That's right, that's what adventure is like!

Ms. Barlow is a shrewd businesswoman.

She wouldn't do a losing deal, as evidenced by her previous attempt to exploit the Silverfly Squad's combat strength for free.

Given this, there's only one possibility Roland can think of.

First, Emma, ​​the female dwarf outside, made it clear that there was something Balo wanted here, and although Roland hadn't seen it yet, the matter itself was very important.

The trial is indeed important, but Emma is just a businesswoman whose eternal pursuit is profit. Is she really here to join that group?

Or is she only after "that thing" hidden here?

If it's the latter, then everything makes sense.

Joining this group was just a facade, the trial was merely a process, and Ms. Barlow's contact with the group was essentially just to find out where that thing was.

After Emma or others in the group told her about the trial, she roughly determined the location of the thing, which was this cave below the canyon.

Now, Ms. Barlow has two ways to get this thing.

First, follow the fixed steps to go to the secret realm, then complete the trials there, and you will naturally get the items.

Second, ignore any trials and just find a way to take what's here.

Ms. Barlow was shrewd; she chose to do both at the same time.

She first sent the Chamber of Commerce with the modified Azure Moon Vine to this location, both to see if the secret realm really existed and to confirm if the item really existed here.

This trick was very effective. When the guards disappeared, the Azure Moon Vine also disappeared. No monster would be interested in such a thing, which means that the Azure Moon Vine was not taken away, but had already been used.

The existence of the secret realm has been confirmed.

However, the disappearance of the Chamber of Commerce guards also alerted Ms. Barlow. Her first thought was that there was danger here and that the thing was not so easy to obtain.

What danger?

With just a few goblins?

Impossible. Goblins aren't that strong, nor are they capable of cleaning up the battlefield that cleanly.

That means it's the group behind Emma.

They wouldn't allow Ms. Barlow to do that, wouldn't allow her to skip the first test and go straight to the second.

But Mrs. Barlow was not satisfied, so she came up with a new idea.

She roughly knew that this group had a good relationship with the association, and that the adventurers might not be stopped, so she issued a commission to see if the adventurers could take the item.

Supporting evidence is that Commission No. 97839 did not conceal the commissioner's name—Ms. Barlow wanted the adventurers to come to her so that she could privately arrange another commission.

The results are obvious.

Failed again.

This time, not even a trace was left; the group's intentions were quite clear.

—It's impossible to get that thing unless you complete the trial.

So, Ms. Barlow didn't wait any longer. As soon as she received the news, she hired the Silverfly Squad and rushed to the secret realm.

What followed was the situation Roland witnessed.

"call……"

Having roughly sorted out his thoughts, Roland finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although there were still some details that needed to be considered, the general direction should be fine.

The next step is verification.

Turning his head, he looked again at the bear goblin sitting on the ground licking the blood from his palms, and asked in a steady voice, "Approximately how big is this cave?"

"Very big!"

"Is there a place that you'll eventually reach no matter where you start from?"

The goblin paused for a moment, then scratched its head and pointed to the ground.

Roland was also taken aback for a moment before he understood what it meant.

It is the nest of a burrowing beetle.

The entire cave system is interconnected, but it was all dug out by the burrowing worms, so naturally all of them lead to their nests.

I see……

That means the real challenge lies with the burrowing worm. No matter which way you go, if Barlow wants to get that thing, he has to face the burrowing worm head-on.

As for the bear goblins, they may exist as an appetizer or as hired help.

This is to observe the behavior of the trial participants.

Roland understood immediately, turned around and gestured for the goblin to lead the way, heading towards the burrowing worm nest below.

……

The road is winding, some sections of which have already collapsed, and the air circulation is poor, making it extremely physically demanding.

It took the two of them a full seven hours, changing three different passages and digging through some collapsed areas, before they finally reached the end.

Of course, the goblins did most of the work along the way, while Roland watched quietly from the side.

It has to be said that this enormous monster is indeed adept at doing rough work, and he even felt a little reluctant to part with it.

After this, we must find a good place for the goblin bear.

