From the moment King Hu Yi entrusted him with the mission to rescue his son, Xie Feng had been running practically non-stop to reach the Dark Forest. The time limit of the mission was 9 days and except for the first 30 hours in which Xie Feng rescued Shui Wuhen and obtained the Pearl of Light, he rode the Ferghana Horse only making short stops.

Although it was true that Xie Feng did not spend 24 hours a day connected to the game, and it was also true that due to unforeseen circumstances he often had no choice but to deviate from the planned course, with his movement speed it was as if he had never left the path.

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Even so, the life of one of the young boys was lost. Although Xie Feng had no obligation and was just another player in this vast virtual world, he could not help but feel a little bad.

If it were the past him, Xie Feng certainly wouldn't care about the death of an NPC boy; but after he received Yin Yue's advice on the airplane, that mentality slowly began to change. After all, young kids really needed time to be able to grow up and have the ability to protect themselves.

However, one little boy died just like that, which upset Xie Feng a bit. In the end, Xie Feng shook his head and tried his best to let go of the negative thoughts. The past could not be changed no matter what, the important thing was to put effort into building a better tomorrow.

"It's okay kid. Your father gave me the mission to investigate the monster's location and after I send my report, your father was supposed to send a group of soldiers to rescue you.... But looking at your current condition, it doesn't look like you're going to hold out for so long."

Xie Feng frowned slightly. His last words were pronounced in a way that the little boy would not hear them, the last thing Xie Feng wanted to do was to scare a kid who had already been suffering so much for several days.

Originally, Xie Feng had no reason to enter the poisonous lake since he was 90% sure that the monster's hiding place was inside it. However, although Xie Feng's mission could be considered completed, it was not his style to do things by halves. Since he had come so far and overcome so many dangers after investing so much time, Xie Feng did not want to leave just like that.

Xie Feng searched his inventory for the special teleportation scroll that King Hi Yi had created with his own magic power and was about to start channeling it to teleport himself together with the boy when suddenly all the hairs on his body stood up.

A feeling of extreme danger invaded Xie Feng's every pore. From the time he started playing Samsara Online, Xie Feng had only felt real danger of death two times.

The first time Xie Feng felt real danger of death was when he met Lucifer in the Fallen Angel Sanctuary. That was probably one of the few times when Xie Feng felt completely overwhelmed by helplessness.

Although to a lesser extent, this was the second time Xie Feng felt such danger. It wasn't overwhelming danger like the one he felt against Lucifer, it was battle danger; a feeling where he could win, but the chances of succeeding were extremely low.

Xie Feng did not even need to think to know where the source of the danger came from.

"Wind Barrier!"

Xie Feng shouted out loud without hesitation.

A gust of wind surrounded his body and everything around him within 5 meters, even protecting Hu Zheng who had a look of terror in his eyes.

*Bang!*

Even before Xie Feng could turn back, not even 1 second after the wind barrier surrounded him, a strong blow hit the barrier and, although it shivered ever so slightly, it showed no signs of vacillation.

Xie Feng quickly turned his face to look behind him with a deep frown. However, when Xie Feng saw the appearance of the being that had attacked him, his eyes widened.

"What is this...?" Xie Feng muttered as he slowly raised his head higher and higher.

Standing a few meters away was the creature that had attacked Xie Feng. The creature was over 5 meters tall and stood on its two hind legs. Its body was surrounded by thick scaly skin and it had a tail that was over 3 meters long dragging behind it. The monster's eyes were dark green and it had an extremely large mouth.

The closest thing Xie Feng could associate with this monster was the mythical lizard man from comic books and light novels.

Without delay, Xie Feng tried to channel the teleportation scroll to leave with the boy. Unfortunately, luck was not on Xie Feng's side, again.

[Ding!... You are in combat mode. You can't teleport in your current condition.]

"Damn it!" Xie Feng couldn't help but shout out loud and curse.

Since the giant monster's agro was on him, Xie Feng couldn't leave the area!

Finally, Xie Feng clenched his teeth and put the scroll in Hu Zheng's hands. Before the boy could breathe, Xie Feng ripped the scroll in two.

A white light illuminated both Hu Zheng and Xie Feng's body, however, the light that came from the teleportation scroll surrounding Xie Feng exploded into particles, nullifying his teleportation due to the battle mode condition he was in.

On the other hand, while looking at Xie Feng astonished, the little boy disappeared from the cave the next second.

*Roar!!!*

The giant monster roared furiously as it saw its prey escaping right in front of its eyes. Finally, it looked at Xie Feng with red eyes full of anger.

"Hehehe, now we are 2... No, there are 3 of us here big guy, isn't there, Ling Long?" Xie Feng said as he used Soul Eyes on the giant monster.

On the other hand, while Xie Feng used the few remaining seconds of Wind Barrier, Ling Long stepped forward not being intimidated by the monster's overwhelmingly massive stature, and brandished her two small claws while she looked at it. It was as if it was telling it that she was going to cut it into several pieces.

[Fatal Poisonous Commodus Dragon -

Grade: IMMORTAL

Level: 30

HP: 2,000,000

Description: A beast close to becoming a true dragon. Possesses incredibly high vitality and is extremely vengeful.

(Skills):

Earthquake: Uses its giant body to stomp the ground beneath its feet and shakes its surroundings. Effect: Within an area of five meters, all enemies will receive fixed damage of 2500 points. Has a 10% chance to stun the enemy and a 5% chance to send the enemy flying. Use rate: Normal.

Hammer: Strikes a single target with its fist. Effect: Causes 3000 points of fixed physical damage and has a 10% chance to knock back the enemy. Use rate: Normal.

Tail of Thorns: Swings its tail horizontally. Effect: Sweeps all enemies on its back and sides. Causes 1000 points of fixed physical damage, has a 20% chance to poison the enemy, and a 10% chance to send the enemy flying. Use rate: High.

Poison Breath: Channels for 2 seconds and uses all the poison contained inside its body to release a powerful area attack. Effect: Poisons all targets within 20 meters in front of it. Drains 2000 HP from all targets hit for 20 seconds and has a 30% chance to cause the enemy to enter a sleep condition. Conditions of use: Danger of death.]