My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 87 The Only Survivor

"call----"

Rhodes walked at the front with his hands behind his back, his cloak swaying with each step, and he exhaled a puff of white mist.

After walking along the forest path for a long time, the outline of Thornwood Village finally appeared in the morning mist.

A section of the wooden fence at the village entrance had collapsed, with charred broken wood lying on the ground. Some new wooden stakes of varying thicknesses had been temporarily nailed into the gap, and the old and new marks mixed together, making it clear at a glance that it had been hastily repaired.

Fortunately, no new bloodstains or signs of collapse appeared. He smelled the aroma of cooking fires burning in the village not far away, and slowly withdrew his hand, which had been resting on the bow and arrow.

"The village should be safe," Rod said.

"That's good," Don Quixote said with a long sigh of relief, carrying his greatsword. "We were worried that the monsters might take the opportunity to ambush them."

"Fortunately, the disturbance from the seal only scared away the monsters around the mine and did not affect the village. We had a relatively peaceful night." Milan's brows, which had been furrowed for a long time, relaxed slightly.

"Small-scale monsters generally don't dare to invade human villages on a large scale." Rhodes shook his head, and seeing the curious looks on the two, he explained, "To them, human villages and cities are essentially animal dens. They only dare to steal or plunder resources when ordered by a powerful leader."

"Of course, it's also related to the fact that they arranged for people to patrol," Rod said, glancing at the villagers on duty not far away as he walked.

"Yes, it seems Susanna is doing quite well in this kind of thing." Milan followed his gaze and unconsciously smiled while holding her staff.

Before they left last night, they left Susanna in the village to oversee the situation. The scene before us should be her leading the able-bodied men to repair the defenses, settle the elderly, the weak, and the wounded, and arranging for people to take turns keeping watch at night.

However, Milan did not expect her to do it so well, which was somewhat beyond Milan's expectations.

"Who?"

Several villagers who were still driving new wooden stakes into the fence heard footsteps and looked up.

Through the white morning mist, seeing the approaching group of people, they paused for two seconds, then immediately dropped their hammers and rushed forward.

"So it's you adventurers!" a sharp-eyed villager exclaimed first.

"You're finally back!" The middle-aged man leading the group, his hands still covered in sawdust, beamed with joy. "How are you? Are you alright?"

Rhodes shook his head.

"No," Don Quixote slung his greatsword over his shoulder, making his armor clang as he patted it. "A piece of cake!"

"With us here, those evil monsters couldn't even get close; they were all slain by my greatsword."

"That's good, that's good!" The leading man nodded repeatedly, his face full of genuine gratitude. "It's all thanks to the gentlemen who saved us, otherwise we would probably be inside those monsters' bellies by now."

She waved her arm, her slightly curly brown hair sticking up wildly, making her look exceptionally energetic.

A friendly woman glanced at her messy head and chuckled, "Why isn't this little adult wearing a helmet? I've always seen you with that metal lump on your head before, but your hairstyle looks much neater today."

Don Quixote froze instantly, raising his hand to touch the back of his head, trying to straighten his unkempt hair: "Oops—I accidentally shattered it while fighting those evil and cunning fellows in the mine, but don't worry, I'll just find a craftsman to make another one!"

As they were chatting and laughing, a series of steady footsteps echoed through the village.

Three men wearing tanned leather armor walked over, with polished short swords at their waists and specially patterned badges pinned to their chests.

The one-eyed man at the head of the group had sharp eyes, and when he glanced at Rhodes and the others, he carried the vigilance typical of an adventurer who had spent years on field missions.

He stopped a few steps away with his companions, his one eye sweeping over the three young faces and their sophisticated weapons, and he couldn't help but frown.

"Who are you people?"

His voice was hoarse, as if he had been traveling for many years, with a roughness worn down by the wind and sand. "This disaster-stricken village is now under the care of our Hungry Wolf Adventure Team. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to approach."

Don Quixote was immediately displeased. He slammed his greatsword on the ground, sending dust flying at his feet: "What do you mean by 'unrelated people'? We are the great knights who drove away the monsters invading the village!"

"Hmph, a half-baked adventurer like you?" The female adventurer beside One-Eyed crossed her arms, glanced at Don Quixote from head to toe, and gave him a nonchalant sneer. "Looks like a little kid who hasn't grown up. Maybe some noble prince or princess who ran away to play house?"

Her gaze swept over the dusty hems of their clothes and their ashen faces, and she thought that the group's equipment looked quite good.

