Once everyone was ready, they entered the cave.
It was clear the entrance was freshly dug, the soil still loose, mixed with the scent of post-rain grass; but deeper inside, there was only the stench of Goblin.
The damp cave walls reflected a cold light in the flickering torchlight, and the mucus on the stalactite tips refracted a pearlescent glow in the fire.
Black Magician Aserville’s stealth magic could help them remain hidden from the monsters' eyes; however, its duration was limited, so they planned to activate it only when they encountered the Hero-level Goblin.
Fafner walked in front of Mil, and when he stepped on a piece of bone for the third time, he stumbled, grabbing the silver thorn embroidery on Mil’s sleeve.
“Was that intentional?” Mil whispered.
The path ahead was narrow at first, gradually widening further in. After about 10 minutes of walking, a low growl echoed from within the cave…
Isotta, who was leading the way, spoke up to warn them: “Be careful, they’re coming!”
“Ugh… Ga—!”
Accompanied by a series of indistinct cries from the depths of the darkness, a group of green-skinned little creatures, baring their fangs and claws, lunged at them.
Mil, just as he had dealt with Fafner, raised his hand to summon a Wind Magic Barrier, and the small creatures immediately began stomping in place.
Lilith’s purple silk glove brushed her waist, and as the dark patterns illuminated at the top of her magic staff, they outlined her graceful waistline. The long boots she had temporarily put on crushed the skull of a small monster.
Diana’s Holy Sword, even with its scabbard wrapped in white cloth, was as sharp as if it were unsheathed; it cut moon arcs in the gloom, her silver armor reflecting fresh blood as it bisected three charging Goblins.
“Left!” Iron Lily Squad’s White Magic Miss suddenly shrieked.
Isotta’s brown hair was matted with sticky blood. She backhanded her short sword into a rock crevice, using the Reaction force to spring up, her leather armor stretching to reveal the lines of her tanned back muscles, as she kicked a sneaking Goblin into a pile of rocks.
Clearing the first wave took less than two minutes.
Black Magician Aserville smiled faintly and said, “Mr. Just, this level doesn’t seem like a magic apprentice…”
“You flatter me. It’s all the result of hard work.”
After clearing them out, they continued forward, dealing with four or five more waves in a row…
The path inside the cave was not easy. Goblins don’t dig all their tunnels themselves; some areas are natural underground caverns.
The deeper they went, the stronger these Goblins became, starting to use Paladin longswords, shortbows, and even mutated forms.
After walking for a long time, Diana began to notice something was off: “This cave is too deep, isn’t it? We’ve been walking for almost an hour…”
Mil also started to feel a bit anxious… Why hadn’t the Hero-level Goblin appeared yet? Had they entered the wrong cave? It couldn’t be because it went to bed early, could it?
Iron Lily Squad’s Captain Isotta, walking shoulder to shoulder with Diana at the front, frowned and nodded: “It’s definitely deeper than any we’ve seen before… Wait, is there light ahead?”
An orange-red glow faintly illuminated the cave walls, and everyone quickened their pace, moving forward…
They soon arrived at a very spacious chamber. Torches stood in a circle, illuminating the surroundings, with a crude altar in the center.
Nearly a hundred Goblins were gathered there, surrounding a Goblin Shaman.
The Goblins heard footsteps, turned, and looked at them—
“Ga—!”
Another dry, hoarse roar, and a group of Goblins leaped up, swarming towards them.
This time, the Goblins were clearly more skilled in combat than the previous ones; one of them even displayed clear fighting techniques, even managing to exchange a few blows with Fafner…
However, Fafner quickly cut off half of its body and kicked it more than ten meters away.
Soon, nearly a hundred Goblins had all become corpses.
Unfortunately, there was still no sign of the Hero Goblin.
Seeing that this batch was cleared, Mil retracted his wind magic, but unexpectedly…
The elite Goblin that had confronted Fafner earlier drew its shortbow and shot an arrow at Mil.
“Ah—!”
Mil’s howl echoed in the empty chamber. Everyone turned sharply to see an arrow stuck in his arm.
Fortunately, the bows used by Goblins were low-poundage, so it only made a bloody hole in Mil’s hand; the wound was not deep.
“Mil!”
Diana had the biggest reaction, turning and stepping forward to support Mil, illuminating the light in her hand, anxiously checking Mil’s wound.
Iron Lily Squad’s Isotta wanted to go and deal with the Goblin, but Mil suddenly spoke up to stop her: “Wait! Don’t kill it!”
The Goblin, already missing half its body, looked hideous as it struggled to crawl into the shadows.
Mil looked at his wound, then looked up at the Goblin, frowning in thought for a moment before saying, “It’s fine… Kill it.”
A low-level monster harmed the Demon God's Child, yet did not suffer punishment from the Abyss?
How could that be?
Could it be that these monsters’ souls do not belong to the Abyss?
That’s even more impossible… Mil was even more willing to believe that he might have been expelled by the Demon God.
Pure radiance spread from Diana’s palm, healing Mil’s wound in less than 20 seconds.
The members of the Iron Lily Squad exchanged glances. White Magic Miss scratched her head and asked, “Why did Mr. Mil… call his own name when he saw Mr. Just get injured just now?”
Lilith, standing nearby with her arms crossed, coldly scanned their intertwined hands, remained silent for a long time, then smiled indifferently: “Heh… Does it still hurt, Mr. Just? Or should Mr. Mil blow on it for you?”
Mil clicked his tongue in embarrassment, glanced at Lilith, and said, “Madam Mil, you could be a little more generous.”
The five members of Iron Lily Squad and Black Magician Aserville were completely bewildered, but it was not appropriate to ask further, so they changed the subject: “There seems to be something on the altar in the middle?”
With that, Isotta stepped forward first, and everyone else followed.
Mil walked forward and examined it carefully, but the altar was empty except for Goblin blood…
“There’s nothing here?”
“Hmm, there will be soon.”
Captain Isotta suddenly revealed a strange smile and abruptly plunged her long sword into it.
“Bang—!”
A loud bang echoed around them, and the entire cave suddenly shook violently. Then, the stones beneath their feet suddenly cracked…
After the ground shattered, they realized that it was actually hollow underneath.
The empty altar transformed into a vertical shaft. As rubble clattered down, the ground beneath them gave way, and they fell unexpectedly with it.
They fell for over a hundred meters before finally reaching the bottom.
Fortunately, Mil and Lilith both activated their slow-fall magic; Diana and Fafner were also unfazed by this height… As for the Iron Lily Squad, they were already prepared.
Their descent stopped in a damp underground space. Mil looked around…
The walls around the vertical shaft were carved with a series of alcoves, lit by firelight, illuminating the entire area.
Inside the alcoves, countless people were bound by chains, and it was impossible to tell if they were alive or dead.
But one could immediately see the one-meter-sixty-tall Goblin, bound by iron chains to a distant cross.
Around it were a pile of other monsters: Trolls, Ghouls, Werewolves… Paladin equipment was scattered on the ground, and on a nearby alchemy table, the former judge, Paul, lay unconscious.
Captain Isotta walked forward with light steps, clapped her hands, and spread her arms: “Welcome to… our Soul Transfer—Alchemy Workshop!”
Mil, Lilith, and Fafner all showed shocked and fearful expressions.
But Diana sneered, stepped forward, and said, “So that’s it, heh… Have you finally shown your true colors?”