Me? I was transported into a book? And I became a vicious villain?

The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the spire of the castle, coating it with a warm golden color. Children chased and played in the square, and their laughter echoed in the air. Ever since the artifact purified this land, the castle and its surroundings have been a thriving scene.

Chu Mengmeng hummed a lullaby and coaxed the baby in her arms to sleep. The little one slept soundly, with a satisfied smile on his pink face. Xiao Yichen sat by the bed, looking at his wife and children tenderly, his eyes full of deep affection.

"Mengmeng, look how much he looks like you, just as cute." Xiao Yichen gently stroked the child's soft hair, his tone full of doting.

Chu Mengmeng smiled slightly, with a maternal glow in her eyes. "Fortunately, I'm not like you, otherwise I would be as taciturn as you in the future."

Xiao Yichen shook his head helplessly, stood up and walked to the window, looking at the forest in the distance. Unknown to him, the edge of the originally lush forest was shrouded in a faint shadow, as if some unknown danger was lurking.

"What's wrong?" Chu Mengmeng noticed that Xiao Yichen was acting strangely and followed him to the window.

"It's nothing. Maybe it's because it's getting late and I saw it wrong." Xiao Yichen retracted his gaze, not wanting to make Chu Mengmeng worry.

However, the uneasy premonition lingered in his heart. In recent days, some strange noises could be heard in the forest outside the castle, low and strange, like the roar of wild beasts, or some ancient spells. Some timid animals fled the forest and migrated to farther places.

As night fell, the castle was shrouded in silence. However, this tranquility was soon broken by a series of tiny noises.

"Boom-thump-thump-"

A dull thumping sound came from underground, as if something was trying to break out of the ground.

"Did you hear that?" A soldier on night watch was pale and his hand holding the spear was trembling slightly.

"Don't scare yourself, it might be the sound of the wind blowing through the tree roots." Another soldier tried to remain calm, but there was a hint of fear in his tone.

Similar conversations were taking place in every corner of the castle. The residents were in a state of panic, and rumors about dark magic began to spread among the crowd.

"The dark magic must have returned!" an old woman cried in horror, "We will all be destroyed!"

"Calm down, ma'am. We have defeated the darkness and nothing will happen again." The city lord comforted everyone, but he himself was unsure.

That night, Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen couldn't fall asleep. They stood on the castle wall, looking at the dark forest in the distance, and a feeling of uneasiness spread between them.

"Mengmeng, you stay here, I'll go take a look in the forest." Xiao Yichen clenched the hilt of the sword in his hand, and a hint of determination flashed in his eyes.

"No, it's too dangerous. I want to go with you!" Chu Mengmeng grabbed Xiao Yichen's sleeve and said in a firm tone.

Xiao Yichen wanted to persuade her again, but he saw the unquestionable determination in Chu Mengmeng's eyes. He sighed and finally nodded in agreement.

The two men rode their horses and quietly left the castle, heading deep into the forest. As the night deepened, the trees in the forest were like monsters with bared fangs and claws, casting large shadows.

Suddenly, Xiao Yichen pulled the reins hard, and the horse neighed and stopped.

"What's wrong?" Chu Mengmeng asked.

Xiao Yichen did not answer. He dismounted from his horse, walked to a big tree, squatted down, and carefully observed the traces on the ground.

"It's a trace of dark magic..." Xiao Yichen's face was solemn and his tone was low. Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen rode deep into the forest. The deeper they went, the more twisted and weird the trees became, as if they were corroded by some evil force. The air was filled with a rotten smell that made people sick.

"Be careful, the dark aura here is very strong." Xiao Yichen reminded in a low voice, tightening the hilt of the sword in his hand.

Chu Mengmeng nodded and took out an exquisite dagger from her waist. Although she usually looks like a cute foodie, she is very agile when she is in danger.

The two of them moved forward cautiously, carefully observing the movements around them. Suddenly, Xiao Yichen stopped in front of a bush.

Xiao Yichen did not answer. He squatted down and pushed aside the bushes, revealing a strange pattern on the ground. It was a hexagram drawn by black liquid, emitting creepy energy fluctuations.

“This is…” Chu Mengmeng took a breath and recognized the origin of this pattern, “Dark magic circle!”

Xiao Yichen nodded solemnly, carefully observing the details of the magic circle. "This magic circle has not been fully activated yet. It seems that they have not started to act yet."

