Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 179 - 35 Fog_1

Chapter 179: Chapter 35 Fog_1

"Croak, croak." The deafening croaking merged into one symphony. The croaking of the Hunter Frogs was much louder than that of other frogs, and all the noise created by thousands of Hunter Frogs gathered together could easily leave an ordinary human stunned. Countless Hunter Frogs, dragging their slippery, damp bodies, continually brushed past everyone’s shins, and the constant close contact made everyone pull a disgusted face.

The deluge of the grey-brown frogs was endless to the eye, surging past everyone’s feet like a tidal wave. But not long after, people painfully discovered that the tide had abruptly stopped and would not move forward. Looking down, all the Hunter Frogs were virtually indistinguishable, neatly lying immobile on the ground as if resting. Only the most robust Hunter Frogs in the outer layer maintained a squatting position, vigilantly monitoring their surroundings.

Realizing that these Hunter Frogs intended to rest on the spot, everyone was secretly anxious. There was less than fifty minutes till the appearance of the mist again, but it would take at least another forty minutes to cross the Misty Forest. The time was extremely pressing, and any mishaps were now not permissible. However, now this group of Hunter Frogs suddenly refused to budge, trapping the ten people in a sea of frogs.

The guide, Elrad, stood dumbfounded, and cold sweat visibly dripped from his forehead. Regardless of his extensive experience, he couldn’t think of any solutions in this extraordinary situation. He could only wait helplessly for the Hunter Frogs to finish their temporary rest and move on. Pannis stood, his brow wrinkled, for a while but then suddenly made a move. Very slowly, he raised his right hand and faintly flicked a coin into the air. It flew silently from his fingertips, going through a few large trees, travelling a distance of twenty meters before falling onto a layer of fallen leaves, creating a soft sound.

A "whoosh" sound immediately filled the space, and the outermost Hunter Frogs guarding directly spit out their internal bone shards. These shards formed a rain of projectiles in the air and landed on the dropped coin’s location. The formidable force punched dozens of fist-sized holes straight through the thick layer of fallen leaves. If a person had been standing there, even a Gold Rank professional’s Shield would have been shattered, leaving little chance of escape. After spraying the hail of shards, the guarding Hunter Frogs, unable to detect any other approaching sounds, squatted down again, listening attentively to the surrounding noises.

Pannis’ tentative maneuver made everyone even more hesitant to act haphazardly. Given the speed and intensity of the Hunter Frogs’ spit, no one dared say they could completely avoid it, let alone withstand such an attack. Therefore, to everyone ensnared, being discovered meant severe injury or even death. Everyone was carefully controlling their bodies, even their breathing. No one knew whether excessive breathing sounds would provoke an attack from the Hunter Frogs, and nobody wanted to be the first to find out.

As time ticked away, there was still no sign of the frogs moving. Everyone could even feel the humidity in the forest starting to slowly rise, a sign of the re-emergence of the mist. Pannis sighed deeply to himself, exchanged a silent look with Catherine, and again slowly lifted his arm overhead. A grappling hook silently appeared from his wrist, rising bit by bit as if held by a hand, without stirring a hint of wind. The grappling hook slowly ascended about ten meters, flexibly winding around a strong branch as if controlled by someone. Pannis clutched tightly with both hands and started to ascend with no noise. Everyone was amazed that his rising motion did not crunch any of the leaves underfoot. It was an incredible sight.

His ascent was very slow to avoid making noise. He took nearly five minutes to ascend ten meters. When Pannis’ right hand rested on the tree branch, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But in the next moment, Pannis did something that no one could have imagined. Hanging from the tree, amidst the multitude of Hunter Frogs, he suddenly broke out into hearty laughter. The laughter was loud and clear, with a strong resonance, enough for all the Hunter Frogs to hear distinctly.

In an instant, a cloud of dark projectiles soared into the air. All the Hunter Frogs, including the resting ones, simultaneously leaped and spit bone shards at Pannis’ position. But Pannis had already swung his torso using the tree branch for leverage as he laughed, avoiding the hail of bone shards in advance and climbing onto another branch. As soon as he reached the new branch, Pannis did not pause. He performed consecutive leaps to land outside the group of Hunter Frogs. The shadowy rain of bone shards chased after Pannis like a storm cloud, continuously hitting his previous landing spots. But they could not hinder Pannis. Once he landed, Pannis rolled four or five times on the ground without even looking back. Although he stumbled when he stood, he still rushed forward with the momentum and disappeared into the dense forest. Massive swarms of Hunter Frogs jumped high in the air, chasing after Pannis at high speed. In the blink of an eye, the large group of frogs had vanished, leaving behind only fallen leaves and broken, dropped branches.

"He’s injured." After the frogs had left, Dora, staring at Pannis’ retreating figure, exclaimed, "He got hit at least twenty times on his legs and back. We must rescue him, or he won’t get away."

