The soldier's demeanor was quite positive.

After Ronald started the conversation with him, he detailed the situation in the forest and the danger posed by the monster, Salon. Almost every word carried his warning—that escaping was the correct choice.

And so it went until the conversation concluded.

Even when the soldier began repeating himself like a broken record, he revealed no new valuable information.

Ronald knew there would be no further gains here.

So he turned away and walked over to Catherine and the group of tied-up villagers.

"Hmm, I understand."

"This Dust Beast appeared and destroyed vast swathes of the forest, devastating everything that once was. But aren't you still alive now? Though tied here, it's not yet time to give up."

Catherine was conversing with the villagers.

Unlike Ronald's goal-driven inquiries.

Knowing these people were characters transformed from reality, Catherine spoke soothingly to the distressed villagers. She didn't get up to leave until she heard Ronald's footsteps.

"Ronald, you're here? How did things go over there?"

Ronald shook his head:

"That officer only highlighted the danger of the Dust Beast and advised us not to go over there. That's all the information we got."

"We did get something on this side," Catherine led the way outside, "Come on, let's talk while we walk."

The two left the house, exiting through the main door of the courtyard.

The guard soldiers only stopped people from coming in from the outside and did not interfere with people leaving from inside.

As they continued their walk, Catherine shared the information she gathered:

"According to these people, the most valuable treasure in the original forest was a green key kept by Hamono, imbued with very powerful magic."

Ronald was all too familiar with this:

"That's right, this is what we're looking for!"

"The last time I sealed the Polar Dust Beast, the manifestation of the seal in the outside world was also shaped like a key."

Catherine nodded affirmatively:

"Then we have to find this thing, all right."

"And didn't the game rules say we have to try to take the treasure from the obstructer?"

The situation appeared to be making substantial progress.

But even with this precise goal, Ronald frowned and delivered some bad news:

"But if this is truly the case, then we're in big trouble now."

"The soldier said that the Dust Beast is suppressing the entire Hamono now. How can we possibly move such a colossal creature and search for treasure in the ruins beneath it?"

In reality.

With cooperation between Ronald and Catherine, moving the Dust Beast wouldn't be a problem.

But here, in the "Labyrinth Picture Book" world, magic cannot be used!

The Dust Beast, assuming the identity of an obstructer, could just lie down there with its mountainous form, blocking any chance for adventurers to achieve victory.

"Yeah, how are we supposed to move this guy?"

Ronald and Catherine continued forward, soon reaching the village exit.

However, compared to their last visit.

Both felt troubled by the current situation.

In an environment without spells, facing a Dust Beast head-on...

Confronting this challenge as ordinary people, one would rack their brains but still fail to come up with an effective plan.

[Move forward, and you'll be under the feet of a Dust Beast!]

[Yet the adventurer and his assistant seem troubled by the gargantuan creature in front of them.]

[Will they be able to muster wisdom or courage to find a way forward?]

"Although I know it's stating facts," Catherine frowned, her eyes turning into fierce crescent shapes as she surveyed the surroundings, "I can't help but feel it's mocking us?"

Ronald's attitude was somewhat better, preferring action to find a solution:

"Let's move forward."

"Staying here is just a waste of time. In seeking the right path in the labyrinth, taking action usually works in most cases."

Catherine shrugged, agreeing with this:

"You're the expert, I'll follow your lead."

The two continued moving forward, along a straight path out of the village with no side roads.

Compared to the previously perilous and secretive labyrinth, this was the first chance to relax entering the labyrinth.

However, while walking through the woodland,

only a slight upward gaze would reveal the white figure of the Dust Beast growing ever larger, bringing an intangible pressure to their hearts.

The more Ronald and Catherine advanced, the closer they got to this creature.

Estimating the distance visually, they would reach the enemy's feet in less than half an hour.

If danger came from the Dust Beast's attack then,

Ronald and Catherine probably wouldn't have a solution for dealing with it.

Soon, the scenery opened up before them.

Exiting the relatively short tree-lined path, what appeared in front of them was a camp with a rather intriguing architectural style. Most of the buildings were made of stone, with almost no wood in sight.

Along the edge of the camp, the Dust Beast's body lay close to the ground, with water trickling beneath its body to form irregular streams.

However, Ronald found something more captivating here than the scenery.

Since entering the camp, he had been watching its 'residents'!

Not the army of Lin Yin City, nor Hamono's Casters, or summoned creatures.

They were a group of creatures with lion bodies and human faces! 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

To describe them more accurately, there were variations among individuals, including bull-bodied with human faces, lions with human faces, lion-bodies with goat heads, and lion-bodies with eagle heads. Bulls were the least in number, wearing crowns on their heads.

Faced with a Sphinx tribe vastly larger than before, Ronald was overjoyed:

"Sphinx, I knew I could count on you all!"

The next second, Ronald took large steps and ran over.

From his previous journey through the labyrinth, he understood the status of this race in the "Labyrinth Picture Book".

By passing their riddles, one would surely receive valuable rewards, often critical for conquering the labyrinth!

Watching Ronald's expression, Catherine adopted a peculiar look.

She believed Ronald's enthusiasm was due to fondness for these creatures, prompting a quiet mutter.

Not until she heard, "A human, a human is here!" and "Surround him, if he answers wrong, eat him!" did Catherine hurry over.