Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 160: Intruders

The sudden appearance of the fog took them by surprise.

Victor frowned and said, "When we entered, I remember we only walked 1,080 steps. Even with all the twists and turns, the straight-line distance couldn’t have been more than a kilometer, right? How did we end up over ten kilometers away?"

Ethan thought for a moment and replied, "This magical formation might have some kind of spatial compression ability, like shrinking the distance. As for how it works, only a spellcaster would know."

When they had arrived, there were four men, one woman, and a ghost. Now, as they left, only four men remained. Find your next read at novelbuddy

With the mission completed, the mood on the return journey was noticeably more relaxed. Along the way, they discussed and speculated about the many unanswered questions that still lingered.

Why did people possessed by the Candle Abyss lose their shadows?

How did the clothes of those controlled by Doe end up buried beneath the soil?

What were the red mist and the shadowy figures within it that appeared in the village?

Where did the spring at the bottom of the well lead, and why were there Candle Abyss corpses down there?

Why did Doe massacre the entire village after the drilling machine breached the spring?

Where had the bodies of the over hundred villagers gone?

Why was the village built here, and when was the hollow space inside the mountain excavated?

Was the formation that required fire to enter set up by Doe, or had it existed before?

How had the village remained untouched by decay for forty-four years?

Although they had resolved the issue of the Candle Abyss on Celeste, even more mysteries had surfaced. At first, they debated and theorized enthusiastically, but eventually, the group fell silent.

In the quiet of the deep forest, the only sounds were the rustling of branches and vines as Ethan cleared the path ahead. By evening, they found a clearing and decided to set up camp there for the night.

By midnight, Leo, Victor, and Williams were already asleep, leaving Ethan to take the first watch. For him, it was easy—he simply sat down and let his soul sense expand outward.

Ethan discovered that the maximum range of his soul sense had grown significantly, now covering a radius of nearly 2,000 meters from his center. However, the farther his sense extended, the fuzzier the details became. After testing it, he decided not to push the range too far, instead maintaining a natural radius of about 500 meters to conserve his energy.

As boredom set in, Ethan’s thoughts drifted back to the moment his King of Elves bloodline had fully activated. One of the abilities it granted was the use of certain Druid-form skills while in human form. In the game, he had tried every method to activate this ability, but it always remained dormant. Logically, there shouldn’t be such a flaw in Ethereal. So, what was the reason?

He had asked Morzan about it once, but the old man had simply told him to figure it out himself. At the thought, Ethan cursed inwardly: You old geezer, would it kill you to give me a straight answer?

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Meanwhile, in a void-like space, Morzan, who had just finished drinking, was in the middle of a deep sleep when he suddenly sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he muttered, "That brat… Just wait until you reach that level. I’ll make you pay for this!" He rolled over and went back to sleep.

---

Back in the forest, Ethan was growing increasingly bored. He stretched and was about to stand up when his soul sense suddenly rippled. Six figures had just entered his detection range.

The sudden movement immediately caught Ethan’s attention. Through his soul sense, he could see that the six figures were dressed like tourists.

Focusing his attention, he scanned their backpacks and found only ordinary items—no firearms or other weapons. However, they did carry knives and machetes, which were standard equipment for anyone venturing deep into the wilderness.

What struck Ethan as odd was that they weren’t setting up camp despite the late hour. Instead, they were wandering around, which seemed highly unusual. After observing them for a while, Ethan noticed that they were heading straight for their campsite. When they were about 300 meters away, they spread out, taking up positions to surround the camp while moving stealthily.

What they didn’t realize was that their every move was being monitored by Ethan’s soul sense. They were completely exposed.

Ethan stood up quietly and unzipped the tent where Leo, Victor, and Williams were sleeping. He planned to cover Leo’s mouth first, worried that the guy might make noise if he woke the others. But before he could act, Leo’s eyes snapped open, and he raised a finger to his lips, signaling silence.

Ethan was momentarily stunned. He glanced around and saw that Victor and Williams were also awake, quietly getting up. Apparently, the sound of the tent zipper had already alerted them. They knew Ethan wouldn’t disturb them unless something was wrong.

Keeping his soul sense focused on the intruders, Ethan whispered what he had observed to the group.

Leo listened and concluded, "They’re definitely not ordinary hikers."

"No shit, Sherlock," Williams muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Enough, you two," Victor interjected. "Ethan, do you think they could be here to back up Doe?"

Ethan immediately thought this was a strong possibility. Before they had set out, Celeste had told them that this mission had been assigned directly by Director Vaughn, so no one else should have known about it. She had also warned them that if things went wrong, there would be no reinforcements. If they didn’t want to participate, they didn’t have to.

Now, this six-person team showed up. Celeste had mentioned that teams from the Ninth Division were always six people. The fact that they weren’t carrying firearms suggested this might be a private operation, meaning they wouldn’t have access to restricted weapons.

"What do we do now?" Ethan asked, looking to Victor for guidance since he was the most experienced.

"What do you think? We take them out," Leo said, already clicking the safety off his rifle.

At the same moment, Ethan sensed one of the intruders suddenly stop. The man’s ears twitched, and Ethan quickly signaled for everyone to stay silent. The intruder listened carefully for a moment before continuing to move forward cautiously.

Ethan was impressed. The man had heard the sound of Leo’s rifle safety being clicked from over 100 meters away. If they had been any closer, he might have heard them clearly. This guy likely had some kind of auditory enhancement—either an innate ability or a specialized skill.

Ethan leaned toward it being an ability, as even with training, it would be nearly impossible to hear such a faint sound from that distance.

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Ethan relayed this information to the group in a hushed tone.

Victor’s eyes narrowed. "This team isn’t ordinary."

"Victor, we can’t just sit here. What’s the plan?" Ethan asked, knowing that all three of his companions were experts in combat, with Victor being their usual leader.