Unfortunately, they were all too young, with no trace of the weariness of battle on their faces. Most of them were newbies who had brought some good equipment and wanted to gain some credits, just to join in the fun in the Misty Forest.

"A monster tide is no joke. This village has just been ravaged, and who knows if there are any dangerous monsters nearby," One-Eyed nodded slightly, his hoarse voice carrying a hint of disdain. "I don't have time to play with you. Go back to where you came from and don't cause trouble."

"Who are you calling child's play!" Don Quixote exploded on the spot, gripping his greatsword and about to charge forward, but Milan stopped him with a gesture.

Milan stood there, staff in hand, her expression calm, but her tone unwavering: "We accepted the village's official commission. Whether we're causing trouble or not is none of our business to decide. But you, claiming to be in charge, do you have the village chief's authorization document, or an order from the Adventurers' Guild?"

No matter how much trouble Don Quixote caused, it was never her turn to be bullied by a group of unknown outsiders.

Not to mention, it happened right in front of him.

"————" Rhodes didn't say a word from beginning to end, but just glanced at the distance and then stood aside.

The large cloak hung down, completely covering Lily behind him.

Sensing the tense atmosphere between them, the already timid Lily became even more frightened and hid behind Rhodes, too afraid to come out.

She clutched the edge of Rhodes' cloak, burying her face in the fabric, barely daring to breathe, only revealing the tiny tips of her furry wolf ears, which swayed gently in the shadows.

The two sides were locked in a tense standoff when suddenly hurried footsteps echoed from inside the village.

"Wait, wait a minute—"

Susanna hurried over, lifting the hem of her plain white priest's robe. She had a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and her hair was a little messy, clearly having run over after hearing the commotion.

"One-Eyed Leader, and a few others, please don't get agitated," she said gently, bowing slightly to everyone. "These are the companions I mentioned to you earlier."

As she spoke, she pointed them out, "Mr. Hero, Ms. Milan, and Miss Don Quixote."

"They are my companions. They just returned after they wiped out the monsters in the village yesterday and went into the mine overnight to search for the missing villagers."

A thin layer of sweat trickled down her temples, a few strands of hair clung to her cheeks, and her eyes were dark from lack of sleep all night, indicating she hadn't rested much.

She then turned to Milan and the others, a little apologetically saying, "It's my fault for not giving prior notice. This is the one-eyed leader of the Hungry Wolf Adventurer Group. Their group was clearing out some roaming monsters nearby and came to provide support as soon as they received the news."

"The morning fog is heavy and the wind is chilly outside. Let's all come into the village first. The church has cooked some hot wheat porridge. If you have anything to say, sit down and talk it over." Seeing the suspicious and distrustful looks on both sides, she quickly smoothed things over with a smile.

"Who wants to sit down and talk to them?" Don Quixote, still holding his neck, glared at the female adventurer opposite him and snorted through his nose.

The sharp-tongued female adventurer was not to be outdone. She raised an eyebrow and was about to retort when the one-eyed man raised his hand and pressed down on her shoulder.

"Since you are the heroes who saved this village, we have been presumptuous."

One-Eyed spoke in a hoarse voice, his single eye sweeping over Rhodes and the others. His expression remained wary, but he had dropped his previous contempt.

Milan nodded slightly and pulled Don Quixote along: "Let's go inside first."

Rod remained silent, turning to protect Lily behind him, and followed the crowd into the village.

The large cloak always hung down, completely covering the petite Lily, with only a small tuft of gray wolf tail occasionally peeking out, swaying gently as she imitated Rhodes's steps.

The group followed Susanna into the village. The morning mist gradually dissipated, and the village scenery became clearer.

Many houses along the way had their walls mostly collapsed due to the invasion of monsters, wooden windows were smashed on the ground, and deep marks left by the monsters' claws remained.

In several courtyards, there were piles of salvaged broken furniture. Several women were squatting on the ground tidying up. When they saw Rod and his group coming over, they all stopped what they were doing, stood up and greeted them, their eyes full of genuine gratitude.

When passing through the open space in the center of the village, you can still see the dark bloodstains left on the ground. They have been mostly covered by sand, but they still remind you of the danger that day when the monsters broke into the village.

Looking at the mess along the way, Don Quixote slowly suppressed his temper and pursed his lips without saying a word.

