The moonlight was obscured by the gradually thickening clouds, and the night wind, which had been standing still, became stronger, and the rustling of the overgrown artemisia grass was blowing. In the grass under the shade of the trees, Curt, Lizzie, and Oscar were hiding in it. The sound of the swaying of the artemisia grass was just right to drown out the sound they were making.

After hiding for about seven or eight minutes, there was no movement in the thick mountain forest at night, and Oscar was a little out of breath. He lowered his voice and asked Curt, who was hiding in a slightly taller weed not far ahead, "Mr. Curt, why are we hiding here?"

"Shhh

Curt's slightly gray clothes obscured his form, making him look like a strangely shaped stone. As if to avoid being seen by something, he just put his hand to his mouth and made a "silence" gesture, while signaling Oscar not to move with a minimum range of movement.

"Huh?"

Oscar, who couldn't react, missed half a beat, he didn't quite know the information contained in the mature sign language agreed between the mercenaries, and he could only barely see Curt's request to stop talking and hide.

Liqi, who had been silently following Curt, put on a pair of glasses at some point and stared at the dense forest in the distance, where there was only endless darkness. Seeing that Oscar was still confused, she had to take on the role of replacing Curt's narrator when she had been squatting next to him.

After he had hidden himself, she pointed to another bush in front of her, as if she was a little impatient, and said, "Curt is telling you to look in that direction." ”

Then she laughed a few times: "Seeing that you look honest, I thought I would be ready to work." I didn't expect to dare to come to the field mission without even knowing anything about the sign language in the manual provided by the mercenary management office for free. In a sense, it's really surprising. ”

After being explicitly commented on by Lizzie, Oscar's face turned a little red for a moment. He shrugged his shoulders and watched from side to side as if he were carefully observing his surroundings. However, in the direction indicated by Lizzie, all that could be seen were various plants and stones scattered on the ground that were faintly revealing their outlines in the unclear moonlight.

"Okay Lizzie, don't make fun of Oscar... Prepare a little, something is approaching. ”

As the two spoke, Curt had bent down slightly, allowing his body to be further hidden under the half-human-tall grass. At the same time, his hand rested on the grip of the recurve knife, and the blade slightly staggered from the scabbard announced that the wielder could attack at any time.

Seeing Curt pose as if he was about to meet the enemy, Oscar didn't dare to be careless. He held his shield in front of him, and his hand rested on the hilt of a single sword. Similar to the tension that rose from the bottom of his heart during the simulated battle with Curt, the pressure of not knowing what enemy he was about to face made his throat dry.

Then he saw several small figures tiptoeing between the trees. Although the outline could only be barely seen, it was certain that it was the shadow of a humanoid creature.

Its torso is rather short, and its limbs appear surprisingly strong. At half the height of a normal adult, there was a disproportionately large head. If you look at it a little, there is also a pair of big ears about the size of a child's palm on the head as big as a pumpkin.

Oscar understands why Curt has been emphasizing "quiet" all the time, this guy's big ears must be able to absorb the wind and grass around him in the air. Oscar had seen little monsters that resembled their silhouettes - there were many of them in the academy who worked as handymen to manage the chores of daily life.

"Spirits?"

The thin figure hidden in the shadows moved cautiously and slowly, illuminating its appearance in a faint light from the meager moonlight that shone through the layers of clouds. Although it was only a glimpse, Oscar could be sure that these monsters were not the creatures he was familiar with.

The quiblins in the academy in standard woolen overalls have shaggy and silky fur that is quite comfortable to stroke. The creatures that appeared in front of them were completely different, there was not a single hair visible on their bodies, and their skin exposed to the air was crumpled, as gray and dull as dead things.

Truth be told, the elves in the academy look much cuter than these monsters with outwardly beastly features, they are quite polite, and they can easily communicate with humans. The monsters in front of them were brutal and vulgar, naked, and clutching crudely polished sharp stone tools in their hands. Even more striking are their long, nailed claws, covered in black ash dirt.

In addition to the ones that appeared in front of them, there were several companions hiding in the grass, and Oscar estimated that the total number of them was about seven or eight. From their bared teeth and grinning, the sound of "chirping" came out and pulled around, and mucus was running down their fangy mouths.

"Don't be in a hurry to deny your instincts," seeing that Oscar wanted to change his words, Curt suddenly lowered his voice and spoke, "These monsters are the same kind as those little guys in the academy. They are a burrowing spirit that resides in caves beneath the forest, and generally acts at night. ”

Oscar glanced at the monsters in the distance sneaking and shaking their heads, and he really couldn't connect these ugly monsters with the creatures who took care of their daily lives. Their sinister appearance constantly emphasizes that they are fierce monsters rather than docile servants.

