The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

It was evening.

Lorraine and Piper arrived at the location before the agreed time and found that many people were already standing on the riverbank.

Anya stood high on the riverbank, directing the guards of several small towns:

"Pour one-third of the bait into the river, right where the backwater is...yes, scatter the rest along the middle of the rocky beach so it can follow the scent."

"Yes, sir!"

The guards dumped the blood, flesh, and entrails of pigs and sheep into the river, turning the gray-blue water a bright red color. The strong smell of blood could be smelled even by those on higher ground.

Piper muttered to himself, "This smells like a vampire's bathwater has been spilled."

Lorraine nodded in agreement with Piper's idea, although he didn't know what vampire bathwater tasted like either; the little dwarf always managed to come up with such strange metaphors.

His gaze was then drawn to Anya.

Today, the priestess of the Lord of Dawn changed into a set of rose gold half-body armor, with neat and tidy shoulder armor that followed the curve of her shoulder line and overlapped with the arm armor at the elbow.

She held a triangular one-handed shield and a mace in each hand, looking quite heroic and valiant, a stark contrast to her gentle demeanor in the reception room.

Anya quickly noticed the two approaching. Her gaze lingered on Lorraine's breastplate for a moment before falling on the warhammer Piper was carrying. She smiled warmly and said, "You're here. Did you successfully enchant it?"

"Yes, yes, Uncle Horton is truly the most skilled blacksmith Piper has ever seen!" the little man replied excitedly.

"Then I'm relieved. Please wait a moment, the guards are still preparing the bait." She pointed to the guards who were scattering meat on the beach.

"This is what we should do." Lorraine nodded, then confirmed the arrangements for later: "Should we participate in the encirclement and suppression later? Or is it enough to just block its retreat?"

Anya shook her head, politely declining his suggestion:

"The rock-dwelling salamander is too dangerous for unofficial professionals. You only need to harass it when it tries to escape; never fight it head-on. If necessary, Raine will come to your aid."

"Thank you for your generosity." Lorraine bowed.

You can get sixteen gold coins just by casually hanging around? What a great deal!

Unexpectedly, Anya was so easy to get along with. Even Lorraine developed some goodwill towards the Lord of Dawn. As expected of a formal priest, she was truly professional.

After setting up the trap, the guards quickly withdrew, leaving only the five of them on the riverbank.

The sky darkened completely, the moon was obscured by clouds, and only the surface of the Blackwater River reflected a faint ray of light from the frost magic circle. After Eileen whispered a few words, even this faint light disappeared.

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Lorraine and Piper crouched behind the large, waist-high rocks as instructed, the gaps between the rocks allowing them a clear view of the entire pebble beach.

"Do you think it will be attracted?" the short man asked in a low voice.

"The chances are not small."

If what Eileen said earlier is true, and the rock-dwelling salamander attacked the caravan because of food, then it will definitely come.

With such a large quantity of blood food, it would take an unknown amount of time to hunt it all on its own.

Lorraine then began to observe the trio's positions.

As planned, the red-haired mage Eileen hid in the crevices of the oak tree roots in the mixed forest.

Anya and Rein lay one after the other in the clearing between the mixed woods and the riverbank, almost blending into the gravel ground in the night.

Then came a long silence. Lorraine could only hear the gurgling of the river flowing over the rocks and the sound of her own suppressed breathing.

The long wait made him a little nervous. He glanced at Piper, who was squatting to the side. The short man had his warhammer resting on his knees, his hands gripping the handle tightly, and his eyes were fixed on the river.

"This little dwarf is nervous too..." Lorraine thought to herself.

"call--"

He let out a soft sigh, allowing his heart to gradually calm down.

The fog on the river gradually thickened.

Amid the gentle flow of water, some unusual noises gradually emerged, as if someone were stirring the ingredients that had settled at the bottom of the soup pot with a huge spatula.

Piper nudged Lorraine gently, and the two exchanged a glance, realizing that it had arrived.

After a while, Lorraine saw a huge shadow vaguely appearing in the grayish-white mist on the river.

Ripples began to spread across the water, and a gray-black spine broke through the river, covered with water plants and silt, and even some of the filth that had been dumped into the river earlier.

It slowly climbed ashore, and only then could Lorraine see what it looked like.

This rock salamander was even larger than Eileen had described, its body length roughly estimated to be seventeen or eighteen feet. It had a flat head, thick limbs, and a long tail trailing behind it.

Instead of rushing towards the bait immediately, it raised its head, its nostrils flaring, to catch the scents in the air.

Looking at Anya and Rein, who were only a dozen steps away from the rock-dwelling salamander, Lorraine nervously gripped the hilt of her sword, sweating for them.

The creature hadn't even entered the range of the frost array yet, and the three of them weren't exactly close. If they were discovered now, whether it turned and ran or rushed up to attack, it was something Lorraine didn't want to see.

However, perhaps the stench of blood in the air was too strong, or perhaps the blood-stained route was too tempting for it, it did not notice the two people hiding nearby.

This rock-dwelling salamander looks like it's starving.

Unaware of the danger around it, it quickly moved its four short legs and happily crawled forward along the trail of blood.

The pebbles on the riverbank cracked and crumbled under its weight.

Five steps, ten steps, fifteen steps.

The edge of the magic circle flickered slightly.

Eileen still didn't activate the magic circle; the rock-dwelling salamander was positioned too far back, and she was waiting for it to fully enter the riverbed.

It paused briefly as it passed the first bait spot, opened its mouth wide and swallowed a piece of blood-soaked sheep entrails whole, then shook its head with satisfaction and continued crawling forward.

"Now."

Eileen stood up and waved her staff, drawing magic into the magic array spread on the ground.

A burst of icy blue light erupted from the runes on the ground, creating a semi-transparent barrier formed from icy power between the rock-dwelling salamanders and the river.

"Giggle giggle—"

The rock-dwelling salamander let out a startled cry, turned sharply around, and tried to rush back into the water, but was frozen and retreated the moment it got close to the barrier.

"Drink!"

Raine leaped to his feet, gave a low shout, and strode forward.

Lorraine was very familiar with this; it was undoubtedly the most basic and most useful combat skill for a warrior—charge!