Fortunately, there are still some buildings in the village that have survived intact, so that everyone doesn't have to sit in a drafty place to talk.

crunch—

Pushing open the door, the warmth mixed with the aroma of wheat porridge wafted over me, instantly dispelling the morning chill.

A row of straw mats was placed against the wall, where several injured villagers were resting. Hearing the noise, they all sat up and, upon seeing Rhodes and the others, their faces lit up with joy. They struggled to express their gratitude, but Susanna gently persuaded them to stop.

"Lie down and don't move, don't pull on your wounds," Susanna said as she ladled out several bowls of hot porridge and brought them over. "It's freshly made. You must be starving after working all night, have something to eat first."

The group found benches to sit on; the wooden benches were a bit wobbly, but still quite sturdy.

While the group was having breakfast, One-Eye spoke first, introducing himself: "I am One-Eye, the leader of the Hungry Wolf Adventurer Group, and these two are my members."

95

Our group was clearing out monsters in the vicinity when we suddenly received a distress call, so we rushed over immediately.

Forcing herself to eat the bitter wild vegetables and coarse wheat porridge, Milan finally looked up at One-Eye, her tone puzzled: "I posted the distress message."

"After clearing out the monsters and settling things down here, we sensed something was off about the mine, so we sent a message to the vice president of the Adventurers' Guild, requesting that they send reinforcements to the village."

As she spoke, her fingertips gently caressed the chipped rim of the bowl, a hint of doubt flickering in her mind.

According to her understanding, when a guild receives a request for support, it usually has to register and file it first, and then dispatch nearby registered adventure groups. The process takes at least a day and a night.

The speed at which the Hungry Wolf Adventurer Group arrived at this location after receiving the message was far too fast. It didn't seem like they had been dispatched by the guild; it was more like they had been wandering around in the vicinity all along.

Did they intercept their own plea for help?

However, she didn't say it aloud.

Right now, the village is short-handed. Whether the other party arrived by chance or for another reason, as long as they are genuinely helping to protect the village and its residents, there is no need to nitpick over the details.

If there's a real problem, it's not too late to investigate after the situation has stabilized.

"So it was Ms. Milan who sent the message."

One-Eyed nodded, offering no further explanation of the itinerary, and instead asked, "Miss Susanna said that you all entered the abandoned mine in the Misty Forest last night? What was the situation down there?"

Milan frowned slightly, looked up at One-Eyed, and said in a calm tone, "The situation down there is complicated and cannot be explained in a few words. I need to go back to the guild and put it into a report."

She didn't mention the two-headed ogre, the ancient tomb, the vanished magic circle and the remaining sealing nodes, or the unknown existence suppressed underground.

The origins of the hungry wolf adventure team before them were questionable, and the house was full of ordinary villagers who were still in shock. This kind of information, which could easily disturb people's peace of mind, must not be easily revealed.

But as soon as she finished speaking, the wounded men lying against the wall tensed up abruptly.

A middle-aged man with a rough bandage wrapped around his arm sat up on a straw mat, his voice trembling: "Since you adventurers went to rescue someone, then... have you seen my wife? She was wearing a blue and white striped headscarf—"

Upon hearing his words, several pairs of eyes filled with burning anticipation were immediately turned towards him, their faces full of anxious hope, and they even forgot to put down the hammer in their hands.

One-Eyed frowned upon seeing this, glancing unhappily at Susanna, displeased with her insistence on keeping those people.

Milan's Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't speak for a moment.

The remains were scattered deep inside the mine, and apart from Lily, who was possessed by an evil spirit, they found no other survivors.

But these words were too heavy; she simply couldn't bring herself to say them directly to a group of people clinging to their last shred of hope.

The church fell silent instantly, with only the bubbling of the porridge pot on the stove making everyone's breathing seem especially heavy.

Don Quixote gripped his greatsword tightly, and his spirits sank as well. He opened his mouth to say a few words of comfort, but swallowed the words back down.

In the oppressive silence, Rhodes slowly raised his hand.

"We only found one survivor."

He lifted his cloak, and Lily, who had been hiding behind him, was now completely exposed to everyone's view.

The little girl huddled on the edge of the bench, half of her body instinctively leaning against Rod's legs.

Half of the child's soft, fleshy face was buried low, while the other half was covered with a layer of fine gray fur. The lips were pressed tightly together, with sharp canine teeth hidden between them. A small section of gray wolf tail was tucked between the legs and was trembling slightly with unease.

"hiss"

Gasps of shock rose and fell.