Looking at Oscar, who looked puzzled, Lizzie showed a strange smile on her face: "Do you think it's strange? In fact, just like kittens and lion tigers are of the same kind, these creatures are undoubtedly uncivilized distant relatives of those little things who are pressed by your labor force." ”

"Gurgle-"

Sensing the ridicule in Lizzie's words, Oscar was about to refute it, but the cave spirit in the distance had already acted. It opened its bloody mouth and let out a strange cry, the strange tone echoing through the trees. Although he couldn't understand its cry, Oscar felt as if it was contacting a companion not far away.

"Gollum whoa!"

Sure enough, not long after hearing the scream of this spirit, a sharp strange cry was heard in the distance, like a leader in a high position instructing his subordinates to work in the rear. After a while, several small monsters of similar appearance came out of the darkness, holding various stone tools, and moved nervously.

They didn't seem to notice that a group of humans were hiding and watching them, slumping around with their stocky bodies moving as fast as they could. Its limbs may seem short and thick, but their swift and powerful movements prove that they are quite strong.

Curt slowly moved to the two of them and announced his decision: "There's no need to clash with them, just wait here for them to take care of their own affairs and then leave." ”

Mercenaries are not battle maniacs, and they can avoid battles that are not necessary. After all, this has nothing to do with the mission, and even killing all of these little monsters doesn't necessarily do any good - unlike the board games that Lizzie has been fascinated with during this time, killing monsters will cost you neither loot nor experience points.

Oscar agreed with Curt's decision, he saw that these cave spirits were as timid as rats, and felt that if they were threatened by the sudden danger, their first reaction should be to run away, right? Thinking of this, Oscar's previous nervousness was swept away, and he waited a little leisurely for the spirits to leave after work.

From a distance, these ugly-looking spirits were running towards the place where a small bush grew in front of them. This is the season when the bush berries are ripe, and even the indistinct night light can be seen as the blue-white fruits hanging from the branches of the bushes.

Most of the spirits who work in the academy eat some fruit to survive. Although they are not the same creature, the habits of similar creatures do not vary dramatically. They are here now, presumably to collect berries from the bushes for food.

"Goo-woo!"

A little observation, along with the first guy, there were a total of five spirits collecting berries from the bushes, and they made strange shouts and noisily held the collected berries in their arms. Looking at their unbridled appearance, it is almost like using this woodland as a vegetable garden in their own home.

Crash!

Just as the group of spirits had gathered a lot of berries, there was a loud noise in the distance, followed by a continuous crumbling sound. It sounds like clumps of grass and trees have been rudely destroyed by external forces, and the mud and sand collide with each other to produce a noisy noise.

"Quack-"

It seemed that the direction in which the roar of the grass and trees was heard was the direction where the group of spirits were, and the spirits who had already collected food roared from their throats almost in unison at the moment of the loud noise, and they couldn't help but want to puncture their eardrums.

Oscar grinned and covered his ears to alleviate the sonic attack that almost pierced his ear, and it took a while for him to get used to it. He wanted to ask about Curt and Lizzie, but when he looked at them, he swallowed what he wanted to say.

Lizzie was driving the spell, and the lines of a monotonous chalk glow had crept up on her glasses. From near her sick hands, images of a quadrangular Rubik's cube flickered one after the other at an extremely rapid pace. Curt was guarding her at this time, looking suspiciously in the direction where the voice came from.

It didn't take long for Lizzie's spell to be ready. The chalky brilliance danced, the rustle of the wind blowing the artemisia grass, the cacophony of crackling earth, and the panicked screams of the spirits... A qiē sound seems to be cut off. With Lizzie as the center, a colorless circle enveloped the three of them.

Curt had never seen a spell like it, not only in class, but he hadn't even seen a spell similar in appearance from the books. It can only be guessed from its appearance that it is a protective spell used to hide one's posture or protect those on the inside of the circle.

On the other side, the frightened spirits scrambled in all directions, as if they had lost their souls, after all, the instincts of creatures let them know that being able to survive is the most important thing. I don't know if it's the effect of the circle array set up by Liqi, and as they scattered, none of them came close to where the three of them were.

But what is it that scares away the spirits? The answer was quickly answered.

It was a monster cowering in a black mist, and the burning red gaze could be seen in the thick black fog. Wings emerged from the darkness tore through fragile vegetation, and massive bodies wrapped in a thick fog slashed over the trio's heads, chasing several fleeing spirits into the woods farther afield.

"What the hell is that monster..."

Watching the mist-wrapped monster go away, Oscar felt especially palpitating. The moment this monster slashed over the top of his head, he felt an extremely unpleasant chill.

Curt returned the knife to its sheath, then narrowed his eyes into a line and looked in the direction where the ghost bat had disappeared and said, "It's just a ghost bat, a nocturnal monster." ”

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