Chaos at the Furnace Inn
When Jack pushed open the heavy metal door of the "Roaring Furnace" tavern, what greeted him was not the expected clamor of heat waves mixed with the scent of cheap ale, but an intensely choking charred smell, stale blood, and... a rusty tang from lingering cold energy.
The sight inside the tavern made everyone gasp in shock.
This place, which should have been the heart of the outpost, full of rugged vitality, was now in utter disarray. The sturdy wooden bar had been brutally torn and twisted right down the middle by some immense force, with jagged splinters at the breaks, even showing signs of high-temperature charring and carbonization. Metal supports were bent and snapped, twisted like pretzels by giant strength. The walls were covered in deep claw marks, scorched black from energy blasts, and large splattered stains that had coagulated into dark black—clearly blood.
The ground was littered with shattered table and chair debris, glass shards, broken weapon fragments, and a few uncleaned puddles of dark red emitting a rusty odor. The air still carried the ozone scent from intense energy clashes and a cold, soul-chilling remnant of shadow magic. The massive molten iron anvil and forging hammer sculpture that originally hung in the center as the tavern's emblem now only had half a twisted anvil hanging crookedly, with the hammer long gone.
The lingering energy fluctuations in the air were chaotic and oppressive, filled with brutality and destruction, making Lirian furrow her brows tightly while Golg instinctively gripped the handle of his chainsaw battle axe behind him.
The tavern owner—a burly human with half his body made of mechanical prosthetics flickering with malfunctioning sparks, and a fresh burn scar on his face—was directing two equally disheveled human assistants, struggling to repair a twisted pillar with an engineering welding torch. The owner looked up, seeing Jack leading people in, and his fierce face squeezed out a bitter smile uglier than crying: "Jack? It's you, kid... and Lirian, Golg... you've come..." His voice was hoarse like sandpaper scraping.
"Old Buck!" Jack stepped forward quickly, his mechanical eye scanning the horrific scene, his voice laced with shock, "What the hell happened? It's only been a short while since I was last here, and your 'Furnace' has been turned into a scrapyard?"
"What else could it be?" Old Buck spat a mouthful of bloody saliva, his single eye glancing over Fa and the others behind Jack, with a hint of wariness but mostly deep exhaustion and resentment. "Seven days ago... a few plagues came! They completely wrecked my 'Roaring Furnace'!"
He gasped for breath, leaning against the ruined bar, the memory igniting fury in his single eye: "The leader... wore a robe so black it absorbed light, with a damned silver mask on his face! The mask was etched with... twisting vine patterns that seemed alive, one look and it made your heart crawl!"
"Doomsday Rebirth!" Fa, Arya, TISK, Kayla almost exclaimed in unison, their faces changing drastically. The name and features spat out by the Gintlo clone before dying at the top of the tower on Blue Wave Island matched Old Buck's description perfectly! Yuyuer gripped his staff tightly, Zhamisi's snake tail uneasily scraped the ground, Rex's electronic eye instantly locked onto Old Buck, analyzing micro-expressions and voice patterns.
Lirian closed her eyes, her slender fingers unconsciously touching a cold claw mark left on the wall, her body trembling slightly: "...cold shadows... twisted will... and... a mechanical cruelty..." She murmured softly, confirming everyone's suspicions.
"Yeah! That's those bastards!" Old Buck gnashed his teeth, his single eye almost spitting fire, "That black-robed freak opened his mouth and asked for the fastest way to Frost Blade Snow Mountain? His tone was cold as ice, with an evil vibe! Just one leader, followed by four identical people..."
"And then?" Jack pressed, his brows furrowed tightly.
"Then I said the Ink Dark Forest is the fastest, but also the most dangerous."
At this point, Old Buck pointed to a completely shattered table in the corner of the tavern, still embedded with half a metal chair leg: "And at that time, a few hotheaded youths from the 'Blood Fang' mercenary group were sitting there drinking, probably overheard they were going to the Ink Dark Forest, and couldn't keep their mouths shut, mocking something like 'Those guys don't even have elves or mages, they're going to die,' 'No big deal, it's not us dying' and such bullshit..."