Ramona's shop might be good.

As he pondered this, light finally reappeared at the end of the narrow passage, accompanied by the roar of battle.

Roland's expression changed slightly when he heard the familiar voice.

He drew his longsword and charged forward, the scene before him coming into view.

This is a space more than three times larger than the previous cave.

The dome was several meters high, the ground was covered with dry white bone fragments, and the air was filled with the unique smell of humus soil.

A fierce battle is currently raging.

Three smaller burrowing worms, perhaps the offspring of the previous one, were frantically tearing at the two familiar figures.

Yogurt was covered in blood, the leather armor on his right leg had been corroded, revealing a mangled thigh, and his longbow was broken in two. He was using a double-edged axe to chop at the seam of a burrowing worm larva's carapace.

Emmett was also pale, having long lost the composure he had shown when facing the lava giant lizard. He stood awkwardly atop a boulder, using a rapier to parry the attack of another burrowing worm.

Clearly, the "appetizer" they were facing was no simple matter either. They had already run out of arrows and could only use melee weapons to stall for time.

To make matters worse, a third burrowing worm had already circled around from the ground and appeared behind them.

"Yogurt!!!"

Emmett roared as he watched helplessly as the burrowing worm's claws were about to pull the orc into his arms and devour him.

At a critical moment.

call out--

The dark red runes flashed wildly, turning into dazzling streaks of light that cut through the air with a sharp whooshing sound. They carried the fierce power of the bear goblin and pierced the burrowing worm cub that had been attacking them!

Roland also moved.

Take a step, gather your strength, and unleash a powerful strike!

when!!!

A metallic crackling sound emanated from the brownish-red carapace, sparks flew, but it failed to cause any effective damage.

Roland didn't have time to find the burrowing worm larva's weakness, and could only do his best to save Yogurt.

"Back off!!!" he roared.

Yogurt recognized the person's face, subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, and then instinctively obeyed his command, taking a step back.

The burrowing worm larva, pierced by the rune javelin, struggled incessantly, trying to pull its body inch by inch out of the javelin embedded in the ground.

The other two were startled by the sudden change, letting out sharp screech and roars. The ground rose up not far away, as if other burrowing insects were rushing over.

Roland no longer hesitated, reached into his pouch, and took out the object that was tightly bound by strips of cloth. The veins on it were clearly visible, and it was still pulsating rhythmically.

The fire sac of the lava giant lizard.

Opportunities are fleeting.

He removed the cloth strips, and at the opportune moment when the newly emerged burrowing worms leaped out of the ground, he tossed the fire sac high into the air.

Take out the light metal crossbow, and press the bolts down; unusually, they have dark red patterns.

These are explosive crossbow bolts, 1 gold coin each.

The fire sac hit the ground, splashing dark red liquid, along with the crossbow bolt.

*Whoosh—Boom!*

First came a blinding red light, followed by the roar of an explosion.

Dark red flames spread in all directions like living things, scorching and deforming the air, and turning the bones laid on the ground into ashes.

All the burrowing worm larvae, both above and below ground, were also reduced to ashes.

Their cries were sharp and painful, and their thick shells became the perfect cooking containers, roasting the grayish-white soft flesh inside and releasing an enticing aroma.

Just ten seconds.

Calmness returned to the cave.

Roland stretched out his body, which had just been curled up. His leather armor was charred black from the scorching flames, but fortunately it did not catch fire.

At his prompting, Yogurt retreated to the other end of the cave early on. Although the wound on her right leg was deep enough to expose the bone, she was fortunately unaffected by the explosion.

Emmett jumped off the rock, staggered a couple of steps, looked up at Roland, then looked down at the aftermath of the explosion, and sighed softly.

"Unfortunately, we've lost another source of revenue."

Roland didn't reply, but turned his head to look to the side.

It had already noticed that, during the explosion, an object not only remained unharmed but also absorbed the flames rushing towards it.

That thing was Ms. Barlow's true goal, and a treasure coveted by all adventurers.

In fact, it is an element that is present in no story.

—Dragon egg.