Catastrophe Card King

Chapter 1517: Chapter 464: A Leap of Faith, Mysticism Finds a Way_2 Chapter 1517: Chapter 464: A Leap of Faith, Mysticism Finds a Way_2 Leonard occasionally chimed in with a few words.

But compared to his teammates, his heart was incredibly calm.

For him, the intensity of the previous encounter was only mildly stimulating at best.

Although this avatar of his was only a fragment, his understanding of extraordinary power had already reached the domain of a top-level card master.

If he were to go all out, there wouldn’t actually be much danger.

Moreover, in all of his deductions, this forest was unlikely to have a Third-Order Demon Beast.

After all, the “Forbidden Forest” is a plot hinted by the Spatial Will as something that can be explored, and no matter the difficulty, it wouldn’t be too high.

Ever since Leonard obtained those key plot items from the village witch doctor, the difficulty level had been firmly within the “A” grade.

As for “S grade” plots…

Leonard guessed that it was mostly likely in Black Crow Fort, not the forest.

With his thoughts drifting, Leonard couldn’t help feeling a sense of absurdity.

Maybe having a realm as high as “I Am the World” isn’t entirely a good thing?

Leonard chuckled in his mind.

At least, after deducing an expected outcome, many things lost the fun they used to have.

The thrills he once pursued could now be deduced at a glance, so there was no longer any element of gambling for excitement.

It’s like the battle just now.

From the very beginning, Leonard had predicted the difficulty, so no matter how thrilling the process, the outcome was predetermined.

The higher the realm of “I Am the World,” the lower the probability of a mistaken deduction, and the closer it comes to an inevitable conclusion in the future.

It made it harder for him to feel joy or sorrow.

…

Just then, Serli suddenly asked, “Allen, which way should we head now?”

Scents had to be followed along a trail to be found.

Now that they had given up on tracking the Vampire, they seemed to have lost their objective on the edge of the cliff.

When Serli asked this, the others also looked over.

By now, everyone in the squad was thoroughly impressed with Leonard’s thinking ability.

This is what a team is.

Everyone has their own area of expertise.

Leonard played the role of the scholar well.

Thinking this, Leonard picked up a stick and began sketching a map on the ground, feigning contemplation and analysis as he spoke, “Our route so far is something like this… The path the bandit lieutenant took in the afternoon is this one… If my previous predictions are correct, then the hidden route to the ancient castle should be near here. If we continue south along the fissure, we’re likely to find traces he left behind…”

This simple line of thought, once conceived, had already been deduced.

It was really just to let his teammates listen.

Finishing his explanation, everyone nodded in agreement.

However, Garfield, ever so straightforward, asked, “What if we can’t find any traces?”

It wasn’t skepticism.

But he was the only one who hadn’t understood the thought process that Leonard had just walked them through.

Leonard replied with a smile, “If I guessed wrong, then we’ll find a place to hide and wait until daylight. Perhaps we can still hunt some Demon Beasts.”

…

Leonard had proven his thinking prowess with facts, leaving his teammates wholly convinced.

After the six-person squad had rested, they continued along the fissure southward.

The vegetation was sparse near the fissure, yet visibility remained very low.

The endless rift, spoken of by the villagers, resembled a monster that swallowed clouds and spat fog, continuously emitting black mist.

Leonard checked the panel, but it didn’t indicate any contamination.

This meant that the divine exuding causing the beasts’ mutations was extremely faint.

The Cavern World was like a shattered mirror, fissures everywhere–it was nothing new or surprising to the group.

Finding the clues turned out to be much easier than expected.

As they walked, Serli suddenly exclaimed with joy, “I smell the bandit from earlier!”

“Where?”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s spirits lifted.

They hadn’t expected things to proceed this smoothly.

Listening, Leonard’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Though he had been sure that this was how the plot would unfold, it was all speculation until they found concrete clues.

Now that they had a clue, countless threads in his mind started to clarify.

This piqued his intense curiosity.

Experience had proven that deviating from the main plot in the exploration of the Alternate Dimension often led to unexpected surprises.

Leonard was curious, what might they discover by following this clue?

“It’s nearby.”

Serli said, frowning slightly, “But the scent is very faint. It must be him fearing pursuit and having used counter-tracking measures. I can only confirm it’s in this vicinity, not exactly where…”

The bandit that afternoon was the scout leader of the Red Smoke Gun Group; it was normal for him to have some counter-tracking methods.

But this complicated things again.

Where did this guy go after reaching the edge of the fissure?

The six walked nearly a kilometer along the rift without finding any trace.

Looking at the pouring black mist from the fissure, the teammates couldn’t conceal their dismay.

Obviously, the bandit had covered his tracks, and continuing to search like this, the probability of finding anything was very low.

Walking and walking, everyone eventually stopped, each frowning.

“Now we’re in a bind. If we can’t find a trace, we can’t just go looking on the fissure’s rock walls, can we?”

“Yeah. Even if we have to go down into the fissure, we should wait until daylight. We can’t see anything now, and it’s too risky to go down blindly…”

“Hmm. Who knows what sort of creatures are in the fissure. I just heard an eagle’s cry…”

…

Finding a lead only to have it disappear abruptly was frustrating.