Old Buck's voice carried fear: "In just an instant! Those four people behind him... moved so fast you couldn't see clearly! Like four shadows flashing over! No shouts, no warnings, not even expressions on their faces! Just like that... bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
He slammed the ruined bar hard, imitating those terrifying sounds: "The Blood Fang mercenaries didn't even have time to draw their weapons, thrown out like rag dolls! One's neck twisted into a pretzel, two with chests caved in, and another... his head crushed by one's claw... exploded!" Old Buck's voice trembled, "Red and white... splattered everywhere! The whole tavern was stunned!"
"I was fucking furious then!" Old Buck's single eye reddened, waving his intact right arm, "This is my turf! Killing in my tavern?! I grabbed my baby 'Molten Fire Shotgun' (he pointed to a shotgun in the corner with a severely twisted barrel and dim runes) and blasted away! The assistants grabbed weapons too! Others in the tavern who couldn't stand it joined in! We thought numbers would win..."
A wretched and humiliated expression appeared on his face: "...but it was useless! Those four identical people... their bodies were unnaturally hard! Bullets sparked on impact, leaving at most a white mark! Swords and knives clanged like hitting special alloy! They moved ridiculously fast, coordinated seamlessly, like one person controlling four bodies! Their strength was terrifying, a casual punch could smash a heavily armored mercenary flying with armor and all!"
"The scariest was that black-robed freak!" Old Buck's fear peaked, "He just stood at the door, watching like a show! One brother tried to capture the king first, sneaking up from behind... but that black robe didn't even turn his head, just... just lifted a hand and pointed backward..."
Old Buck imitated the gesture, his fingertip trembling slightly: "...that sneaking brother... his whole body twisted and folded weirdly like grabbed by an invisible giant hand! The sound of bones cracking was horrifying... then thrown against the wall like a sack... dead on the spot... it was shadow magic! Very powerful shadow magic! My assistants... lost three... guests dead and injured dozens..."
"They finished fighting and smashing, like nothing happened!" Old Buck gnashed his teeth, "That masked bastard, like it was no big deal, walked up to me. Pulled out five heavy gold coins from that ragged robe in front of me, saying something like 'Information fee and compensation.' Fuck the compensation! That money can't even fix my bar! Let alone my dead brothers!" Then... he took those four killing gods and swaggered out the back door!
"Where did they go?!" Fa stepped forward, the silver light flashing urgently in the depths of her star pupil in her right eye, her tone carrying unprecedented urgency. The opponents were also seeking the Star Shards, and they were a full seven days ahead! The target was also the Light Feather Dome! This was no coincidence!
"Where else?" Old Buck grumpily pointed north, toward the Ink Dark Forest, "Damn, a bunch of lunatics!" "The Ink Dark Forest?" Jack gasped, his mechanical eye's blue light fluctuating violently, his face showing a nearly absurd expression for the first time, "They... they just barged right in? No preparations at all? No guides?"
"You bet!" Old Buck nodded heavily, "I was lying on the ground then, still yelling at them that entering that forest is suicide! The leader... through the mask, I could feel him smiling! Cold as ice, said something like 'The decayed land, how could it block the path to rebirth,' then walked away without looking back!"
"Arrogant!" Golg's low voice rumbled like muffled thunder. His massive body tensed, the chainsaw battle axe's engine humming silently, his gray-green face full of orcish anger toward ignorant provocation, "Ink Dark... is the devouring land."
Lirian closed her eyes, her slender fingers lightly touching a deep claw mark on the tavern wall, the edges glowing with an eerie purple-black, as if carrying some decaying curse. Her brows furrowed tightly, her voice carrying the ethereal and heavy tone unique to elves: "It seems... they won't survive easily. Even with their very powerful shadow magic."
"What do you mean?" Kayla asked puzzled, the frost on her thunder claws condensing slightly due to her emotional fluctuation, "Is the Ink Dark Forest really that cursed? Enough to swallow even those unkillable monsters?"