"But why did they set up a magic circle here?" Chu Mengmeng was puzzled, "Could it be that they wanted to..."

At this point, she suddenly stopped and her eyes fell on a towering tree not far from the magic circle. On the trunk of the tree, there was a strange symbol engraved, exactly the same as the symbol in the magic circle.

"This tree..." Chu Mengmeng walked forward and reached out to touch the symbol. A stream of cold energy instantly flowed into her body through her fingertips. Some vague images flashed through her mind, darkness, altars, and countless twisted monsters...

"Meng Meng!" Xiao Yichen grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the giant tree. "Don't touch it, this tree has been eroded by the power of darkness!"

Chu Mengmeng shook her head palely, took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down. "I seem to have seen some images. They seemed to be holding some kind of ceremony, summoning..."

"Summon what?" Xiao Yichen asked.

Chu Mengmeng closed her eyes and tried to recall those scenes carefully, but those scenes were like fragments and could never be pieced together.

"I'm not sure, but it must be something very scary..." Chu Mengmeng opened her eyes, her eyes full of solemnity, "We must find out their purpose as soon as possible and stop them!"

Xiao Yichen nodded, his expression serious. "You're right, we can't just sit there and wait for death."

He looked around and his eyes fell on a path not far away. "This path should lead deep into the forest. Maybe we can find their traces along this path."

"Okay!" Chu Mengmeng clenched the dagger, her eyes determined, "Let's go!"

The two men mounted their horses and continued along the path. However, they did not know that an even more dangerous challenge was waiting for them...

"Wait," Chu Mengmeng suddenly stopped her horse and stared at the front with sharp eyes, "There seems to be someone there!"

Undercurrent

"Is there someone?" Xiao Yichen followed Chu Mengmeng's gaze and saw several blurry figures walking towards this side on a small road not far away.

"Let's hide and see what happens first." Xiao Yichen said in a low voice, pulling Chu Mengmeng to hide behind a thick tree.

As the figures gradually approached, the two finally saw their appearance clearly. They were people wearing black cloaks with some strange symbols embroidered on them, which were somewhat similar to the symbols they had seen in the magic circle before.

"It's them!" Chu Mengmeng whispered, with a cold light in her eyes, "It seems that my feeling is right, they are really active here!"

"Should we follow and take a look?" Xiao Yichen asked.

"Of course!" Chu Mengmeng said without hesitation, "Only by finding out their purpose can we find a way to deal with them!"

"But..." Xiao Yichen looked at Chu Mengmeng with some concern, "Your current health..."

Chu Mengmeng's body has never fully recovered since giving birth. Although she looks as lively as before, Xiao Yichen knows that her current physical condition cannot withstand intense fighting.

"Don't worry, I know what's going on." Chu Mengmeng gave Xiao Yichen a reassuring look, "I'll be careful, and you should also pay attention to safety and strengthen the castle's defenses as soon as possible. I always feel that a big war is about to begin..."

After that, without waiting for Xiao Yichen to answer, Chu Mengmeng crouched down and followed the men in black silently. Xiao Yichen knew that he could not stop Chu Mengmeng's decision, so he could only watch her go away, his eyes full of worry.

Chu Mengmeng followed the men in black all the way through the dense forest and came to a hidden valley. The valley was filled with a strong smell of blood, which was nauseating.

Chu Mengmeng covered her nose and approached the valley cautiously. She saw a huge altar standing in the middle of the valley. Dozens of men in black were standing in a circle around the altar, muttering something, as if they were holding some kind of ceremony.

In the center of the altar, there was a man covered in blood. The man was tortured to death, but Chu Mengmeng recognized him at a glance. He was a resident of the castle!

"Damn it!" Chu Mengmeng was burning with anger and was about to rush out to save people, but suddenly she felt a powerful force coming from the altar.

The next moment, the magic circle on the altar suddenly lit up with a dazzling red light, and a huge black vortex appeared above the altar. A creepy dark breath surged out of the vortex and swept across the entire valley.

"Oh no, they are going to summon something!" Chu Mengmeng was shocked and realized that the situation was not good. At this moment, several men in black seemed to have noticed her presence and turned around suddenly, with fierce light flashing in their eyes.

"who?!"

Chu Mengmeng knew that she had been exposed, so she stopped hiding and rushed out.