"Get moving." Catherine’s voice carried an indescribable pressure. She ordered loudly, "Everyone, head out. We need to leave the Misty Forest before the mist appears. Now."

"Big Sister, why?" Dora obviously couldn’t grasp why Catherine was abandoning a teammate. Just as she was about to argue something, she raised her head to see the sorrow and conviction in Catherine’s eyes. Unable to do anything, she could only shake her head and began to run ahead of Elrad.

"Big sister, don’t feel bad. He has said before that he won’t die." Vivian comforted Catherine as they ran, "He will be back soon."

"You think dying once is pleasant? Every time he dies, it means we have failed him once again." Catherine’s voice was still steeped in deep anger. After a long sigh, she said, "I’m sorry, Vivian. I wasn’t venting at you. It’s just..."

"I know, I won’t blame you, big sister." Vivian laughed lightly and shook her head, "We will catch up one day. Don’t you believe in your own potential?"

"Of course I do." The dimness in Catherine’s eyes faded; they shone brightly again. She shouted, "Come on, run faster, we don’t have much time."

Fast movement in the forest was extremely difficult. Besides the various traps and dormant magical beasts, the dense shrubs, sprawling vines, and undulating terrain were the most dangerous enemies during their advance. Even with Catherine chopping down obstructing plants close behind Elrad, their progress was slow. The professionals could only run and glance at their timers, silently calculating the time they had left.

After running for quite a while, sudden rustling came from a nearby bush. Pannis emerged in disarray and joined the running group with no hint of abnormality on his face, murmuring, "I’m sorry for being late."

Dora’s eyes almost bulged in surprise as she cast several glances at the many large patches of blood still visible on Pannis’ back, the result of his previous injuries. But what startled her even more was Catherine’s reaction. On seeing Pannis return, Catherine was silent for a moment before tightly gripping Pannis’ arm as she ran and murmuring softly, "You’re injured, that’s good, you’re injured, that’s good."

"Hey, hey, Catherine, you’re breaking my heart hoping for me to get hurt." Pannis was taken aback, a gentle smile slowly pulling at the corners of his mouth. "I can’t handle this, my heart is shattered, I need first aid."

"If you keep up this small talk, we won’t let Lina treat you," Catherine glared at Pannis from the corner of her eye. "So, what were you saying just now?"

"I said I was wrong, boss," Pannis quickly lowered his head to admit his mistake, then hastened to keep pace with Elrad as if trying to escape, changing the subject by asking, "How much farther?"

"This jerk," Catherine muttered under her breath, an especially radiant smile crept onto her face unnoticed.

"We’re in trouble," Elrad gasped loudly. "We’ve run out of time. We were delayed for too long by the Hunter Frog. Even at this speed, we will still be ten minutes away when the fog arrives. We need to prepare now, let’s climb a tree, or we’ll get separated once the fog rises."

"No, keep running," It wasn’t Pannis who answered, but Vivian. Pannis turned to Vivian and nodded in agreement before saying to Elrad, "Listen to her. Keep running, and ensure your own safety."

"How can I possibly believe you," Elrad grumbled, "If we climb up, there’s a one percent chance of survival."

"If you keep running, you have a hundred percent chance of survival," Pannis said, "It’s up to you if you dare to take the risk this time."

Elrad, still running, fell silent for a moment before replying: "I must have gone mad, wanting to believe in you guys. Well then, keep running with me."

"Big sis, carry me." Vivian leaped onto Catherine’s back, asking her to carry her. Now unhampered by Vivian’s speed, the group was able to run faster.

But as Elrad had said, they were running out of time. The rolling fog appeared without warning from the ground, rapidly filling the dense forest. Within two minutes, the entire area below ten meters was covered.

It was only when they were in the thick fog that they realized how severe it was. The dense fog completely obscured their view, rendering figures half a meter away unrecognizable, let alone discerning the surroundings or finding paths. Fortunately, Pannis had previously brought out a long rope, which everyone tied around their waists, narrowly avoiding the danger of being separated. Once their vision was blocked, Elrad had to stop. The others quickly gathered around him, forming a defensive circle.

"What now?" Seeing Pannis’ confidence, Dora chose to trust him and asked directly, "What do we need to do?"

"Defend and wait," Pannis responded without turning his head. "It won’t be long now. Ensure your safety. Don’t be stingy with your aggression, turn on your shields if something feels wrong. We can’t afford to lose anyone here."

"No problem." Unable to use her whip in the dense forest, Dora had kept her weapon in sword form, but now she transformed it back into a whip and gave it a light flick. The whip flexed and curled around the perimeter of their defense formation at a distance of one meter, "As long as it’s a large creature, I can detect it whether it makes a sound or not. But I can’t warn you about smaller ones."

"Leave the rest to me." Pannis closed his eyes, immersing himself in the world of sound.