the Emerald Cliffs, right? Be careful. I don't know if it's true or not, but I just overheard some players saying that the wild beast that's running around is attracted to the Emerality Jeweled Flowers that grow around there. Apparently, it's what the next subjugation party plans to use to lure the beast out of hiding. Well, like I said, it's just something I overheard, but I figured it's better to be safe than sorry."〉

"Emerality..." Reilei glanced down at the emerald crystal in her hands that was shaped like a flower.

"Could this be it?" The item in Reilei's hand was referred to as the "Mysterious Gemstone Flower" that grew beneath the Emerald Cliffs in the war objective she accepted. But, the flower in her hand showed up as ??? via the system information.

"Perhaps I should play it safe and finish this war objective at another time." Reilei internalized as she returned the Mysterious Gemstone Flower to the spot she first discovered it.

The Mysterious Gemstone Flower was special, not only because of its unique appearance but also due to the fact that it could not be placed inside a player's inventory.

To be more precise, the flowers could be placed in one's inventory; it was just that they would instantly wither upon being removed. However, this was all Reilei knew since the information provided by the war objective stopped there.

Rmmmmble...

"Hm?"

Out of nowhere, the ground beneath Reilei started to shake.

At first, it was only light vibrations. However, the faint vibrations quickly transformed into an all-out tremor that caused the earth to tremble uncontrollably!

"Xiao Liang! Ayanellia!" Reilei called out as the two hurried to her side.

Reilei sensed that something terrible was approaching—and she was right.

ROAR! Neeeeeigh! Grrrrr!

Reilei's eyes widened as she witnessed the scene that emerged before her.

With little to no warning, a wave of monsters that numbered well over a hundred was now running towards them on a direct collision course!

Name: Winged Jackalope(Elite)

Level: 41

Name: Red-Horned Boar(Elite)

Level: 42

Name: Golden-Stripped Grizzlier(Elite)

Level: 43

"What's going on? Why are so many different monsters working together? There are a lot of elite monsters among them, too. What should I do?" Reilei furrowed her brows.

Reilei learned from Phoenix that monsters in RML were extremely territorial and did not typically get along with other monsters. Therefore, for so many distinct species of monsters to gather in one place of their own accord was highly improbable. 

Regardless, it was too late to log out!

The next moment, the Orb of Nine Creations appeared in Reilei's hand as she prepared to face the monster horde.

"Stay close to me." Reilei cautioned Xiao Liang and Ayanellia as they, too, prepared for battle.

10 meters...

5 meters...

1 meter!

Woosh!

Reilei swung the orb in her hand outward and smashed it into the head of a charging Red-Horned Boar.

The Red-Horned Boar that Reilei struck tumbled to the ground.

The creature quickly struggled to its feet and glared at Reilei with a vicious gaze.

However, just as Reilei was ready to follow up on her attack, something bizarre happened.

Instead of retaliating, the Red-Horned Boar actually ignored Reilei and turned to run away!

Reilei was stunned! This was the first time she witnessed a monster run away from a player after being attacked.

But, that was not the only unusual occurrence. The other monsters were also paying no attention to her, Xiao Liang or Ayanellia.

A few seconds later, before Reilei knew it, the monsters had passed by them without causing trouble as everything fell deathly silent.

"What was that all abou-"

Woosh!

Suddenly, Reilei felt a bone-piercingly cold gale of wind brush past her face as her mind went blank.

Without even thinking, Reilei took a single step back.

It was that intuitive step back that saved Reilei from having her head torn off!

That's when Reilei's gaze met with a pair of pale blue eyes as a set of system information displayed itself.

Name: Polkentin's Failed Kitsune(Epic Boss)

Level: ???