That despicable, scheming woman, she actually disguised herself as an elf lady!

"If only I had known, I wouldn't have insisted on coming in with the seniors!"

Luca was filled with regret. He had accepted the guild's commission and ventured deep into the swamp forest with a team of experienced adventurers, all in the name of broadening his horizons.

Unexpectedly, Camp Seven was suddenly struck by a strange turn of events.

This is due to the increase in monsters near the camp and the appearance of the Swamp Serpent at Camp One.

After a brief discussion, the camp's knight commander and the professionals decided to join forces with powerful adventurers to launch a new round of extermination against the monsters surrounding Camp Seven.

All adventurers registered with the guild will be disbanded and reorganized into smaller teams.

They joined forces with the knight squad stationed at Camp Seven in Maple Leaf Town to safeguard the camp's security.

clang-

Luca blocked the goblin that attacked from the side, and gradually found himself surrounded.

Two or three team members had already fallen in pools of blood, their fates unknown, and he was powerless to do anything but struggle to hold on.

This rookie squad isn't too weak; apart from Luca and the vice-captain, Gerdwin, who is a mage, the rest are all at the early Blood Awakening Realm.

However, when faced with the vicious and slightly weaker goblins, these newcomers could not even unleash 70% of their strength, and were naturally easily defeated and killed on the spot.

Gerdwin is a magic apprentice who has successfully constructed a spell model in his sea of ​​consciousness, and his level is comparable to that of a swordsman in the Refining Realm.

However, magic apprentices only know a few basic spells such as fireball and water ripple, and their strength is far inferior to that of swordsmen or knights of the same level.

It is said that only by becoming a lower or intermediate mage and learning instant spellcasting and magic domains can one gradually contend with melee professionals of the same level.

"Boom—"

Gerdwin focused his mind and activated the spell model in his sea of ​​consciousness. The spell circuits connecting his entire body glowed slightly, and magic power flowed into the spell model like a spring.

As magic gathered, flickering flames appeared at Gerdwin's fingertips, and the surrounding temperature gradually rose. In an instant, a fireball finally condensed in his palm.

Gerdwin remained expressionless. The next moment, he flicked his wrist, and a fireball shot out, striking a goblin that lunged at Luca.

"Ah...Gaga!"

The flames instantly engulfed the evil goblin, and scalded by the fire, the goblin rolled on the ground, screaming in agony.

A moment later, a charred body lay on the ground.

Seeing this, Luca wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "Thanks!"

"However, the situation isn't good right now. There are only four people left in the team. Do you have enough magic power?"

Gedwin glanced around, his face turning grim.

The original team of eight people is now down to only four people who can still stand, while the other four have fallen to the ground.

Some had their chests pierced by wooden spears, some had their skulls smashed open by stones, and some were unlucky enough to have a whole wooden arrow embedded in their heads.

"We have to break through, otherwise staying here will only lead to certain death, and we won't be able to hold out until other adventurers come to our aid!"

Luca, panting heavily, brandished his longsword and repelled the charging goblins.

"And what about Eric?"

Eric, the vanguard of the team and a greatsword warrior, had his calf pierced by a goblin's hidden arrow.

The arrows were studded with countless wooden spikes, forming barbs that embedded themselves deep into Eric's flesh. Even so, he gritted his teeth and endured the pain to repel the attacking goblins.

Right in the center of the three, a tall, white-haired female priest was sweating profusely as she cast a divine spell to support the three team members.

Upon hearing this, Eric, panting heavily, said, "Don't worry about me, my calf is injured, I can't run anymore!"

"While these goblins haven't completely surrounded us, you can still break through. I'll cover your retreat!"

"This won't do!"

Upon hearing this, Luca's eyes turned red. He didn't want to abandon his teammates and try to survive on his own, but reason told him that this was the only way to live!

"No, we can't do this!" Pastor Ranie cried out in anguish, "How can we abandon the weak and needy!"

"If we don't do this, our entire squad will be wiped out!! It's better for one of us to die than for everyone to perish with us!"

Eric felt a sharp pain in his calf and witnessed an increasing number of goblins. He gritted his teeth and said, "Quick, don't hesitate! I can't hold on much longer!"

Gerdwin and Luca exchanged a glance, both able to see the unbearable sorrow and despair in each other's eyes.

However, reason prevailed over unrealistic fantasies. They all longed to become professionals with extraordinary power and wipe out the goblin tribe in one fell swoop.

But the imagination is rich, while the reality is harsh.

