Guided by the goblin, Rudell and his companions were walking through the ruins.
“Kweok. What are those humans? Food?”
“Kikik. They’re food, indeed. I’ll store them in the warehouse.”
“Can’t we eat them now? Kweok.”
“If we don’t eat the ones we caught first, they’ll go bad! Kikik. If they spoil, we can’t eat them!”
Occasionally, passing orcs and goblins licked their lips at the sight of them, but, as expected from the dull-witted monsters, they retreated with a disappointed look when the goblin made some excuses.
Thus, Rudell and his party were peacefully crossing the ruins…
“By the way, I have one thing I’m curious about.”
“What is it? Just say it; I’ll answer anything I know.”
In response to Rudell’s question, the goblin mumbled while chewing on jerky.
“You seem a bit smarter than your fellow kin. What’s up with that?”
“I was born like this. Smaller than others but smart. I survived because I was smart.”
“A, a mutation…? This is really fascinating… I’ve never seen a goblin like this…”
Enthralled by the research subject she had never encountered before, Silphier gazed at the goblin with twinkling eyes.
“Human, your eyes are scary. Don’t eat me.”
The goblin shuddered as if feeling a primal dread.
With that, Rudell and his companions followed the goblin, which began to walk through the ruins and along the forest path.
“Is this the right way? It doesn’t seem like it.”
“This way is right! The ones in white were taken by those in black!”
“Black clothes, huh…”
Definitely referring to the Church of the Eaters of Death.
Feeling tense, Rudell raised his magic power, ready to use spells at any moment, and the others prepared for battle.
So, following a path that was hardly worthy of being called a road, Rudell and his party ventured deeper into the forest.
“This area is dangerous. Strange monsters roam around.”
Just then, the goblin sniffing the air crouched down.
“Strange monsters?”
“I saw a monster I’ve never seen before. Many monsters mixed together. A lot of my kin died. Just thinking about it makes me tremble.”
“Monsters are mixed together?”
“No way…”
Just as the goblin spoke, Rudell vaguely realized the identity of the monster.
Rustle, rustle.
“…!!”
The bushes rustled nearby, and Rudell and his companions swallowed hard and lowered their stances.
Then, a giant beast with mixed features emerged from the bushes.
Grrrrr…
It was a Chimera.
‘Everyone, don’t move an inch.’
With an orc it had just hunted in its mouth, the Chimera sauntered through the forest.
Seeing this, Rudell crouched down, whispering quietly.
Dealing with a Chimera wasn’t overly difficult at this point, but the problem lay with what would follow.
If, by any chance, they were to alert the church while handling the Chimera, it would be disastrous.
So for now, avoiding combat as much as possible was the best course of action.
‘Good thing it just hunted…’
The smell of blood from its prey would likely obscure their scent somewhat.
As Rudell waited for the Chimera to pass, he kept his watchful eyes on it.
Crack.
Suddenly, a sound of a twig snapping came from behind Rudell.
Startled by the sound, Rudell turned his head, and what he saw was a goblin with a pale face stepping on the broken branch.
“Ki, kiii…!!”
Grrrrr…!!!
A panicked voice escaped from the goblin as Rudell watched with incredulous eyes, and the Chimera stopped in its tracks, gazing toward Rudell and his party.
“Tch…!!”
Clicking his tongue, Rudell summoned his magic power.
The shadows under Rudell’s feet coiled as the Chimera, baring its blood-stained teeth, charged toward them.
However, the Chimera’s attack never reached them.
“Well, it seems like things never go smoothly, huh.”
With a sigh, Leje unsheathed her sword and swung it toward the air.
A blue arc of light sliced through, dividing the Chimera in half.
Subsequently, the chopped remains hit the ground, blood and flesh spilling across the floor.
“Ki, kiik!? Th-this human is really strong!”
The goblin watching the scene opened its eyes wide in disbelief.
Considering it had just taken down a creature no different from a dragon in its view with one blow, that reaction was only natural.
“Hoho. Did you realize now? I’m super strong.”
“No time to hesitate! Now that the Chimera’s been hurt, they will notice soon!”
If the church really did set loose a Chimera, it would only be a matter of time before they caught on.
From now on, it was truly a race against time.
“Seriously, does it hurt to just give me a compliment?”
“I’ll shower you with compliments later, so hurry up and move out! Lead the way!”
“Follow me! This way!”
Grumbling in response to Leje, Rudell began to move his feet after the goblin, with the rest of the party trailing behind.
—
“This is where the people in black took the ones in white!”
“Hmm…”
Upon stopping, the goblin led the party’s gaze to a small cave.
It looked like a plain natural cave, nothing particular about it.
But if the goblin was right, there would be a stronghold of the church within.
“Are you sure this is the right place?”
“The goblin is smart! Remembers well! Doesn’t forget easily!”
The goblin squawked as if angry in response to Leje’s disbelief.
It seemed it attempted to sound threatening, but given it was a goblin, all it elicited was laughter.
“Alright, then you can go back now.”
“Kek! I was planning to anyway!”
Nodding at Rudell’s words, the goblin turned around without looking back, while Rudell and his party checked their gear.
Weapons, tools that could illuminate dark areas, basic medicines…
After a quick check, Rudell cautiously spoke up.
“Anyone need more time?”
“…”
Naturally, no one answered.
Seeing that, Rudell, wearing a faint smile, organized his belongings and said,
“Everyone should stay alert. From now on, it’s really not just a game anymore.”
After a long wait, the battle with the church resumed.
This time, surely, they would bring it to a decisive end.
With that thought, Rudell and his companions made their way toward the cave.
—
The inside of the cave was much bigger than expected.
Moisture filled the walls, and the sound of dripping water from the stalactites resonated throughout the cave.
Meanwhile, Rudell and his party walked deeper into the cave.
“See anything?”
“Not really.”
In response to Leje’s question, Rudell shook his head.
So far, the scenery of the cave was just an extremely ordinary natural cave.
However, that didn’t allow for any relaxation.
They couldn’t predict when or where something might jump out at them.
“…”
“Kurt?”
“Over here, there’s a smell of blood.”
Suddenly stopping in his tracks, Kurt looked at Rudell, who tilted his head in confusion.
He sniffed the air and pointed toward one side of the cave.
“This way?”
Rudell tilted his head while heading towards the direction Kurt pointed, but there were only long stalactites and water streams flowing down the walls.
“Nothing here…”
“I can definitely smell it from this direction.”
“Hmmm…”
Kurt wouldn’t be lying.
Letting out a low groan, Rudell looked over where Kurt was pointing but couldn’t find any anomalies.
Just then…
“Wait a second, back away.”
“Leje?”
Leje stepped forward as Rudell pulled back in confusion.
“What’s up with you?”
Moving toward the wall, Leje cautiously reached out her hand toward it.
And she gently stroked the wall, feeling its texture.
The next moment…
“Hup…!!”
Kugugugung…!!
With a battle cry, Leje pushed against a massive boulder directly in front of her, and astonishingly, the rock began to shift a bit sideways.
Rudell and the others watched the spectacle with incredulous expressions.
A moment later…
“Is this enough?”
Wiping off beads of sweat from her forehead, Leje revealed a passage large enough for a person to walk through.
“Unbelievable…”
“That’s amazing.”
“Woah, this is incredible…!!”
While the remaining three besides Leje were left speechless at the sight…
“Well then, let’s hurry up. We need to find Eleor.”
With that, she led the way deeper into the cave.
