The footprints were left quietly on the moist river bed by the lake, deeply embedded in the soil.

I guess that in the middle of the night, the humid water vapor from this lake soaked the soil on the river bank, causing it to be a slippery place all the time, making it difficult to maintain absolute stability under force from any direction.

But when the sun rose and the mist dispersed, the river mud gradually dried and solidified into a hard shell, maintaining the same shape as last night.

Therefore, the wet river mud was intact at that time, vividly recreating every detail of the footprint.

I saw that the footprints were so deep that there was a gap of thirty centimeters between the part sunk in the mud and the edge.

I stepped on the wet part of the river bank myself and could only get about five centimeters deep.

The jay guessed that a giant beast weighing more than six times my weight and weighing nearly 360 kilograms was drinking water by the river last night!

But I am extremely sure that this is not some rhinoceros-like beast as she mentioned!

The reason I am so sure is not because the people in the town told me with absolute certainty that there is no beast larger than a goat on this mountain.

But it was because of my frightened glance!

I clearly saw that the footprints on the ground were separated into three parts, with obvious joint marks, and a sharp hook toe clawing into the ground.

Therefore, it is definitely the mark of an animal rather than something else. But between the three separated joints, there is clearly a layer of skin with skin texture!

Some aquatic animals or animals with aquatic habits have a layer of skin between their toes that can be used for paddling. This layer of skin is called webs. For example, amphibian frogs, toads, etc., reptile turtles,

Turtles, birds such as geese, ducks, gulls, etc., and mammals such as beavers, otters, sea otters, platypuses, etc. all have webs between their toes with varying degrees of development.

So what I saw was obviously webbing unique to aquatic animals!

Could it be that there are crocodiles of more than 300 kilograms in this lake? Don’t all such crocodiles live in the tropics?

Even more bizarre is that I found something wrong with this webbed structure footprint...

"Jay, do you think there's anything wrong with this footprint?"

I stood there and asked the outdoor experts beside me calmly.

The jay lay on the ground wearing an animal skin coat and carefully observed the footprints.

She lives in a semi-arid area and may not be able to guess what the webbed structure looks like because she is unfamiliar with the ocean and amphibians. However, as a tribesman in the wilderness, her knowledge of beasts must be much higher than mine.

After looking at the footprints, the jay looked around with a strange expression and murmured: "It's strange...it shouldn't be like this..."

I quickly asked: "Did you also find something wrong?"

Jay analyzed it carefully for me: "Although our Brown Pond tribe doesn't hunt much, I have also followed the tracks of wild beasts in the wild. The footprints of running beasts are deeper in front and shallower in the back, and the footprints of vigilant beasts are shallower in front and deeper in the back. Birds

The footprints of humans are slender, the footprints of rats are light, and the footprints of people are distributed in linear lines..."

"This is something we often see, but this footprint seems to be too independent. How come it appears alone by the lake with no similar footprints next to it..."

"It looks a bit like the lame warg I've seen. Could it be a beast that's lame on three legs... Doesn't that mean it's jumping on one leg? What am I thinking..."

The jay's words reminded me that what I always felt was wrong was that this footprint existed independently!

This footprint is distributed on the shore. A small area in front is in the water, and the nearly three-meter-long area in the back is soft land on the lake shore. There is no reason why other footprints should not be left.

Is it possible that this amphibian weighing more than 300 kilograms can jump over a distance of more than three meters like a tiger, using only one foot for support?

I was thinking about it by the lake, staring at the surface of the lake that was blown by the breeze. Suddenly, the ripples on the lake surface gradually calmed down, showing a calm plane for a moment.

Through this momentarily calm lake surface, I found an equally huge set of footprints at the bottom of the clear water body, printed in a series on the bottom of the lake...

That string of huge footprints, like a broken pearl necklace, was quietly left at the bottom of this fairyland-like mountain lake.

"Jay, don't look anymore, let's go!"

I made a quick decision and immediately called to Jay Jay and told her to get out of here immediately.

At this time, the jay still had a numb feeling in his mouth. He was gargling water by the lake. When I shouted, he almost lost his footing and fell into the water. He quickly maintained his balance and asked me angrily: "What are you doing so loudly?"

Almost fell!"

I looked at this lake that was so charming just now with a gloomy face, and there was only endless fear in my heart.

"Sure enough, there is something wrong with this mountain. I must find out what happened here next time... Gotz must have known something last time..."

The string of footprints just now has presented the clues I left behind, completing the final pieces of this puzzle.

I began to agree with the point of view in Sebala's story. Ignorance is God's last kindness to mankind. The jay's ignorance allowed her to complete this mountain climbing with satisfaction, but this leisurely feeling in my heart had long since disappeared.

.

At this time, a strange picture filled my mind.

... Yesterday, on a dark and windy night, ripples appeared on the lakeside, and the stars in the sky were like countless treasures scattered on the lake, creating dots of ripples.

At this time, a gust of wind slid down from Madas Mountain and hit the woods eagerly, bringing up boundless pine waves.

A black figure moved slowly and lazily, with mucus dripping from its body. Its mouth exhaled a foul smell, like the smell of sulfur vomited by the Balrog in hell, spreading unbridled in the air.

Its movements were slow and stiff, and its face was ferocious and sluggish. It was like an inferior machine that was out of control, numbly repeating the set program and moving forward step by step.

That is definitely not an animal, because animals will not show such an ugly appearance that violates the principles of natural harmony, let alone move their legs and walk upright like humans!

That string of footprints is not like a wild animal with its front and rear legs, swinging up and down on its spine, and advancing alternately... but like a human being, it maintains a stable center of gravity, takes steps in sequence, and has an obvious central axis of action!

From the direction where the footprints disappeared, my slightly dilated pupils seemed to see the nightmare scene last night.

...The ugly giant beast moved stubbornly, smiling contemptuously at the eternal moonlight, as if mocking all the perfect and clean existence in the world.

The water gradually submerged its twisted knees, leaving a layer of water stains on its knotted muscles. The giant beast let out a long roar of joy, playing a clumsy piece of music that seemed to have been composed haphazardly and played hastily.

The existence of all worldly things has been forgotten in the eyes of the giant beast.

It only has in its heart that deep, dirty, marshy, sunless lair at the bottom of the lake, a place of filth and evil that may be filled with bones and stumps, and where poor innocent souls circle.
Chapter completed!