That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

We must be careful, even the slightest movement of a speck of dust must be monitored. Although this is just the wreckage of an airship and has long since moved out of the main battlefield, we cannot guarantee that there will be any sporadic alien activity here.

Even a single goblin could easily kill all three of them.

Soon, Arei made a discovery.

"Come quick! This is a huge harvest!" Arei shouted excitedly, only to be met with Rick's icy gaze, which pressed against his throat, forcing him to swallow the next words he wanted to say.

"Do you want to die?" Rick asked.

Arey chuckled dryly, "Sorry, it's a major discovery."

Rick and Ivan nodded to each other and followed Arey to the airship's command room. They found a box shaped like a series of cubes. Arey pressed one of the cubes, and the box projected light into the air.

"This is!" Ivan's body trembled, unable to hide his surprise.

"That's right, it's the current world map! And the latest version at that!"

Rick calmly ordered, "Not only that, this is the goblin race's strategic map, which also records their current territory. There's no time to be surprised. Ivan, Arei, immediately compare it with our existing map and make corrections. I'll record the strategic map and territory map."

"I swear to my legacy!"

The two excitedly took out tools from their bags to make corrections.

The map they had acquired by chance several years ago was now hardly of any use. The war between the gods' kin was changing the world's surface environment every day. Places that were once lakes might have become volcanoes erupting with lava, coastlines were shaved off, and continuous mountain ranges were leveled.

Boom!

The steel cabin trembled violently, and a hint of resentment flashed in Rick's eyes; he hadn't finished copying the strategic map and the map of power.

But it was too late, so he decisively used hand gestures to direct his teammates to retreat.

"Richard! Take this with you!" Arei shouted, clutching the box containing the projection map.

"No, retreat immediately!"

"Why! This is a treasure that we finally found!"

"Do you want to die? You're not allowed to take any items with elf markings back. Once this airship, built by goblins, is gone, it's nothing but scrap metal to us. If the enemy detects the elf's presence, the entire settlement will be exposed. If you want to die, I can help you right now." Rick drew his dagger and gave the order in a chilling tone.

"hateful!"

Arei had no choice but to give up, packed up his tools and map, and quickly escaped.

As the three left the crashed airship, they were greeted by a gigantic figure active in the canyon. It was at least ten meters tall, its body made of pure rock, and it was violently destroying everything around it, crushing the steel debris into a pancake with a single punch.

Worst of all, it was closing in on Rick and his group.

Rick's expression turned grave: "The spirit of the mountain rocks!"

Arei lowered his voice and asked, "Really? Didn't the book say they were harmless?"

Rick nodded: "In normal circumstances, it's helpless, but because of the black ash, its spirit will probably become violent, and it will continue to destroy the surrounding environment and life until all the spirits residing in its body disappear."

Rick glanced at Ivan beside him. He was the oldest of the three, the least useful among them, and had already fathered children.

Humans cannot fight that kind of monster. Only if one person attracts its attention can the rest have a chance to escape.

"Ivan..."

Just as Rick was about to give the order, the spirit of the mountain suddenly turned around and stared straight at their hiding place, letting out a deafening roar.

Chapter 237 The Price of Trust

hateful!

Rick cursed inwardly, suppressing his fear as he quickly analyzed the situation and ordered, "Split up and escape! If you survive, meet up at the base in the eastern forest! Ivan, you go first, Arei, go after three seconds."

Ivan and Arei nodded immediately and emerged from their bunkers, running in completely different directions.

The one who shows themselves first is more likely to become the prey of the other party.

After silently counting to five, feeling the earth trembling getting closer, Rick checked his goggles, got up and moved, glancing at the massive rock formation as he did so.

Why is it that such a huge body doesn't experience any inconvenience in its movements?

Rick dashed over a hundred meters in one breath, but got even closer to the spirit of the mountain rocks.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The massive rocky mass crashed through the airships, crushing everything in its path.

"Am I the target?"

Rumble~

Rick heard a strange sound echoing in his ears. He sensed something, glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye, and his pupils contracted sharply in an instant.

A stone, its shadow alone enough to conceal his body, was less than five meters away from him.

If this isn't bad enough, the stone was thrown at a speed of more than ten meters per second. Even a slight impact would send the person flying, and if it hit them head-on, their body would probably be turned into mincemeat.

To die.

If I die here...

Perhaps it's not such a bad thing...

Rick was surprisingly calm despite realizing the threat of death. He even felt a complete relaxation in his mind. This was the last mercy the world had given to mankind. Living in this shitty world, he was always on edge, struggling to survive. He had seen too much death. To date, forty-seven people had died because of his orders. Rick clearly remembered the reasons and process of each order he gave.