Jack took a deep breath, his face showing unprecedented seriousness, he scanned Fa and the group, his mechanical eye's light sweeping over everyone: "Listen, folks. The sandstorms and rift beasts of the Crack Wind Plain are like kids' play compared to the Ink Dark Forest. That place..." He paused, seeming to organize words to describe that indescribable terror, "...is alive, full of malice, a decayed land that rejects all 'light' and 'order'."
The Terrors of the Ink Dark Forest
Jack began to detail the horrors of that cursed forest:
*Eternal Twilight and the Mist of Disorientation: "Step across the boundary of the forest, and light is swallowed by an invisible maw, plunging instantly into eternal twilight. It's not ordinary darkness; it's a thick, unyielding, toxic 'Ink Dark Miasma.' It not only blocks vision but erodes the mind, completely disrupting sense of direction. Compasses? Magical positioning? Useless junk there! Without an elf like Lirian who can listen to the faint pulses of nature, ninety-nine percent of people would circle to death within a few hundred meters!"
*Lethal Swamps and Silent Hunters: "The ground looks like solid leaf litter, but the next step could be a devouring foul quagmire! Those swamps are masterfully disguised, with 'Iron Wire Demon Vines' lurking below that even Golg's chainsaw axe might not cut through instantly. Once entangled, they'll drag you into the abyss in seconds, leaving no bones! Not to mention those 'Flesh-Eating Moss' and 'Poison Thorn Brambles' disguised as dead wood or leaf piles; touch one, and flesh rots rapidly!"
*Dark Night Elves—Reapers Under the Moon: "Are they guardians of the forest? No! They are extensions of the forest's malice!" Jack lowered his voice, with deep trepidation, "Lirian is a forest elf, revering life and natural balance. But dark night elves... they embrace darkness, worshiping the shadow side of the moon. Their skin is like night, eyes see in absolute darkness. They are silent hunters, arrows quenched with black magic toxins that make wounds never heal, daggers coated with poisons inducing mad hallucinations. They move like shadows through the woods, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. The most terrifying is their extreme hatred of 'light'—any light source, even faint magical glow or a warming fire, will provoke their relentless, frenzied siege! They see intruders as defilers of sacred ground, only 'purified' by death."
*'Stones and Woods'—Ancient Whispers: Jack's voice lowered further, with a soul-deep awe, "This is a taboo passed down orally. Karim warned you too. It's not a metaphor... it's real! In the depths of the dense forest, some things... have lived far too long. Massive ancient trees covered in moss and vines, their roots deep in the earth, branches touching the decayed night sky. And those silent boulders etched with strange patterns. They usually seem like true dead things..." He paused, fear flashing in his eyes, "...but when the forest's 'balance' is severely disrupted, or a sufficiently 'powerful' or 'blasphemous' force invades the core... they awaken. Tree roots become strangling pythons, branches turn into life-seizing whips, stones roll, combine, become walking colossi... Their power comes from the earth and forest's accumulated eons of decay and resentment, ancient and barbaric, utterly beyond human confrontation! Those Doomsday Rebirth lunatics, fighting wildly inside, releasing that evil energy... it's like throwing a torch at those sleeping guardians' faces! They must have been awakened!"
"So," Jack concluded, his tone firm as iron, "When I say their chances of survival are slim, it's no exaggeration. As long as they entered! Enough for the dark night elves to hunt them dozens of times as intruders, and it would rouse those that shouldn't awaken, the 'Stones and Woods,' grinding them into forest fertilizer! That forest... 'digests' invaders!"
The tavern fell into dead silence, only Old Buck's heavy breathing and the sound of mops scraping the floor. The appearance of the Doomsday Rebirth loomed like a massive boulder on everyone's hearts, while the true terrors of the Ink Dark Forest shrouded them like a cold shadow. Even the usually fearless Kayla now restrained her wild aura, the arcs on her thunder claws flowing quietly. Golg crossed his arms, his gray-green face expressionless, but deep in his eyes was an instinctive wariness toward that forest.
