Martial Online.

Ambrose gently landed in the middle of the night-covered forest with a beautiful young woman in his arms. She was still starstruck by the scene she had just witnessed.

"You alright?" He gently lowered her to the ground and said, "This saved us about an hour of traveling time."

"It was amazing…" She whispered with a dreamy tone.

Ambrose smiled, but then his expression turned stern, and he turned around to look at the forest with a frown.

'After reaching the second gate, I can sense the location and the strength of other souls more clearly. It even allowed me to learn the trick to causing soul injuries.

'Last time I was here, I was very weak without even one gate open. Now, I can clearly sense that there are some dangerous creatures in here.

'However, I don't think they'll come all the way here.'

Bella then moved her mask to cover most of her face. Now, only her radiant red eyes were visible, but during the night, they looked rather dark.

It was easy to mistake her eye color for black or dark brown.

"Let's get moving then." Ambrose took out his wooden sword. "Keep your sword out. You might be needing it soon."

Bella nodded and drew her sword.

She then followed behind Ambrose as they started to venture deeper into the Crow Forest.

The birds chirped, the insects buzzed, and the wind howled.

As the bushes rustled as Ambrose walked over them, Bella kept a sharp eye on the surroundings, ready to defend herself at any moment.

But then Ambrose came to a stop and grabbed Bella by her shoulder so that she would stop as well. She curiously looked in the distance and saw figures moving in a nearby clearing.

"There are about six players battling some creature." Ambrose whispered gently. "The creature is whimpering, so they must be close to killing it."

"Should we avoid them?" Bella asked.

"Nah, these are easy kills." Ambrose said. "We could steal the kill and then finish off the players. They might be injured as well."

"That's…" Bella looked conflicted. "They haven't done anything to us, though."

Ambrose glanced at her and said, "If they saw us two fighting a creature, they wouldn't hesitate to stab us in the back."

"Yeah, but…" Bella shook her head and tugged on his shirt. "I don't want to gain XP like this."

"All right, it's your call." Ambrose nodded with a warm smile and grabbed her by the hand, then walked in the other direction.

"I am sorry…" Bella sighed. "I am only wasting your time…"

"It's not on you." Ambrose shook his head. "To you, this game is more than just pixels and codes. This is not any different from real life for you, as death here means death there."

"Thank you…" Bella whispered softly and grabbed his hand tighter.

"No need to feel bad." Ambrose grinned and looked toward the distance. "I think I've found a way to earn you XP quickly."

"Huh?" Bella looked in the same direction and looked surprised. "That is…"

…

After the first weeks of the Martial Online release, the creatures from deep within Crow Forest located closer to the city. They created their own villages and often acted as hunting grounds for players.

However, most of the time, those villagers were too much for solo players, so they often had to create a party with five or more players to clear one of these villages.

It was very rewarding, not only in the XP aspect but also with silver and other items.

At that moment, Ambrose and Bella came across a fortified village with walls made of wood and stone. It made him remember the village with Steel-Armed Gorilla.

However, the village looked more advanced, especially the buildings that somewhat resembled man-built huts with thatched roofs.

Ambrose swung his wooden sword and made a neatly-cut hole in the wall. It was sizeable enough for a human to walk through.

He stepped through the hole, ensured that there were no hostiles nearby, and then signaled to Bella to follow after him.

She cautiously made her way through the hole, her eyes scanning the dark village for any signs of danger.

However, it was still rather quiet, but they assumed that it was because the creatures living in the village had gone to sleep.

"Follow me, silently." Ambrose said with a voice barely above whisper, and using Formlessness, he slid across the ground without making any sound.

Bella quickly moved after her, trying to move as stealthily as possible.

Ambrose then peeked past the corner and saw the open village with a dozen or so buildings. There was one building that was the most prominent, but it also looked rather quiet and abandoned.

'Was this village already cleared?' He thought for a second.

"Jesse, what is that?" Bella whispered into his ear and pointed towards a small hut in the middle of the village. It looked like it was used for restrooms.

'Huh?' Ambrose raised an eyebrow. 'Do these mindless creatures really use restrooms? The village is also more advanced, so perhaps they are just more intelligent.

'However, monsters this intelligent would also be far too strong for this part of the forest.

'Unless this village isn't monster-inhabitated but instead a village of NPCs or players…'

His eyes widened in shock, and he quickly used his soul abilities to their fullest. He already felt some faint signals, but thought they were some weak creatures, such as Red-Eyed Bunnies and Blue-Eyed Squirrels.

'This place is Player Graveyard!' Ambrose quickly snatched Bella from her feet and jumped high into the air.

"Ah!" Bella screamed in surprise as she was lifted off the ground.

At the same moment, Ambrose saw several sharp metallic spikes protruding from the ground where they stood only a moment ago. The spikes looked eerily similar to steel spears.

"Ah, what is that?" Bella asked while gazing at the ground.

"This is a massive trap." Ambrose said while hovering in the sky with the help of Formlessness.

"This village is a decoy. The real village is underground, inhabited by players. They are using this village to attract full groups of players and then kill them with one swift strike.

"No wonder this village was so close to the entrance to the Crow Forest!"

"How come no one attacked this place knowing there are players that are doing this?" Bella asked in surprise.

"Maybe no one knows!" Ambrose said. "Perhaps they never show themselves and instead attack from underground. The dead players might think it was the doings of strange creatures.

"Also, Crow Forest is a vast place. I landed us further away from the most popular entrance point, as it's really hard to find kills there.

"This is a very ideal spot to do something as hideous as this!"

"That is…" Bella's jaw dropped in amazement. "Why would anyone do this? They live underground with no sunlight and sneak-attack their victims in the dark."

"You would be surprised at what people can do." Ambrose's eyes flashed with sinister light. "Bella, these are really bad people; I feel like it."

"Mm, I understand." Bella planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Go get them."

Ambrose smirked. "It won't take long."