The lives of forty-seven people—it's too heavy a burden!

If this is retribution, Rick will gladly accept it.

This was his last act of selfishness as a human being, the final result of his struggle with all his wisdom and strength.

Even if he dies, someone will take his place in the settlement.

"Go back."

A voice rang in Rick's ears. Was Death coming to greet him?

No, is it really just an auditory hallucination?

In that brief moment, he clearly saw a ghostly figure pass by him.

This is none other than Hall. The enormous spirit of the mountain rock before them was deliberately lured here by Hall using magic, with the aim of rescuing Rick and his companions from its clutches and gaining its trust.

Hall gripped the hilt of his sword, facing the massive rock, and the sword flashed past.

boom!

The huge rock split in two and swept past Rick, plunging into the ground and leaving two deep furrows.

Rick stopped in his tracks, his deep, empty eyes fixed on Hall's back. Only the orcs possessed such power.

Why would the orcs save a human like him?

Hall raised his right hand, and a high-temperature fireball formed in his palm. His magic eye discerned the movements of the spirit within the mountain rock essence, finding its core and weakness.

boom!

The fireball was launched like a cannonball, accurately hitting the core of the mountain rock essence and piercing it through. The still-running rock body, like a puppet out of control, crashed down and shattered into countless pieces.

magic! ?

Rick was stunned, and felt a deep sense of horror, because orcs were incapable of using magic.

Hall turned and looked Rick over, casually asking, "Are you alright?"

Both were hidden under cloaks and hoods, making it difficult to see each other's full appearance.

“Ah, thank you.” Rickra pulled down his hat brim, not wanting Hall to notice the wariness and hostility hidden in his eyes.

Even when facing the person who saved his life, he must maintain the highest level of vigilance.

However, if you openly express hostility, it will inevitably make the other party quite unhappy, so you should at least not do so on the surface.

Humans are the weak, and that is the survival rule for the weak.

Rick calmly analyzed the situation in his mind and concluded that even if the person who saved him was not an enemy, they must have some kind of purpose.

The basis for the judgment is the anomaly in this area. There are far too few demons and monsters, and there are strange signs of battle, which are very likely caused by the alien race in front of us.

If the alien race had been wandering around here, it's impossible that their actions went unnoticed.

And now they're finally showing up.

"Are you human?" Hall asked in a friendly tone.

The question directly confirmed Rick's thoughts: humans are at the bottom of the food chain in this world, and very few alien races know the name of the human race, but Hall can call it out immediately.

He immediately considered a solution and nodded in reply, "Yes."

Hall pulled down his mask slightly, revealing his face, and smiled, "This is truly amazing. I never imagined that a human other than me could survive in this environment."

Huh?

"You're human too?"

Rick narrowed his eyes, wondering if Hall's appearance was caused by magic that altered perception. No one would believe Hall's nonsense; Hall had just demonstrated powerful physical strength and magic, powers that humans could not possibly master.

What exactly is their purpose?

If they came with malicious intent, their purpose is not hard to guess: rescuing him was naturally to use him as bait to find human settlements.

Hall smiled and said, "There's no need to be so nervous. I am a genuine human being. Or rather, it's not quite right to say that. My soul and spirit are human, and this body is an artificial being that I created. Therefore, I possess powerful abilities and can cast magic."

"Androids?" Rick didn't know what that meant, but the meaning wasn't hard to guess from the words themselves. But was it really possible for humans to master such technology?

"That's right, it's become what it is for various reasons. If I harbored ill will towards you, although you might be more difficult to deal with, your companions' spirits aren't particularly strong, and I could easily obtain all the information about you with a little effort, I still chose you."

Rick pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "It seems so. In the face of powerful superior races, humans are nothing but worthless beings in this world."

Hall shook his head solemnly: "No, humans are the greatest species in this world."

Rick opened his eyes slightly and said in surprise, "Why do you say that? Humans were not created by gods, are not protected by gods, have no power, and it is extremely difficult for them to just survive."

“Weakness has nothing to do with value; the fact that humanity was not created by gods is precisely what makes humanity the greatest.”

Rick was both surprised and reassured by the astonishing remarks he had never heard before.

Rickra removed his mask, a smile playing on his lips: "Anyone who can say something like that can't possibly be a race other than humans. My name is Rick, and I'm very grateful for your help."

All intelligent races in this world other than humans were created by gods, so it is impossible for them to utter any words that show the slightest disrespect to the Creator, let alone directly list humans as the greatest race.

"Hall, an alchemist from the East."