"It's someone from the castle, kill her!"

Several men in black roared, drew their weapons, and attacked Chu Mengmeng.

Although Chu Mengmeng had just given birth, she was still agile. She nimbly dodged the attacks of the men in black, and the dagger in her hand was like a venomous snake spitting out its tongue. Every attack was extremely accurate, and she knocked several men in black to the ground in an instant.

However, there were too many men in black, and Chu Mengmeng was no match for them. She gradually lost the upper hand. At this moment, a huge black claw suddenly emerged from the vortex and grabbed Chu Mengmeng...

"careful!"

At the critical moment, a figure suddenly appeared and blocked Chu Mengmeng. The figure waved the sword in his hand and repelled the black claws with a deafening sound.

"It's you..." Chu Mengmeng looked at the familiar figure in front of her, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

The person who came was Xiao Yichen. He glanced at Chu Mengmeng and said in a deep voice: "You go first, leave this to me!"

"But……"

"Don't say but, let's go!" Xiao Yichen pushed Chu Mengmeng away and turned to fight against the black claw.

Chu Mengmeng knew that if she stayed she would only become a burden to Xiao Yichen, so she gritted her teeth and turned around to run out of the valley.

However, just as she was about to escape from the valley, a powerful dark force suddenly enveloped her, and a figure in a black robe and holding a staff slowly walked out of the darkness, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Want to leave? It's not that easy!"

Chu Mengmeng staggered to steady herself, and looked forward in shock. A figure in a black robe, holding a bone staff, surrounded by thick black fog, like a messenger from the abyss of hell, with a suffocating sense of oppression.

"Who are you?" Chu Mengmeng tried to remain calm, but her voice trembled slightly uncontrollably. She could feel that the black-clad man in front of her was extremely powerful, far beyond the previous black-clad men.

"You don't deserve to know." The man in black said in a cold tone, without any emotion. "Your existence has threatened our great plan. Becoming a sacrifice is your last value."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man in black waved his staff, and a black beam of light rushed straight towards Chu Mengmeng. Chu Mengmeng instinctively wanted to dodge, but found herself as if she was imprisoned in the same place, unable to move.

"Damn it!" Chu Mengmeng cursed inwardly, and tried her best to mobilize the little spiritual power left in her body to condense a defensive barrier in front of her.

“You don’t know what you can do.” The man in black sneered, and the black beam of light shattered Chu Mengmeng’s defense barrier without any hindrance, knocking her out.

Chu Mengmeng fell heavily to the ground, with a trace of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth. She struggled to stand up, but found herself trapped in a translucent black barrier.

"Don't waste your energy. You can't escape from this barrier." The man in black approached step by step, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. "Just surrender obediently, and I can kill you quickly."

"Dream on!" Chu Mengmeng gnashed her teeth, her eyes full of stubbornness. She would never give up so easily, and she would not watch her homeland being destroyed by these evil guys!

……

On the other side, Xiao Yichen was fighting fiercely with the Black Claw. The long sword in his hand seemed to turn into lightning, and every swing brought with it a sharp sword energy, forcing the Black Claw to retreat step by step.

However, the power of the black claws seemed endless, and no matter how Xiao Yichen attacked, he could not completely destroy it.

At this moment, a soldier ran over in a panic, "Report... Report to the city lord, the lady...she was captured by a man in black!"

"What?!" Xiao Yichen's heart tightened, and a strong sense of uneasiness surged in his heart, "Please tell me clearly, what is going on?"

"Madam had already escaped, but..." The soldier told Xiao Yichen everything he saw.

"Damn it!" Xiao Yichen's eyes suddenly turned red when he heard that, and the sword in his hand became even more fierce, as if he wanted to vent all his anger on the black claws in front of him.

"Get out of my way!" Xiao Yichen roared, forced back the black claws with a sword, turned around and ran in the direction the soldier pointed.

He must find Chu Mengmeng and must not let anything happen to her!

In the dense forest, Xiao Yichen led a team of elite soldiers, anxiously searching for Chu Mengmeng's whereabouts.

"City Lord, look!" a soldier exclaimed, pointing to an open space ahead.

Xiao Yichen looked in the direction the soldier pointed, and saw a translucent black barrier standing tall in the open space. In the barrier, a familiar figure was facing away from him, looking frail and helpless...