A Dead Knight slowly stepped out from a Space Rift.
Two blue flames flickered inside its helmet like will-o’-wisps.
At Rom’s summoning, a knight riding an armored Skeleton Horse and wearing chain mail appeared.
The Dead Knight’s glowing eyes stared at Rom, and it held a silver longsword in its hand.
Rom said something to the Dead Knight, and then the knight’s gaze fell on the Black Bird.
The next moment, the Skeleton Horse stamped its hooves and charged toward the Black Bird.
The Black Bird noticed the Dead Knight’s arrival.
Its eyes were full of confusion as it watched the Skeleton Horse charging at it, as if wondering why someone had suddenly appeared.
Just as the Black Bird was pondering, the Dead Knight raised its longsword high.
At the same time, blue flames ignited on the sword’s blade.
The knight slashed at the Black Bird, leaving a deep scar on its wing.
Seemingly stimulated by the pain, the Black Bird let out a strange cry and focused all its attention on the Dead Knight.
Seeing that the Dead Knight had attracted the enemy’s attention, Rom whispered to his companions:
“Let’s go. It’s distracted. We need to get out of here.”
Hearing this, everyone nodded and rushed toward the Wind Source.
The Black Bird certainly noticed its prey trying to escape, but every time it tried to stop them, the Dead Knight charged to attack it, forcing it to focus on the Dead Knight first.
The method Rom came up with was to summon a creature strong enough to fight the Black Bird.
If it could win, great; if not, it could at least buy time to cover their retreat.
Passing through a huge plaza piled with bones, the group finally reached the other end of the cave.
After confirming it was temporarily safe, the four people, panting heavily, found a relatively flat spot and decided to rest for a while.
Glancing at the darkness behind them, Jiu, who had been silent, suddenly asked:
“Are all these bones from those bandits?”
Without a second thought, Rom directly rejected Jiu’s idea.
“Impossible. Not to mention that these bones and weapons look quite old. The number of bandits couldn’t be this many. The amount of bones here is almost the size of a legion.”
After hearing Rom’s explanation, Jiu was silent for a long while before speaking again with a trembling voice:
“Then where are those bandits?”
Tao Lani heard this and frowned slightly, as if thinking.
Rom and Grey looked at each other with serious expressions, also pondering this question.
Their initial goal was to eliminate the bandit plague, but they arrived and the bandits were gone.
If the bandits had left early, that shouldn’t be the case.
The Adventurers’ Guild provides clues that refresh every twenty-four hours.
They wouldn’t give wrong leads to mislead them into danger.
Thinking back to the longsword they saw at the cave entrance and the rocks that later blocked the entrance, Tao Lani gradually formed a guess.
She looked around at her companions and said:
“Remember the longsword from before?”
“What longsword?” Grey asked slowly, a look of confusion in his eyes.
“It was the heavily damaged longsword, the one we threw away after looking at it.”
Tao Lani described the appearance of the longsword and gestured the two notches.
“I don’t remember it at all,” Grey said, still puzzled and with no memory of it.
“Don’t think about it,” Rom said, stepping forward and patting Grey’s shoulder.
“Just go rest over there for a bit, big dummy.”
After sending the dazed Grey away, Rom came to Tao Lani’s side and analyzed together with her.
“The sword at the cave entrance earlier had two notches. I didn’t know what shape they were, but now I have a guess.”
“The notches on that sword were caused by the Black Bird.”
Tao Lani heard Rom’s analysis and nodded.
“That’s right, I think so too.”
She paused for a moment, then continued:
“I think that sword should belong to those bandits. That being the case, the bandits might have known about the Black Bird long ago.”
“And the empty stronghold made us all think the bandits had left this place.”
Tao Lani shook the Holy Staff, and its glow intensified, illuminating a larger area.
“But the appearance of the rubble later made me think my previous judgment might be wrong. Not only did the bandits not leave, but it’s very possible they created that rubble pile.”
Then, Tao Lani announced the answer in a low voice:
“This is a trap. We’ve been ambushed.”
“This is a trap?”
Hearing this, even Grey understood what was happening.
He picked up his axe and angrily walked back from not far away.
“These wild boars are so cunning. They set a trap for us?!”
Just thinking about the Black Bird made Grey’s heart pound.
He said angrily:
“If I ever run into them, I’ll chop them into mincemeat!”
Rom glared at Grey and said irritably:
“Enough. Stop shouting. Do you want to attract that bird again?!”
Upon hearing that his loud voice might attract the bird again, Grey immediately shut up and stood quietly aside.
“So now, do we go out or not?” Rom asked Tao Lani.
A slight breeze could already be felt here; the exit probably wasn’t far.
“It seems they didn’t block this exit. I don’t know why they didn’t seal this one too and completely block the entire cave.”
Tao Lani said as she felt the breeze brush past:
“But since they didn’t seal this exit, it’s very possible they set an ambush outside this exit, to prevent us from escaping here if we weren’t killed by the Black Bird.”
“That means the moment we step out, we could be attacked. We don’t know the direction, the number, or the type.”
After Tao Lani finished, the four of them remained silent.
They all realized the current situation was not good.
The enemy was in the dark while they were in the light.
None of them wanted to let their companions take the risk.
With an unknown ambush ahead and the terrifying Black Bird behind, they were in a dilemma.
“Let’s go.”
Tao Lani broke the silence first and walked forward holding the Holy Staff.
“I’ll lead the way.”
“No!”
Jiu immediately objected:
“This is too dangerous. I haven’t done much along the way. Let me go.”
“You can’t go.”
Tao Lani’s tone was very calm:
“I’m different from you. I can use magic to protect myself in advance, and even if I get hurt, my recovery speed is hundreds or thousands of times yours. As long as it’s not a fatal wound, I’ll be fine.”
“So let me scout ahead. You guys prepare for battle behind.”
Tao Lani’s analysis was very reasonable, leaving them with no excuse to argue.
Hearing Tao Lani say this, Jiu bit her lip tightly.
She felt a sense of guilt in her heart, not only for her performance along the way but also for being so useless while Tao Lani protected her.
Her fingers gripped the Dark Green Longbow tightly, and she made up her mind.
It was certain that Tao Lani would be attacked.
If a fight broke out, she would definitely protect the retreating Tao Lani and not let her get hurt again.
Seeing Tao Lani had made her decision, Rom and Grey also gripped their weapons tightly, looking serious.
“If there really is an ambush, we will protect you!”
Tao Lani looked at her companions and a smile bloomed on her face.
“Then let’s set out!”
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