They are nothing but stray dogs now, only able to bark and howl here.

Finally, Luca transformed his hand into a knife and slashed at Lani's neck, knocking her unconscious.

Then he carried her on his back and broke through the encirclement.

At the same time, Eric suddenly sprang up, transforming into a maddened, savage behemoth, wielding a two-handed greatsword as wide as half a person, smashing any goblin that dared to take a step forward into mincemeat.

During the breakout, occasional fireballs came flying by and struck goblins that jumped down from the trees to attack Luca.

At this moment, Luca once again felt the fragility of life, and was filled with anger at his own weakness and incompetence!

"Eric!!!"

When Luca turned back and saw that familiar big guy completely submerged in the green tide, he felt an overwhelming sadness.

In this situation, even the gods could not save Eric's life; he could only suppress his grief and continue to flee.

What angered him most was that he had deserted again!

The temporary team had only been formed for a few days, but the newcomers had already developed a strong bond during that time.

The group also made a pact to form a team together in the future and embark on an adventure at Camp One.

Now, in the blink of an eye, Luca has been separated from most of the team members forever, and now he has even made the cowardly act of abandoning his teammates and running away!

Eric slammed his greatsword into the ground. His muscles ached from the desperate swinging of the sword, feeling as if they were filled with lead, and he could no longer feel his arms.

When he saw the three figures breaking through the encirclement, a relieved smile appeared on his face. "Hehe, they finally escaped."

"Then I can rest assured!"

He was sweating profusely, and every movement of his body affected the muscle fibers in his calves, causing a dull, sharp pain to emanate from the wound on his calves.

The splinter was deeply embedded in the flesh, causing the condition to worsen constantly.

Eric slumped to the ground, his mind filled with the thought of death, but as he looked at the goblins getting closer and closer, a strong will to survive suddenly surged within him.

"Actually... I don't want to die either!"

He was suddenly filled with fear, his previous selflessness vanished, and he muttered to himself, "What if I'm tortured to death by these goblins, and then every piece of my flesh is eaten clean?"

Thinking of this, Eric was on the verge of collapse. He was terrified and worried about his elderly grandmother and sister at home. If he died, they would fall into the lower town and suffer all kinds of humiliation.

"What's this? I want to keep living too!!"

"If someone could save me right now, I'd be willing to be their slave for the rest of my life!"

In a short period of time, countless thoughts flashed through Eric's mind.

Suddenly, he laughed at his own wishful thinking—if someone really would come to his rescue, how could the team have gotten to this point?

Now, Eric is so exhausted that he can't even move a finger. He can only resign himself to closing his eyes and accepting his fate.

And the arrival of death...

tick tock... tick tock...

As time passed, the imagined death did not come.

No wooden spear pierced his chest, no stone or stick smashed his head.

There was absolutely no excruciating pain as I had imagined!

A sudden warmth fell on Eric's face.

It also had a fishy smell!

He stuck out his tongue and licked it. The sweet taste instantly filled his nasal cavity. His pale lips were like parched land receiving rain, as if the hope of rebirth had been rekindled, and they were stained with an eerie red!

"Can you still stand up?"

Eric opened his eyes, and a handsome, dark-haired boy walked slowly over, looking down at him.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, my leg is badly injured!"

Eric felt something was off when he said this. The goblins around them were still eyeing him menacingly, but the boy seemed oblivious and continued to ask him questions.

The boy stroked his chin, pondering for a long time.

Suddenly, he chuckled and said, "Oh dear, then there's nothing I can do. It might be a bit troublesome!"

"You should be able to hold on a little longer, right?!"

Eric nodded weakly upon hearing this.

After speaking, the sword sheath at the young man's waist flashed with a cold light.

A broken sword appeared in the hand of the black-haired boy. Although the blade was broken, its sharpness remained.

Holding a broken sword, he moved like a dragon emerging from the sea, dodging and weaving through the goblins, blood and flesh flying everywhere, his movements light yet sharp.

Eric was instantly stunned. Could a broken sword really have such power?!

Could it be that I was too superficial before?!

The black-haired boy wielded the broken sword in his hand with the speed of a shooting star and the agility of a swallow.

The sword light wove into an impenetrable net, turning the nearby goblins into a bloody pulp.

Blood-red light scattered in the air like fireworks, and fresh blood mixed with green limbs fell like rain, forming pools of blood on the ground.

Upon seeing this, Eric simply stared blankly and said:

Is this hell?