Chapter 92: Poisoning

“Phew… phew…”

I panted heavily, trailing behind the noble squad.
We ran for quite a distance until there were no more signs of activity nearby, then slowed to catch our breath.
“My gosh, how is there a dragon around here…”

Nico looked toward the direction of the dragon’s roar, her face full of worry and lingering fear.
A furious dragon, as everyone knew, would kill anything in its path.
We might stand a chance against blood clan or dark elf squads, but a dragon? With the noble squad’s strength, we’d be wiped out.

But it was strange—why was a dragon here?
And when that roar sounded, my two egg babies trembled.
I first thought they were scared, but they might not even know what a dragon’s roar meant.
Given their strong bloodlines, it wasn’t necessarily dragon pressure making them nervous.

They couldn’t talk yet, so even though I felt their reaction, I had no way of knowing what they were thinking.
Now, they’d fallen back into a dormant state, completely still.

“As Su Mengmeng said, this place really isn’t safe to linger in. Even a dragon’s shown up.”
Carter gave a bitter smile, glancing at me with a teasing tone, but I couldn’t muster a laugh.

After all this chaos, my stamina was plummeting.
Constant running was a heavy burden on my frail body.
I swallowed hard, pulled out a recovery potion, and drank it down.

“What do we do now?”
After catching my breath and stabilizing a bit, I wiped the sweat from my face and asked.

“…No choice but to keep moving and get you out of here.”
Carter thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“Judging by the Thunderlash Mercenary Corps, they’re probably preparing to leave too. Going back to warn Blackshine City’s garrison wouldn’t do much now. It’s better to get out of this mess.”
“Then let’s not waste time. Keep going.”

I exhaled and spoke up.
“Mengmeng, don’t you need a bit more rest? You look like you’re struggling.”
Nico looked at me with concern.
I shook my head.

“I’m fine after the potion. Let’s just go.”
I said.

Now wasn’t the time to rest—aliens were still active nearby.
My legs were numb, but I had to grit my teeth and keep moving with my egg babies to escape this chaos.

After absorbing several magic crystals, my egg babies were noticeably heavier than when they were first laid.
Their size was already comparable to newborn infants, making the weight on my shoulders feel especially heavy.

I took a deep breath, adjusted my backpack straps, and stretched my shoulders.
“Let’s go, Mommy’s getting you out of here.”

I muttered to the egg babies, psyching myself up.
The road ahead was long, and who knew what dangers awaited.
I just hoped I wouldn’t need to use my magic crystal to summon a stone giant.

With that thought, I followed Carter and the others through the wilderness.
But after just a few steps, a sharp pain shot through my foot.

“Eek—”
I yelped, stumbling back, and saw a sharp spike protruding from the ground.

In an instant, the world spun, and my body went limp, strength draining away.
“Careful!”

Katherine, quick as lightning, caught me as I collapsed.
I was dazed, unable to process what had happened.

“Poisoned spike! Open your mouth—this is a low-tier antidote. It should help!”
Katherine held me, pulling out a purple potion, uncorking it, and bringing it to my lips.

My consciousness was fading, but I could still hear her.
Without hesitation, I opened my mouth and drank the antidote she fed me.

“D*mn it, Mengmeng’s shoes aren’t like ours! Regular shoes can’t protect against dark elf traps!”
Nico rushed over, looking down and spotting several thin, sharp spikes buried in the ground—one stained red with blood, clearly the one I’d stepped on.

“It’s dark elf poison. It won’t kill her immediately, but she won’t be able to move for a while.”
Emil’s face was grave.
I could feel it—my body was completely limp, barely able to move a finger despite my mind clearing.

“Give me Su Mengmeng’s backpack. Katherine, carry her!”
Daniel, seeing my condition, thought it impractical for me to keep carrying the backpack and reached for it.

“No!”
Seeing his hand, my eyes widened, and I shouted.

At that moment, the sound of arrows cutting through the air rang out again!