Fa remained silent, the stars in the depths of her right star pupil slowly rotating. Jack's description, Lirian's perception, Karim's warning, and Old Buck's firsthand account of the destruction... all clues pointed to one fact: The Ink Dark Forest was a death trap a hundred times more perilous than the Crack Wind Plain. Though the Doomsday Rebirth was powerful and eerie, barging in so recklessly, their survival odds were indeed minuscule.
"...But they came prepared." Rex's cold mechanical voice broke the silence, his electronic eye locked on the melted and embedded gold coin on the bar, "Target clear, actions efficient, combat assessment extremely high. The organization possesses biological replication and energy fusion technology. Inference: Probability of targeted environmental adaptation measures or special traversal methods, no less than 37.5%."
The robot's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the sliver of hope in everyone's hearts that "the enemies might have been swallowed by the forest." Yes, the Doomsday Rebirth were no fools. They dared act this way, surely with backing! The abilities shown by those four eerie clones already exceeded normal cognition.
"Rex is right." Fa lifted her head, her gaze restoring calm and sharpness, "Whether they're dead or alive, we must cross the Ink Dark Forest. They're seeking the Star Shards, so are we. They're seven days ahead, that's the reality we face." She looked at Lirian, "Lirian, we need your guidance. After the forest's 'balance' was disrupted, how bad is the situation now?"
Lirian folded her hands over her chest, her emerald eyes gazing north, as if piercing through thick rock walls to see that cursed forest. Her face was somewhat pale: "...The 'activity' of the miasma has increased several times, like boiling poison soup. The aura of the dark night elves... like a poked hornet's nest, full of frenzied killing intent, with greatly increased patrol density and range. And in the deepest parts..." Her body trembled imperceptibly, "...those ancient 'wills' may have awakened too. I can feel the dull, earth-heartbeat-like tremors from their slow movements... and that... soul-freezing cold from being watched by countless inhuman eyes at once. The forest itself... is 'angry.' Entering now, the danger level is... more than ten times the past."
More than ten times! This number sank everyone's hearts to the bottom.
"Damn!" TISK cursed lowly, the dragon scale runes on his lava hammer flickering uneasily.
"Ten times the danger..." Zhamisi licked her lips, her ink-green vertical pupils flashing with a mix of excitement and battle intent, "Sounds... thrilling!"
Yuyuer subconsciously touched his warm cheek in his reptilian form, feeling the land-based bloodline power flowing within. This disguise, in this xenophobic dense forest, might be the only solace. The "gift" wrapped in oilcloth at his waist now felt especially heavy.
Arya gently held Fa's hand, warm life energy transmitting through the Star Resonance Stone, silently offering support. Salsa's mechanical cat gently rubbed against Fa's leg, data streams flashing rapidly in its electronic eyes, the high-altitude circling shadow falcon relaying a view where the northern horizon's thick, unyielding ink-green clouds loomed like a man-eating beast.
Jack looked at the silent but determined-eyed Fa and group, then at the grim-faced Lirian and silent Golg, fiercely wiping his face: "Alright! You cubs! Since you're dead set on pursuing, I'll risk my life to join! But," his tone utterly serious, "Once in the forest, all actions follow Lirian! She says stop, we stop; says go, we go; says lie down and play dead... bury your faces in the mud! Golg, ready your axe for vines and... other things! As for you..." He looked at Fa's team, "Prepare the stuff from Karim's 'Ink Dark Pioneer' pack! Save the bioluminescent lamp spores! Smear insect repellent powder all over! Keep antidote serums in the handiest spots! Every step ahead could be the gates of hell!"
He turned, yelling at Old Buck still mopping: "Old Buck! Best rooms! And some hot food! Damn, eat up, sleep well, tomorrow we can cross the Crack Wind Plain..." He gazed north, as if seeing the churning ink-green miasma, "...and charge into that man-eating forest!"
In the ruined hall of the Roaring Furnace tavern, the atmosphere was heavy as iron. The shadow left by the Doomsday Rebirth intertwined with the roaring malice of the Ink Dark Forest, forming an invisible net. Fa and the group silently checked their gear, adjusting their states. Rest was to gather strength, while the dark forest ahead opened its decayed maw, awaiting them. The contest for the Star Shards, in this forest of death, was about to enter a more brutal chapter.