Suddenly.
Lin Mo's hand stopped mid-air; the lumiberry he was about to pick swayed gently in the wind.
The round fruit trembled slightly among the branches and leaves, but in the end, he withdrew his hand.
Lin Mo looked down at the sack in his hand, then at his almost full backpack, his brows furrowed slightly, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
He couldn't pick any more.
The resources of the Whispering Woods were indeed abundant; he could find new specialties almost every few steps, but the problem was.
He had no spatial storage items!
If he continued to pick, it would mean he would have to carry two heavy bags of materials by hand.
At that point, let alone fighting, even walking would be affected.
Moreover, combat could break out at any time, and carrying so many things would make it impossible to react flexibly.
More importantly…
"Bringing it back is also a problem."
If he were to carry two large bags of materials back to the city now, just walking out of the Whispering Woods would exhaust him to death.
Even with good stamina, it would be quite tiring.
He rarely carried a backpack before, only a sword at his side.
That was precisely because it was convenient and light.
"What a pity…"
Lin Mo's gaze swept across his surroundings.
These resources were within reach, yet he could only abandon them.
For a pragmatist like him, this was truly a regrettable decision.
However, thinking of the Biowave Detector in his hand, he felt relieved again.
"Never mind, I can always come back to this forest later. I can find the resource points again and gather as much as I want."
He sighed lightly, tying the already full sacks tightly.
Then he patted his backpack, making sure the materials wouldn't fall out for now.
"Hmm, next time I definitely need to get a spatial storage item."
"My loyal companion, you have already completed the bountiful offerings of this place. Now—it is time to make the darkness tremble!"
A confident voice rang out, accompanied by the faint sound of a map being unfolded.
Lin Mo looked up to see Fischl had already taken out a map of the Mondstadt area, her finger tracing across it, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"This Prinzessin has already surveyed the energy flow of this place. The minions of darkness have already entrenched themselves in this forest, Oz! Have you found the hiding place of those barbarians?"
Oz flapped his wings and circled in the air, then softly translated, "My Prinzessin means that she has found the mission location and is going to complete the mission."
Lin Mo's mouth twitched slightly.
This fellow truly never left her chuunibyou persona for a moment… However, he didn't say much.
After all, this mission's objective also had some relevance to him.
He not only needed to detect resources in the Whispering Woods but also to observe the distribution of creatures here.
Hilichurls, as the main inhabitants of this forest, understanding their encampments would be of great help for future actions.
Moreover, he had promised to help Fischl, so they would definitely act together.
Immediately, Lin Mo nodded, "Alright, let's go take a look together then."
The two followed the route marked by Fischl, traversing through the dense forest of the Whispering Woods.
The surrounding trees grew taller and taller, and the light was increasingly obscured by the dense foliage, making the surroundings darker.
The atmosphere deep in the forest became somewhat quiet, occasionally punctuated by strange howls from a distance.
"Guao!"
Not far away, the faint growl of Hilichurls could be heard.
Lin Mo and Fischl exchanged a glance.
Then they lightened their movements and quietly approached a clearing ahead.
As they passed through the bushes, the sight before them made both of them pause slightly.
In a not-too-large clearing, at least a dozen Hilichurls were gathered, encamped around a bonfire!
Several dilapidated tents were scattered around the clearing, and an unknown beast leg was roasting over the bonfire, filling the air with a faint scent of barbecue.
They could even see a few Hilichurls lazily napping on wooden stakes, seemingly not very sensitive to the surrounding movements.
But what Lin Mo and Fischl paid more attention to was the direction to the right of the tents.
Not only were there ordinary Hilichurls, but there were also several special individuals with noticeably stronger combat power, which significantly increased the danger level of the entire camp.
On a low wooden watchtower, two lean Hilichurls were pulling crude crossbows, looking around vigilantly, seemingly guarding the surrounding environment.
They were Hilichurl Shooters.
Although the crossbows in their hands were crudely constructed, lacking even sights, the arrowheads were coated with a layer of flammable Pyro material.
Once they hit a target, flames would spread rapidly, leaving the prey nowhere to escape.
It was rumored that the previous Al-Musk believed this was proof of the Hilichurls' intelligence.
After all, being able to kill prey with one arrow and cook it at the same time was undoubtedly an efficient hunting technique.
But at this moment, Fischl's gaze held a hint of wariness.
Although these Hilichurl Shooters had crude attack methods,
if they discovered an enemy, they were likely to unleash a barrage of rockets in a short amount of time.
Once surrounded, even a Vision Holder would have difficulty coping.
Besides the crossbow shooters, Fischl and Lin Mo's gaze fell upon a burly Hilichurl in the middle of the encampment.
This Hilichurl was much taller than its peers.
It wore tattered animal skins and gripped a heavy, long-handled great axe in both hands.
The axe blade still had embers of Pyro remaining, as if it had just been quenched.
It was a Fire Axe Hilichurl Brute.
This type of Hilichurl warrior possessed extremely powerful destructive force.
Their battle axes were enchanted using the energy of Pyro Slimes, causing each swing to unleash a scorching flame storm.
Normally, repeatedly quenching a battle axe like this would reduce the hardness of the metal, dulling the edge, but the Hilichurl Brute's fighting style didn't require a sharp edge at all—
Their strength was already powerful enough that even if the battle axe became dull, they could directly smash enemies with it as a blunt weapon!
This berserk fighting style was what made them truly terrifying.
Witnessing this scene, Fischl's expression gradually turned grave.
Even though she was an Electro Element Vision Holder, she knew that her fighting style was not suitable for directly confronting such a group of formidable Hilichurl warriors.
Her Electro Element abilities leaned more towards long-range sniping.
And the Hilichurl Brutes were extremely mobile; once she was engaged in close combat by them, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Not to mention, there were other Hilichurls and Pyro Element monsters.
Even Hilichurl Shooters.
Fischl frowned tightly, her grip on her bow slightly tightening.
"Such chaotic minions of darkness, gathered here…"
Fischl murmured softly, a hint of reluctance in her tone.
Oz supplemented the translation from the side: "My Prinzessin means… she might not be able to eliminate the Hilichurls here alone."
Lin Mo was silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the entire camp's layout.
The scale of this Hilichurl encampment had far exceeded the scope of ordinary patrol missions.
It could even be said that if left unchecked, it would quickly develop into a large gathering place.
By then, the threat outside Mondstadt City would further expand.
The Knights of Favonius would have to dispatch a large team to clear them out.